Patents by Inventor Benjamin D. Follis

Benjamin D. Follis has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 11194368
    Abstract: A user can provide input to a device in a 2-dimensional manner (such as by entering the data using a stylus or finger to apply pressure to a touchscreen) or in a 3-dimensional manner (such as by moving the device in 3-dimensional space). While the user input is being received, biometric data in the form of accelerometer data is collected. The accelerometer data indicates an amount of force applied in each of one or more directions over time. The collected accelerometer data thus provides an indication of the manner in which the device was moved, whether intentionally or unintentionally, while the user input was being received. The collected accelerometer data can be used in various manners, such as to verify the user input, as a signature of the user, as an authentication value to access a service or device, and so forth.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 10, 2012
    Date of Patent: December 7, 2021
    Assignee: Adobe Inc.
    Inventors: Benjamin D. Follis, Dennis E. Griffin
  • Patent number: 10250393
    Abstract: Techniques allow for automatic signing of a digital document in response to some event and/or when the document satisfies some predefined condition. The document may be, for example, an agreement, a technical paper for publication, a press release or marketing materials, or any other digital document that might need to be assented to, approved by, and/or attributed to one or more persons or representatives. The techniques may further provide support for automatic signature tracking and notification in order to assist with auditability. In one example embodiment, the techniques are implemented in the context of an e-signature application or service, which may be installed locally on the user's computer or provided to the user via a network from a server. In one example embodiment, the e-signature service is configured to automatically impress a signer's signature into a given document, if the signer's pre-established auto-sign criteria is met.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2019
    Assignee: Adobe Inc.
    Inventor: Benjamin D. Follis
  • Publication number: 20190035038
    Abstract: A digital medium environment is described to improve tracking and storage of renewed contracts that contain revisions. In one example, a contract management system receives a revision to an existing contract and generates a revised version of the existing contract that visually distinguishes altered portions of the revised contract from unchanged portions. The contract management system additionally generates a memorandum of agreement that succinctly describes revisions to the existing contract for convenient reference. The contract management system transmits the memorandum of agreement to a signing party and for signature and return. Upon receiving the signed memorandum of agreement, the contract management system generates a signed version of the revised contract. The revised contract, existing contract, and memorandum of agreement are then associated and stored with one another for subsequent retrieval and revisions.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 31, 2017
    Publication date: January 31, 2019
    Applicant: Adobe Systems Incorporated
    Inventor: Benjamin D. Follis
  • Patent number: 10026109
    Abstract: Techniques to link contracts to deliverable items are described. A contract service to collect and associate electronic signatures with contracts is implemented in an online retail environment for management of sale and delivery of items to consumers. The contract service facilitates real-time, on-line access to contracts between consumers and retailers for deliverable items at the time of delivery. In connection with a purchase transaction, a contract is generated via the contract service that is prepared for electronic signatures and has an associated contract identifier. The contract service obtains an item identifier that is uniquely associated with the deliverable item and links the contract to the item identifier. Then, a web accessible interface is exposed to enable look-up of the contract using the item identifier. At the time of delivery, the web accessible interface is employed to access the contract from the contract service for viewing and signing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 11, 2015
    Date of Patent: July 17, 2018
    Assignee: ADOBE SYSTEMS INCORPORATED
    Inventor: Benjamin D. Follis
  • Patent number: 9942396
    Abstract: Workflows are provided that enable documents to be distributed, assented to, and otherwise interacted with on an aural and/or oral basis. Such workflows can be implemented so as to allow a recipient to receive, understand, and interact with a document using conventional components such as the microphone and speaker provided by a telephone. For instance, in one embodiment a document originator may send a document to a recipient with a request for an electronic signature. The document may include an audio version of the document terms. The recipient can listen to the audio version of the document terms and record an electronic signature that represents assent to such terms. An electronic signature server can record the recipient's electronic signature and incorporate it into the document, such that it forms part of the electronic document just as a traditional handwritten signature forms part of a signed paper document.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 1, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 10, 2018
    Assignee: Adobe Systems Incorporated
    Inventor: Benjamin D. Follis
  • Publication number: 20170098192
    Abstract: Techniques are provided for content aware contract importation that automatically and fully import and integrate non-electronic contracts into an electronic contract system. In one implementation, the electronic contract system is configured to receive information descriptive of a contract, analyze the information using one or more contract models to identify and extract metadata descriptive of the contract being imported, and store the metadata in association with an electronic version of the contract in the electronic contract system. In some cases, information native to a user account but not to the contract being imported is used in analyzing the contract.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 2, 2015
    Publication date: April 6, 2017
    Applicant: ADOBE SYSTEMS INCORPORATED
    Inventor: BENJAMIN D. FOLLIS
  • Publication number: 20170078103
    Abstract: Techniques are disclosed that allow for automatic signing of a digital document in response to some event and/or when the document satisfies some predefined condition. The document may be, for example, an agreement, a technical paper for publication, a press release or marketing materials, or any other digital document that might need to be assented to, approved by, and/or attributed to one or more persons or representatives. The techniques may further provide support for automatic signature tracking and notification in order to assist with auditability. In one example embodiment, the techniques are implemented in the context of an e-signature application or service, which may be installed locally on the user's computer or provided to the user via a network from a server. In one example embodiment, the e-signature service is configured to automatically impress a signer's signature into a given document, if the signer's pre-established auto-sign criteria is met.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 29, 2016
    Publication date: March 16, 2017
    Applicant: Adobe Systems Incorporated
    Inventor: Benjamin D. Follis
  • Patent number: 9544149
    Abstract: Techniques are disclosed that allow for automatic signing of a digital document in response to some event and/or when the document satisfies some predefined condition. The document may be, for example, an agreement, a technical paper for publication, a press release or marketing materials, or any other digital document that might need to be assented to, approved by, and/or attributed to one or more persons or representatives. The techniques may further provide support for automatic signature tracking and notification in order to assist with auditability. In one example embodiment, the techniques are implemented in the context of an e-signature application or service, which may be installed locally on the user's computer or provided to the user via a network from a server. In one example embodiment, the e-signature service is configured to automatically impress a signer's signature into a given document, if the signer's pre-established auto-sign criteria is met.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 10, 2017
    Assignee: Adobe Systems Incorporated
    Inventor: Benjamin D. Follis
  • Patent number: 9531545
    Abstract: An electronic signature system is used to procure one or more electronic signatures on a document. The electronic signature system not only facilitates communication between the document originator and the document recipient, but it also tracks the document status through states such as sent, viewed, executed, and fulfilled. For example, at some point the electronic signature system may receive an incoming notification that an obligation set forth in the signed document has been fulfilled. This incoming fulfillment notification is recorded and the document status is updated accordingly. The electronic signature system can also be configured to generate outgoing fulfillment notifications to announce that an obligation associated with the signed document has been fulfilled. The various notifications and fulfillment events disclosed herein can be tracked so as to allow users to generate status reports that reveal the fulfillment status of a collection of documents administered by the electronic signature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 24, 2014
    Date of Patent: December 27, 2016
    Assignee: Adobe Systems Incorporated
    Inventor: Benjamin D. Follis
  • Publication number: 20160267562
    Abstract: Techniques to link contracts to deliverable items are described. A contract service to collect and associate electronic signatures with contracts is implemented in an online retail environment for management of sale and delivery of items to consumers. The contract service facilitates real-time, on-line access to contracts between consumers and retailers for deliverable items at the time of delivery. In connection with a purchase transaction, a contract is generated via the contract service that is prepared for electronic signatures and has an associated contract identifier. The contract service obtains an item identifier that is uniquely associated with the deliverable item and links the contract to the item identifier. Then, a web accessible interface is exposed to enable look-up of the contract using the item identifier. At the time of delivery, the web accessible interface is employed to access the contract from the contract service for viewing and signing.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 11, 2015
    Publication date: September 15, 2016
    Inventor: Benjamin D. Follis
  • Publication number: 20160149707
    Abstract: An electronic signature system is used to procure one or more electronic signatures on a document. The electronic signature system not only facilitates communication between the document originator and the document recipient, but it also tracks the document status through states such as sent, viewed, executed, and fulfilled. For example, at some point the electronic signature system may receive an incoming notification that an obligation set forth in the signed document has been fulfilled. This incoming fulfillment notification is recorded and the document status is updated accordingly. The electronic signature system can also be configured to generate outgoing fulfillment notifications to announce that an obligation associated with the signed document has been fulfilled. The various notifications and fulfillment events disclosed herein can be tracked so as to allow users to generate status reports that reveal the fulfillment status of a collection of documents administered by the electronic signature.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 24, 2014
    Publication date: May 26, 2016
    Applicant: Adobe Systems Incorporated
    Inventor: Benjamin D. Follis
  • Publication number: 20150172058
    Abstract: Techniques are disclosed that allow for automatic signing of a digital document in response to some event and/or when the document satisfies some predefined condition. The document may be, for example, an agreement, a technical paper for publication, a press release or marketing materials, or any other digital document that might need to be assented to, approved by, and/or attributed to one or more persons or representatives. The techniques may further provide support for automatic signature tracking and notification in order to assist with auditability. In one example embodiment, the techniques are implemented in the context of an e-signature application or service, which may be installed locally on the user's computer or provided to the user via a network from a server. In one example embodiment, the e-signature service is configured to automatically impress a signer's signature into a given document, if the signer's pre-established auto-sign criteria is met.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 16, 2013
    Publication date: June 18, 2015
    Applicant: Adobe Systems Incorporated
    Inventor: Benjamin D. Follis
  • Publication number: 20150135332
    Abstract: Techniques for deferred delivery of electronic signature agreements are described. In one or more embodiments, a request is received for a user of a client device to provide an electronic signature on a document. Access to the document by the user of the client device is delayed until a predefined time. The document can be communicated to the client device at or before the predefined time. Additionally, the user of the client device is allowed to provide the electronic signature on the document at or after the predefined time.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 11, 2013
    Publication date: May 14, 2015
    Applicant: Adobe Systems Incorporated
    Inventors: Benjamin D. Follis, Paul J. Picazo
  • Publication number: 20150127348
    Abstract: Workflows are provided that enable documents to be distributed, assented to, and otherwise interacted with on an aural and/or oral basis. Such workflows can be implemented so as to allow a recipient to receive, understand, and interact with a document using conventional components such as the microphone and speaker provided by a telephone. For instance, in one embodiment a document originator may send a document to a recipient with a request for an electronic signature. The document may include an audio version of the document terms. The recipient can listen to the audio version of the document terms and record an electronic signature that represents assent to such terms. An electronic signature server can record the recipient's electronic signature and incorporate it into the document, such that it forms part of the electronic document just as a traditional handwritten signature forms part of a signed paper document.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 1, 2013
    Publication date: May 7, 2015
    Applicant: Adobe Systems Incorporated
    Inventor: Benjamin D. Follis
  • Publication number: 20140160003
    Abstract: A user can provide input to a device in a 2-dimensional manner (such as by entering the data using a stylus or finger to apply pressure to a touchscreen) or in a 3-dimensional manner (such as by moving the device in 3-dimensional space). While the user input is being received, biometric data in the form of accelerometer data is collected. The accelerometer data indicates an amount of force applied in each of one or more directions over time. The collected accelerometer data thus provides an indication of the manner in which the device was moved, whether intentionally or unintentionally, while the user input was being received. The collected accelerometer data can be used in various manners, such as to verify the user input, as a signature of the user, as an authentication value to access a service or device, and so forth.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 10, 2012
    Publication date: June 12, 2014
    Applicant: ADOBE SYSTEMS INCORPORATED
    Inventors: Benjamin D. Follis, Dennis E. Griffin
  • Publication number: 20100037056
    Abstract: An infrastructure for archiving data among a client, a broker, and a plurality of archives, wherein the client comprises: a backup agent configured to fragment and erasure encode the data to create a set of erasure encoded data fragments; a communications agent configured to communicate the erasure encoded data fragments to the broker, issue a challenge for a challenge/response protocol to the broker, and to request data from the archives; and a restore agent configured to combine the data fragments obtained from the broker upon a data restore request.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 7, 2009
    Publication date: February 11, 2010
    Inventors: Benjamin D. Follis, William A. Maniatty