Digital Document Registration via Asymmetric Cryptographic Signatures
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing digital document management systems face challenges in securely determining ownership and authenticity of digital documents, as they can be tampered with and copied without leaving traces, and it is difficult to distinguish between original and revised versions.
Innovation Solution
A method and system using asymmetric cryptographic key pairs, where a digital document is registered with a private ownership key, a digital document hash value, and a digital document signature, stored in a central document register, ensuring secure verification and tracking of document versions without storing the document itself.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If digital documents are stored and managed electronically, then accessibility and ease of operation are improved, but security and reliability deteriorate because digital documents can be tampered with and copied without leaving traces
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the document verification process into two independent parts: the document content itself and its cryptographic hash value. The hash value is stored separately in a distributed ledger, while the original document remains accessible electronically. This segmentation allows the document to be easily accessed and copied, while its authenticity is verified through the separate, immutable hash storage, thus resolving the contradiction between accessibility and reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces cryptographic hash functions as an intermediary between the digital document and its authenticity verification. The hash value acts as a mediator that links the electronic document to its original state without requiring the document itself to be stored immutably. This intermediary mechanism enables both easy electronic access to documents and reliable authenticity verification through the hash comparison.
2Ease of operation
If digital document copies are made freely, then ease of operation and distribution are improved, but the ability to distinguish original from copy deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies a metaphorical 'color change' through cryptographic hashing, where the original document is transformed into a unique hash value that acts as its digital fingerprint. This hash 'color' or identifier remains consistent for the original document but changes for any modified version, enabling precise identification of the original even when multiple copies exist. The distributed ledger stores these unique identifiers, allowing anyone to verify whether a document is the original or a copy.
3Reliability
If document versions are tracked and managed, then reliability and authenticity are improved, but device complexity and system complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses cryptographic copying through hash functions to track document versions. Instead of managing complex version control systems that track every change, the system creates hash copies of the document at each version point and stores them in the distributed ledger. Each hash represents a specific version state, and the immutable nature of the ledger provides version control without requiring complex management infrastructure. The complexity is reduced to simple hash calculation and storage operations.
Data Source
Figure 1~2a
Figure 2b
Figure 2c
AI summary
Method for registering an electronically stored digital document (A), comprising the steps of a) providing to an owning party a digital document and a private ownership key, which private ownership key is a private key in an asymmetric cryptographic key pair also comprising a corresponding public ownership key; b)calculating a digital document hash value based upon the document (A); c)the owning party using the private ownership key to calculate a digital document signature of the document (A); d)digitally storing in an electronic digital document register not the document (A), but the document signature as well as the public ownership key and the document hash value. The invention also relates to a system.