CA3176816A1 - A system and method using blockchain and non-fungible digital identity tokens to deliver digital and real-world assets bound with validated identity and other credentials - Google Patents

Abstract

Loyalty rewards, gift cards, prepaid cards, real estate, and other digital assets have proven susceptible to fraud and theft. Through embodiments of this invention, the inventors address the issue of securing digital assets by using a decentralized identity token and a decentralized identity wallet on a mobile device. The individual retains control over which validated identity components that reside on the token are delivered to a valid requestor along with the means for the requestor to ensure that the identity components and assets are valid and belong to the individual presenting them.
The token's assets payload is linked to the wallet owner's verifiable identity stored within the token. This allows the wallet owner to redeem the asset(s) or transfer the asset(s) to another wallet owner with the assurance that the sender is the rightful owner of the asset(s) and the recipient is the individual to whom the asset(s) was transferred.

Description

A SYSTEM AND METHOD USING BLOCKCHAIN AND DIGITAL IDENTITY TOKENS
TO DELIVER DIGITAL AND REAL-WORLD ASSETS BOUND WITH VALIDATED
IDENTITY, FINANCIAL CREDENTIALS, AND BIOMETRICS
CLAIM OF PRIORITY UNDER 35 U.S.C. 119 This application is a continuation-in-part of both application no. 16,391,259 filed on April 22, 2019, and application no. 16,218,385 filed on Dec. 12, 2018, the contents of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entireties. The applicant claims full priority based on the parent applications.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This patent application relates to electronic transactions involving cryptographic tokens, such as tokens used in commercial reward and incentive programs. Further, the present invention involves methods and systems for providing the secure identity of transaction participants and transferable assets and items of value, exploiting techniques such as blockchain, cryptography, distributed ledgers, and cryptocurrencies.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Cryptocurrencies are digital currencies in which encryption techniques are used to regulate the generation of units of currency and verify the transfer of funds, operating independently of a central bank. However, customers, businesses, enterprises, etc., today exploit a number of different reward programs to incentivize loyalty to a brand, retailer, service provider, etc. Cryptocurrencies do not provide such rewards.
Accordingly, it would be beneficial to provide users of cryptocurrencies with mechanisms of acquiring, transferring, and using cryptographic rewards. Such mechanisms require the secure identification of users.
It would be further beneficial for users to acquire, transfer and use other types of assets and items of value using cryptographic means.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to mitigate limitations in the prior art relating to reward and incentive programs. More particularly, to achieve methods and systems for Page 1 of 56 Date Regue/Date Received 2022-09-28 providing secure transferable rewards and incentives, exploiting techniques such as blockchain, cryptography, and cryptocurrencies. Such methods and systems would provide transferrable, tradeable, and variable value rewards and incentives.
It is another object of the present invention to attain methods and systems for providing secure transferable assets, benefits, rights, value, obligations, and limitations, etc., of various kinds. Examples are currency, real estate, gold, works of art, collectibles, tickets to events, lottery tickets, rewards points, gift cards, pre-prepaid card values, e-coupons, carbon credits, electronic signatures, processing power, data storage space, and any asset that an individual can own.
In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, there is provided a method comprising storing a transaction employing a Digital Identity Token within an immutable digital ledger.
In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, there is provided a method comprising:
performing a transaction between an individual and at least one of a retailer and a service provider;
establishing a reward in dependence upon the transaction;
providing to a digital store associated with the individual the reward in a digital cryptographic currency; and posting to an immutable digital ledger, an addition to the ledger relating to the transaction.
In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, there is provided an entry within a distributed immutable ledger, comprising:
a first portion encrypted with a first encryption key identifying another entry in the distributed immutable ledger;
a second portion encrypted with a second encryption key identifying an owner of the entry within the distributed immutable ledger; and a third portion encrypted with a third encryption key defining a value associated with the entry, wherein the value relates to a cryptographic currency.
In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, there is provided a virtual token relating to a cryptographic currency, wherein:
Page 2 of 56 Date Regue/Date Received 2022-09-28 the token has associated within it an attribute not related to a value of the token;
and the attribute comprises at least one of a characteristic of a plurality of characteristics, a benefit of a plurality of benefits, a right of a plurality of rights, an obligation of a plurality of obligations, and a limitation of a plurality of limitations.
In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, there is provided a method comprising storing a transaction employing a token within one or more digital immutable ledgers.
In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, there is provided a method comprising:
storing a transaction employing a token within one or more digital immutable ledgers, wherein an individual engages in a transaction to purchase goods or services from a third party that is at least one of a retail vendor, wholesale vendor, retail merchandiser, wholesale merchandiser, retail service provider, and wholesale service provider;
and upon the individual and the third party agrees that the terms of exchange of the transaction have been satisfied, one or more records of the transaction is prepared to contain at least one of:
identity information associated with the individual;
identity information associated with the third party;
a description of the goods or services obtained by the individual;
a description of the remuneration offered the third party by the individual;
a description of the method of payment involved in delivering that remuneration; and a reward amount to be delivered in the form of a virtual currency represented by a cryptographic token by the third party to the individual.
In accordance with other embodiments of the invention, there are provided at least three methods as follows.
In one method, the creation and storage of a digital identity token are effected. The token does not include an additional payload representing an item of value.
Page 3 of 56 Date Regue/Date Received 2022-09-28 In another method, the creation and storage of a digital identity token is effected, wherein the token includes a representation of an item of value in addition to an Identity component.
In another method, the transfer of a digital identity token from a current owner to a new owner is effected, wherein the token includes a representation of an item of value.
Other aspects and features of the present invention will become apparent to those ordinarily skilled in the art upon review of the following description of specific embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying figures.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the attached Figures, wherein:
Figure 1 depicts a network environment supporting embodiments of the invention;
Figure 2 depicts an electronic device together with an associated network supporting embodiments of the invention;
Figure 3 depicts an exemplary transaction flow relating to rewards and incentives according to an embodiment of the invention;
Figure 4 depicts an exemplary transaction flow relating to a digital economy exploiting rewards and incentives according to an embodiment of the invention;
Figure 5 depicts an exemplary reward and incentive program between a customer and a vendor/service provider, exploiting rewards and incentives according to embodiments of the invention;
Figure 6 schematically depicts a digital identity token according to embodiments of the invention;
Figure 7 schematically depicts two different types of servers of an administrator of a token management system, according to two embodiments of the invention;
Figure 8 schematically depicts network connectivity of major participants of an exemplary token management system according to the invention; and Figure 9 schematically depicts the capability for split ownership of a digital identity token according to embodiments of the invention.
Page 4 of 56 Date Regue/Date Received 2022-09-28 DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The present description is in one aspect directed to reward and incentive programs, and more particularly to methods and systems for providing secure transferable rewards and incentives exploiting techniques such as blockchain, cryptography, and cryptocurrencies, to provide transferable, tradeable, and variable value rewards and incentives.
The ensuing description provides representative embodiments only and is not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the disclosure. Rather, the ensuing description of the embodiments will provide those skilled in the art with an enabling description for implementing an embodiment or embodiments of the present invention. It is understood that various changes can be made in the function and arrangement of elements without departing from the spirit and scope as set forth in the appended claims.
Accordingly, an embodiment is an example or implementation of the invention and not the sole implementation. Various appearances of "one embodiment," "an embodiment,"
or "some embodiments" do not necessarily all refer to the same embodiments.
Although various features of the invention may be described in the context of a single embodiment, the features may also be provided separately or in any suitable combination.
Conversely, although the invention may be described herein in the context of separate embodiments for clarity, the invention can also be implemented in a single embodiment or any combination of embodiments.
Reference in the specification to "one embodiment," "an embodiment," "some embodiments," or "other embodiments" means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiments is included in at least one embodiment, but not necessarily all embodiments, of the invention. The phraseology and terminology employed herein are not to be construed as limiting but is for descriptive purpose only. It is to be understood that where the claims or specification refer to "a" or "an" element, such reference is not to be construed as there being only one of that element. It is to be understood that where the specification states that a component feature, structure, or characteristic "may," "might," "can," or "could" be included, that particular component, feature, structure, or characteristic is not required to be included.
Reference to terms such as "left," "right," "top," "bottom," "front," and "back" are intended for use with respect to the orientation of the particular feature, structure, or element within Page 5 of 56 Date Regue/Date Received 2022-09-28 the figures depicting embodiments of the invention. It would be evident that such directional terminology with respect to the actual use of a device has no specific meaning as the device can be employed in a multiplicity of orientations by the user or users.
Reference to the terms "including," "comprising," "consisting" and grammatical variants thereof do not preclude the addition of one or more components, features, steps, integers or groups thereof; and the terms are not to be construed as specifying components, features, steps or integers. Likewise, the phrase "consisting essentially of"
and grammatical variants thereof, when used herein, is not to be construed as excluding additional components, steps, features, integers, or groups thereof; rather, the additional features, integers, steps, components, or groups thereof do not materially alter the basic and novel characteristics of the claimed composition, device or method. If the specification or claims refer to "an additional" element, that does not preclude there being more than one of the additional elements.
A "portable electronic device" (PED), as used herein and throughout this disclosure, refers to a wireless device used for communications and other applications that requires a battery or other independent form of energy for power. This includes, but is not limited to, devices such as a cellular telephone, smartphone, personal digital assistant (PDA), portable computer, pager, portable multimedia player, portable gaming console, laptop computer, tablet computer, wearable device, and electronic reader.
A "fixed electronic device" (FED), as used herein and throughout this disclosure, refers to a wireless and/or wired device used for communications and other applications that requires connection to a fixed interface to obtain power. This includes, but is not limited to, a laptop computer, personal computer, computer server, kiosk, gaming console, digital set-top box, analog set-top box, internet-enabled appliance, internet-enabled television, and multimedia player.
A "server" as used herein and throughout this disclosure refers to one or more physical computers co-located and/or geographically distributed and running one or more services as a host to users of other computers, PEDs, FEDs, etc. to serve the client needs of these other users. This includes, but is not limited to, a database server, file server, mail server, print server, web server, gaming server, and virtual environment server.
An "application" (commonly referred to as an "app") as used herein may refer to but is not Page 6 of 56 Date Regue/Date Received 2022-09-28 limited to, a "software application," an element of a "software suite," a computer program designed to allow an individual to perform an activity, a computer program designed to allow an electronic device to perform an activity, and a computer program designed to communicate with local and/or remote electronic devices. An application thus differs from an operating system (which runs a computer), a utility (which performs maintenance or general-purpose chores), and a programming tool (with which computer programs are created). Generally, within the following description with respect to embodiments of the invention, an application is generally presented in respect of software permanently and/or temporarily installed upon a PED and/or FED.
A "social network" or "social networking service" as used herein may refer to, but is not limited to, a platform to build social networks or social relations among people who may, for example, share interests, activities, backgrounds, or real-life connections. This includes, but is not limited to, social networks such as the U.S. based services Facebook, Google+, Tumblr, and Twitter; as well as Nexopia, Badoo, Bebo, VKontakte, Delphi, Hi5, Hyves, iWiW, Nasza-Klasa, Soup, Glocals, Skyrock, The Sphere, StudiVZ, Tagged, Tuenti, XING, Orkut, Mxit, Cyworld, Mixi, renren, weibo, and Wretch.
"Social media" or "social media services" as used herein may refer to, but is not limited to, a means of interaction among people in which they create, share, and/or exchange information and ideas in virtual communities and networks. This includes, but is not limited to, social media services relating to magazines, internet forums, weblogs, social blogs, microblogging, wikis, social networks, podcasts, photographs or pictures, video, rating, and social bookmarking, as well as those exploiting blogging, picture-sharing, video logs, wall-posting, music-sharing, crowdsourcing and voice over IP, to name a few.
Social media services may be classified, for example, as collaborative projects (for example, VVikipedia); blogs and microblogs (for example, TwitterTm); content communities (for example, YouTube and DailyMotion); social networking sites (for example, FacebookTm);
virtual game-worlds (e.g., World of WarcraftTm); and virtual social worlds (e.g., Second Life TM ).
An "enterprise" as used herein may refer to but is not limited to a provider of a service and/or a product to a user, customer, or consumer. This includes, but is not limited to, a retail outlet, a store, a market, an online marketplace, a manufacturer, an online retailer, Page 7 of 56 Date Regue/Date Received 2022-09-28 a charity, a utility, and a service provider. Such enterprises may be directly owned and controlled by a company or may be owned and operated by a franchisee under the direction and management of a franchiser.
A "service provider" as used herein may refer to, but is not limited to, a third-party provider of a service and/or a product to an enterprise and/or individual and/or group of individuals and/or a device comprising a microprocessor. This includes, but is not limited to, a retail outlet, a store, a market, an online marketplace, a manufacturer, an online retailer, a utility, an own-brand provider, and a service provider, wherein the service and/or product is at least one of marketed, sold, offered, and distributed by the enterprise solely or in addition to the service provider.
A "third-party" or "third-party provider" as used herein may refer to, but is not limited to, a so-called "arm's length" provider of a service and/or a product to an enterprise and/or individual and/or group of individuals and/or a device comprising a microprocessor, wherein the consumer and/or customer engages the third party, but the actual service and/or product that they are interested in and/or purchase and/or receive is provided through an enterprise and/or service provider.
A "user" as used herein may refer to but is not limited to an individual or group of individuals. This includes but is not limited to private individuals, employees of organizations and/or enterprises, members of community organizations, members of charity organizations, men and women. In its broadest sense, the user may further include, but not be limited to, software systems, mechanical systems, robotic systems, android systems, etc., that may be characterized by an ability to exploit one or more embodiments of the invention. A user may be associated with biometric data, which may be, but is not limited to, monitored, acquired, stored, transmitted, processed, and analysed either locally or remotely to the user. A user may also be associated through one or more accounts and/or profiles with one or more of a service provider, third party provider, enterprise, social network, social media, etc. via a dashboard, web service, website, software plug-in, software application, and/or graphical user interface.
"User Information" as used herein may refer to, but is not limited to, user behavior information and/or user profile information. It may also include a user's biometric Page 8 of 56 Date Regue/Date Received 2022-09-28 information, an estimation of the user's biometric information, or a projection/prediction of a user's biometric information derived from current and/or historical biometric information.
A "wearable device" or "wearable sensor" relates to miniature electronic devices that are worn by the user, including those under, within, with, or on top of clothing, and are part of a broader general class of wearable technology, including "wearable computers"
which in contrast are directed to general or special purpose information technologies and media development. Such wearable devices and/or wearable sensors may include, but not be limited to, smartphones, smart watches, e-textiles, smart shirts, activity trackers, smart glasses, environmental sensors, medical sensors, biological sensors, physiological sensors, chemical sensors, ambient environment sensors, position sensors, neurological sensors, drug delivery systems, medical testing and diagnosis devices, and motion sensors. The wearable devices and/or wearable sensors may include, but not be limited to, devices that can stimulate and/or measure parameters that are designed to fit on or near the perineum, anal area, vagina, clitoral area, and nipples.
"Quantified self' as used herein may refer to, but is not limited to, the acquisition and storage of data relating to a user's daily life in terms of inputs (e.g., food consumed, quality of surrounding air), states (e.g., mood, arousal, blood oxygen levels), and performance (mental and physical). Acquisition of data may be through wearable sensors (EEG, ECG, video, etc.) and wearable computing together with audio, visual, audiovisual, and text-based content generated by the user.
"Biometric" information as used herein may refer to, but is not limited to, data relating to a user characterized by data relating to a subset of conditions including, but not limited to, their environment, medical condition, biological condition, physiological condition, chemical condition, ambient environment condition, position condition, neurological condition, drug condition, and one or more specific aspects of one or more of these said conditions. Accordingly, such biometric information may include, but not be limited to, blood oxygenation, blood pressure, blood flow rate, heart rate, temperature, fluidic pH, viscosity, particulate content, solids content, altitude, vibration, motion, perspiration, EEG, ECG, energy level, etc. In addition, biometric information may include data relating to physiological characteristics related to the shape and/or condition of the body, wherein examples may include but are not limited to fingerprint, facial geometry, baldness, DNA, Page 9 of 56 Date Regue/Date Received 2022-09-28 hand geometry, odour, retinal patterns, iris patterns, eye vein patterns, and scent.
Biometric information may also include data relating to behavioral characteristics, including but not limited to typing rhythm, gait, and voice.
"Electronic content" (also referred to as "content" or "digital content") as used herein may refer to, but is not limited to, any type of content that exists in the form of digital data as stored, transmitted, received, and/or converted, wherein one or more of these steps may be analog although generally, these steps are digital. Forms of digital content include, but are not limited to, information that is digitally broadcast, streamed, or contained in discrete files. Viewed narrowly, types of digital content include popular media types such as MP3, JPG, AVI, TIFF, AAC, TXT, RTF, HTML, XHTML, PDF, XLS, SVG, WMA, MP4, FLV, and PPT. Within a broader approach, digital content may include any type of digital information, e.g., a digitally updated weather forecast, a GPS map, an eBook, a photograph, a video, a VineTM, a blog posting, a FacebookTM posting, a TwitterTm tweet, online TV, etc. The digital content may be any digital data that is at least one generated, selected, created, modified, and transmitted in response to a user request;
wherein said request may be any of a query, a search, a trigger, an alarm, and a message for example.
A "profile" as used throughout this disclosure refers to a computer and/or microprocessor readable data file comprising data relating to settings and/or limits of an adult device.
Such profiles may be established by a manufacturer/supplier/provider of a device, service, etc.; or they may be established by a user through a user interface for a device, a service or a PED/FED in communication with a device, another device, a server or a service provider, etc.
A "rewards program," "loyalty program," or "incentive program" as used herein may refer to, but not be limited to, a structured marketing strategy designed by merchants, employers, organizations, users, etc. to encourage customers to continue to shop at or use the services of businesses associated with each program. These programs exist covering most types of commerce, each one having varying features and rewards schemes. Such programs may be so-called business-to-consumer (B2C) or business-to-business (B2B) and may relate to one or more physical transactions, electronic transactions, mail orders, physical retailing, online retailing, etc.
Page 10 of 56 Date Regue/Date Received 2022-09-28 A "blockchain" (originally block chain) as used herein may refer to, but not be limited to, a continuously growing list of records, called blocks, which are linked and secured using cryptography. Each block typically contains a cryptographic hash of one or more other blocks in the chain, a timestamp, and transaction data. By design, a blockchain is inherently resistant to modification of the data and provides for an open, distributed ledger that can record transactions between two parties efficiently and in a verifiable and permanent way. For use as a distributed ledger, a blockchain is typically managed by a peer-to-peer network collectively adhering to a protocol for inter-node communication and validating new blocks. Once recorded, the data in any given block cannot be altered retroactively without the alteration of all subsequent blocks. Blockchains are secure by design and exemplify a distributed computing system with high Byzantine fault tolerance.
Decentralized consensus has therefore been achieved with a blockchain, which makes them suitable for the recording of events, medical records, and other records management activities, such as identity management, financial transaction processing, documenting provenance, food traceability, voting, etc. Within embodiments of the invention, the cryptographic hash may also include a pointer (and possibly a hash) of the address of the next block in the chain.
A "distributed ledger" as used herein may refer to, but not be limited to, a database that is consensually shared and synchronized across one or more networks spread across multiple sites, institutions, and/or geographies. It allows transactions to have public "witnesses," thereby making a cyberattack more difficult. The participant at each node of the network can access the recordings shared across that network and can own an identical copy of it. Further, any changes or additions made to the ledger are reflected and copied to all participants quickly, usually within seconds or minutes.
Underlying a distributed ledger technology are blockchains.
A "cryptographic currency" (or cryptocurrency) as used herein may refer to, but not be limited to, a digital asset designed to work as a medium of exchange that uses cryptography to secure its transactions, to control the creation of additional units, and to verify the transfer of assets. Cryptocurrencies are types of digital currencies, alternative currencies, and virtual currencies. Cryptocurrencies use decentralized control as opposed to centralized electronic money and central banking systems. The decentralized Page 11 of 56 Date Regue/Date Received 2022-09-28 control of each cryptocurrency works through a blockchain, which is a public transaction database, functioning as a distributed ledger.
A "Retro" as used herein may refer to, but not be limited to, a "cryptographic token" or "asset-based token" which is issued by a party onto a blockchain or other digital immutable ledger for later redemption. They are the digital equivalent to a physical asset and are claims on an underlying asset that may be claimed from a specific issuer.
Transactions relating to the Retro are recorded on the blockchain, and in order to claim the underlying asset, the current "owner" sends the token to the issuer, who then sends the underlying asset. Alternatively, the Retro is exchanged for another asset, and the subsequent transfer to the provider of the other asset is then noted within the blockchain.
A Retro is, therefore, a cryptocurrency established with respect to a reward program. A
Retro according to embodiments of the invention has one or attributes attached to it; each attribute is at least one of a characteristic, a benefit, a right, an obligation, and a limitation, wherein different tokens can have different benefits, rights, obligations, and limitations attached to them. For simplicity within this description in respect of embodiments of the invention, Retros having different characteristics (including, but not limited to, corporate or product brands), benefits, rights, obligations, and limitations are referred to as being of different "colours," and any specific colours identified within the description are merely examples for ease of reference to the reader. Within embodiments of the invention, one or more of these characteristics, benefits, rights, obligations, and limitations may be fixed for a Retro once issued to a user (i.e., its colour is fixed), or they may be variable (i.e., its colour may change) post-issuance. Within other embodiments of the invention, one or more of these characteristics, benefits, rights, obligations, and limitations may be undefined at a specific point subsequent to initial issuance, i.e., the Retro has no colour, which is commonly referred to as white, and established subsequently, i.e., its colour defined; such as where an issuer issues to a service provider white Retros, which are then provided to customers as rewards for example, wherein the service provider then defines the colour of the Retro.
"Self-Sovereign Identity" as used herein may refer to, but not be limited to, an identity which is created and managed by the individual and enables them to maintain their digital identities independent from residence, national electronic identity (eID) infrastructure, and Page 12 of 56 Date Regue/Date Received 2022-09-28 market-dominating service providers. According to Allen (2016, "The Path to Self-Sovereign Identities"), a self-sovereign identity can be characterized by the ten commandments. These being, existence of the identity of a person independent of identity administrators or providers, the person being in control of their digital identities, the person having full access to their own data, systems, and algorithms are transparent, digital identities are persistent, digital identities being portable, digital identities being interoperable, data economy being enforced, and the rights of the person being protected.
Accordingly, a Retro may, within its cryptographically defined content, include reference to its different characteristics, benefits, rights, obligations, and limitations. In some embodiments, this may be via a colour model such as CIE XYZ colour space, RGB, HSV, HSL, and CMYK, for example, or an alternate identification scheme wherein vendors register their colour with a centralized Retro issuing authority together with its different characteristics, benefits, rights, obligations, and limitations.
According to embodiments of the invention, a Retro may be a divisible token or an indivisible token. For example, within an embodiment of the invention, a Retro may be divisible, and the divisible portions are referred to as "Grains." The extent to which a Retro is divisible may be set with respect to all Retros, specific Retro tokens, certain colours of Retro, etc. For example, a Grain may represent as little as 0.00000001 (10-8) of a Retro, and transactions or activities at this level are recordable within the blockchain or other distributed ledger. Within another embodiment, the Retro may be only divided into 100 Grains so that the Retros/Grains resemble dollars and cents to the users.
Referring to Figure 1, there is depicted a network environment within which embodiments of the invention may be employed supporting devices, systems, applications, and platforms (DSAPs) according to embodiments of the invention. As shown, first and second user groups 100A and 100B respectively interface to a telecommunications network 100. Within the representative telecommunication architecture, a remote central exchange 180 communicates with the remainder of a telecommunication service provider's network via the network 100, which may include, for example, long-haul OC-48/0C-192 backbone elements, an OC-48 wide area network (WAN), a Passive Optical Network, and a Wireless Link. The central exchange 180 is connected via the network 100 to local, regional, and international exchanges (not shown for clarity);
and therein Page 13 of 56 Date Regue/Date Received 2022-09-28 through the network 100 to first and second cellular APs 195A and 195B
respectively, which provide Wi-Fi cells for the first and second user groups 100A and 100B
respectively. Also connected to the network 100 are first and second Wi-Fi access points (APs) 110A and 110B, the latter of which being coupled to the network 100 via a router 105. The second Wi-Fi AP 110B is associated with an Enterprise 160, such as HSBCTM, for example, within which other first and second user groups 100A and 100B are disposed. The second user group 100B within the Enterprise 160 may also be connected to the network 100 via wired interfaces including, but not limited to, DSL, Dial-Up, DOCSIS, Ethernet, G.hn, ISDN, MoCA, PON, and Power Line Communication (PLC), which may or may not be routed through a router such as a router 105.
Within the cell associated with the first Wi-Fi AP 110A, the first group of users 100A may employ a variety of PEDs including, for example, laptop computer 155, portable gaming console 135, tablet computer 140, smartphone 150, cellular telephone 145 as well as portable multimedia player 130. Within the cell associated with the second Wi-Fi AP, 110B
are the second group of users 100B, which may employ a variety of FEDs including, for example, gaming console 125, personal computer 115, and wireless/internet-enabled television 120 as well as cable modem 105. The first and second cellular APs 195A and 195B respectively provide, for example, cellular GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) telephony services, as well as 3G and 4G being evolved services with enhanced data transport support. The second cellular AP 195B provides coverage in the exemplary embodiment to the first and second user groups 100A and 100B.
Alternatively, the first and second user groups 100A and 100B may be geographically disparate and access the network 100 through multiple APs, not shown for clarity, distributed geographically by the network operator or operators. The first cellular AP
195A, as shown, provides coverage to the first user group 100A and the network 100, which comprises the second user group 100B as well as the first user group 100A. Accordingly, the first and second user groups 100A and 100B may, according to their particular communications interfaces, communicate to the network 100 through one or more wireless communications standards such as, for example, IEEE 802.11, IEEE 802.15, IEEE
802.16, IEEE 802.20, UMTS, GSM 850, GSM 900, GSM 1800, GSM 1900, GPRS, ITU-R 5.138, ITU-R 5.150, ITU-R 5.280, and IMT-1000. It would be evident to one skilled in Page 14 of 56 Date Regue/Date Received 2022-09-28 the art that many portable and fixed electronic devices may support multiple wireless protocols simultaneously, such that, for example, a user may employ GSM
services such as telephony and SMS and Wi-Fi/WiMAX data transmission, VOIP, and internet access.
Accordingly, portable electronic devices within the first user group 100A may form associations either through standards such as IEEE 802.15 and Bluetooth or in an ad hoc manner.
Also connected to the network 100 are:
= Social Networks (SOCNETS) 165;
= Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) 170A, for example, FordTM, AppleTM, Hewlett-Packard TM , etc.;
= Manufacturer 170B, for example, Procter and GambleTM, PepsiCo, NikeTM, Anheuser-Busch TM , etc.;
= Retailer 170C, for example, Starbucks TM , WalmartTM, Walgreens TM, Tesco TM , etc.;
= Online retailer 170D, for example, Amazon TM , Alibaba TM , WishTM, etc.;
= Website 175A, for example, online portals for OEMs 170A, manufacturers 170B, retailers 170C, service providers 175B, third party service providers 175C, and enterprises 175D;
= Service provider 175B, for example, AT&TTm, Verizon TM , DoCoMo TM , ComcastTM, Consolidated Edison TM , = Third-party service provider 175C, for example, HSBCTM, JP Morgan ChaseTM, Mastercard TM , Visa TM , etc.;
= Enterprise 175D, for example, IBMTm, Adobe Systems TM , SiemensTM, etc.;
and = First and second servers 190A and 190B, together with others, are not shown for clarity.
Accordingly, a user employing one or more DSAPs may interact with such providers, enterprises, service providers, retailers, third parties, etc., and other users. First and second servers 190A and 190B may host according to embodiments of the invention multiple services associated with a provider of adult device systems, applications, and platforms (DSAPs); a provider of a SOCNET or Social Media (SOME) exploiting DSAP
features; a provider of a SOCNET and/or SOME not exploiting DSAP features; a provider of services to PEDS and/or FEDS; a provider of one or more aspects of wired and/or Page 15 of 56 Date Regue/Date Received 2022-09-28 wireless communications; an Enterprise 160 exploiting DSAP features; license databases; content databases; image databases; content libraries; customer databases;
websites; and software applications for download to or access by FEDs and/or PEDs exploiting and/or hosting DSAP features. First and second servers 190A and 190B may also host, for example, other internet services such as a search engine, financial services, third-party applications, and other internet-based services.
Accordingly, a user may exploit a PED and/or FED within an Enterprise 160, for example, and access one of the first or second servers 190A and 190B, respectively, to perform an operation such as accessing/downloading an application that provides DSAP
features according to embodiments of the invention; execute an application already installed providing DSAP features; execute a web-based application providing DSAP
features; or access content. Similarly, a user may undertake such actions or others exploiting embodiments of the invention exploiting a PED or FED within the first and second user groups 100A and 100B respectively via one of the first and second cellular APs 195A and 195B respectively and the first Wi-Fi AP 110A.
Now referring to Figure 2, there is depicted an electronic device 204 and a network access point (AP) 206 supporting DSAP features according to embodiments of the invention. The electronic device 204 may, for example, be a PED and/or FED and may include additional elements above and beyond those described and depicted. Also depicted within the electronic device 204 is the protocol architecture as part of a simplified functional diagram of a system 200. The system 200 includes the electronic device 204, such as a smartphone 150 (see Figure 1), the AP 206, such as first Wi-Fi AP 110A (see Figure 1), and one or more network devices 207 (only one shown), such as communication servers, streaming media servers and routers (for example the first and second servers 190A and 190B respectively - see Figure 1). The network devices 207 may be coupled to the AP
206 via any combination of networks, wired, wireless, and/or optical communication links such as those discussed above in respect of Figure 1, as well as directly as indicated.
The electronic device 204 includes one or more processors 210 and a memory 212 coupled to the processor(s) 210. The AP 206 includes one or more processors 211 and a memory 213 coupled to the processor(s) 211. A non-exhaustive list of examples for any of the processors 210 and 211 includes a central processing unit (CPU), a digital signal Page 16 of 56 Date Regue/Date Received 2022-09-28 processor (DSP), a reduced instruction set computer (RISC), a complex instruction set computer (CISC), and the like. Furthermore, any of the processors 210 and 211 may be part of application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) or may be a part of application-specific standard products (ASSPs). A non-exhaustive list of examples for memories 212 and 213 includes any combination of the following: semiconductor devices such as registers, latches, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory devices, non-volatile random access memory devices (NVRAM), SDRAM, DRAM, double data rate (DDR) memory devices, SRAM, universal serial bus (USB) removable memory, and the like.
The electronic device 204 may include an audio input element 214, for example, a microphone, and an audio output element 216, for example, a speaker, each coupled to (any of) the processor(s) 210. The electronic device 204 may include a video input element 218, for example, a video camera or camera, and a video output element 220, for example, an LCD display, each coupled to (any of) the processor(s) 210.
The electronic device 204 also includes a keyboard 215 and a touchpad 217, which may, for example, be a physical keyboard and touchpad, allowing the user to enter content or select functions within one or more applications 222. Alternatively, the keyboard 215 and touchpad 217 may be predetermined regions of a touch-sensitive element forming part of the display within the electronic device 204. The one or more applications 222 are typically stored in the memory 212 and are executable by (any combination of) the processor(s) 210. The electronic device 204 also includes an accelerometer 260 providing three-dimensional motion input to the processor(s) 210 and a GPS 262, which provides geographical location information to the processor(s) 210.
The electronic device 204 includes a protocol stack 224, and the AP 206 includes an AP
(communication) stack 225. Within system 200, the protocol stack 224 is shown as an IEEE 802.11 protocol stack, but alternatively may exploit other protocol stacks such as an Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) multimedia protocol stack, for example.
Likewise, AP stack 225 exploits a protocol stack but is not expanded for clarity. Elements of the protocol stack 224 and AP stack 225 may be implemented in any combination of software, firmware, and/or hardware. The protocol stack 224 includes an IEEE
802.11-compatible PHY module 226 that is coupled to one or more front end Tx/Rx &
antenna circuits 228 and an IEEE 802.11-compatible MAC module 230 that is coupled to an IEEE
Page 17 of 56 Date Regue/Date Received 2022-09-28 802.2-compatible LLC module 232. The protocol stack 224 includes a network layer IP
module 234, a transport layer User Datagram Protocol (UDP) module 236, and a transport layer Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) module 238. The protocol stack 224 also includes a session layer Real-Time Transport Protocol (RTP) module 240, a Session Announcement Protocol (SAP) module 242, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) module 244, and a Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP) module 246. The protocol stack includes a presentation layer media negotiation module 248, a call control module 250, one or more audio codecs 252, and one or more video codecs 254. Applications 222 may be able to create, maintain and/or terminate communication sessions with any of the network devices 207 by way of the AP 206.
Typically, applications 222 may activate any of the SAP, SIP, RTSP, media negotiation, and call control modules 242, 244, 246, 248, 250 for that purpose. Typically, information may propagate from the SAP, SIP, RTSP, media negotiation, and call control modules 242, 244, 246, 248, 250 to the PHY module 226 through the TCP module 238, the IP
module 234, the LLC module 232, and the MAC module 230. It would be apparent to one skilled in the art that elements of the electronic device 204 may also be implemented within the AP 206; including but not limited to one or more elements of the protocol stack 224, including, for example, the IEEE 802.11-compatible PHY module 226, the IEEE
802.11-compatible MAC module 230, and the IEEE 802.2-compatible LLC module 232.
The AP 206 may additionally include a network layer IP module, a transport layer User Datagram Protocol (UDP) module, and a transport layer Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) module, as well as a session layer Real-Time Transport Protocol (RTP) module, a Session Announcement Protocol (SAP) module, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) module, a Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP) module, a media negotiation module, and a call control module. Portable and fixed electronic devices represented by the electronic device 204 may include one or more additional wireless or wired interfaces in addition to the depicted IEEE 802.11 interface, which may be selected from the group comprising IEEE 802.15, IEEE 802.16, IEEE 802.20, UMTS, GSM 850, GSM 900, GSM
1800, GSM 1900, GPRS, ITU-R 5.138, ITU-R 5.150, ITU-R 5.280, IMT-1000, DSL, Dial-Up, DOCSIS, Ethernet, G.hn, ISDN, MoCA, PON, and Power Line Communication (PLC).
Page 18 of 56 Date Regue/Date Received 2022-09-28 Also depicted is ASsociated DEVice (ASDEV) 270, which is coupled to the electronic device 204 through a wireless interface between Antenna 272 and the front end Tx/Rx &
antenna circuits 228. The electronic device 204 may support, for example, a national wireless standard such as GSM, together with one or more local and/or personal area wireless protocols such as IEEE 802.11 a/b/g Wi-Fi, IEEE 802.16 WiMAX, and IEEE
802.15 Bluetooth, for example. The Antenna 272 is connected to Processor 274 and therein to Memory 276, Drivers 278, and Features 280. Accordingly, the ASDEV
270 may operate as a standalone device with factory-installed control routines accessed through an interface on the ASDEV 270, not shown for clarity, or through an application in execution upon the electronic device 204. Subsequently, as described below, one or more of these control routines may be modified, amended, deleted, etc., whilst other new control routines may be created, acquired, installed, etc.
Accordingly, it would be evident to one skilled in the art that the ASDEV 270 with the associated electronic device 204 may accordingly download original software and/or revisions for a variety of functions supported by the drivers 278 and/or features 280. In some embodiments of the invention, the functions may not be implemented within the original as sold ASDEV 270 and are only activated through a software/firmware revision and/or upgrade either discretely or in combination with a subscription or subscription upgrade, for example.
Within the prior art rewards programs, loyalty programs, or incentive programs are structured marketing strategies designed by merchants to encourage customers to continue to shop at or use the services of businesses associated with each program.
Examples may include but are not limited to Air MilesTM, DiscoverTM, StarbucksTM, HSBCTM, etc. These programs cover most types of commerce, each one having varying features and rewards schemes. Historically, in marketing generally and in retailing more specifically, a loyalty card, rewards card, points card, advantage card, or club card was a plastic or paper card, visually similar to a credit card, debit card, or digital card, that identifies the cardholder as a participant in a loyalty program. Such cards are now increasingly replaced by software applications (commonly referred to as "apps") which are stored and accessed upon a user's PED. Physical cards typically have a barcode, magnetic stripe, or radiofrequency identity (RFID) chip that can be easily scanned, Page 19 of 56 Date Regue/Date Received 2022-09-28 although some are chip cards or proximity cards. Small keyring cards (also known as key tags), which serve as key fobs, are also employed, bringing convenience in carrying and ease of access. Electronic "cards" are typically presented as barcodes upon the display of a user's PED, which is then scanned at a Point-of-Sale (PoS) terminal, although RFID
or near-field communications (NFC) may also be employed.
By presenting such a card, purchasers typically earn the right either to a discount on the current purchase or to an allotment of points that they can use for future purchases or both. Accordingly, the card is the visible means of implementing a type of what economists call a two-part tariff. Application forms for cards usually entail agreements by the retailer concerning customer privacy, typically non-disclosure (by the retailer) of non-aggregate data about customers. The retailer exploits the aggregate data internally (and sometimes externally) as part of its marketing research. Over time the data can reveal, for example, a given customer's favorite brand of beer or whether he or she is a vegetarian. Where a customer has provided sufficient identifying information, the loyalty card may also be used to access such information to expedite verification during receipt of cheques or dispensing medical prescription preparations, or for other membership privileges (e.g., access to a club lounge in airports, using a frequent-flyer card, etc.).
Accordingly, a loyalty program provides the customer with a program-specific virtual currency, one with unidirectional cash flow, since reward points can be exchanged for a good or service but not into cash. Some programs, such as those with retailers, e.g., Starbucks TM, allow the user to acquire this virtual currency through transactions with the retailer where the "card" is presented or employed as part of the transaction.
Some programs such as Air MilesTM allow the user to acquire this virtual currency through transactions with multiple retailers, where the "card" is presented or employed as part of the transaction, but the redemption is limited to one type of product, flights. Some service provider programs, such as HSBCTM, MastercardTM, etc. for example, allow the user to acquire this virtual currency through transactions with multiple physical and online retailers, provided the transaction exploits a financial instrument of the service provider, e.g.õ HSBCTM, MastercardTM. The customer may then redeem the virtual currency through the service provider in different forms, such as product purchases, gift card purchases, cash paid onto their credit card bill, etc.
Page 20 of 56 Date Regue/Date Received 2022-09-28 These concepts in business-to-customer (B2C) commerce transfer to business-to-business (B2B) loyalty programs and reward a business for repeat purchases of goods and services from a supplier. However, a business may also exploit service provider rewards programs such as Air MilesTM, HSBCTM, etc., by exploiting the rewards associated with using the financial instrument with respect to their business purchases, etc. Such concepts may also be extended to employer-to-employee schemes, etc.
However, a common feature to all is that the "virtual currency" of the program is redeemable through only the retailer/service provider offering the program or a set of retailers offering a common product such as with Air MilesTM. Further, the rates at which the owner of the reward program account earns rewards and can spend rewards are defined by the retailer, service provider, etc. For example, a consumer may accumulate one reward point for a predetermined financial value, e.g., 15 points per $1 spent, and redeem 1,000 points for $1 so that the effective return to the customer is a rate of 1.5%;
but the redemption can only be undertaken at the retailer's stores and for a minimum 10,000 points, for example. Accordingly, many customers find the limits of such reward programs a significant restriction. Such limits include restricted options for redemption, e.g., fixed rewards established by the retailer, the inability to transfer rewards to another individual, the inability to combine rewards between multiple customers to purchase a higher value product, and the inability to exploit rewards outside the program they were acquired in.
One option to circumvent this is the concept within U.S. Patent Application Publication 2010/0,250,360 entitled "Trading Platform for the Redemption of Promotional Currency from Multiple Loyalty Programs," wherein a trading platform allows a registered user to acquire a product offered through another reward program by establishing an agreement with another user who is a member of the reward program the registered user seeks to acquire from. Accordingly, each user purchases from their program and exchanges with the other user. However, this may require the user to redeem substantially more rewards "points" than they might wish in order to incentivize the other user to be part of the "trade."
Further, the user is still restricted to the products/services of each program. Moreover, the rewards, points, etc., even within this system, are not transferable from one owner to Page 21 of 56 Date Regue/Date Received 2022-09-28 another. This system still requires that the two parties each exploit their rewards within their own program and that they are shipped to the other party.
However, within embodiments of the present invention, one or more rewards programs can exploit "tokens," particularly cryptographically defined tokens, which within the following description are referred to as "Retros." For example, a Retro may be defined by an identity such as "1HieAFgpQdrVLN8GPFMfG8yMcDxDsrXiLN". Within embodiments of the invention, a Retro has the following attributes:
= A Retro is a cryptographically defined "I Owe You" (abbreviated as IOU, which refers to a document or electronic document acknowledging a debt) and is accordingly an asset;
= A Retro has characteristics, benefits, rights, obligations, and limitations attached to it, and different tokens can have different benefits, rights, obligations, and limitations attached to them;
= A Retro can deliver increasing or decreasing amounts of value rather than being fixed;
= A Retro can deliver fluctuating amounts of value rather than being fixed;
and = A Retro can exploit the "network effect" for growth.
Within embodiments of the invention, a Retro or token for a reward program is differentiated from prior art rewards by exploiting a cryptographic token to store and record the reward acquired by a customer in a reward program. Accordingly, all transactions related to Retro cryptocurrency and any/all of its variants (i.e., "coloured tokens" as described below) are tracked using "RetroChains," which are asset-based chains. Accordingly, the token transactions are recorded on an immutable digital ledger.
Therefore the immutable digital ledger may include, but not be limited to, a blockchain, a collection of asset chains, or a digital immutable ledger data store.
Users store and employ their Retros through a transaction involving a "RetroWallet,"
which is a digital application providing a representation of the Retros currently possessed by a user, a means for the user to acquire Retros, and a means for the user to spend or transfer their Retros. Through the RetroWallet, Retro owners can store and employ their Retros through transactions that involve Retro rewards in any form (either a consumer being given some sort of Retro as a reward, or a consumer spending accrued Retros to Page 22 of 56 Date Regue/Date Received 2022-09-28 pay for a transaction), which accordingly result in the immutable digital ledger, hereinafter referred to as "RetroChain," recording the transfer of the Retros. With a RetroWallet, a user is always able to monitor their balance(s) of Retros from within the RetroWallet. As will become evident within the following description, the user may possess one or more "variant forms" of Retros, as Retros may, through the benefits, rights, obligations, and limitations attached to them, have different forms. For example, one variant form may provide Retros, i.e., tokens, that can only be spent at a specific retailer, e.g., Starbucks TM
for example; whilst another variant may provide for Retros that can be acquired from multiple vendors but are only redeemable for a specific brand of product, e.g., Coca-Cola TM , whilst another variant may have no restrictions at all. Accordingly, the RetroWallet can display multiple separate balances.
As noted previously, Retros have characteristics, benefits, rights, obligations, values and limitations attached to them, and different Retros can have different characteristics, benefits, rights, obligations, and limitations attached to them. Amongst these is the Retro's value. Within embodiments of the invention, the Retros may be acquired either at a fixed value, at a variable value but constant once acquired, or a variable value that varies post-acquisition. The fixed value of Retros, as with prior art rewards programs, may be acquired by a user based upon the value of the transaction they undertake with a retailer, service provider, etc., at a specified rate, e.g., 1%, 1.5%, etc.
Alternatively, a fixed value reward in Retros may be per transaction, independent of the value of the transaction.
With respect to the user acquiring Retros at a variable value but constant once acquired, this may be implemented with different schemes which may be established by a retailer, by an OEM of a product, etc. For example, the value acquired may be tiered or banded such that transactions below a certain value are at one rate, between other values at other rates, etc.; or it may be calculated within tiers or bands in a similar manner to income tax, such that up to a first monetary threshold it is at a first rate, a residual transaction value above the first monetary threshold is at a second rate, a residual transaction value above a second monetary threshold is at a third rate, etc.
Within another embodiment of the invention, the user may acquire Retros that have a variable value that is not constant once acquired. For example, the value of the Retros Page 23 of 56 Date Regue/Date Received 2022-09-28 may be established through a process that defines a variable value to the Retros. Within an embodiment of the invention, an OEM or a manufacturer, etc., might authorize Retros to be issued that upon redemption have a value scaled by the scaling of the company's share price since the Retros were issued. As RetroChain defines the date of acquisition, then the process is relatively straightforward. Accordingly, if the company shares have doubled, then the Retro value has doubled. However, if the company shares drop, then so does the value of the Retro, which may incent those owning Retros within a company to seek to ensure its share price increases by purchasing more, and encouraging friends, family, etc., to buy from that brand or retailer, etc. Alternatively, within another embodiment of the invention, the Retros issued may be traded on an exchange, and the overall software solution for the Retro system automatically converts the current value of the Retro in any transaction. For example, if a vendor wants to give a Retro for every $10 spent as a reward for the purchase of a product based on the "nominal" Retro price being $1, then the purchaser receives 10 Retros irrespective of the value of the Retro at that point in time. Accordingly, as the value of the Retro fluctuates on the exchange, then so does the effective value of the reward given, and subsequently, the Retro software automatically adjusts the effective monetary value of the Retros based upon the adjustment in the pricing of the Retros on the exchange at the point a user wishes to "spend" the Retros. Hence, if the user acquires Retros at a point where their value is the monetary equivalent of $1, then if at the point they wish to redeem for a purchase they are worth $2, then the software performs the necessary transfer of the appropriate number of Retros based upon that monetary equivalent. Alternatively, a retailer may, for example, provide a Retro reward which is at a fixed value, e.g., $1 for every $20 spent, then the Retro software calculates the number of Retros to be given as the reward for the purchase of that product at that point in time. So irrespective of whether the Retro "price"
fluctuates up or down, the purchaser acquires the number of Retros equal to the cash reward. Subsequently, the value of the Retros may similarly fluctuate up or down as they are traded upon the exchange.
Amongst the different characteristics, benefits, rights, obligations, and limitations attached to Retros_is their capability for transferability. That is, Retros may be transferable and/or non-transferable. For example, a retailer may dedicate Retros given as rewards Page 24 of 56 Date Regue/Date Received 2022-09-28 as being non-transferable, i.e., usable only at the retailer where such tokens may be considered as vendor-specific tokens. Alternatively, a retailer, for example, may dedicate Retros given as rewards as transferable and which can therefore be used anywhere Retros are used and accepted, including at an exchange.
Also, amongst the different characteristics, benefits, rights, obligations, and limitations attached to Retros is a discount. A Retro can be defined to show a discount, e.g., 10%
off, 20% off, 40% off, etc. Accordingly, when a Retro with a discount characteristic is used in a transaction, its value based on the transaction value is calculated, and a reward is given based on a vendor-specific percentage of the value of the transaction.
Furthermore, amongst the different characteristics, benefits, rights, obligations, and limitations attached to Retros is the aspect of Reward Bonus Premiums (RBPs).
For example, within some embodiments of the invention, Retros can be employed within an instant reward program (IRP) with bonus premiums established on the consumer's purchasing behavior. An IRP represents a short-term program that rewards consumers instantly with small premiums per fixed spending, where these premiums are part of a larger set of collectibles. For example, Retros may be issued as part of an IRP that promotes specific brands with an extra reward, for example, a labeled bonus reward.
Such labeled bonus rewards would allow consumers to acquire additional Retros by buying a specific promoted brand, which is a non-price promotion tied to the IRP.
Therefore, consumers can earn Retro rewards in two ways: based on total spending and on purchases of promoted brands. The Retro can be programmed by the vendor, for example, using software to offer a price discount and a Reward Bonus Premium.
An RBP
with respect to Retros may also be employed as an employee bonus. This software may be standalone for Retros, or it may be associated with one or more software programs and suites associated with an electronic payment system, financial institution, original equipment manufacturer, financial exchange, cryptocurrency exchange, etc.
Within some embodiments of the invention described so far, the Retros are acquired by the user through an activity with a retailer, service provider, etc. However, in other embodiments of the invention, an OEM, for example, as part of a consumer reward, may directly load Retros into a participating RetroWallet owner's wallet. For example, PepsiCo could send a Retro to a participating RetroWallet owner allowing the RetroWallet owner Page 25 of 56 Date Regue/Date Received 2022-09-28 to obtain a PepsiTM drink free from a participating vendor. Accordingly, the Retro is issued with characteristics, benefits, rights, obligations, and limitations where the Retro is effectively "valued" at the price of the PepsiTM drink set by PepsiCo and is specific to PepsiCo. Optionally, within another embodiment of the invention, PepsiCo may provide the vendor with a vendor-specific Retro in exchange for the PepsiCo-specific Retro that they acquired from each user. The vendor can then employ the vendor-specific Retros as a reward to its customers so that the vendor is incentivized to partake in the promotion PepsiCo offers to customers.
Within embodiments of the invention, a software application, referred to as RetroPoints software, permits a RetroWallet owner to view their Retros, examine transactions on the RetroWallet owner's RetroChain, etc.
It would be evident that initially, in order to incent customers to the concept of Retros, "white" Retros without characteristics, benefits, rights, obligations, and limitations may initially be used to purchase specific discounted products for Retros or for Retros and another currency. Concurrently, a limited number of "coloured" Retros would be initially issued, subject to agreements with commercial entities in place at the time of initial release. Subsequently, as Retros become more common, the introduction of additional "coloured" Retros would be expected. This approach may also be used by each vendor who joins the Retro rewards scheme.
Within other embodiments of the invention:
= Retros may be provided by enterprises for referrals;
= Retros may be provided to RetroWallet owners allowing them to purchase a free or discounted ticket for an event;
= Retros may be provided to consumers and employees with RetroWallets for meeting milestones;
= Retros may be provided to RetroWallet owners as prelaunch offers to drive traffic and pique interest;
= Retros may be provided to first time customers; and = Retros may be provided for customer membership incentives.
Within the overall infrastructure and architecture for Retros, a software development kit (SDK) may be established, which allows third parties to sell loyalty and rewards software Page 26 of 56 Date Regue/Date Received 2022-09-28 and points programs that use Retros instead of "points" in their loyalty and rewards software.
The Retro token exploits methodologies established with respect to identity security, a concept referred to as RetroIdentity or RetrolD. These concepts are presented within the following U.S. Patent Applications, which are incorporated herein, in their entireties, by reference:
= U.S. Patent Application 15/613,252 entitled "Portable Verifiable Credentials and Methods Thereof," filed June 4, 2017;
= U.S. Patent Application 15/613,253 entitled "Verifiable Identity Attributes and Credentials for Real-World Financial Transactions," filed June 4, 2017;
= U.S. Patent Application 15/044,055 entitled "Portable Verifiable Credentials and Methods Thereof," filed February 15, 2016;
= U.S. Patent Application 14/453,901 entitled "Verification Authority and Method Therefor," filed August 7, 2014;
= U.S. Patent Application 14/630,728 entitled "Systems and Methods Relating to the Authenticity and Verification of Photographic Identity Documents," filed February 25, 2015;
= U.S. Patent Application 14/672,884 entitled "Methods and Systems Relating to Real World and Virtual World Identities," filed March 30, 2015;
= U.S. Patent Application 14/958,267 entitled "Verifiable Credentials and Methods Thereof," filed December 3, 2015; and = U.S. Patent Application 14/688,918 entitled "Methods and Systems Relating to Real-World Document Verification," filed April 16, 2015.
Accordingly, a user can establish a RetrolD, which refers to a third-party verified identity or self-sovereign identity, etc., which has been validated back to one or more government-issued photographic identities exploiting the techniques and methods described and depicted within these patent applications. Accordingly, a user can establish a RetroWallet either with or without a RetrolD, but exploiting a RetrolD allows the user to subsequently perform transactions where their identity is verifiable. Accordingly, Retros can also be associated with the RetrolD if the user wishes. A RetrolD may also be validated by non-government identity data stores such as those associated with banks, credit card Page 27 of 56 Date Regue/Date Received 2022-09-28 companies, telecom service providers, postal outlets, municipalities, car rental agencies, virtual gaming (government-run and non-government run), etc.
Thus, a Retro token can provide the user with a cryptographically defined currency discretely or in combination with securely delivering identity as part of a transaction.
Equally, in reverse, the RetrolD and its associated infrastructure and validated identity allows the user to provide this discretely or in combination with delivery value. Within embodiments of the invention described and depicted within the above-referenced patent applications, retailers may deploy what is referred to as "Retro360 terminals," which allow the customer to perform a transaction at the retailer but in a manner wherein the identity of the customer with respect to the financial instrument being employed can be verified either discretely or in combination with establishing one or more other proofs such as age (for age-restricted purchases), residency (for transactions restricted to residents of specific states, countries, etc. or only non-residents, etc.), legal entitlement (to receive legislated drugs such as narcotics, pharmaceuticals, etc.), etc. Consequently, where embodiments of the invention described within the above-referenced patents may have been with respect to prior art physical and electronic financial instruments such as credit cards, debit cards, credit card applications, debit card applications, and "tap-and-go" NFC
or RFID based electronic transactions, the Retro and the RetroWallet allow for the transactions to exploit one or more cryptocurrencies.
Accordingly, users may exploit the Retro in combination with RetrolD, thereby providing the token holder with the ability to use the Retro360 terminal and/or in-store or online applications integrated or linked with their RetroWallet for transactions that require identity assurance and proof/validation of other aspects of the user such as age, residency, legal entitlement, etc.
Accounting of the Retro is handled by the RetrolD distributed ledger known as a RetroChain, which tracks all transactions involving Retros. This includes transactions that represent presentation and/or verification of identity indicators and rewards, as well as all transactions that transfer ownership of Retros from one user to another, e.g.
from one RetroWallet to another RetroWallet or another electronic cryptographic currency store/wallet. For mobile identification, the transfer of rewards is achieved by transferring one or more Grains/Retros from one RetroWallet to another. Whilst a RetroWallet for a Page 28 of 56 Date Regue/Date Received 2022-09-28 consumer may be typically anticipated as performing a single transaction at a time, such as payment or receipt, a RetroWallet for a vendor may be configured differently so that the vendor's RetroWallet can simultaneously receive and transmit with respect to multiple transactions concurrently. Alternatively, a vendor may exploit RetroWallets much like traditional cash registers such that they are isolated, and each receives/transmits to another RetroWallet so that a store may have point-of-sale (POS) specific RetroWallets that communicate to a "store" RetroWallet at a higher level, etc. so that a vendor may have a hierarchy of RetroWallets.
Within embodiments of the invention, Retros are not mined or minted continuously within its economy, in contrast to other cryptographic currency-based economies. In these embodiments, a fixed number of tokens (Retros) are created, RetrolD does not create additional Retros in the future, and these Retros may be tradeable on one or more cryptocurrency exchanges. Alternatively, Retros may be managed in a similar manner to a so-called "fiat currency" by a centralized authority, which manages the number of Retros overall and wherein the value of the Retro is derived from the relationship between supply and demand. A "fiat currency" is known in the prior art as one that is not backed by a physical commodity.
As noted above, the Retro, by virtue of comprising information relating to the holder of the Retro, is an Identity Vehicle. Every time a RetroWallet is employed either discretely or in combination with a Retro360 terminal, for in-store photographic identity (Photo-ID) validation, age verification, etc. or to validate or assert one or more rewards, a Retro transaction is recorded on the RetroChain Distributed Ledger, e.g., blockchain ledger (RetroChain).
Referring to Figure 3, there is depicted a schematic of a Retro enabled network (RetroNetwork), an exemplary transaction flows relating to rewards and incentives according to an embodiment of the invention. Accordingly, Figure 3 depicts different parties who send and receive Retros in various identity transactions defined within the RetroNetwork. The parties depicted being:
= Consumer 310 with RetroWallet 315;
= Retrol D or (associated) Partner 320;
= Remote ID Authenticator 330;
Page 29 of 56 Date Regue/Date Received 2022-09-28 = "Bricks and Mortar" (physical) Vendor or Service Provider 340 with Retro360 Terminals 345; and = Online Vendor or Service Provider 350.
Accordingly, different transaction types are possible between these parties, of which five are identified in Figure 3 by the first to fifth process arrows 300A to 300E, respectively.
The transaction types identified by the numbered arrows in the diagram include the following:
= First process 300A between the consumer's RetroWallet 315 and a self-sovereign identity service, e.g., RetrolD or Partner 320;
= Second process 300B between the consumer's RetroWallet 315 and a remote identity proofing application hosted by Remote ID Authenticator 330;
= Third process 300C wherein in-person assurance that a Photo-ID holder is the person to whom the Photo-ID was lawfully issued is undertaken between the Bricks and Mortar Vendor or Service Provider 340 and the self-sovereign identity service, e.g., RetrolD or Partner 320;
= Fourth process 300D wherein the Consumer 310 provides via their RetroWallet 315 one or more portable Photo-ID credentials to the Bricks and Mortar Vendor or Service Provider 340; and = Fifth process 300E wherein the Consumer 310 provides via their RetroWallet 315 and one or more portable Photo-ID credentials to an online Vendor or Service Provider 350.
Thus, the Retro can be employed for both identity delivery and financial transactions. As indicated in Figure 4, Retros can deliver value throughout a digital cryptographically based economy, with the illustration depicting exemplary transaction flows relating to the digital cryptographically based economy exploiting rewards and incentives according to an embodiment of the invention. Accordingly, there are depicted:
= Consumer 410;
= Vendor/Service Provider 420;
= RetrolD 430;
= Partners and Developers 440; and = Cryptocurrency Exchange 450.
Page 30 of 56 Date Regue/Date Received 2022-09-28 Correspondingly, within Figure 4, there are depicted exemplary pathways between these parties within the Retro Economy, where the Retro can deliver value concurrently with identity. These being:
= First pathways 400A relating to the payment of licensing, subscription, and transaction fees;
= Second pathways 400B relating to payments for goods and services;
= Third pathways 400C relating to consumer loyalty rewards programs;
= Fourth pathways 400D relating to Community Developer programs; and = Fifth pathways 400E relating to buying and selling Retros.
Payment of Subscription and Transaction Fees Within embodiments of the invention, the RetroWallet is designed to provide its owner not only with identity security and control over their personal identifiable information (PII) but also with convenience when it comes to interacting with identity (ID) requestors.
Accordingly, whilst RetrolD is primarily described and depicted with respect to applications upon PEDs, an alternative embodiment exploits a FED-based version of the RetroWallet available via one or more websites. The PED RetroWallet software application would be accessible through typical mobile device applications stores such as those operated by PED providers, including AppleTM, MicrosoftTM, GoogleTM, and FitbitTM, for example.
Within an embodiment of the invention, a user may exploit a free download and establish a basic RetroWallet account (Basic Account), use the RetroWallet to acquire Retros, make Retro-based purchases, and exploit Retro trading capabilities within the RetroNetwork. A RetroWallet owner can subsequently or initially subscribe to an "Elite Account," allowing them to use the RetroWallet's identification capabilities through RetrolD and exploit applications that require identity assurance and authentication over the RetroNetwork. Consumer subscription fees associated with the "Elite Account" can be payable by the consumer to the operator of RetrolD in Retros.
Within embodiments of the invention, a RetroWallet with an expired subscription continues to have the limited functionality of a Basic Account. The RetroWallet owner is able to access and manage Retros stored in the RetroWallet application upon their PED
or FED or exploit a physical-digital wallet (what some refer to as a hard wallet); and the Page 31 of 56 Date Regue/Date Received 2022-09-28 undertaking of the buying and selling of Retros and other cryptocurrencies is permitted, for example.
Within certain embodiments of the invention, bricks and mortar vendors and service providers that install Retro360 Terminals 345 may pay a subscription fee, and where applicable, transaction fees in Retros to the provider of the RetrolD service, which may be a country partner of RetrolD, RetrolD itself, or a licensee of RetrolD. A
limit or "cap"
on per-transaction fees may allow participating vendors to better understand and predict the costs of participating in the Retro Economy. This is especially important to vendors in market segments where margins are small. Within other embodiments of the invention, partners may be able to establish their own pricing models. Within embodiments of the invention, a small percentage of the revenues garnered by each partner flows through to RetrolD, where terms of these payments are set down in the licensing agreements executed with each of the partners.
Payments for Goods and Services Beneficially, vendors exploiting Retros as payment and requiring identity assurance would be able to generate a Retro transaction that carries with it the proof that identity was established, verified, and accepted. Within embodiments of the invention, in order to increase the uptake of vendors to the novel digital cryptocurrency, RetrolD
may issue incentives to vendors to accept Retros as payment to increase convenience for RetroWallet owners.
Such transactions may be established, accomplished, performed, etc., with RetroPay, Apple Pay, Mastercard Masterpass, Samsung Pay, etc., or other financial transaction systems, providers, etc. Optionally, such financial transaction providers may provide a small fee or percentage of the transaction to the "wallet" owner, e.g., RetroPay or the vendors may provide a small fee or percentage.
Consumer Loyalty Reward Program Within embodiments of the invention, a mechanism for supporting the use of Retros for identification and purchases is the Consumer Loyalty Reward Program. This program is a means for vendors, in both the bricks and mortar physical retailing and the online retailing worlds, to encourage consumers to use a self-sovereign identity and RetroWallet to complete identity-assured transactions. Accordingly, RetrolD provides consumers with Page 32 of 56 Date Regue/Date Received 2022-09-28 convenience via the electronic RetroWallet, which is superior to the "real world" process of having to produce a physical driver's license every time they wish to rent a hotel room, open a bank account, purchase a pack of cigarettes or a six-pack of beer, etc.
The user's identity is digitally secure and provided as part of the transaction. A
Consumer Loyalty Reward Program through multiple vendors makes the RetroWallet even more attractive by giving the consumer a chance to acquire rewards, get Retros, etc., when conducting transactions, all within the same process as making the transaction. Today, even if a user has an electronic version of their reward card on their smartphone and exploits an NFC
payment process on their smartphone, the identification of the user's reward card is a separate process from that of payment.
Referring to Figure 5, there is depicted an exemplary reward and incentive program between a customer and a vendor/service provider exploiting rewards and incentives according to embodiments of the invention. Accordingly, there are depicted a Consumer 410 and a Service Provider 420 wherein three different processes are depicted:
= First process 500A relating to the Consumer 410 shopping with the Vendor/Service Provider 420, i.e., undertaking a transaction to purchase a product(s) and/or service(s);
= Second process 500B relating to the Consumer 410 earning a reward with the Vendor/Service Provider 420, i.e., a reward established through their performing the first process 500A; and = Third process 500C relating to the Consumer 410 redeeming the reward with the Vendor/Service Provider 420, this being the reward earned for example in the second process 500B.
Accordingly, the first process, 500A, relates to a RetroWallet owner shopping at a participating vendor's location. One or more identity indicators are required by an ID-requestor for a transaction that requires an identity check. The requested information is delivered by way of the RetroWallet of the Consumer 410, and the I D-requestor sends a reward in Retros from their RetroWallet to the RetroWallet of the Consumer 410.
The second process, 500B, relates to the RetroWallet owner earning rewards from the vendor for making a purchase. The purchase price may be paid in a fiat currency or in Retros if the vendor supports payments in Retros or one or other cryptocurrencies. Based Page 33 of 56 Date Regue/Date Received 2022-09-28 on the value of the purchase, the vendor delivers a pre-defined loyalty reward, paid in Retros, to the RetroWallet of the Consumer 410. This may be a fixed quantity of Retros or may be a percentage of the sale.
Subsequently, in the third process, 500C, Consumer 410 can redeem Retros to obtain select goods or services from participating vendors. The Consumer 410 can use Retros to make purchases from a participating vendor, e.g., Vendor/Service Provider 420. These transactions may or may not themselves require the transfer of identity indicators, depending on the nature of the products.
Accordingly, a Consumer Loyalty Reward Program may be designed to promote the use of Retros as a loyalty and reward currency. This may be particularly beneficial where the vendor requires reliable ID credentials to complete a transaction as they benefit by having the assurance of relying upon the consumer's Self-Sovereign Identity.
Consumers are enticed to participate by the promise of rewards paid in Retros (much like a "cash-back"
or "points" reward system). Finally, businesses that offer the opportunity to obtain goods or services in exchange for Retros can distinguish themselves from competition that does not offer a reward program, thus increasing customer base and market share.
In addition to marketing Consumer Loyalty Reward Programs to retail vendors, where regulations allow, RetrolD can also be targeted at the producers of goods or services that require identity information for legal purchases. Examples of such purchases may include but are not limited to alcoholic beverages, tobacco products, pharmaceuticals, medicinal narcotics, firearms, and ammunition. Such programs can be thought of in the same manner as a "Manufacturer Coupon"
program.
Within embodiments of the invention, Consumer Loyalty Rewards Programs, whether based on particular retail establishments or widely-available products, are designed to provide vendors and suppliers with a way to reward consumers for using a RetroWallet by employing a quantity of Retros that have been specially customized to restrict their usage only to their particular reward program. The vendor or supplier has the ability to re-convert customized Retros into generic ones, enabling them to manage value represented by their Consumer Loyalty Rewards Programs.
Within embodiments of the invention, a vendor-based Consumer Loyalty Rewards Program can be managed by RetrolD, a RetrolD country partner, or a RetrolD
licensee, Page 34 of 56 Date Regue/Date Received 2022-09-28 or may be tailored to specific geographic regions, market segments, or individual vendors.
Such programs can even be customized to determine where the reward Retros come from. In some applications where sales margins may be too small for a vendor to support such a program profitably, the partner may decide to outsource the Retros paid back to consumers. The partner may do this to encourage more widespread adoption of RetroWallets by consumers.
The Retro Economy does not stop with vendors and service providers in the retail, educational, medical, and government service sectors, and it is not limited to RetrolD
partners. Third-party developers may be incentivized to develop new applications that operate within the Retro Economy and leverage the power and security of Self-Sovereign Identity of the individual consumer.
More comprehensive embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail. These embodiments relate to a hybrid blockchain/mutual distributed ledger and utilize digital identity tokens.
Blockcha in Globalization and population growth increase the pressure to find cost-effective solutions to prove individuals' identities and validate their transactions.
The following embodiments are based on a hybrid blockchain/mutual distributed ledger system called CoRChain. CoRChain may also be referred to as the CoR.io blockchain or simply a hybrid blockchain token system or a digital identity token management system.
An administrator oversees the running of the token management system, and in this description, the administrator is called CoR.io. CoRChain is an immutable digital ledger;
that is, an unalterable register. CoRChain allows groups of people to validate, record, and track transactions, which involve data transmissions across a network of decentralized smart devices (including smartphones, tablets, and PCs) and cloud-based systems. Participants follow a common protocol that allows individuals to add new transactions and distribute them using a peer-to-peer architecture. CoRChain employs multiorganizational databases with multiple layers of protection against cyberattacks.
The protection layers include controlled access to cloud-based instances and an immutable audit trail. In general, CoRChain is similar to RetroChain as described above but is more comprehensive and different in material aspects.
Page 35 of 56 Date Regue/Date Received 2022-09-28 CoRChain improves upon current blockchain technology to provide a secure and reliable method of recording transactional information for a variety of uses.
The individual entries on the blockchain ledger can be any digital record. For purposes of the CoR.io digital wallet or e-wallet (CoRWallet), digital assets include identity documents;
third-party validations of CoR.io digital identity tokens (CoRTokens);
tokenized retail transactions and receipts; records of financial cards, direct bank transactions; tokenized digital reward coupons; tokenized electronic signatures; and CoRTokens representing identity and assets. Other assets include validated and identity assured digital signatures on the blockchain. Every CoR.io digital identity token resides on the blockchain.
CoRChain is cryptographically secured since every transaction in the ledger is digitally signed. While ledgers are managed as a service, all transactions are signed using relevant keys belonging to the transaction participants. Participants can access the blockchain by using their digital keys and biometric authentication. Digital keys that decrypt and make use of information on the ledger exist solely in a secure personal data storage area (personal data store) in each participant's digital wallet, with the current owner of a recorded asset being the only holder of the keys to that asset. A
consumer's CoRWallet blockchain node is embedded in the consumer's CoRWallet, which resides in the consumer's smart device (such as a smartphone). The CoR.io digital wallets of retailers, service providers, organizations, and other transaction participants reside on their respective computing devices such as servers.
CoR.io cannot access hashed information or raw transaction data held in the retailer's transaction server. Instead, this data is distributed on a need-to-know basis by each transaction participant to their CoR.io blockchain server and the CoR.io administrator server. The CoR.io administrator server is also referred to herein as the CoRChain server or the CoR.io cloud server. Transaction confirmation and account reconciliations are in real-time because the CoRChain server exposes simple endpoints that easily connect to CoRWallet and utilize CoRToken.
CoRChain architecture allows three different modes of asset storage: in a reader-accessible format, an encrypted format, and a one-way hash that provides proof that an asset holder is the legitimate controller of that asset.
Page 36 of 56 Date Regue/Date Received 2022-09-28 The ledger is distributed at the level of a digital asset. Most "local copy"
ledgers contain assets that are important to the individual holding the copy.
At the CoR.io administrator server-side "nodes," CoRChain relies on unidirectional "air-gapped" networking hardware to isolate the "ledger of record" from potential cyber-attack threats. Communication with this air gap employs one-time-pad encryption technology for maximum cyber threat avoidance and high-speed performance. The hardware currently supports data transfer rates of up to 10 G.B./sec.
Typically, a CoRChain transaction consists of 128 bytes of data. This equates to a raw throughput of 9.76 million transactions per second through a single air-gapped networking unit.
These rates are easily scalable upward with additional hardware. Contents of the ledger are encoded using protocols that exceed SHA256 standards.
Every participant's CoR.io blockchain is concerned only with information of interest to that participant. The general concept of CoRChain consensus is not the same as that used by public blockchains such as Bitcoin or Ethereum. Each participant's CoR.io blockchain contains immutable proof that the identity attributes, transaction records, and incentive values continue to exist in the original form. Local copies of the digital assets are distributed among all the holders of a CoR.io digital wallet. These copies contain assets of interest only to the wallet holder. A multi-phase commit process ensures that all updates are completed. The commit process deals with wallets that are temporarily offline, and it also negates spoofing via "replay" of cryptographic sequences between multiple service/server "nodes."
CoRChain's distributed ledger shares the core value of trust across boundaries without putting any single party in charge. CoRChain lets participants in a transaction achieve real-time reconciliation of validated, authenticated, and timestamped transactions without the cost, aggravation, and risk of relying on intermediaries. CoRChain provides meaningful value because it is maintained by the consensus of the commit process between multiple nodes controlled by transaction participants, each with common yet different interests. It prevents individual participants or small groups from corrupting or deleting past transactions. Broadly speaking, CoRChain includes databases secured against internet tampering.
Page 37 of 56 Date Regue/Date Received 2022-09-28 CoRChain and its mutual distributed ledger are designed to fit in the CoR.io e-wallet on a smart device, such as a smartphone, of a consumer (wallet owner). The CoR.io e-wallet stores hashed validated identity credentials, hashed transactions, and one or more hashed CoRTokens. The blockchain embedded on the smart device with the wallet owner's transactions gives the owner offline access to the data stored on the distributed ledger. In addition, it provides an extra layer of security to keep identity credentials, personal information, and token-based assets safe and secure.
The third-party and/or government validated credentials reside on the smartphone or similar device of a consumer, and the CoRToken resides on the blockchain/ledger. The CoR.io cloud server located behind a gateway of the CoR.io cloud acts as a title office, transferring assets and recording the ownership of the new asset owner on the blockchain/ledger. It also stores all transactions conducted on the CoRChain network.
CoR.io's Mutual Distributed Ledger Mutual distributed ledgers (MDLs) utilize blockchain technology. MDLs are unalterable registers that allow groups of people to validate, record, and track a given transaction across a network of decentralized computer systems involved in the transaction. A
distributed ledger, often known as a blockchain, is a computer data structure.

Blockchains are shared across organizations and individuals participating in a given transaction, including CoR.io as the administrator of the token management system. As for being distributed, blockchains are inherently multi-locational data structures. Each user keeps their copy of the blockchain on their mobile device, thus providing resilience and robustness. Blockchains and distributed ledgers are immutable. Once a transaction is written, it cannot be erased. Furthermore, because there are multiple copies of the ledger, the ledger's integrity can be easily proven.
CoRChain Servers Reference is made to the above definition of a "server" as used herein and the general descriptions of servers accompanying such definition.
In the following description, unless the context indicates otherwise, a "relying party" is or includes a website or other entity on the internet that uses an identity provider to authenticate a user who wants to log in, which logging in is a grant of access to Page 38 of 56 Date Regue/Date Received 2022-09-28 information or a system. Examples of relying parties are a bricks-and-mortar retailer, an online retailer, a government department or agency, an enterprise, an organization, and so on.
The CoR.io servers are unique and innovative in two ways, as described below.
Unlike other blockchain technologies, the CoR.io servers located at various relying parties do not save all the transactions on the blockchain between relying parties and users. Instead, the CoR.io server located at a given relying party's location only stores on the blockchain transactions that concern the relying party and all others involved in the transaction. For example, a retailer's CoR.io server stores the transactions involving a particular purchaser (CoRWallet owner). For each such purchase transaction, the CoR.io server also stores all associated transactions involving a financial institution, a shipping company, and/or a payment processor, which are also involved in the transaction.
Each consumer's CoRWallet stores on CoRChain only those transactions that involve the consumer-Each retailer's CoR.io server stores on CoRChain only those transactions that involve the retailer. Similarly, CoR.io servers used by other entities involved in transactions store only the part(s) of the transaction involving the particular entity. In comparison, the CoR.io administrator and referee servers (see below) store all transactions from all parties, including CoRWallet owners involved in all transactions. In summary, the CoR.io administrator and referee servers store every transaction conducted on the CoR.io network.
For example, a CoR.io server used by a relying party, e.g., a retailer involved in a transaction, obtains from the retailer's transaction server details of a sale, including items purchased, taxes paid, rewards points issued, gift card balances used, and e-prepaid cards balances.
The retailer's server sends a copy of the transaction to the purchaser (CoRWallet owner). Once the purchaser confirms the transaction on their CoRWallet, a copy of the confirmed transaction is sent back to the retailer. Proof of the existence of the Page 39 of 56 Date Regue/Date Received 2022-09-28 transaction is placed on the blockchain, including the blockchain in the wallet owner's smart device. Other participants in the transaction receive elements of the raw transaction data depending upon their need to satisfy legal and corporate requirements.
The CoR.io administrator server retains all hashed/encrypted elements of the transaction on the blockchain, but it does not receive nor store the raw transaction data.
The transaction in raw data format is retained by the retailer and the purchaser (CoRWallet owner). In addition, other entities involved in the transaction are forwarded the raw data concerning each entity. Each of these other entities' CoR.io server hashes/encrypts the transaction and stores the proof of the existence of the transaction data involving the entity on the blockchain, while the entity's transaction server retains the raw transaction data.
CoR.io's Electronic Wallet CorWallet is a digital, blockchain-based electronic wallet that uses an internally generated unique two-factor tokenization process. CoRWallet resides in a smart device and operates on a CoR.io platform that uses CoRChain blockchain technology. A
smart device, for example, can be a smartphone, a tablet, a PC, or any device with a computing system.
A node of CoRChain is embedded in CoRWallet, giving it strong security and its owner greater privacy. Upon enrolling in CoRWallet, the owner embeds in CoRWallet their self-asserted identity and their photo ID credentials. Typically, this is done using the device camera. The information is encrypted and stored in the personal data store in a secure element or enclave of the wallet owner's device. The information is sent to a CoR.io partner for identity (for example; photo-ID, KYC, and AML) verification. The proof of the existence of the identity verification is hashed and stored on the blockchain, including the blockchain in the wallet owner's device, for validation by an entity that the wallet owner is transacting with. CoR.io does not store any identity or credential information, as such information is in possession of the wallet owner who decides whom to share it with. Four levels of authentication are available for the wallet owner to employ to gain access to the personal data store of their device. These levels range from device-only authentication, password-based authentication, passwordless Page 40 of 56 Date Regue/Date Received 2022-09-28 authentication, and dual-biometric authentication. Dual-biometric authentication combats biometric forgery by using the results of two different biometrics to authenticate a CoRWallet owner. CorWallet and its platform offer as a store of value a programmable cryptographic token, which can represent points, e-prepaid and e-gift cards, currency, a ticket to an event, and so on.
Digital identity tokens This application relies on US patent application no. 16,391,259 to describe certain examples of digital identity token assets and their uses.
CoRToken is designed to augment the growth of great products by building upon the network ownership effect. Digital identity tokens are sometimes referred to as crypto tokens, utility tokens, security tokens, digital coins, or often simply "tokens" or "coins."
A digital identity token represents value or rights offered and sold to facilitate access to, participation in, or development of a distributed ledger, blockchain, or other digital data structure.
People carry out online business and social transactions, and people are known by their identities. Therefore, identities are a critical component of online business and social interaction.
An individual's identity is defined by a collection of attributes including, but not limited to, name, age, address, identity and financial credentials, work history, and social history.
These attributes work together dynamically to define an individual.
Identity data in today's world is typically decentralized. For example, the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles issues driver's licenses, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security issues passports, and banks issue banking credentials based on third-party validated identities. This makes identity management and identity verification cumbersome and costly for enterprises, governments, and retailers.
It takes little more than one click to buy an airline ticket or a new sweater.
Still, it takes time to buy stocks or get a mortgage because verifying identity is a critical component of buying stocks or obtaining a mortgage online or in-person. Whether it is waiting for documents or settlement, many types of transactions are not instant. In addition, assets like gold, real estate, fine art, or carbon credits are more difficult to transfer, often obligating buyers and sellers to contend with mountains of paperwork and lengthy Page 41 of 56 Date Regue/Date Received 2022-09-28 procedures. By representing assets as digital identity tokens on a distributed ledger or blockchain, it is possible to unlock the value of real-world assets and exchange them in real-time.
Digitization of assets is a process in which the rights to an asset are converted into a digital identity token on a blockchain. Ownership rights are transmitted and transferred or traded on a digital platform, and real-world and digital assets on the blockchain are represented by digital identity tokens.
In an embodiment of the invention, digital identity tokens are created as part of the CoR.io platform built on CoRChain. The CoRToken resides on CoRChain, be it located on the administrator's computing device or users' mobile devices.
An asset's economic definition is a resource that has an economic value controlled by an individual, a legal entity, or a country. The legal definition of an asset is anything that has a monetary value attached to it. Ownership right is a legal right to possession of a thing, including all usage rights (physical and intellectual).
CoR.io Digital identity token - Properties 1) CoR.io's digital identity tokens are programmable. Programmable means that they run on software protocols composed of smart code that outline the features and functions of the token and the network's rules of engagement.

2) CoRToken can be transferable or non-transferable or have restricted transferability.
Unique (non-fungible) tokens can be transferable or non-transferable, depending on the application. For example, a plane ticket might be transferable or non-transferable, depending on the type of ticket purchased. For example, a piece of art, or the registration paper of your car, is unique but transferable. Identity-bound tokens like certificates or licenses are usually non-transferable.

3) Expiration date - Any fungible token might be programmed in a way such that it expires after a certain date to prevent hoarding of the tokens. Practically speaking, the token would expire. However, technically speaking, the token would change state.

4) If tokens represent assets, they act as a passive payload managed by a distributed ledger, including all properties, rights, and obligations in the system. Asset-backed tokens can be (I) fungible or (II) non-fungible. Fungible tokens represent ownership of any fungible physical goods like money, silver, petrol, gold, diamonds, shares in a Page 42 of 56 Date Regue/Date Received 2022-09-28 company, or any collateralized debt instrument. They could be compared to commodity money and are therefore sometimes referred to as crypto commodities. Asset-backed tokens can also be unique and therefore non-fungible. Some refer to them as crypto goods. Examples would be real estate tokens, crypto-collectibles, or tokens that represent unique pieces of art. Representing such assets with a token makes the asset more easily tradable and divisible, thus creating more liquidity for some assets that might not have been that easily tradable off-chain. Tokens can also represent access rights that are limited in time or in the scope of using an asset someone else owns or a service someone else provides. They can provide access to network services, an entry ticket to a concert, a public transport ticket, apartment sharing access, car-sharing access, a time slot for a doctor's appointment, or membership access to a club, to name a few examples. They could be used to allow you to start your car, which might have a smart lock, access alcoholic beverages by proving that you are above a certain age, board an airplane, enter your home, vote, cross a border, collect a tax refund, or get a discount.

5) Fungible Non-Fungible Tokens (F-NFT). Issuers can issue an F-NFT in which the financial value of the CoR.io digital identity token is preset into a number of portions predetermined at the time of issuance (see Figure 9).

6) Redeemable ¨ The CoR.io token can be redeemable or non-redeemable. Exactly one digital identity token can be equal to one unit of a good or service that is delivered or provided by the issuer of the digital identity token. Redeeming a digital identity token for the underlying good or service can cause the digital identity token to be destroyed.
However, a digital identity token, after re-programming, can also be reused.

7) Divisible ¨ The CoR.io digital identity token is divisible to an unlimited number of decimal places. The default is 18 digits, but the digital identity token's divisibility can be set to one digit, eighteen digits, and even 0 digits.

8) Fixed Price ¨ In an embodiment of the invention, the CoR.io digital identity token is pegged to the value of the currency of the country or bank-issued currency from where it was issued. In this embodiment, a CoRWallet owner may hold a CoR.io digital identity token with the asset component representing, for example, US $100. Suppose the CoRWallet owner is in Canada and redeems the digital identity token at an entity Page 43 of 56 Date Regue/Date Received 2022-09-28 located in Canada. In that case, the entity accepting the token for redemption or for the purchase of goods or services pays the equivalent of US $100 in Canadian dollars, based on the value of the US dollar at the time of redemption. The digital identity token works with entities that use the CoR.io network and CoRWallet owners, no matter where such entities are geographically located. A change in the value of a fixed price digital identity token on the positive or negative side can occur due to fluctuations in currency market exchange rates between the time a token owner becomes the owner of the digital identity token and the time when the token owner redeems the digital identity token. Such change in the value of a fixed price digital identity token is absorbed by the token owner, be it a relying party or a CoRWallet owner. The token is issued by a relying party such as a retailer and redeemed by the same retailer or a financial institution associated with the issuer.
CoR.io Digital identity token Uses While CoR.io's digital identity token can hold exchangeable assets and value, it can also be configured to represent physical assets and digital assets or a particular utility or service. For instance, certain crypt tokens represent tangible assets such as real estate and art and intangible assets such as processing power and data storage space.
Tokens can also be used as a governance mechanism for voting on elections and for specific parameters like protocol upgrades and other decisions that dictate the future direction of various projects.
CoR.io's Electronic Signature Research shows that paper documents are on their way out, and E-signatures are replacing wet and digital signatures on e-documents. Wet signatures are ink-based signatures, while digital signatures are mathematical schemes for verifying the authenticity of individuals and digital messages or documents. An e-Signature refers to data in electronic form, which is logically associated with other electronic data and is used by an authenticated signatory to sign a document or transaction.
CoRSign advances e-Signatures beyond digital and Advanced e-Signatures by utilizing a programmable digital identity token (CoRToken) that resides on CoRWallet's blockchain (CoRChain) and tokenizes e-Signatures.
Page 44 of 56 Date Regue/Date Received 2022-09-28 CoR.io's electronic signatures play a significant role in guaranteeing the integrality, privacy, and non-repudiation of documents. They also link the validated and authenticated identity of the signees to the e-Signature and the document.
Proof of the wallet owner's (user's) identity and proof of the existence of the electronic signature and the document to which the electronic signature is attached are stored on the CoR.io digital identity token, which resides on CoRChain.
Identity Validation and Verification This application relies on U.S. patent application no. 16,218,386 for features relating to identity and identity credential storage, validation, verification, and authentication.
Data Diodes and Unidirectional Network A data diode is a network component device that allows data to flow through the device in one direction only. It is named in analogy to the electronic diode circuit component that allows current to flow in one direction only.
Data diodes are used to segregate networks. Data diodes are critical components of the most secure "cross-domain solutions," where combinations of one-way flow control and careful content inspection are used to ensure malware cannot cross the boundary from an untrusted to a trusted network.
A unidirectional network (also referred to as a unidirectional gateway or data diode) is a network appliance or device that allows data to travel in only one direction.
Data diodes can be found most commonly in high-security environments, such as defense, where they serve as connections between two or more networks of differing security classifications. Given the rise of industrial loT and digitization, data diode technology can now be found at the industrial control level for such facilities as nuclear power plants, power generation, and safety-critical systems like railway networks.
Data diodes originally were merely network appliances or devices allowing raw data to travel only in one direction. They have been used in guaranteeing information security and protection of critical digital systems, such as industrial control systems, from inbound cyberattacks. After years of development, data diodes have evolved to be, for example, combinations of hardware and software running in proxy computers in the Page 45 of 56 Date Regue/Date Received 2022-09-28 source and destination networks. The hardware enforces physical unidirectionality, and the software replicates databases and emulates protocol servers to handle bi-directional communication. Data diodes are now capable of transferring multiple protocols and data types simultaneously. A typical data diode contains a broader range of cybersecurity features like secure boot, certificate management, data integrity, forward error correction, and secure communication via Transport Layer Security, among others. A
unique characteristic is that data is transferred deterministically (to predetermined locations) with a protocol "break" that allows the data to be transferred through the data diode.
One-Time Pad Encryption In cryptography, the one-time pad is an encryption technique that cannot be cracked.
However, the technique requires a single-use pre-shared key that is no smaller than the message being sent. In this technique, a plaintext is paired with a random secret key (also referred to as a one-time pad). Then, each bit or character of the plaintext is encrypted by combining it with the corresponding bit or character from the one-time pad using modular addition.
Exemplary embodiments Referring to Figures 6 and 8, Digital identity tokens 601 reside on CoRChain as well as in an individual CorWallet (e-Wallet) of a given Smart Device 800. In general, each Digital identity token 601 is typically a holder of assets. Such assets can, for example, be identity, identity and financial credentials, rewards points, gift cards, pre-prepaid card values, e-coupons, electronic signatures, real estate, artwork, tickets to events, etc.
Each Digital identity token 601 includes a Token ID 611, an Identity Component 612, and an optional Payload (Asset Component) 613.
The Token ID 611 can be used to track the history of a particular token on the blockchain. As the token changes owners, or as it is updated by the current owner, the primary portion of the Token ID 611 never changes; only a sequence number increments with each new posting to the blockchain.
The Identity Component 612 is a hashed representation of the identity of the owner ¨ an identity that has been verified by a trusted third party. To prove ownership of a Digital Page 46 of 56 Date Regue/Date Received 2022-09-28 identity token 601, its owner can present the raw identity information and the name of the third-party verifier or identity issuer to a requestor. The requestor can hash these two pieces of information together and verify that the Identity Component 612 on the token matches the hash they produce.
The Payload 613 may consist of almost any digital information. It may be encrypted, hashed, or stored in original form, depending on the particular application.
The Payload 613 can be a digital document or a digital representation of a title deed to a physical asset, for example. Digital identity tokens 601 can be initially created with parameters that prohibit any modification to the Payload 613. Alternatively, Digital identity tokens 601 may permit additions to the original Payload 613 (e.g., multiple e-signers of a document) or may permit changes to an asset of the Payload 613 itself (e.g., reducing the currency value of a digital debit card or of rewards points).
In some embodiments, an image is used with the token for display and additional encryption processes. The image may, for example, be a fractal or an image of a company's prepaid or gift card. The image can also indicate, among other things, the issue value of the card or a retained value on the card.
Referring to Figure 7, this schematically depicts two different types of administrator servers of a token management system, according to two embodiments of the invention.
In this description, the administrator is called CoR.io.
In the first type of administrator server, at the server-side "nodes" of CoR.io, CoRChain relies on unidirectional "air-gapped" networking hardware to isolate the "ledger of record" from potential cyber-attack threats. Communication with this air gap employs one-time-pad encryption technology for maximum cyber threat avoidance and high-speed performance. As illustrated, an Air Gap Server 710 includes an Isolated Server 711 and a Web Server 712. The Servers 710, 711 are interconnected by a Data Diode 713 that allows transmission of data from the Web Server 712 to the Isolated Server 711 and a Data Diode 714 that allows transmission of data from the Isolated Server 711 to the Web Server 712. The Web Server 712 is connected to a Network 715.
Alternatively, as illustrated, a Non-Isolated Server 720 of CoR.io is connected to a Network 725.
Page 47 of 56 Date Regue/Date Received 2022-09-28 Referring to Figure 8, this schematically depicts network connectivity of major participants of an exemplary token management system according to the invention. The server-side "nodes" of CoR.io are shown as at least one CoR.io Cloud Gateway 810.
Each CoR.io Cloud Gateway 810 includes a plurality of air gap servers. Two air gap servers, 811 and 812, are illustrated. Each air gap server 811, 812 is independently connected to the internet 840, having full-mesh connectivity.
In the exemplary token management system, there is also at least one Gateway Referee 820. Each Gateway Referee 820 includes an air gap server. Two air gap servers, 821 and 822, are illustrated.
In Figure 8, the Relying Parties 830 each have a server. In the illustration, there are two Relying Parties 830 who have Relying Party Servers 831, 832 respectively.
Furthermore, although not illustrated, certain Relying Parties 830 may employ an air gap server. Such an air gap server is configured in much the same way as the Air Gap Server 710 of Figure 7. The Relying Parties 830 that employ air gap servers may, for example, be government departments or agencies or other organizations.
In one embodiment utilizing the token management system, a digital identity token that can be used to present specific identity information to a requestor is created and stored.
An e-Wallet owner wanting to create a digital identity token retrieves the identity information desired and identity verifier/issuer information stored in the secure personal data store of their Smart Device 800. The owner can be described as an initiator. The owner hashes the identity information and identity verifier/issuer information. Using code on the Smart Device 800, a unique set of "unlock keys" are also generated by the owner and stored in the personal data store. The result of the hash and the unlock keys are together referred to herein as "initiator information."
The initiator information is delivered by the initiator via the internet 840 to the Cloud Gateway 810 operated by the administrator of the token management system. The Cloud Gateway 810 makes use of "air-gapped" connections to the Air Gap (secure) Servers 811, 812 to pass the initiator information along. Taking the Air Gap Server 811 as an example destination, it records the token on the blockchain. That is, the token is stored on the blockchain by the Air Gap Server 811. A copy of the token is sent via the Page 48 of 56 Date Regue/Date Received 2022-09-28 Cloud Gateway 810 and Internet 840 to the initiator at the Smart Device 800 and is stored on a blockchain in the Smart Device 800.
In another embodiment utilizing the token management system, a digital identity token that represents some digital asset in addition to providing proof of identity and ownership is created and stored. The process of creation is essentially the same as the above-described process of creating a digital identity token that can be used to present specific identity information to a requestor. The main difference is that the information passed by the Smart Device 800 to the Internet 840 further includes the Payload 613 of the Digital identity token 601. This information is included in the created token that is stored on the blockchain by the Air Gap Server 811. A copy of the stored token is sent to the Smart Device 800.
In another embodiment utilizing the token management system, a current owner of an asset-bearing digital identity token transfers ownership of the asset to another person.
The recipient can either be a Relying Party 830 or an owner of another Smart Device 800 (not shown). In the following description, it will be assumed that the recipient is an owner of another Smart Device 800.
The current owner of the token stored on the current owner's Smart Device 800 sends an image of the token to the recipient via the Internet 840. The current owner can be described as an initiator. In addition, the current owner sends the identity information needed to ensure that the initiator of the transaction is the current owner of the token and also sends information regarding the third-party verifier or issuer of that identity.
The recipient can use this information to verify the identity of the originator in much the same way as described above. The originator also sends the unlock keys that the recipient will need to create a new instance of the token.
Then the recipient hashes the received identity information and the information regarding the third-party verifier/issuer in order to verify that the initiator is the current owner of the token. The recipient uses code on the recipient's Smart Device together with the unlock keys to generate a set of new unique unlock keys. The result of the hash, the original unlock keys, and the new unlock keys are together referred to herein as "recipient information."
Page 49 of 56 Date Regue/Date Received 2022-09-28 Next, the recipient communicates with the Cloud Gateway 810 via the internet 840 by passing along the recipient information provided (as well as any updates or changes to the payload as are appropriate - see below). Also passed along is the appropriate identity and identity verification information of the recipient, who is to become the new asset owner. As before, all this information is passed to, for example, the Air Gap Server 811. The Air Gap Server 811 determines whether the received original unlock keys match the unlock keys currently on the blockchain, and determines whether the original token is valid and correct. Assuming that both determinations are "yes," a new version of the token is created. In the new version of the token, the new owner's identity is recorded in the Identity Component 612, the Payload 613 remains unchanged, and the original Token ID 611 is maintained. A copy of this new token, together with an image of the new token, is passed back to both the initiator and the recipient and stored on their local blockchains.
In one particular example of transfer of ownership of an asset-bearing digital identity token, when the asset is a document, the transfer of ownership of the digital identity token constitutes delivery of an electronically signed signature affixed to that document.
An alternative embodiment of a current owner of an asset-bearing digital identity token transferring ownership of the asset to another person will now be described.
The current owner of the digital identity token stored in a secure data store on the current owner's Smart Device 800 (first Smart Device 800) selects the digital identity token to be delivered to a recipient. The first Smart Device 800 sends the first data to a second Smart Device 800 operated by the recipient. The first data includes original identity information used by the current token owner to secure ownership of the digital identity token, an indicator of the name and nature of an identity verifier that digitally signed verification of the identity of the current token owner, information describing an item of value represented in the digital identity token, and a current unlock key that was stored in a secure data store on the first Smart Device 800 when the current token owner secured ownership of the digital identity token.
The second Smart Device 800 sends second data to the Air Gap Server 811 operated by an administrator of a token management system, the second data comprising the digital identity token.
Page 50 of 56 Date Regue/Date Received 2022-09-28 The Air Gap Server 811 verifies that the digital identity token supplied in the second data is a true representation of a valid digital identity token on a blockchain of the Air Gap Server 811. Then the Air Gap Server 811 sends third data to the second Smart Device 800, acknowledging the validity of the digital identity token.
The second Smart Device 800 applies a hashing algorithm to a combination of digital identity components of the recipient and an indicator of a name and a nature of an identity verifier of the recipient. The result of the hash is a new first portion of the digital identity token.
The second Smart Device 800 combines the new first portion and an original second portion of the digital identity token to form a new digital identity token, the second portion being the representation of the item of value contained in the digital identity token. Then the second Smart Device 800 uses the new digital identity token to generate a proposed new token image. The second Smart Device 800 also calculates a new, unique unlock key, the possession of which indicates ownership of the new digital identity token by the recipient.
The second Smart Device 800 sends the fourth data to the Air Gap Server 811, the fourth data including the proposed new token image, the current unlock key, and the new unlock key.
The Air Gap Server 811 verifies whether the current unlock key is valid. In the event that the current unlock key is verified as valid, the Air Gap Server 811 creates a new token image on the blockchain. The new token image includes an identifier of the digital identity token and a sequence number indicating that there is a new owner of the digital identity token.
The Air Gap Server 811 sends fifth data to the second Smart Device 800, acknowledging the creation of the new token image on the blockchain.
The second Smart Device 800 sends sixth data to the first Smart Device 800, the sixth data including the new token image.
The first Smart Device 800 stores the new token image in the secure datastore on the first Smart Device 800.
Page 51 of 56 Date Regue/Date Received 2022-09-28 The second Smart Device 800 stores the new unlock key and the new token image in a secure data store on the second Smart Device 800.
In other embodiments, when ownership of the asset is transferred to another person, the transfer may involve only a part or portion of the asset. For example, only an agreed proportion of the asset may be transferred. In another example, the new asset owner holds ownership of the asset for a limited time only, after which ownership of the asset automatically reverts to the previous owner.
As indicated above, for each occurrence of a transaction involving a digital identity token, whether such transaction includes issuing of a value, a transfer, or redemption, the occurrence is stored only on the blockchain nodes of CoR.io, the gateway referees, and the smart devices or servers of the transaction participants.
Referring to Figure 9, this schematically depicts the capability for split ownership of a digital identity token 900 according to embodiments of the invention. The digital identity token 900 is initially issued by a supplier as a Fungible Non-Fungible Token (F-NFT) 900. A financial value of the F-NFT 900 is preset into the following portions:
a 50%
portion 901, and five 10% portions 902, 903, 904, 905, and 906. Ownership of the whole F-NFT 900 and of any one or combination of the portions 901-906 can be securely transferred according to embodiments of the present invention described above.
In one example, one F-NFT 900 is equivalent to one unit of a local fiat currency used in a region where the token issuer is physically located. That is, the F-NFT 900 has a fixed price.
Specific details are given in the above description to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments. However, it is understood that the embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. For example, circuits may be shown in block diagrams in order not to obscure the embodiments in unnecessary detail. In other instances, well-known circuits, processes, algorithms, structures, and techniques may be shown without unnecessary detail in order to concentrate on the inventive features.
Implementation of the techniques, blocks, steps, and means described above may be done in various ways. For example, these techniques, blocks, steps, and means may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination thereof. For a hardware implementation, the processing units may be implemented within one or more application-Page 52 of 56 Date Regue/Date Received 2022-09-28 specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), processors, controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, other electronic units designed to perform the functions described above, and/or a combination thereof.
Also, it is noted that the embodiments may be described as a process that is depicted as a flowchart, a flow diagram, a data flow diagram, a structure diagram, or a block diagram.
Although a flowchart may describe the operations as a sequential process, many of the operations can be performed in parallel or concurrently. In addition, the order of the operations may be rearranged. A process is terminated when its operations are completed but could have additional steps not included in the figure. A
process may correspond to a method, a function, a procedure, a subroutine, a subprogram, etc. When a process corresponds to a function, its termination corresponds to a return of the function to the calling function or the main function.
Furthermore, embodiments may be implemented by hardware, software, scripting languages, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description languages, and/or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, firmware, middleware, scripting language, and/or microcode, the program code or code segments to perform the necessary tasks may be stored in a machine-readable medium, such as a storage medium. A code segment or machine-executable instruction may represent a procedure, a function, a subprogram, a program, a routine, a subroutine, a module, a software package, a script, a class, or any combination of instructions, data structures, and/or program statements. A code segment may be coupled to another code segment or a hardware circuit by passing and/or receiving information, data, arguments, parameters, and/or memory content. Information, arguments, parameters, data, etc., may be passed, forwarded, or transmitted via any suitable means, including memory sharing, message passing, token passing, network transmission, etc.
For a firmware and/or software implementation, the methodologies may be implemented with modules (e.g., procedures, functions, and so on) that perform the functions described herein. Any machine-readable medium tangibly embodying instructions may be used in implementing the methodologies described herein. For example, software codes may be Page 53 of 56 Date Regue/Date Received 2022-09-28 stored in a memory. Memory may be implemented within the processor or external to the processor and may vary in the implementation where the memory is employed in storing software codes for subsequent execution and where the memory is employed in executing the software codes. As used herein, the term "memory" refers to any type of long-term, short-term, volatile, nonvolatile, or other storage medium and is not to be limited to any particular type of memory or number of memories or type of media upon which memory is stored.
Moreover, as disclosed herein, the term "storage medium" may represent one or more devices for storing data, including read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic RAM, core memory, magnetic disk storage mediums, optical storage mediums, flash memory devices and/or other machine-readable mediums for storing information. The term "machine-readable medium" includes, but is not limited to, portable or fixed storage devices, optical storage devices, wireless channels, and/or various other mediums capable of storing, containing, or carrying instruction(s) and/or data.
The methodologies described herein are, in one or more embodiments, performable by a machine that includes one or more processors that accept code segments containing instructions. For any of the methods described herein, when the instructions are executed by the machine, the machine performs the method. Any machine capable of executing a set of instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine are included. Thus, a typical machine may be exemplified by a typical processing system that includes one or more processors. Each processor may include one or more of a CPU, a graphics processing unit, and a programmable DSP unit. The processing system further may include a memory subsystem including main RAM and/or a static RAM and/or ROM. A bus subsystem may be included for communicating between the components. If the processing system requires a display, such a display may be included, e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD). If manual data entry is required, the processing system also includes an input device such as one or more of an alphanumeric input unit including a keyboard, a pointing control device such as a mouse, and so forth.
The memory includes machine-readable code segments (e.g., software or software code), including instructions for performing, when executed by the processing system, one or more of the methods described herein. The software may reside entirely in the Page 54 of 56 Date Regue/Date Received 2022-09-28 memory or may also reside, completely or at least partially, within the RAM
and/or within the processor during execution thereof by the computer system. Thus, the memory and the processor also constitute a system comprising machine-readable code.
In alternative embodiments, the machine operates as a standalone device or may be connected, e.g., networked to other machines, in a networked deployment. The machine may operate in the capacity of a server or a client machine in a server-client network environment or as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer or distributed network environment.
The machine may be, for example, a computer, a server, a cluster of servers, a cluster of computers, a web appliance, a distributed computing environment, a cloud computing environment, or any machine capable of executing a set of instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine. The term "machine" may also be taken to include any collection of machines that individually or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein.
The foregoing disclosure of the exemplary embodiments of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Many variations and modifications of the embodiments described herein will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art in light of the above disclosure. The scope of the invention is to be defined only by the claims appended hereto and by their equivalents.
Further, in describing representative embodiments of the present invention, the specification may have presented the method and/or process of the present invention as a particular sequence of steps. However, to the extent that the method or process does not rely on the particular order of steps set forth herein, the method or process should not be limited to the particular sequence of steps described. As one of ordinary skill in the art would appreciate, other sequences of steps may be possible. Therefore, the particular order of the steps set forth in the specification should not be construed as limitations on the claims. In addition, the claims directed to the method and/or process of the present invention should not be limited to the performance of their steps in the order written, and Page 55 of 56 Date Regue/Date Received 2022-09-28 one skilled in the art can readily appreciate that the sequences may be varied and still remain within the spirit and scope of the present invention.
Inventor: Sal Khan Page 56 of 56 Date Regue/Date Received 2022-09-28

Claims (23)

A SYSTEM AND METHOD USING BLOCKCHAIN AND DIGITAL IDENTITY TOKENS
TO DELIVER DIGITAL AND REAL-WORLD ASSETS BOUND WITH VALIDATED
IDENTITY, FINANCIAL CREDENTIALS, AND BIOMETRICS
This contains THREE independent claims:
= The first one (Claim 1) addresses the creation and storage of IDENTITY
TOKENS (i.e. tokens that do not have an additional payload representing an item of value.) = The second claim (Claim 5) addresses the creation and storage of a TOKEN
that includes a representation of an item of value in addition to an Identity Component.
= The third claim (Claim 13) addresses the transfer of a token from one owner to another where that token contains a representation of an item of value. For this claim, included is a dependent claim that starts to stake out, for example, the "digital signature on document"
space.

1. A method of creating and storing a digital token containing verifiable proof of the identity of a token creator, comprising:
the token creator using a computing device to select one or more elements of personal identifying information from a secure data store on the computing device, as well as a unique digital signature designating the identity of an identity verifier; and creating the digital token by applying a one-way hashing algorithm to the combination of the identifying information and the digital signature, thereby obtaining hashed identity content; and calculating a unique unlock key, the possession of which indicates ownership of the digital token being created; and sending first data to a server operated by an administrator of a token management system, the first data comprising the digital token, the unlock key, the identifying information, and the digital signature; and the server applying the same one-way hashing algorithm to the identifying information and the digital signature, and comparing the result to the hashed identity content;
and the server determining whether the result and the hashed identity content agree; and in the event that the determination is yes, the server creating an entry on a database secured against internet tampering, the entry comprising a token ID and a token image;
and the server sending second data to the computing device acknowledging the creation of the digital token; and the computing device storing the unlock key and the digital token in the secure data store on the computing device.
Page 1 of 5 Date Regue/Date Received 2022-09-28

2. A method according to Claim 1, wherein the token creator comprises one of a commercial business entity, a government service agency, a nonprofit organization, a not-for-profit organization, and an individual person.

3. A method according to Claim 1, wherein the computing device is one of a mobile smartphone, a portable computer tablet, a desktop computer, and one or more application servers operating in a commercial environment.

4. A method according to Claim 1, wherein the first data and the second data are cryptographically encrypted to ensure integrity of data communication security.

5. A method of creating and storing_a digital token containing verifiable proof of the identity of a token creator as well as a representation of an item of value, comprising:
the token creator using a computing device to select one or more elements of personal identifying information from a secure data store on the computing device, as well as a unique digital signature designating the identity of an identity verifier; and creating a first portion of the digital token by applying a one-way hashing algorithm to the combination of the identifying information and the digital signature, thereby obtaining a first hash result; and creating a second portion of the digital token, the second portion containing one of either:
a full representation of the item of value that is to be tracked using the digital token; or a description of the item of value that is to be tracked using the digital token; and calculating a unique unlock key, the possession of which indicates ownership of the digital token being created; and sending first data to a server operated by an administrator of a token management system, the first data comprising a complete token image comprising the first portion and the second portion, the unlock key, the identifying information, and the digital signature; and the server applying the same one-way hashing algorithm to the identifying information and the digital signature, thereby obtaining a second hash result, and comparing the second hash result to the first hash result; and the server determining whether the first and second hash results agree; and in the event that the determination is yes, the server creating an entry of the digital token on a database secured against internet tampering, the entry comprising a token ID
and the token image; and the server sending second data to the computing device acknowledging the creation of the digital token; and the computing device storing the unlock key and the token in the secure data store on the computing device.
Page 2 of 5 Date Recue/Date Received 2022-09-28

6. A method according to Claim 5, wherein the token creator is one of a commercial business entity, a government service agency, a nonprofit organization, a not-for-profit organization, and an individual person.

7. A method according to Claim 5, wherein the computing device is one of a mobile smartphone, a portable computer tablet, a desktop computer, and one or more application servers operating in a commercial environment.

8. A method according to Claim 5, wherein any or all of the data communications are cryptographically encrypted to ensure integrity of data communication security.

9. A method according to Claim 5, wherein the item of value to be tracked is at least one of:
a designated amount of fiat currency;
a designated amount of cryptocurrency;
a promise to provide a good or a service at one of:
a discounted price specified as a fixed amount;
a discounted price specified as a percentage discount; and a buy one - get one free basis;
a number of reward points offered as part of an established customer incentive or reward program;
a digital ticket redeemable for entry to a performance, sporting event, conference, or other venue; and a digital representation of a document considered to be electronically signed by the creator of the digital token or any prior owner of the digital token.

10. A method according to Claim 5, wherein the financial value of the item of value represented in the digital token is preset into a number of parts predetermined at the time of issuance of the digital token or by consent at a later date.

11. A method according to Claim 5, wherein the representation of the item of value is encrypted.

12. A method according to Claim 5, wherein the representation of the item of value is the result of a computer-based hashing operation.

13. A method of transferring ownership of a digital token containing verifiable proof of the identity of a current owner of the digital token and containing a representation of an item of value, comprising:
the current token owner using a first computing device to select a digital token to be delivered to a second party; and the first computing device sending first data to a second computing device operated by the second party, the first data comprising original identity information used by the current token owner to secure ownership of the digital token, an indicator of the name and nature of an Page 3 of 5 Date Recue/Date Received 2022-09-28 identity verifier that digitally signed verification of identity of the current token owner, information describing the item of value, and a current unlock key that was stored in a secure data store on the first computing device when the current token owner secured ownership of the digital token; and the second computing device sending second data to a server operated by an administrator of a token management system, the second data comprising the digital token; and the server verifying that the digital token supplied in the second data is a true representation of a valid digital token on a database secured against internet tampering; and the server sending third data to the second computing device acknowledging the validity of the digital token; and the second computing device applying a hashing algorithm to a combination of digital identity components of the second party and an indicator of a name and a nature of an identity verifier of the second party, the result being a new first portion of the digital token; and combining the new first portion and an original second portion of the digital token to form a new digital token, the second portion being an original representation of the item of value contained in the digital token; and the second computing device calculating a new, unique unlock key, the possession of which indicates ownership of the new digital token by the second party; and the second computing device sending fourth data to the server, the fourth data comprising a proposed new token image, the current unlock key, and the new unlock key; and the server verifying whether the current unlock key is valid; and in the event that the current unlock key is verified as valid, the server creating a new token image on the database secured against internet tampering, the new token image comprising an identifier of the digital token and a sequence number indicating that there is a new owner of the digital token; and the server sending fifth data to the second computing device acknowledging the creation of the new token image on the blockchain; and the second computing device sending sixth data to the first computing device, the sixth data comprising the new token image; and the first computing device storing the new token image in the secure data store on the first computing device; and the second computing device storing the new unlock key and the new token image in a secure data store on the second computing device.

14. A method according to Claim 13, wherein the current token owner is one of a commercial business entity, a government service agency, a nonprofit organization, a not-for-profit organization, and an individual person.
Page 4 of 5 Date Recue/Date Received 2022-09-28

15. A method according to Claim 13, wherein the first computing device is one of a mobile smartphone, a portable computer tablet, a desktop computer, and one or more application servers operating in a commercial environment.

16. A method according to Claim 13, wherein all the data communications are cryptographically encrypted to ensure integrity of data communication security.

17. A method according to Claim 13, wherein the item of value is at least one of:
a designated amount of fiat currency;
a designated amount of cryptocurrency;
a promise to provide a good or a service at one of:
a discounted price specified as a fixed amount;
a discounted price specified as a percentage discount; and a buy one - get one free basis;
a number of reward points offered as part of an established customer incentive or reward program;
a digital ticket redeemable for entry to a performance, sporting event, conference, or other venue; and a digital representation of a document considered to be electronically signed by the creator of the digital token or any prior owner of the digital token.

18. A method according to Claim 13, wherein a financial value of the item of value represented in the digital token is preset into a number of parts predetermined at the time of issuance of the digital token or by consent at a later date.

19. A method according to Claim 13, wherein the information describing the item of value is encrypted.

20. A method according to Claim 13, wherein the information describing the item of value is the result of a computer-based hashing operation.

21. A method according to Claim 13, wherein the second party as the new owner of the digital token can demand delivery of the item of value by presentation of the digital token to an actual holder of the item of value or a provider of a service represented by the item of value.

22. A method according to Claim 13, wherein when the item of value is a document, the transfer of ownership of the digital token constitutes delivery of an electronically signed signature affixed to that document.

23. A method according to Claim 13, wherein the item of value has a digital value based on a value of a fiat currency of a country where the digital token was issued, and the digital value is redeemable for a fiat currency in another country based on a value of a fiat currency of the other country.
Page 5 of 5 Date Recue/Date Received 2022-09-28