The record

What the filings are

Both are published patent applications, and each was later abandoned rather than carried through to grant. That does not change the public, dated record of the invention: the priority date is what establishes who described an idea, and when.^⁠[1] Their priority dates, 15 March and 30 April 2002, are what fix these ideas on the public record. The dates below come from each application’s record on Google Patents.

The filings, by priority date

1. 15 March 2002

   US 2003/0225619 A1 System and method for dealing with loyalty program points

   Priority 15 March 2002. Filed 14 March 2003. Published 4 December 2003. Abandoned. Two inventors, one of them Maynard Dokken.^⁠[2]

   It describes “A system for exchanging and valuing points or rewards from a plurality of loyalty programs”, using a “settlement point” in a clearing-house that can “settle, convert, credit and debit points between accounts”. The points are “underwritten using assets and guarantees held by a custodian, relying on actuarial estimates of redemption”.^⁠[2] The hub’s article calls it the clearest sibling of the illiquid-assets idea.^⁠[1]

   The filing also contemplates points serving as assets for securities, or securing financial or insurance services.^⁠[2]⁠[1] This model leaves that out: points are never pledged, pooled or used as collateral.

   In this model: the clearing-house, settlement between programmes and the custodian.

2. 30 April 2002

   US 2004/0054613 A1 System and method for depositing and investing illiquid or restricted assets

   Priority 30 April 2002. Filed 30 April 2003. Published 18 March 2004. Abandoned. Inventor Maynard Dokken.^⁠[3]

   It describes a governed vehicle for the owners of illiquid or restricted assets, run by named parties: a fund originator, a fund manager, a trustee, a custodian, and a transfer agent and asset registry, with a base risk margin database that calculates the cost of the guarantees.^⁠[3]⁠[4]

   This model takes the filing’s governance and none of its returns: points pay nothing to anyone and pool nothing.

   In this model: the seven governed roles and the protections.

The record on maynardldokken.com

The hub’s article on MarkCrest sets out the illiquid-assets invention,^⁠[4] and the family of value-exchange filings it belongs to.^⁠[1] Kept apart from what was filed, it also records design intent that never was: a governed unit of value “meant to circulate as a digital currency”.^⁠[5]

This model does not take that step. Points are not a currency or a stablecoin, are not backed by the custodian, and never pass between people.

The same filings are on the record at contentsignals.co, with a third, from 2012, on social graphs.

The dates at a glance