IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,309,286
Granted Patent B2
US 12,309,286 · App. 18/459,062 · Granted May 20, 2025

Trusted custody chain for verifiable claims

Inventors: Brandon Brian Murdoch (Reading, GB); Ankur Patel (Sammamish, WA); Eric Christopher Sachs (Woodside, WA)
Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC
H04L9/3247H04L9/50
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,309,286
App. No.
18/459,062
Granted
May 20, 2025
Kind
B2
Abstract

A first chain of custody verifiable claim is received by a second entity from a first entity. The first chain of custody verifiable claim is signed by the first entity and specifies that an object was in the custody of the first entity. A distributed ledger is accessed to verify the first chain of custody verifiable claim. A second chain of custody verifiable claim is generated that embeds the first chain of custody verifiable claim and is signed by the second entity. The second chain of custody verifiable claim is recorded on the distributed ledger. The second chain of custody verifiable claim is provided to a third entity. The second chain of custody verifiable claim is configured to specify to the third entity that the object was in the custody of the second entity.

Claims (32)

1. A computing system for verifying a chain of custody in a decentralized network that implements a Decentralized Identifier (DID) backed by a distributed ledger, the computing system comprising:

one or more processors; and

one or more computer-readable storage media having thereon computer-executable instructions that are structured such that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computing system to:

receive, at a third entity, a first chain of custody verifiable claim related to an object from a first entity, the first chain of custody verifiable claim including a first signature generated by the first entity and having embedded therein a second chain of custody verifiable claim related to the object that was received by the first entity from a second entity, the second chain of custody verifiable claim including a second signature generated by the second entity;

access a distributed ledger to verify the first chain of custody verifiable claim, verification of the first chain of custody verifiable claim being indicative that the first entity had proper custody of the object at a time the first chain of custody verifiable claim was received by the third entity; and

access, upon successful verification of the first chain of custody verifiable claim, the distributed ledger to verify the second chain of custody verifiable claim, verification of the second chain of custody verifiable claim being indicative that the second entity had proper custody of the object at the time a second chain of custody verifiable claim was received by the first entity.

2. The computing system of claim 1 , wherein the first entity is an entity that originates the chain of custody.

3. The computing system of claim 1 , wherein the first entity is an entity that creates the object.

4. The computing system of claim 1 , wherein the second chain of custody verifiable claim includes a claim that specifies a repair or alteration made to the object.

5. The computing system of claim 1 , wherein the second chain of custody verifiable claim includes a claim made by an endorsement entity.

6. The computing system of claim 1 , wherein the object is a digital object and wherein the first chain of custody verifiable claim is included in metadata of the digital object.

7. A method for recording a chain of custody in a decentralized network that implements a Decentralized Identifier (DID) backed by a distributed ledger, the method comprising:

receiving, at a third entity, a first chain of custody verifiable claim related to an object from a first entity, the first chain of custody verifiable claim including a first signature generated by the first entity and having embedded therein a second chain of custody verifiable claim related to the object that was received by the first entity from a second entity, the second chain of custody verifiable claim including a second signature generated by the second entity;

accessing a distributed ledger to verify the first chain of custody verifiable claim, verification of the first chain of custody verifiable claim being indicative that the first entity had proper custody of the object at a time the first chain of custody verifiable claim was received by the third entity; and

accessing, upon successful verification of the first chain of custody verifiable claim, the distributed ledger to verify the second chain of custody verifiable claim, verification of the second chain of custody verifiable claim being indicative that the second entity had proper custody of the object at the time a second chain of custody verifiable claim was received by the first entity.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the first entity is an entity that originates the chain of custody.

9. The method of claim 7 , wherein the first entity is an entity that creates the object.

10. The method of claim 7 , wherein the second chain of custody verifiable claim includes a claim that specifies a repair or alteration made to the object.

11. The method of claim 7 , wherein the second chain of custody verifiable claim includes a claim made by an endorsement entity.

12. The method of claim 7 , wherein the object is a digital object and wherein the first chain of custody verifiable claim is included in metadata of the digital object.

13. The method of claim 7 , wherein the first chain of custody verifiable claim includes a digital picture of the object in metadata of the first chain of custody verifiable claim.

14. A computer readable hardware storage medium having stored thereon executable code that, when executed by a processor of a computing system, cause the computing system to perform the following:

receive, at a third entity, a first chain of custody verifiable claim related to an object from a first entity, the first chain of custody verifiable claim including a first signature generated by the first entity and having embedded therein a second chain of custody verifiable claim related to the object that was received by the first entity from a second entity, the second chain of custody verifiable claim including a second signature generated by the second entity;

access a distributed ledger to verify the first chain of custody verifiable claim, verification of the first chain of custody verifiable claim being indicative that the first entity had proper custody of the object at a time the first chain of custody verifiable claim was received by the third entity;

and

access, upon successful verification of the first chain of custody verifiable claim, the distributed ledger to verify the second chain of custody verifiable claim, verification of the second chain of custody verifiable claim being indicative that the second entity had proper custody of the object at the time a second chain of custody verifiable claim was received by the first entity.

15. The computer readable storage medium of claim 14 , wherein the first entity is an entity that originates the chain of custody.

16. The computer readable storage medium of claim 14 , wherein the first entity is an entity that creates the object.

17. The computer readable storage medium of claim 14 , wherein the second chain of custody verifiable claim includes a claim that specifies a repair or alteration made to the object.

18. The computer readable storage medium of claim 14 , wherein the second chain of custody verifiable claim includes a claim made by an endorsement entity.

19. The computer readable storage medium of claim 14 , wherein the object is a digital object and wherein the first chain of custody verifiable claim is included in metadata of the digital object.

20. The computer readable storage medium of claim 14 , wherein the first chain of custody verifiable claim includes a digital picture of the object in metadata of the first chain of custody verifiable claim.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Sep 6, 2023
From: MURDOCH, BRANDON BRIAN; PATEL, ANKUR; SACHS, ERIC CHRISTOPHER
To: MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING, LLC
Reel/Frame 064816/0587 →
Continuity (2)
Continuation 17334869 · May 31, 2021
Related Publication 20240250830A1 · Jul 25, 2024
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