Certco, Inc.

Sandia Corporation

David William Kravitz

Marcel Mordechay Yung

Gregory Marc Zaverucha

Yair Frankel

Charles Thomas Montgomery

Daniel Richard Brown

Ernest F Brickell

Peter C Freund

Frank W Sudia

Richard Ankney

Alan Asay

Peter S Gemmell

Patrick J Angeles

A method for providing a warranty relating to a transaction between two parties, each party being a client of at least one respective institution which provides services to the respective party, the method including:

Computer-based method and system for aiding transactions

A method for providing a warranty relating to a transaction between two parties, each party having a data communications device, in a system which includes an infrastructure composed of a plurality of locations each associated with a respective institution which provides services to clients, each location having a computer system, a database coupled to the computer system and storing information about each client of the institution and a data communications device coupled to the computer system for communication with the data communications device of any one party, each party being a client of at least one of the institutions, the method containing the steps of:

A method for facilitating provision of a warranty relating to a transaction between two parties in a system which includes an infrastructure composed of a plurality of locations each associated with a respective institution which provides services to clients, the method containing the steps of transmitting a request for a warranty from one party to the transaction which is a client of the respective institution to a respective location associated with the respective institution, which request includes information identifying the other party to the transaction and information about the nature of the transaction conducting an exchange of information between the respective location and a location associated with a institution of which the other party is a client and transmitting a response to the request from the respective location to the one party.

A method for aiding transactions by providing warranties against various aspects of a transaction which may be hard to assure ahead of time or when high risk is involved in relying on them. The method employs an infrastructure of a computer and communication systems communication with various distributed organizations working together and providing warranties. Different parties may trust different organizations and user representatives of the infrastructure. A party in a transaction may ask for a warranty against another party. As a response, the infrastructure, through its organizations, calculates and provides a decision regarding the request. Relying on the warranty, the risk involved in conducting the electronic transaction is reduced. In the case where the transaction does not reach sound completion, the warranty can be claimed. The method also involves managing and administering the infrastructure, the entities in the transaction system and their outstanding warranties. Cryptographic sub-systems within the infrastructure components and the entities they serve are used to assure party/organization authentication and the validity of electronically signed messages within the transaction system. The warranty granting process, in turn, assures the transaction: its content, context, the parties and the parties' identification mechanisms, such as digital certificates.

A method of payment in an electronic payment system wherein a plurality of customers have accounts with an agent. A customer obtains an authenticated quote from a specific merchant, the quote including a specification of goods and a payment amount for those goods. The customer sends to the agent a single communication including a request for payment of the payment amount to the specific merchant and a unique identification of the customer. The agent issues to the customer an authenticated payment advice based only on the single communication and secret shared between the customer and the agent and status information which the agent knows about the merchant and/or the customer. The customer forwards a portion of the payment advice to the specific merchant. The specific merchant provides the goods to the customer in response to receiving the portion of the payment advice.

Payment and transactions in electronic commerce system

A method of unwrapping wrapped digital data that is unusable while wrapped, includes obtaining an acceptance phrase from a user; deriving a cryptographic key from the acceptance phrase; and unwrapping the package of digital data using the derived cryptographic key. The acceptance phrase is a phrase entered by a user in response to information provided to the user. The information and the acceptance phrase can be in any appropriate language. The digital data includes, alone or in combination, any of: software, a cryptographic key, an identifying certificate, an authorizing certificate, a data element or field of an identifying or authorizing certificate, a data file representing an images, data representing text, numbers, audio, and video.

Electronic cryptographic packing

A multi-step digital signature system and method is provided having a distributed root certifying authority 20. Messages received at the root certifying authority 20 are distributed to root certifying authority members 22-30 who attach partial signatures to the message using root key fragments. In the system and method provided, the system adapts to system events such as the addition or removal of key fragment holders, the need to modify key fragments, etc., by changing key fragments.

Adaptive multi-step digital signature system and method of operation

An off-line electronic cash system having an electronic coin, a bank B, a payee S, and a user U with an account at the bank B as well as a user password z.sub.u,i, has a method for performing an electronic cash transfer. An electronic coin is withdrawn from the bank B by the user U and an electronic record of the electronic coin is stored by the bank B. The coin is paid to the payee S by the user U. The payee S deposits the coin with the bank B. A determination is made that the coin is spent and the record of the coin is deleted by the bank B. A further deposit of the same coin after the record is deleted is determined. Additionally, a determination is made which user U originally withdrew the coin after deleting the record. To perform these operations a key pair is generated by the user, including public and secret signature keys. The public signature key along with a user password z.sub.u,i and a withdrawal amount are sent to the bank B by the user U. In response, the bank B sends a coin to the user U signed by the secret key of the bankindicating the value of the coin and the public key of the user U. The payee S transmits a challenge counter to the user U prior to receiving the coin.

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Alburquerque, NM, United States of America

David William Kravitz