Method and apparatus for secure and small credits for verifiable service provider metering
OwnerCraig B. Gentry, Zulfikar Amin Ramzaninventors
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Abstract
A method and apparatus for obtaining access to services of service providers. In one embodiment, the method comprises requesting a desired service through a foreign service provider, generating a hash tree and generating a digital signature on a root value of the hash tree, sending the digital signature and the root value to the foreign service provider, providing one or more tokens to the foreign service provider with the next packet if the foreign service provider accepts the signature and continuing to use the service while the foreign service provider accepts tokens.
Claims18
A method comprising:
- receiving a user token from a service provider that is different from the service provider of the user;
- determining if the token is valid;
- and
- charging the user based on the token if the token is valid.
An article of manufacture having one or more non-transitory computer readable storage media having instructions stored thereon which, when executed by a system, cause the system to perform a method comprising:
- receiving a user token from a service provider that is different from the service provider of the user;
- determining if the token is valid;
- and
- charging the user based on the token if the token is valid.
A service provider comprising:
- an external network interface through which a user token is received from a service provider that is different from the service provider of the user;
- a memory to store program instructions;
- a processor coupled to the external network interface and the memory, wherein execution of the program instructions causes the processor to determine if the token is valid and charge the user based on the token if the token is valid.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.