Time-stamp service for the national information network
US6393566B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Jul 28, 1995 |
| Grant date | May 21, 2002 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Nov 1, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F2221/2151
- WIPO fieldDigital communication
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A system and method for time-stamping and signing a digital document by an authenticating party and returning the signed stamped document to the originator or his designated recipient. Messages may be received by a first “public” machine over a network, by fax, or through input mediums such as diskettes. The clock of the first machine is synchronized with Universal Coordinated Time (UTC) and can be checked for accuracy by anyone on the network. A second “private” machine, not connected to any network, receives the time-stamped message, applies a hashing procedure and provides a signature using a private key. The signed hashed time-stamped message is then returned. A verify procedure is made widely available to check the genuiness of a document by rehashing the document and applying a public key. The result should match the signed time-stamped message returned by the authenticating party.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.