Blockchain solution for an automated advertising marketplace

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2021383428-A1
Application number	US-202117406853-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Aug 19, 2021
Priority date	Apr 25, 2018
Publication date	Dec 9, 2021
Grant date	—

Abstract

Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, a device, that includes a processing system including a processor, and a memory that stores executable instructions that, when executed by the processing system, facilitate performance of operations, the operations including: creating an initial block in a blockchain, wherein the initial block includes first information describing an advertisement spot generated by a viewer device; adding second information to the initial block that identifies a purchaser of the advertisement spot; calculating a cryptographic hash for the initial block; and sending a copy of the cryptographic hash to a network element of a communications network, wherein the network element records the copy of the cryptographic hash in a hash ledger. Other embodiments are disclosed.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A device, comprising:
a processing system including a processor; and a memory that stores a hash ledger and executable instructions that, when executed by the processing system, facilitate performance of operations, the operations comprising:
receiving a copy of a cryptographic hash for a block of a blockchain, wherein the block comprises first information describing a property and second information that identifies a purchaser of the property;
recording the copy of the cryptographic hash for the block of the blockchain in the hash ledger; and
updating permissions in the hash ledger permitting the purchaser to update the hash ledger, wherein the hash ledger is only accessible as permitted by the device, wherein the hash ledger is maintained separate from the blockchain, and wherein the device does not distribute the hash ledger.

2 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the first information comprises a size of an advertisement spot, a format of the advertisement spot, a duration of the advertisement spot, or a combination thereof.

3 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise adding third information to the block, wherein the third information includes information about a viewer device.

4 . The device of claim 3 , wherein the third information comprises demographic information about a user of the viewer device, an identifier for the user of the viewer device, or a combination thereof, wherein the identifier maintains anonymity of the user.

5 . The device of claim 3 , wherein the viewer device comprises a data terminal, a mobile device, or an audio/video display device.

6 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise notifying the purchaser of the permissions.

7 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise: recording a copy of a subsequent cryptographic hash in the hash ledger, wherein the subsequent cryptographic hash corresponds to a subsequent block in the blockchain, and wherein the subsequent cryptographic hash is generated by a simple cryptographic hash generation algorithm without proof of work, thereby reducing latency.

8 . The device of claim 7 , wherein the subsequent block comprises information including a subsequent purchaser of the property.

9 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise:
receiving a copy of the blockchain and locating information for an advertisement; comparing a copy of cryptographic hash values recorded in the hash ledger with cryptographic hash values recorded in the blockchain; and responsive to a determination that the comparing of the cryptographic hash values is identical, providing access to the property.

10 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the processing system comprises a plurality of processors operating in a distributed processing environment.

11 . A non-transitory, machine-readable medium, comprising executable instructions that, when executed by a processing system including a processor, facilitate performance of operations, the operations comprising:
receiving a copy of a cryptographic hash for a block in a blockchain, wherein the block comprises first information describing a property and second information that identifies a purchaser of the property; recording the copy of the cryptographic hash in a hash ledger for the blockchain; and maintaining the hash ledger separately from the blockchain, wherein the hash ledger is not distributed, and wherein the purchaser is only permitted to update the hash ledger.

12 . The non-transitory, machine-readable medium of claim 11 , wherein the operations further comprise:
receiving a copy of a subsequent cryptographic hash, wherein the subsequent cryptographic hash corresponds to a subsequent block in the blockchain, wherein the subsequent block comprises information including a subsequent purchaser of the property; and recording the copy of the subsequent cryptographic hash in the hash ledger.

13 . The non-transitory, machine-readable medium of claim 12 , wherein the operations further comprise:
receiving a copy of the blockchain; comparing a copy of cryptographic hash values recorded in the hash ledger with cryptographic hash values recorded in the blockchain; and providing a message indicating whether the cryptographic hash values in the blockchain are identical to the cryptographic hash values recorded in the blockchain.

14 . The non-transitory, machine-readable medium of claim 13 , wherein the operations further comprise:
receiving a request for a copy of the cryptographic hash values recorded in the hash ledger; and providing the copy of the cryptographic hash values responsive to the request.

15 . The non-transitory, machine-readable medium of claim 11 , wherein the processing system comprises a plurality of processors operating in a distributed processing environment.

16 . The non-transitory, machine-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the processing system comprises a network element in a communications network.

17 . A method, comprising:
recording, by a processing system including a processor, a copy of a cryptographic hash in a hash ledger for a block of a blockchain, wherein the block comprises first information describing a property and second information identifying a purchaser of the property; maintaining, by the processing system, the hash ledger separate from the blockchain, and updating, by the processing system, permissions in the hash ledger permitting only the purchaser to update the hash ledger.

18 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the first information comprises a size of an advertisement spot, a format of the advertisement spot, a duration of the advertisement spot, or a combination thereof.

19 . The method of claim 18 , wherein the block includes third information comprising demographic information about a user of a viewer device, an identifier for the user of the viewer device, or a combination thereof, and wherein the identifier maintains anonymity of the user.

20 . The method of claim 19 , further comprising:
encrypting, by the processing system, the third information with an encryption key before the third information is added to the block; sending, by the processing system, a decryption key for the third information to the purchaser; and recording, by the processing system, a copy of a subsequent cryptographic hash in the hash ledger, wherein the subsequent cryptographic hash corresponds to a subsequent block in the blockchain.

Assignees

• At & T Ip I Lp

Inventors

• Johnson Lars
• Fischmann Hans
• Serban Cristina
• Morovitz Jennifer
• Giura Paul

Classifications

• H04L9/50

  using hash chains, e.g. blockchains or hash trees · CPC title

• G06Q30/0248 Primary

  Avoiding fraud · CPC title

• G06Q2220/00

  Business processing using cryptography · CPC title

• H04L9/0643

  Hash functions, e.g. MD5, SHA, HMAC or f9 MAC · CPC title

• H04L63/123

  received data contents, e.g. message integrity · CPC title