Blockchain Document Authentication via Hash Extraction
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing document authentication and tracking systems fail to provide a uniform solution for secure storage and visibility of documents, including tracking and authentication of original documents and subsequent changes, while ensuring authorship and timestamp integrity.
Innovation Solution
The method involves creating a time-stamped hash of a document or its portion using a secure hash algorithm and applying a timestamp, which is then posted on a new blockchain independent of any other blockchain, allowing for secure, decentralized, and transparent authentication and tracking of document changes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a document or its hash is stored on a blockchain to ensure permanent visibility and tamper-proofing, then document authentication and tracking capabilities are improved, but storage requirements and access latency increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential authentication elements (hash values and timestamps) from the complete document and stores them on the blockchain, while the full document is stored separately in traditional storage systems. This extraction approach maintains document authentication capabilities while dramatically reducing blockchain storage requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the document storage system into two parts: (1) blockchain storage for hash values and timestamps providing authentication and tracking, and (2) traditional storage for complete documents providing full visibility. This segmentation allows each component to optimize for its specific function.
2Loss of information
If the entire document is stored on-chain to ensure complete visibility, then document access completeness is improved, but storage requirements and cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the critical authentication metadata (hash and timestamp) from the complete document for blockchain storage, while the full document remains in traditional storage. This ensures both complete document visibility and reduced storage requirements.
3Adaptability or versatility
If a new independent blockchain is created for document authentication to ensure uniform solution, then system independence and uniformity are improved, but device complexity and implementation difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the blockchain system multi-functional by using it for both document authentication (storing hashes) and timestamping (recording creation and modification times) through a unified blockchain structure. This eliminates the need for separate systems while maintaining independence and uniformity.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods are provided including an implementation where a written new idea is reduced to a document, such as a Patent Application, which can be put through a secure hash algorithm to create a hash of the entire document, or at least a portion thereof. A time stamp is applied to the hash by posting the hash to a website and/or using time stamp hardware having an authentication capability.