Patent Issued for Document generation with dynamic watermarking (USPTO 11514438): United Services Automobile Association

2022 DEC 21 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- According to news reporting originating from Alexandria, Virginia, by NewsRx journalists, a patent by the inventors Meyer, Gregory B. (San Antonio, TX, US), Rogers, Jeffrey D. (Helotes, TX, US), filed on October 29, 2020, was published online on November 29, 2022.

The assignee for this patent, patent number 11514438, is United Services Automobile Association (San Antonio, Texas, United States).

Reporters obtained the following quote from the background information supplied by the inventors: “Traditionally, individuals have used certified checks, cashier’s checks, or bank checks as an instrument to transfer a certified amount of funds to a payee. Obtaining such a check requires the individual to visit a bank branch, prove their identity to a teller, and receive the paper copy of the check. The individual may then present the check as a source of certified funds to a payee. Because the check is certified by the issuing financial institution, use of such a check provides the payee with confidence that the check is actually backed by guaranteed, reserved funds, i.e., that the check will not bounce. As more individuals switch to using virtual and/or online-only banks which may have limited, or no, physical branch locations, obtaining a certified check, cashier’s check, or bank check has become more difficult.”

In addition to obtaining background information on this patent, NewsRx editors also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent: “Implementations of the present disclosure are generally directed to generating a digital document for presentation on a user device. More specifically, implementations are directed to generating a digital check including a digital watermark that is uniquely associated with the digital check and/or generated specifically for the digital check based on data corresponding to the particular check, such as a serial identifier (ID), transaction ID, payor ID, amount, and/or other information.

“In general, innovative aspects of the subject matter described in this specification can be embodied in methods that includes actions of: receiving, from a user device, data to be included on a digital check, the data provided through a user interface (UI) executing on the user device; determining a digital watermark to be included on the digital check, the digital watermark being unique to the digital check; generating the digital check that includes the digital watermark and the data; and transmitting the digital check for presentation through the UI on the user device.

“Implementations can optionally include one or more of the following features: the actions further include determining a serial identifier (ID) that uniquely corresponds to the digital check; the digital check is generated to include the serial ID; the digital watermark is generated for the digital check based at least partly on the serial ID; the digital watermark includes a plurality of curves that are generated using an algorithm that receives the serial ID as an input; the actions further include receiving a presentation of the digital check for payment; the actions further include retrieving the serial ID and the digital watermark from the digital check; the actions further include regenerating the digital watermark based on the serial ID; the actions further include validating the digital check based on a correspondence between the retrieved digital watermark and the regenerated digital watermark; the actions further include determining a transaction ID associated with the digital check; the actions further include associating the transaction ID with the serial ID in a data structure; the digital watermark is generated for the digital check based at least partly on the transaction ID; the digital watermark includes a plurality of curves that are generated using an algorithm that receives the transaction ID as an input; the actions further include receiving a presentation of the digital check for payment; the actions further include retrieving the serial ID and the digital watermark from the digital check; the actions further include determining the transaction ID that is associated, in the data structure, with the retrieved serial ID; the actions further include regenerating the digital watermark based on the transaction ID; the actions further include validating the digital check based on a correspondence between the retrieved digital watermark and the regenerated digital watermark; the data describes an amount of funds to be transferred using the digital check and an account number of an account to be used as a source of the funds; the actions further include verifying that a current balance of the account is at least the amount; and/or the actions further include receiving, from the user device, a digital signature that is applied to the digital check through the UI on the user device and, in response, reserving an amount of funds to be accessible only through presentation of the digital check.

“Other implementations of any of the above aspects include corresponding systems, apparatus, and computer programs that are configured to perform the actions of the methods, encoded on computer storage devices. The present disclosure also provides a computer-readable storage medium coupled to one or more processors and having instructions stored thereon which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations in accordance with implementations of the methods provided herein. The present disclosure further provides a system for implementing the methods provided herein. The system includes one or more processors, and a computer-readable storage medium coupled to the one or more processors having instructions stored thereon which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations in accordance with implementations of the methods provided herein.

“Implementations of the present disclosure provide one or more of the following technical advantages and/or technical improvements over previously available solutions. By providing a digital check including a watermark that is unique to the particular check, the watermark generated based on an algorithm that is not exposed to the public, implementations provide a mechanism for ensuring, when the check is presented, that the check is valid and not fraudulent, and that the check has been authorized for payment by the owner of the account. This fraud prevention mechanism provides for reliable automatic validation of the check prior to payment, thus reducing the instance of fraud through counterfeit checks. Accordingly, implementations avoid the expenditure of processing power, network capacity, memory, storage space, and/or other computing resources that are expended by traditional systems to recover from fraud activities. Moreover, implementations further prevent fraud by avoiding the use of a physical cashier’s check that may be stolen or copied, and by providing a digital check in an on-demand, or just-in-time manner, such that the digital check exists for a short period of time. In particular, the digital check can be generated at time of delivery (e.g., when it is needed) and the digital check can be delivered to the recipient immediately thereafter, either by message-attached image sent to the recipient or digital capture of an image of the check by the recipient’s camera. In either instance, the recipient may deposit the digital check (e.g., immediately) after receiving it, such that the digital check is no longer vulnerable to theft or fraud.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“1. A computer-implemented method comprising: receiving, by a first computer system: a login and a password to access an account associated with a first user, and transaction data regarding a transaction to be conducted using the account; generating, by the first computer system, a digital check based on the login and the transaction data, wherein generating the digital check comprises: generating a first digital watermark having a first plurality of curves, wherein the first digital watermark is generated as a function of the login, and including the first digital watermark and at least a portion of the transaction data in the digital check; transmitting, by the first computer system, the digital check to a second computer system associated with the first user; receiving, by the first computer system, a request for payment, the request for payment including the digital check; retrieving, by the first computer system, the first digital watermark from the digital check included in the request; generating, by the first computer system, independent of the first digital water mark, a second digital watermark having a second plurality of curves, wherein the second digital watermark is generated as a function of the login; determining, by the first computer system, a similarity between (i) the first digital watermark retrieved from the digital check included in the request, and (ii) and the second digital watermark; and authorizing, by the first computer system, payment using the digital check included in the request based on the determined similarity.

“2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining, by the first computer system, a serial identifier (ID) that uniquely corresponds to the digital check; and including, by the first computer system, the serial ID in the digital check.

“3. The method of claim 2, wherein the first digital watermark is generated as a function of the serial ID.

“4. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining, by the first computer system, a transaction ID associated with the digital check, wherein the first digital watermark is generated as a function of the transaction ID.

“5. The method of claim 1, wherein the request for payment is received by the first computer system from a third computer system associated with a second user.

“6. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the digital check comprises selecting at least one of a size, a shape, an inflection, a curvature, or a location of a curve of the first plurality of curves as a function of the login.

“7. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the digital check comprises selecting at least one of a color, a thickness, or a pattern of a curve of the first plurality of curves as a function of the login.

“8. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the digital check comprises selecting a number of curves as a function of the login.

“9. A system, comprising: at least one processor; and one or more non-transitory computer readable media communicatively coupled to the at least one processor, the one or more non-transitory computer readable media storing instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform operations comprising: receiving: a login and a password to access an account associated with a first user, and transaction data regarding a transaction to be conducted using the account; generating a digital check based on the login and the transaction data, wherein generating the digital check comprises: generating a first digital watermark having a first plurality of curves, wherein the first digital watermark is generated as a function of the login, and including the first digital watermark and at least a portion of the transaction data in the digital check; transmitting the digital check to a first computer system associated with the first user; receiving a request for payment, the request for payment including the digital check; retrieving the first digital watermark from the digital check included in the request; generating, independent of the first digital water mark, a second digital watermark having a second plurality of curves, wherein the second digital watermark is generated as a function of the login; determining a similarity between (i) the first digital watermark retrieved from the digital check included in the request, and (ii) and the second digital watermark; and authorizing payment using the digital check included in the request based on the determined similarity.

“10. The system of claim 9, further comprising: determining a serial identifier (ID) that uniquely corresponds to the digital check; and including the serial ID in the digital check.

“11. The system of claim 10, wherein the first digital watermark is generated as a function of the serial ID.

“12. The system of claim 9, further comprising: determining a transaction ID associated with the digital check, wherein the first digital watermark is generated as a function of the transaction ID.

“13. The system of claim 9, wherein the request for payment is received from a second computer system associated with a second user.

“14. The system of claim 9, wherein generating the digital check comprises selecting at least one of a size, a shape, an inflection, a curvature, or a location of a curve of the first plurality of curves as a function of the login.

“15. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing instructions which, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform operations comprising: receiving: a login and a password to access an account associated with a first user, and transaction data regarding a transaction to be conducted using the account; generating a digital check based on the login and the transaction data, wherein generating the digital check comprises: generating a first digital watermark having a first plurality of curves, wherein the first digital watermark is generated as a function of the login, and including the first digital watermark and at least a portion of the transaction data in the digital check; transmitting the digital check to a first computer system associated with the first user; receiving a request for payment, the request for payment including the digital check; retrieving the first digital watermark from the digital check included in the request; generating, independent of the first digital water mark, a second digital watermark having a second plurality of curves, wherein the second digital watermark is generated as a function of the login; determining a similarity between (i) the first digital watermark retrieved from the digital check included in the request, and (ii) and the second digital watermark; and authorizing payment using the digital check included in the request based on the determined similarity.

“16. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15, further comprising: determining a serial identifier (ID) that uniquely corresponds to the digital check; and including the serial ID in the digital check.

“17. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 16, wherein the first digital watermark is generated as a function of the serial ID.

“18. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15, further comprising: determining a transaction ID associated with the digital check, wherein the first digital watermark is generated as a function of the transaction ID.

“19. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15, wherein the request for payment is received from a second computer system associated with a second user.

“20. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15, wherein generating the digital check comprises selecting at least one of a color, a thickness, or a pattern of a curve of the first plurality of curves as a function of the login.”

For more information, see this patent: Meyer, Gregory B. Document generation with dynamic watermarking. U.S. Patent Number 11514438, filed October 29, 2020, and published online on November 29, 2022. Patent URL (for desktop use only): https://ppubs.uspto.gov/pubwebapp/external.html?q=(11514438)&db=USPAT&type=ids

(Our reports deliver fact-based news of research and discoveries from around the world.)