New patents are issued by the USPTO on Tuesdays. This week's Spotlight Patents continue the theme of blockchain (distributed ledger, smart contracts) and digital rights management broadly construed and both are assigned to Blockchain ASICs LLC. The first patent concerns techniques for a transform-enabled integrated circuit for use in cryptographic proof-of-work systems. The second patent concerns a cryptographic ASIC and method for autonomously storing a unique internal identifier into a one-time programmable memory in isolation by a foundry.
10,262,164, "Cryptographic ASIC including circuitry-encoded transformation function," assigned to Blockchain ASICs LLC.
Abstract
A transform-enabled integrated circuit for use in cryptographic proof-of-work systems is provided. The transform-enabled integrated circuit includes a transformation block embedded among other circuitry components within the cryptographic datapath of the transform-enabled integrated circuit. The transformation block may be configured at a time subsequent to the manufacture of the integrated circuit to embody as circuitry any one of a plurality of mathematical transformation functions, thus enabling a user to systemically modify the results of cryptographic operations performed by the integrated circuit while retaining the high performance and efficiency characteristics of application specific integrated circuits. Embodiments of the technology disclosed herein provides an hereto unachievable level of flexibility in the deployment of application-specific integrated circuits within proof-of-work verification systems, such as private block chain systems, public block chain systems, digital rights management, secure token and other cryptography-related fields.
10,262,163, "Cryptographic ASIC with unique internal identifier," assigned to Blockchain ASICs LLC.
Abstract
A cryptographic ASIC and method for autonomously storing a unique internal identifier into a one-time programmable memory in isolation by a foundry. The identifier may be determined by calculating a transformed hash of a predetermined input, and may serve as a cryptographically defined and verifiable CpuID for a particular ASIC instance. The CpuID may be derived from an input based on a manufacture date, a wafer lot number, a wafer number, row and column coordinates for a die on a wafer, or other foundry-defined data. The CpuID enables a given ASIC instance to be securely and remotely identified across an untrusted network, and to serve as a specified processor that originates an information stream or a message. The ASIC need not always perform high-speed calculations and so may be relatively simple and inexpensive, and in one embodiment serves as a secure data administrator that manages subscriptions and software updates.
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