Method and system for authenticating signed memorabilia

#Many people collect memorabilia objects bearing autographs of famous individuals, such as signed photographs of great sports figures. These objects can be very valuable to collectors. Of course, if the signature on the object turns out to be a forgery, the value of the object is greatly diminished. Thus, forged objects have been and continue to be a great risk to collectors.

#Prior art methods have existed for providing authentication services to purchasers of memorabilia. In particular, a number of autograph distributors, including Upper Deck Authenticated, Steiner Sports and Super Star Greetings, provide reputable authentication services to their customers. These authentication services typically include the presence of an autograph distributor representative when the memorabilia object is signed. Immediately after the memorabilia object is signed, the representative places a tamper proof sticker on the memorabilia object. The tamper proof sticker bears the mark of the autograph distributor as well as a hologram revealing a code. The code is typically an alpha-numeric character string. This same code is also found on a paper certificate of authenticity issued by the autograph distributor. The certificate of authenticity not only includes the code, but also describes the memorabilia object. Using this system, if a collector is interested in purchasing a signed memorabilia object, he can look for the tamper proof sticker of the autograph distributor and inquire about its certificate of authenticity. With the sticker attached to the object and the matching certificate of authenticity provided, the collector has some level of assurance that the autograph on the memorabilia object is genuine.

#The prior art method for authenticating signatures, as described above, has several shortcomings. In particular, the owner or the memorabila object must be sure to keep track of the certificate of authenticity and be able to provide the certificate if anyone ever questions whether the signature on the memorabilia object is genuine. Of course, if the certificate of authenticity is lost, stolen, or damaged, the value of the memorabilia object may be greatly reduced, as the owner may have difficulty proving that the signature on the memorabilia object is authentic. Thus, it would be advantageous to provide a system and method for authenticating signatures on objects of memorabilia whereby a paper certificate of authenticity is not required for authentication services.

#FIG. 1 shows the connection between components in a system for authenticating signed memorabilia;

#FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of the method for authenticating signed memorabilia;

#FIG. 3 shows a first web page demonstrating a signing event according to the method of FIG. 2;

#With reference to FIG. 1, a method and system for authenticating signed memorabilia utilizes a central computer 12, including an internal memory and a CPU. The central computer 12 is connected to a database management system 14, or simply “database.” The database 14 may reside on a mass storage device such as a disk drive, tape drive or other electronic storage media such as optical disks. The database is operable to store files and associate information with each file stored in the database. Input/output devices 16 are also connected to the computer. The input/output devices 16 include a monitor, speakers, mouse, keyboard, printer and/or other devices that allow a user to receive information from the computer 12 or provide information to the computer.

#The central computer 12 further includes a communications interface 18 providing a connection between the central computer 12 and a wide area network 24, such as the Internet. The communications interface 18 may be a modem connection to telephone lines, a cable modem, or other device for connecting the central computer to the wide area network. A plurality of remote computers 30 are connected to the central computer 12 through the wide area network 24. The wide area network 24 provides a platform for allowing information to flow back and forth between the central computer 12 and the plurality of remote computers 30.

#A video recorder 22 is provided in association with the central computer. The video recorder is operable to capture video images and may be either an analog or digital device. A data transfer interface 20 is provided for transfering video images on the video recorder to the computer for subsequent storage in the database. The dashed line in FIG. 1 indicates that data from the video recorder 22 is delivered to the computer through the data transfer interface 20. The data transfer interface 20 may be any of a number of standard devices used to deliver data to a computer. For example, the data transfer interface 20 may be a USB port providing a direct connection to the video recorder 22 or a disk drive for receiving a disc containing data captured by the video recorder. Also, the data transfer interface 20 may be embodied by the communications interface 18 if the data of the video recording is transferred to the central computer 12 from a remote location using the Internet.