An efficient fair exchange protocol that enforces the merchant to be honest

  • Authors:
  • Abdullah Alaraj;Malcolm Munro

  • Affiliations:
  • Department of computer science, Durham University, the UK;Department of computer science, Durham University, the UK

  • Venue:
  • COLCOM '07 Proceedings of the 2007 International Conference on Collaborative Computing: Networking, Applications and Worksharing
  • Year:
  • 2007

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Abstract

A new optimistic fair exchange protocol between a customer (C) and a merchant (M) is presented in this paper. It makes use of Trusted Third Party (TTP) but its use is kept to minimum when disputes arise. The protocol is for exchanging a payment with a digital product such as software. A new idea, in which if the parties are willing to exchange then they are enforced to be honest, is originated in this protocol. The protocol has the following features: (1) it only comprises three messages to be exchanged between C and M in the exchange phase; (2) it guarantees strong fairness for both C and M; (3) it allows both parties to be sure of the item that they will receive from the other party before they receive it; and (4) it resolves disputes automatically online.