New pending patent applications are published by the USPTO on Thursdays. Today's Spotlight Applications continue our theme of blockchains (smart contracts, distributed ledgers) and rights management broadly construed. Assigned to Ngrave (BE), the first application discloses techniques for the long-term offline management of cryptographic parameters. Assigned to Telefonica (ES), the second application discloses techniques for recovering cryptographic keys of a blockchain network.
20200234296, "Long-term offline management of cryptographic parameters," assigned to Ngrave NV (BE)
Abstract
A method for the interception-proof transmission of at least one cryptographic parameter from a user to an encrypted offline storage medium, comprising steps of: cloaking an upward portion of a substrate with an upper plate, characterized in that said upper plate comprises a multitude of indicia, wherein each indicium has a corresponding manipulation indicator; sequentially positioning a manipulation apparatus over one or more of the manipulation indicators; mechanically manipulating the substrate, after each sequential positioning of the manipulation apparatus, using said manipulation apparatus, characterized in that the manipulation indicator of the desired indicium overlaps with one mechanical manipulation unit of the substrate; and deconstructing said substrate in two or more complementary units, characterized in that said complementary units each comprises at least one mechanical manipulation unit administered by the manipulation apparatus.
20200235921, "Method and system for recovering cryptographic keys of a blockchain network," assigned to Telefonica (ES)
Abstract
Method and system for recovering cryptographic keys of a blockchain network. A computing device or an element associated with the same has stored a pair of cryptographic keys representative of the identity of the user in a blockchain network, including a public key and a private key. An identity manager maintains a registry of the user in a distributed directory. When a request from the user is received due to the loss/theft of their private key, the information on the public key of the user is eliminated from the registry and the user is revoked as the owner of a smart contract, a new pair of keys is generated, stored in the device or in said element; and the user is identified and authenticated. Once correctly authenticated, the manager receives the new public key of the user, updates the registry and updates the ownership of the smart contract.
