Systems and methods for a commodity contracts market using a secure distributed transaction ledger

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016260171-A1
Application number	US-201514802847-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Jul 17, 2015
Priority date	Mar 2, 2015
Publication date	Sep 8, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

Aspects of the present invention provide systems and methods that solved the problems of how to participate in a marketplace exchange without using a centralized intermediary. In embodiments, a secure distributed transaction ledger may be used as an integration framework that supports communications between parties, the transfer of funds from one party to another party, and the ability to for the provisioning or transfer of deliverables by a seller to a buyer or for the benefit of a buyer. In embodiments, a buyer, a seller, and an escrow entity have defined functions that facilitate transactions and help build in more trust into the marketplace.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A computer-implemented method for a computing device participating as a seller, the method comprising:
connecting to one or more nodes of a distributed peer-to-peer network that maintains a block chain, the block chain comprising a cryptographically linked sets of data blocks; obtaining at least part of the block chain; examining one or more of the data blocks of the block chain for a message relevant to the seller; responsive to identifying a relevant message within a specified time period, executing one or more instructions related to the relevant message; and responsive to not identifying a relevant message within a specified time period:
determining whether any deliverables are ready for their intended recipients; and
responsive to determining that a deliverable is ready for its intended recipient:
sending the deliverable to the intended recipient; and
sending a “funds payout request” message to an escrow entity via the block chain, the “funds payout request” message requesting payment of funds for sending the deliverable to the intended recipient according to an agreement.

2 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein the step of responsive to identifying a relevant message within a specified time period, executing one or more instructions related to the relevant message comprises:
identifying the relevant message as a “proposal broadcast” message comprising one or more terms from a buyer;
determining whether one or more terms in the “proposal broadcast” message are acceptable to the seller;
responsive to the one or more terms in the “proposal broadcast” message being acceptable, submitting, to one or more nodes of the distributed peer-to-peer network that maintains the block chain, a “proposal accepted” message to be included in the block chain, the “proposal accepted” message intended for the buyer; and
responsive to the one or more terms in the “proposal broadcast” message not being acceptable, submitting, to one or more nodes of the distributed peer-to-peer network that maintains the block chain, a “proposal counteroffer” message intended for the buyer, which is to be included in the block chain, the “proposal counteroffer” message comprising a proposed change to the one or more terms that were not acceptable to the seller.

3 . The computer-implemented method of claim 2 further comprising:
determining whether the buyer is an acceptable party to the seller.

4 . The computer-implemented method of claim 3 wherein the step of determining whether the buyer is an acceptable party to the seller comprises:
examining data related to one or more prior agreements involving the buyer, the one or more prior agreements being recorded in the block chain.

5 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein the step of responsive to identifying a relevant message within a specified time period, executing one or more instructions related to the relevant message comprises:
identifying the relevant message as a “proposal counteroffer” message comprising one or more terms from a buyer;
determining whether one or more terms in the “proposal counteroffer” message are acceptable to the seller;
responsive to the one or more terms in the “proposal counteroffer” message being acceptable, submitting, to one or more nodes of the distributed peer-to-peer network that maintains the block chain, a “proposal accepted” message to be included in the block chain, the “proposal accepted” message intended for the buyer; and
responsive to the one or more terms in the “proposal broadcast” message not being acceptable:
deciding whether to continue negotiations with the buyer;
responsive to deciding not to continue negotiations with the buyer, taking no action to advance negotiations; and
responsive to deciding to continue negotiations with the buyer, submitting, to one or more nodes of the distributed peer-to-peer network that maintains the block chain, a “proposal counteroffer” message intended for the buyer, which is to be included in the block chain, the “proposal counteroffer” message comprising a proposed change to the one or more terms that were not acceptable to the seller.

6 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein the step of responsive to identifying a relevant message within a specified time period, executing one or more instructions related to the relevant message comprises:
identifying the relevant message as a “proposal accepted” message from a buyer; and
responsive to the “proposal accepted” message from a buyer resulting in an agreement with the buyer and the seller being formed, waiting for a “funds in escrow” message from an escrow entity delivered via the block chain, the “funds in escrow” message indicated that the escrow entity has in escrow an appropriate amount due under the agreement.

7 . The computer-implemented method of claim 6 further comprising:
responsive to receiving a “funds in escrow” message:
sending a deliverable as defined in the agreement to an intended recipient; and
sending a “funds payout request” message to the escrow entity via the block chain, the “funds payout request” message requesting payment of funds for sending the deliverable to the intended recipient according to the agreement.

8 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein the escrow entity performs its operations programmatically as part of maintenance of the block chain by the distributed peer-to-peer network.

9 . A computer-implemented method for a computing device participating as a buyer, the method comprising:
connecting to one or more nodes of a distributed peer-to-peer network that maintains a block chain, the block chain comprising a cryptographically linked sets of data blocks; obtaining at least part of the block chain; examining one or more of the data blocks of the block chain for a message relevant to the buyer; responsive to identifying a relevant message within a specified time period, executing one or more instructions related to the relevant message; and responsive to not identifying a relevant message within a specified time period:
for each outstanding proposal, updating the proposals status; and
responsive to a contract completion timeout period for an agreement having been reached and a seller associated with the agreement having not completed performance under the agreement within the contract completion timeout period, sending a “buyer rejection” message to an escrow entity via the block chain, the “buyer rejection” message requesting the escrow entity to pay funds in escrow under the agreement to a third party and not the seller.

10 . The computer-implemented method of claim 9 wherein the step of responsive to identifying a relevant message within a specified time period, executing one or more instructions related to the relevant message comprises:
identifying the relevant message as a “proposal broadcast” message comprising one or more terms from a seller;
determining whether one or more terms in the “proposal broadcast” message are acceptable to the buyer;
responsive to the one or more terms in the “proposal broadcast” message being acceptable, submitting, to one or more nodes of the distributed peer-to-peer network that maintains the block chain, a “proposal accepted” message to be included in the block chain, the “proposal accepted” message intended for the seller; and
responsive to the one or more terms in the “proposal broadcast” message not being acceptable, submitting, to one or more nodes of the distributed peer-to-peer network that maintains the block chain, a “proposal counteroffer” message intended for the seller, which is to be included in the block chain, the “proposal coun

Assignees

• Dell Products Lp

Inventors

• Ford Daniel A
• Narayanan Rajesh

Classifications

• G06Q2220/10

  Usage protection of distributed data files · CPC title

• G06Q20/223

  based on the use of peer-to-peer networks · CPC title

• G06Q20/10

  specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems · CPC title

• G06Q20/42

  Confirmation, e.g. check or permission by the legal debtor of payment · CPC title

• G06Q40/04 Primary

  Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange · CPC title