The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jan. 15, 2002
Filed:
Nov. 12, 1998
David P. Maher, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL (US);
AT&T Corp., New York, NY (US);
Abstract
A method and apparatus for establishing and distributing a currency is disclosed. First, a user accesses a web site and downloads a form. The user completes and returns the form with a currency name, an initial amount of currency and other parameters which characterize the currency. Next, the system server checks to ensure the requested currency name is unique. If the name is unique, the system server and user's smart card employ a cryptographic key management system to establish the currency as a leaf in a currency tree on the user's smart card. A new root value is computed for the currency tree and saved in memory on the user's smart card. The user may then distribute the currency to other holders of smart cards from the same smart card issuer using the same cryptographic key management system employed between the system server and the user's smart card.