Method and apparatus for identification tagging documents in a computer system
US7356845B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 30, 2002 |
| Grant date | Apr 8, 2008 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 15, 2024 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F21/16
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A method and apparatus for tracing of computer documents is disclosed. A computer processor stores a processor identifier that is unique to the particular processor. Documents created by a computer system are tagged with an identification tag that is a value which results from performing a cryptographic function on the hash of the document and the unique processor identifier. Processor associators are stored in a secure database, with each of the processor associators being associated with one of the unique processor identifiers. In a first embodiment, the processor associators are the same as the processor identifiers. In a second embodiment, the processor identifiers are a function of their related processor associator. Documents may be traced by a third party possessing a document (including an attached identification tag) and a database of processor associators and user identification data associated with each of the processor associators. In one embodiment, the third party computes a document tag for the particular document using each of the processor associators until a tag is computed which matches the tag that was attached to the document. When such a match is found, the so…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.