E-bazaar featuring personal information security
Utilization of the E-Metro Community and Personal Information Agents assure an effective and comprehensive agent-rule based command and control of informational assets in a networked computer environment. The concerns of informational privacy and informational self-determination are addressed squarely by the invention affording persons and entities a trusted means to author, secure, search, process, and exchange personal and/or confidential information in a networked computer environment. The formation of trusted electronic communities wherein members command and control their digital persona, exchanging or brokering for value the trusted utility of their informational assets is made possible by the invention. The present invention provides for the trusted utilization of personal data in electronic markets, providing both communities and individuals aggregate and individual rule-based control of the processing of their personal data.
1. An electronic bazaar operating on a distributed, electronic network, comprising:
an advertiser personal information agent (PIA), accessible to a seller by way of a networked device, configured to advertise one or more products or services for trade, the advertiser PIA also configured to send over the network one or more items of personal information regarding the seller and one or more rules governing processing of the seller's personal information items;
a buyer PIA, accessible to a buyer by way of a networked device, configured to shop for the products or services for trade, the buyer PIA also configured to send over the network one or more items of personal information regarding the buyer and one or more rules governing processing of the buyer's personal information items;
a product database for storing product information concerning the products or services for trade, the product database being accessible to the buyer and advertiser PIAs; and
an electronic broker computer program, residing on at least one networked server connected to the network, for providing trusted processing of one or more trade interactions between the buyer and advertiser PIAs where the trade interactions involve an exchange of personal information items between the buyer and advertiser PIAs, the electronic broker computer program including:
means for maintaining the privacy and integrity of the personal information and rules provided by the buyer and advertiser PIAs, and
means for allowing only a trusted process to securely access the personal information and rules from the buyer and advertiser PIAs to ensure that the rules are satisfied before the trade interactions for the products or services for trade are processed.
2. The electronic bazaar of claim 1 , wherein the rules are bound to and move across the network with the personal information items.
3. The electronic bazaar of claim 1 , wherein the advertiser and buyer PIAs each securely encapsulate the advertiser and buyer personal information and rules, respectively, in an encrypted format.
4. The electronic bazaar of claim 1 , wherein the electronic broker computer program permits transference of the advertiser PIA or buyer PIA to another PIA during an interaction, according to the rules.
5. The electronic bazaar of claim 1 , wherein buyer and advertiser PIAs each include a digital certificate for authentication.
6. The electronic bazaar of claim 1 , further comprising:
a trusted token processor configured to issue and validate trusted tokens presented by the buyer and advertiser PIAs.
7. The electronic bazaar of claim 1 , wherein the rules include one or more transitive rules.
8. The electronic bazaar of claim 1 , wherein the trustworthiness of the buyer's and seller's personal information is certified by a third party.
9. A computer-readable medium embodying a set of instructions executable by one or more processors, comprising:
software code for an advertiser personal information agent (PIA), accessible to a seller by way of a networked device, configured to advertise one or more products or services for trade, the advertiser PIA configured to send over the network one or more items of personal information regarding the seller and one or more rules governing processing of the seller's personal information items;
software code for a buyer PIA, accessible to a buyer by way of a networked device, configured to shop for the products or services for trade, the buyer PIA configured to send over the network one or more items of personal information regarding the buyer and one or more rules governing processing of the buyer's personal information items;
software code for a product database for storing product information concerning the products or services for trade, the product database being accessible to the buyer and advertiser PIAs; and
software code for an electronic broker, residing on at least one networked server connected to the network, for providing trusted processing of one or more trade interactions between the buyer and advertiser PIAs where the trade interactions involve an exchange of personal information items between the buyer and advertiser PIAs, the electronic broker computer program including:
means for maintaining the privacy and integrity of the personal information and rules provided by the buyer and advertiser PIAs, and
means for allowing only a trusted process to securely access the personal information and rules from the buyer and advertiser PIAs to ensure that the rules are satisfied before the trade interactions for the products or services for trade are processed.
10. The computer-readable medium of claim 9 , wherein buyer and advertiser PIAs each include a digital certificate for authentication.
11. The computer-readable medium of claim 9 , further comprising:
software code for a trusted token processor configured to issue and validate trusted tokens presented by the buyer and advertiser PIAs.
12. The computer-readable medium of claim 9 , wherein the trustworthiness of the buyer's and seller's personal information is certified by a third party.
13. An electronic bazaar operating on a distributed, electronic network, comprising:
an advertiser client, executing on a networked device, for advertising one or more products or services for trade, the advertiser client configured to send over the network one or more items of personal information regarding a seller and one or more rules governing processing of the seller's personal information items;
a buyer client, executing on a networked device, for shopping for the products or services for trade, the buyer client configured to send over the network one or more items of personal information regarding a buyer and one or more rules governing processing of the buyer's personal information items;
a product database for storing product information concerning the products or services for trade, the product database being accessible to the buyer and advertiser clients; and
an electronic broker computer program, residing on at least one networked server connected to the network, for providing trusted processing of one or more trade transactions between the buyer and advertiser clients, and for ensuring that the rules governing the buyer's and seller's personal information items are satisfied before the trade transactions for the products or services are completed.
14. The electronic bazaar of claim 13 , wherein the rules are bound to and move across the network with the personal information items.
15. The electronic bazaar of claim 13 , wherein the advertiser and buyer PIAs each securely ecapsulate the advertiser and buyer personal information and rules, respectively, in an encrypted format.
16. The electronic bazaar of claim 13 , wherein the electronic broker computer program permits transference of the advertiser PIA or buyer PIA to another PIA during an interaction, according to the rules.
17. The electronic bazaar of claim 13 , wherein buyer and advertiser PIAs each include a digital certificate for authentication.
18. The electronic bazaar of claim 13 , further comprising:
a trusted token processor configured to issue and validate trusted tokens presented by the buyer and advertiser PIAs.
19. The electronic bazaar of claim 13 , wherein the rules include one or more transitive rules.
20. The electronic bazaar of claim 13 , wherein the trustworthiness of the buyer's and seller's personal information is certified by a third party.