Method and apparatus for executing cryptographically-enabled letters of credit

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of this invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
To illustrate the environment of this invention, FIG.
1 is a document flow diagram illustrating one possible scenario using a method and apparatus consistent with the present invention.
The figure depicts a typical transaction in which buyer 102 and seller 104 negotiate and sign a contract.
While negotiating terms of the contract, buyer 102 and seller 104 exchange unsigned contracts 108 and 110.
Once the buyer and seller agree on the contract terms, buyer 102 digitally signs and transmits contract 114 to trusted agent 118 who forwards the buyer-signed contract to seller 104.
Seller 104 accepts and digitally signs the contract, creating buyer and seller-signed contract 106.
The seller returns buyer and seller-signed contract 106 to buyer 102 through an agreed upon trusted agent 118, thus closing the agreement.
It will be understood that the establishment of the contract as described need not necessarily be electronic.
A conventionally signed paper document may be used to establish the signed contract.
Further, buyer 102 and seller 104 may negotiate the contract directly, providing only the final signed copy to trusted agent.
It will be noted that subscripts within the drawing indicate the signing or receiving party of the various documents.
For example, "CONTRACTB" indicates a contract signed by the buyer, while "CERTIFICATEVAB" indicates a certificate distributed to verification authority B.
It will further be understood at while subsequent Figures use different reference numbers to describe the various parties, where a unitary transaction occurs, the various parties are the same throughout the different phases of the transaction.
FIG.
2 is a document flow diagram illustrating permission certificate distribution in a financial transaction involving escrow accounts.
As used herein, term "escrow account" defines the establishment of a value which can not be released except upon the occurrence of the pre-determined contract conditions