U.S. Patent 10771241 was awarded to Alibaba Group Holding Limited on September 08, 2020 and is entitled “Time authentication method, apparatus and device in blockchain-type ledger.” The first named inventor is Xinying Yang of Hangzhou, . The abstract contains an overview of the patent disclosure:

Computer-implemented methods, systems, and non-transitory, computer-readable media for server-based time authentication of blockchain-type ledgers are provided. One computer implemented method includes: determining at least one ledger that needs time authentication and includes one or more consecutive data blocks. For each ledger, determining ledger information corresponding to the ledger and including a plurality of items, such as: an identifier of the ledger, a block height of a starting block of the ledger, a block height of an ending block of the ledger, and a root hash of a Merkle tree formed by the one or more consecutive data blocks in the ledger. The ledger information is sent to a trusted time authentication agency for time authentication on each of the plurality of items. A time certificate, including a timestamp, the ledger information, and a digital signature of the time authentication agency is received from the time authentication agency. Link to Full Patent

This blockchain patent was originally filed on February 27, 2020  as U.S. Patent Application 16/803289 at the United Stated Patent and Trademark Office. The application was them awarded a patent grant and published as U.S. Patent 10771241. The primary examiner was Mohammad W Reza.

Alibaba Group Holding Limited, who is the original assignee of this patent, has at least 1834 total granted patents in the United States as of the date of this article. This blockchain patent has been cited 0 times by other U.S. patents according to our law firm research, and can be considered an innovative patent in the field of cryptocurrency and blockchain.

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