Methods and apparatus for title protocol, authentication, and sharing

Abstract

A title management apparatus resident on a first computer including a memory for storing a control program and data, and a processor for executing the control program and for managing the data. The apparatus includes a title object resident in the memory including a title structure, the title structure further comprising a content element, a set of attributes, and a set of title object security indicia. The apparatus further includes an authorization structure configured to selectively redeem the content element based at least in part on the user security indicia, and further configured to use a set of protocols. The apparatus also includes a title management structure configured to associate a user with the title object based at least in part on the user data and the title attributes.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A transaction system operating in a computing network, comprising:
 one or more data repositories in the computing network having a plurality of rights objects stored therein, each rights object being owned by a corresponding one of a plurality of users, each rights object expressing one or more rights to access one or more resources in the network and including one or more pointers identifying the one or more resources, each rights object also including security indicia for verifying validity of the rights object; and   one or more computing devices operating in the computing network configured to implement a plurality of system components, the plurality of system components including:
 a first system component configured to associate a first one of the users with a first subset of the rights objects owned by the first user, and to access the first subset of the rights objects as directed by the first user thereby enabling the first user to engage in transactions involving the rights expressed by the first subset of the rights objects; 
 a second system component configured to receive a first one of the rights objects of the first subset from the first system component, validate the first rights object with reference to the corresponding security indicia, refresh the security indicia of the first rights object in connection with each redemption of any of the one or more rights expressed by the first rights object or in connection with each exchange involving the first rights object such that only a single valid instance of the first rights object is in circulation in the network, and transmit the refreshed security indicia of the first rights object to the first system component for use in connection with subsequent transactions involving the first rights object; and 
 a third system component configured to provide access to at least one of the one or more resources corresponding to the first rights object by the first system component in response to validation of the first rights object by the second system component. 
   
     
     
         2 . The transaction system of  claim 1 , wherein each of the system components has one or more network addresses associated therewith and is configured to communicate with one or more of the other system components using HTTP requests and responses directed to the network addresses associated with the one or more other system components. 
     
     
         3 . The transaction system of  claim 1 , wherein at least some of the rights objects also include a digital signature for verifying the validity of the rights object, the digital signature not being modifiable. 
     
     
         4 . The transaction system of  claim 1 , wherein at least some of the rights objects are not transferable, the second system component further being configured to authenticate owners of the at least some of the rights objects. 
     
     
         5 . The transaction system of  claim 4 , wherein the at least some of the rights objects also include authentication information for authenticating the owners. 
     
     
         6 . The transaction system of  claim 1 , wherein at least some of the rights objects include strings of text representing descriptive information regarding the corresponding rights object. 
     
     
         7 . The transaction system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more computing devices are further configured to implement a fourth system component configured to generate new rights objects, and to request initial security indicia for the new rights objects from another one of the system components. 
     
     
         8 . The transaction system of  claim 7 , wherein the fourth system component is configured to generate one or more of the new rights objects only after validation of an existing one of the rights objects. 
     
     
         9 . The transaction system of  claim 7 , wherein the fourth system component is further configured to generate rights object templates from which the new rights objects are generated. 
     
     
         10 . The transaction system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more computing devices are further configured to implement a fifth system component configured to execute secure trades of the rights objects. 
     
     
         11 . The transaction system of  claim 1 , wherein at least some of the rights objects are configured to control access to others of the rights objects. 
     
     
         12 . A method for facilitating transactions in a computing network, comprising:
 storing a plurality of rights objects in one or more data repositories in the computing network, each rights object being owned by a corresponding one of a plurality of users, each rights object expressing one or more rights to access one or more resources in the network and including one or more pointers identifying the one or more resources, each rights object also including security indicia for verifying validity of the rights object;   using one or more computing devices operating in the network, associating a first one of the users with a first subset of the rights objects owned by the first user;   using the one or more computing devices, accessing the first subset of the rights objects as directed by the first user thereby enabling the first user to engage in transactions involving the rights expressed by the first subset of the rights objects;   receiving a first one of the rights objects of the first subset with the one or more computing devices;   using the one or more computing devices, validating the first rights object with reference to the corresponding security indicia;   using the one or more computing devices, refreshing the security indicia of the first rights object in connection with each redemption of any of the one or more rights expressed by the first rights object or in connection with each exchange involving the first rights object such that only a single valid instance of the first rights object is in circulation in the network;   storing the refreshed security indicia of the first rights object in the one or more data repositories for use in connection with subsequent transactions involving the first rights object; and   using the one or more computing devices, providing access to at least one of the one or more resources corresponding to the first rights object in response to validation of the first rights object.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the one or more computing devices comprises a plurality of computing devices, and wherein each of the computing devices has one or more network addresses associated therewith and is configured to communicate with one or more of the other computing devices using HTTP requests and responses directed to the network addresses associated with the one or more other computing devices, and wherein one or both of the validating or refreshing are done using the HTTP requests. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the first rights objects also includes a digital signature that is not modifiable, and wherein validating the first rights object is done with reference to the digital signature. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the first rights objects is not transferable, the method further comprising authenticating the first user. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein authenticating the first user is done with reference to authentication information included in the first rights object. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising generating a new rights object including requesting initial security indicia for the new rights objects. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein generating the new rights objects occurs only after validation of an existing one of the rights objects. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 17 , further comprising selecting a rights object template from which the new rights object is generated. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising executing a secure trade of two of the rights objects. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 12 , controlling access to at least some of the rights objects using others of the rights objects. 
     
     
         22 . A computer program product for facilitating transactions in a computing network using a plurality of rights objects stored in one or more data repositories in the computing network, each rights object being owned by a corresponding one of a plurality of users, each rights object expressing one or more rights to access one or more resources in the network and including one or more pointers identifying the one or more resources, each rights object also including security indicia for verifying validity of the rights object, the computer program product comprising one or more non-transitory computer-readable media having computer program instructions stored therein, the computer program instructions being configured such that, when executed by one or more computing devices, the computer program instructions cause the one or more computing devices to:
 associate a first one of the users with a first subset of the rights objects owned by the first user;   access the first subset of the rights objects as directed by the first user thereby enabling the first user to engage in transactions involving the rights expressed by the first subset of the rights objects;   receive a first one of the rights objects of the first subset;   validate the first rights object with reference to the corresponding security indicia;   refresh the security indicia of the first rights object in connection with each redemption of any of the one or more rights expressed by the first rights object or in connection with each exchange involving the first rights object such that only a single valid instance of the first rights object is in circulation in the network;   store the refreshed security indicia of the first rights object in the one or more data repositories for use in connection with subsequent transactions involving the first rights object; and   provide access to at least one of the one or more resources corresponding to the first rights object in response to validation of the first rights object.