Claims
- 1. A method for performing electronic postmarking of data, including ancillary data, comprising:
receiving data from a sender; selecting ancillary data; generating an electronic postmark including the ancillary data; and forwarding the data with the electronic postmark to a receiver.
- 2. The method of claim 1, wherein selecting ancillary data includes receiving the ancillary data from the sender.
- 3. The method of claim 1, wherein selecting ancillary data includes generating the ancillary data based on sender preferences.
- 4. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the electronic postmark includes forwarding the data and the ancillary data to an electronic postmark server.
- 5. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the electronic postmark further comprises:
generating a hash of the data; generating a time and date stamp; generating a digital signature; and attaching the ancillary data.
- 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the ancillary data is one of an image, a hypertext link, a digital video, or a computer program.
- 7. The method of claim 1, further comprising registering use of the ancillary data in the electronic postmark in a database, wherein the database may be used to authenticate the ancillary data.
- 8. A system for performing electronic postmarking of data, including ancillary data, comprising:
means for receiving data from a sender; means for selecting ancillary data; means for generating an electronic postmark including the ancillary data; and means for forwarding the data with the electronic postmark to a receiver.
- 9. The system of claim 8, wherein means for selecting ancillary data includes means for receiving the ancillary data from the sender.
- 10. The system of claim 8, wherein means for selecting ancillary data includes means for generating the ancillary data based on sender preferences.
- 11. The system of claim 8, wherein means for generating the electronic postmark includes means for forwarding the data and the ancillary data to an electronic postmark server.
- 12. The system of claim 8, wherein means for generating the electronic postmark further comprises:
means for generating a hash of the data; means for generating a time and date stamp; means for generating a digital signature; and means for attaching the ancillary data.
- 13. The system of claim 8, wherein the ancillary data is one of an image, a hypertext link, a digital video, or a computer program.
- 14. The system of claim 8, further comprising means for registering use of the ancillary data in the electronic postmark in a database, wherein the database may be used to authenticate the ancillary data.
- 15. A method of processing a message that includes a representation of an electronic postmark including ancillary data, said method comprising:
receiving the message from a sender; generating the electronic postmark, wherein generating the electronic postmark further comprises:
generating a hash of the message; generating a time and date stamp; and generating ancillary data; and attaching the electronic postmark to the message.
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of a provisional application entitled “Systems and Methods for Electronic Postmarking Including Ancillary Data,” filed Apr. 12, 2001 and assigned Ser. No. 60/283,157. The contents of the above application is relied upon and expressly incorporated herein by reference.
PCT Information
Filing Document |
Filing Date |
Country |
Kind |
PCT/US02/11381 |
4/12/2002 |
WO |
|