Generation, management, and tracking of digital credentials

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10068074-B2
Application number	US-201615081215-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 25, 2016
Priority date	Mar 25, 2016
Publication date	Sep 4, 2018
Grant date	Sep 4, 2018

Abstract

Techniques described herein relate to generating and managing digital credentials using a digital credential platform in communication with various digital credential template owners and digital credential issuers. In some embodiments, a digital credential platform server may receive and coordinate requests and responses between the digital credential template owners and a set of digital credential issuers, to determine which digital credential issuers are authorized to issue digital credential based on which digital credential templates. The digital credential platform server may provide the authorized issuers with access to particular digital credential templates and the functionality to issue digital credentials to users based on any of the particular digital credential templates. Additional techniques described herein relate to tracking, analyzing, and reporting data metrics for issued digital credentials.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A digital credential tracking system comprising:
one or more digital credential template owner devices, each digital credential template owner device comprising:
a first processing unit comprising one or more processors;
one or more network interfaces configured to securely transmit data to a digital credential platform server; and
memory coupled with and readable by the first processing unit and storing therein a set of instructions which, when executed by the first processing unit, causes the digital credential template owner device to transmit one or more digital credential templates to the digital credential platform server;

one or more digital credential issuer devices, each digital credential issuer device comprising:
a second processing unit comprising one or more processors;
one or more network interfaces configured to securely transmit data to the digital credential platform server; and
memory coupled with and readable by the second processing unit and storing therein a set of instructions which, when executed by the second processing unit, causes the digital credential issuer device to:
transmit requests to the digital credential platform server to request permission to issue digital credentials based on one or more of the one or more digital credential templates associated with one or more digital credential template owner devices;
access, from the digital credential platform server, a digital credential template for which the digital credential issuer device is authorized to issue digital credentials;
determine one or more credential receivers that are eligible to receive a digital credential based on the one or more digital credential templates;
generate digital credentials based on the one or more digital credential templates and user data associated with the one or more credential receivers; and
transmit data confirming issuance of the generated digital credentials to the digital credential platform server;

one or more credential receiver devices, each credential receiver device comprising:
a third processing unit comprising one or more processors;
one or more network interfaces configured to securely transmit data to the digital credential platform server; and
memory coupled with and readable by the third processing unit and storing therein a set of instructions which, when executed by the third processing unit, causes the credential receiver device to:
receive, from the digital credential platform server, data confirming that one or more digital credentials have been issued to a credential receiver associated with the credential receiver device, by one or more of the one or more digital credential issuer devices; and
transmit, to the digital credential platform server, data indicating one of an acceptance or a rejection of each of the one or more digital credentials; and

the digital credential platform server, comprising:
a fourth processing unit comprising one or more processors;
one or more network interfaces configured to transmit secure data to the one or more digital credential template owner devices, the one or more digital credential issuer devices, and the one or more credential receiver devices; and
memory coupled with and readable by the fourth processing unit and storing therein a set of instructions which, when executed by the fourth processing unit, causes the digital credential platform server to:
receive one or more digital credential templates from one or more of the one or more digital credential template owner devices;
receive data confirming issuance of one or more generated digital credentials, from one or more of the one or more digital credential issuer devices, wherein each generated digital credential is based on one of the one or more digital credential templates, and wherein each generated digital credential is issued to a particular credential receiver;
for each of the one or more generated digital credentials, receive data from one or more of the one or more credential receiver devices indicating either an acceptance or a rejection of the generated digital credential by the particular credential receiver to which the generated digital credential was issued;
for one or more generated digital credentials accepted by the credential receiver:
(a) receive data indicating that the accepted generated digital credential has been shared a first number times by a credential receiver, and store data indicating that the accepted generated digital credential has been shared the first number of times; and
(b) receive data indicating that the accepted generated digital credential has been viewed a second number of times by an external system, and store data indicating that the accepted generated digital credential has been viewed the second number of times;

receive, from a first client device, a request to access a digital credential data store maintained by the digital credential platform server, the request including authorization data for a first authorized user;
determine, in response to the request from the first client device, a first subset of the generated digital credentials associated with the first authorized user; and
transmit, to the first client device in response to the request, data relating to the first subset of the generated digital credentials associated with the first authorized user.

2. The digital credential tracking system of claim 1 , wherein the first authorized user is a first credential receiver, and wherein determining the first subset of the generated digital credentials comprises retrieving a set of digital credentials from the digital credential data store issued to the first credential receiver.

3. The digital credential tracking system of claim 1 , wherein the first authorized user is a first credential template owner, and wherein determining the first subset of the generated digital credentials comprises retrieving a set of digital credentials from the digital credential data store issued to any credential receiver, by any credential issuer, based on a digital credential template associated with the first credential template owner.

4. The digital credential tracking system of claim 1 , wherein the first authorized user is a first credential issuer, and wherein determining the first subset of the generated digital credentials comprises retrieving a set of digital credentials from the digital credential data store issued by the first credential issuer to any credential receiver, based on any digital credential template associated with any credential template owner.

5. The digital credential tracking system of claim 4 , the memory of the digital credential platform server storing therein further instructions which, when executed by the fourth processing unit, causes the digital credential platform server to:
receive, from the one or more of the one or more digital credential template owner devices, authorization data permitting the first credential issuer to retrieve data relating to digital credentials issued by the first credential issuer; and
determine, in response to the request from the first client device, that the first credential issuer has been granted access to data relating to digital credentials issued by the first credential issuer.

6. The digital credential tracking system of claim 1 , wherein the data transmitted to the first client device relating to the first subset of the generated digital credentials associated with the first authorized user comprises:
data indicating whether or not each generated digital credential has been accepted by a particular credential receiver to which the digital credential was issued;
data corresponding to a number of shares of each generated digital credential accepted by the particular credential receiver to which t

Assignees

• Pearson Education Inc
• Credly Inc

Inventors

• Mercury Mark Thomas
• Schmidt Kurt Jarin

Classifications

• H04L63/062

  for key distribution, e.g. centrally by trusted party (cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for key distribution involving a central third party H04L9/0819) · CPC title

• G06Q30/0185

  Product, service or business identity fraud · CPC title

• H04L63/083

  using passwords (cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication using a predetermined code H04L9/3226) · CPC title

• H04L63/0823

  using certificates (cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication involving certificates H04L9/3263) · CPC title

• H04L63/10

  for controlling access to devices or network resources · CPC title