Reverse tracing

Abstract

A method for authorizing access to reverse tracing data by a chemical product manufacturer is disclosed, the method including the steps of providing at least one authorization rule associated with a chemical product, the at least one authorization rule providing access for the chemical product manufacturer to product data generated regarding the production of a product using the chemical product and / or the use of a product manufactured using the chemical product, applying the at least one authorization rule to the product data to generate tracing data associated with at least one characteristic related to the use of the chemical product, and providing the tracing data to a product manufacturer and / or product user data providing service for access by the chemical product manufacturer's data consuming service.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] Technical Field The present invention relates to a method for back tracing chemical products, an apparatus for back tracing chemical products, a method for accessing back tracing data associated with a chemical product, an apparatus for accessing tracing data associated with a chemical product, a product manufacturer or user data providing service configured to process the tracing data, a chemical product manufacturer data consuming service configured to process the tracing data, uses of tracing data associated with chemical products, and computer elements. [Background technology]

[0002] Technical background Chemical products are used in a variety of applications and ultimately produce a variety of products in multiple supply chains. The application properties of chemical products are not available to chemical manufacturers. Chemical manufacturers are therefore hindered from improving chemical products according to the actual application properties. Summary of the Invention [Means for solving the problem]

[0003] overview In one aspect, disclosed is a method for tracing a chemical product back through the manufacturing and / or life cycle chain of a product based on or made with the chemical product, or during the manufacturing and / or use of a product that uses the chemical product, the method comprising: providing at least one authorization rule associated with the chemical product, the at least one authorization rule providing access for the chemical product manufacturer to product data associated with at least one characteristic related to use of the chemical product; generating tracking data by applying authorization rules to product data of, for example, a product manufacturer or a product user; providing the tracking data to a product manufacturer or product user data providing service for access, e.g., direct or indirect access, by a chemical product manufacturer data consuming service.

[0004] In another aspect, disclosed is a method for authorizing access to traceback data by chemical manufacturers, preferably via a distributed network, the method comprising: The method includes providing at least one authorization rule associated with the chemical product, the at least one authorization rule providing access for the chemical product manufacturer to product data associated with at least one characteristic related to use of the chemical product, the authorization rule including at least one event trigger and one or more instructions configured to generate tracking data from the product data and provide the tracking data.

[0005] In another aspect, disclosed is a method for tracing a chemical product back through the manufacturing and / or life cycle chain of a product based on or made with the chemical product, or during the manufacturing and / or use of a product that uses the chemical product, the method comprising: providing at least one authorization rule associated with the chemical product, the at least one authorization rule providing access for the chemical product manufacturer to product data generated regarding the production and / or life cycle chain of the product, or the production of products using the chemical product and / or the use of products manufactured using the chemical product; applying at least one authorization rule to the product data to generate tracking data associated with at least one characteristic related to the use of the chemical product; providing the tracking data to a product manufacturer and / or product user data providing service for access by a chemical product manufacturer data consuming service.

[0006]

[0013] In another aspect, a method for authorizing access to traceback data by a chemical manufacturer, the method comprising: The method includes providing at least one authorization rule associated with the chemical product, the at least one authorization rule providing access for the chemical product manufacturer to product data generated regarding the production and / or life cycle chain, or the production of products using the chemical product and / or the use of products manufactured using the chemical product, the at least one authorization rule configured to generate tracking data from the product data associated with at least one characteristic related to the use of the chemical product, and including at least one event trigger and one or more instructions configured to provide the tracking data.

[0007] In another aspect, disclosed is an apparatus for tracing a chemical product back through the manufacturing and / or life cycle chain of a product based on or made with the chemical product, or during the manufacturing and / or use of a product that uses the chemical product, the apparatus comprising: an authorization provider configured to provide at least one authorization rule associated with the chemical product, the at least one authorization rule providing access for the chemical product manufacturer to product data associated with at least one characteristic related to use of the chemical product; a tracking data generator configured to generate tracking data by applying at least one authorization rule to product data, e.g., of a product manufacturer or a product user; a tracking data provider configured to provide the tracking data to a product manufacturer's or product user's data providing service for access, e.g., direct or indirect access, by a chemical product manufacturer's data consuming service.

[0008] The apparatus comprises one or more computing nodes and one or more computer-readable media having computer-executable instructions thereon that, when executed by the one or more computing nodes, are structured to cause the apparatus to perform the following steps:

[0009] In another aspect, disclosed is an apparatus for authorizing access to traceback data by a chemical product manufacturer, preferably via a distributed network, the apparatus configured to provide at least one authorization rule associated with a chemical product, the at least one authorization rule providing access for the chemical product manufacturer to product data associated with at least one characteristic related to use of the chemical product, the authorization rule including at least one event trigger and one or more instructions configured to generate traceback data from the product data and provide the traceback data.

[0010] In another aspect, disclosed is an apparatus for authorizing access to traceback data by a chemical manufacturer, preferably via a distributed network, the apparatus configured to provide at least one authorization rule associated with a chemical product, the at least one authorization rule providing access for the chemical manufacturer to product data generated regarding a production and / or lifecycle chain, or the manufacture of products using the chemical product and / or the use of products manufactured using the chemical product, the at least one authorization rule configured to generate traceback data from the product data associated with at least one characteristic related to the use of the chemical product, and including at least one event trigger and one or more instructions configured to provide the traceback data.

[0011] In another aspect, disclosed is a method for accessing reverse tracing data associated with a chemical product, the method comprising receiving the tracing data at a chemical manufacturer's data consumption service as provided according to any of the methods or by any of the devices disclosed herein.

[0012] In another aspect, disclosed is an apparatus for accessing reverse tracing data associated with a chemical product, configured to receive tracing data as provided by any of the apparatuses or any of the methods disclosed herein, or as provided by any of the apparatuses disclosed herein at a chemical manufacturer's data consumption service.

[0013] In another aspect, disclosed is a product manufacturer data provision service, a product manufacturer and / or product user data provision service, or a chemical product manufacturer data consumption service configured to process tracking data such as provided according to any of the methods disclosed herein or provided by any of the devices disclosed herein.

[0014] In another aspect, disclosed is the use of tracking data associated with a chemical product, as provided according to any of the methods or apparatuses disclosed herein, or as provided by any of the apparatuses disclosed herein, to tailor a chemical product, chemical product properties, chemical product composition, chemical product performance, and / or to produce a chemical product having tailored properties.

[0015] In another aspect, disclosed is a chemical product associated with a chemical product passport that includes at least one authorization rule for back-tracing the chemical product, as provided according to any of the methods or apparatus disclosed herein.

[0016] In another aspect, disclosed is a chemical passport comprising at least one authorization rule for back-tracing a chemical product, as provided according to any of the methods or apparatus disclosed herein.

[0017] In another aspect, disclosed is at least one authorization rule configured to provide access for a chemical product manufacturer, preferably via a distributed network, to product data associated with at least one characteristic related to use of a chemical product, the authorization rule including at least one event trigger and one or more instructions to generate tracking data from the product data and / or provide the tracking data.

[0018] In another aspect, disclosed is at least one authorization rule configured to provide access, preferably via a distributed network, for a chemical product manufacturer to product data generated regarding the manufacture or life cycle of a product, or the manufacture of a product using a chemical product, and / or the use of a product manufactured using a chemical product, wherein the authorization rule includes at least one event trigger and one or more instructions to generate and / or provide tracking data from the product data associated with at least one characteristic related to the use of the chemical product.

[0019] In another aspect, the present disclosure relates to a computer element, such as a computer program or computer-readable medium having instructions configured to perform the steps of the methods disclosed herein or to be executed by the apparatus disclosed herein when executed, for example, on one or more computing nodes of a distributed network.

[0020] All disclosures, embodiments, and examples described herein relate to the methods, systems, chemical products, chemical product passports, authorization rules, uses, and computer elements described above and below. Advantageously, the benefits provided by any of the embodiments and examples apply to all other embodiments and examples as well.

[0021] Embodiment To improve the application properties of chemical products, it is advantageous to trace back chemical products in product applications and resulting products manufactured based on the chemical products. For such tracing, simplified and customized data exchange back to the chemical product supply chain may be advantageous. Utilizing a distributed data ecosystem that enables secure peer-to-peer data exchange enables simplified and customized data exchange.

[0022] In particular, by providing at least one authorization rule, traceability of chemical products and their application characteristics in different product supply chains is possible. Such traceability or data feedback from chemical products may be customized via authorization rules. In this way, data exchange may be tailored to product data that allows improving the application characteristics of chemical products for specific uses and allows improving chemical products for specific uses.

[0023] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be outlined by way of examples. It goes without saying that the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments and / or examples.

[0024] In one embodiment, one or more authorization rules may be associated with the decentralized identifier and data related to the chemical product data. The authorization rules may include instructions configured for reverse data tracing of chemical products used to manufacture the product. The authorization rules may include authorization rules that include data transaction instructions or data transaction protocols, such as data usage policies, smart data contracts, or other data processing instructions associated with the data providing and / or data consuming services of the decentralized network. Through the authorization rules, data access and data usage by the data consuming services can be securely controlled.

[0025] In another embodiment, at least one authorization rule relates to instructions based on at least one event-triggered process product data specified by the authorization rule to generate and provide tracking data. The authorization rule may relate to or include at least one event trigger related to the use of a chemical product to manufacture a product. The use may include any processing of a distributed identifier associated with the chemical product and / or data related to the chemical product. For example, linking or associating a distributed identifier associated with a product manufactured based on the chemical product with a distributed identifier associated with the chemical product and / or data related to the chemical product may be an event trigger specified by the authorization rule.

[0026] In another embodiment, the at least one authorization rule relates to at least one event trigger related to use of the distributed identifier associated with the chemical product and / or data related to the chemical product. The authorization rule may relate to or include instructions based on the at least one event trigger. The event trigger for back-tracing of the chemical product may relate to one or more processing steps related to the distributed identifier and / or data related to the chemical product. The event trigger may trigger or initiate instructions to generate tracking data from product data to provide the tracking data.

[0027] In another embodiment, the authorization rules relate to the specification of tracking data based on product data associated with products manufactured using or based on the chemical product. The authorization rules may specify tracking data based on product data associated with products manufactured using or based on the chemical product. The authorization rules may specify tracking data to be derived from product data associated with products manufactured using or based on the chemical product. The authorization rules may relate

[0028] The distributed network may include participating nodes configured to conduct data transactions. The participating nodes may be associated with producers or users of physical products, such as chemical product producers, intermediate product producers, end product producers, or end product users. The data transactions may be based on a transaction protocol that includes an authentication and / or authorization mechanism. Based on the authentication and / or authorization mechanism, a peer-to-peer network may be established between the participating nodes of the distributed network.

[0029] One or more authentication mechanisms may be associated with or tied to a decentralized identifier. The one or more authentication mechanisms associated with a decentralized identifier may be provided to participating nodes. The one or more authentication mechanisms associated with a decentralized identifier may be accessible by data providing services and / or data consuming services. The decentralized configuration allows for more efficient use of computational resources and increases control by each data owner of the decentralized network.

[0030] The one or more authorization mechanisms may include at least one authorization rule for reverse data tracing of chemical products used to manufacture the product. A participating node of the distributed network may be configured to provide a data consumption service and / or a data providing service. A data providing service may be configured to provide or transmit data to another participating node of the distributed network. A data consuming service may be configured to ingest or receive data from another participating node of the distributed network. Providing data to a data providing service for access by the data consuming service may include indirect or direct access of the data to the data.

[0031] The chemical product may be manufactured by a chemical product manufacturer. The chemical product may be the physical entity of the manufactured chemical product. The chemical product data may be collected before, during, or after the manufacture of the chemical product. The chemical product data may be generated by the chemical product manufacturer. The chemical product data may be associated with the manufactured chemical product or a property of the manufactured chemical product. The chemical product data may be provided to the distributed network by a participating node associated with the chemical product manufacturer. The chemical product data may be provided to the distributed network by a data providing service of the chemical product manufacturer.

[0032] A chemical product may be used to manufacture a product. A product manufactured using a chemical product may be an intermediate product or a final product. A product may be manufactured through manufacturing, which may include one or more manufacturing steps. A product may be used by a product user. The use of a product may relate to the product's life cycle.

[0033] The chemical products, intermediate products, and / or final products may be associated with one or more decentralized identifiers that represent digital twins of the physical entities of such product entities. The decentralized identifiers may be digital identifiers of or for the decentralized network. The decentralized identifiers may be digital identifiers provided to the decentralized network and participating nodes of the decentralized network. Thus, the decentralized identifiers may represent the physical entities of the products in the decentralized network, and the participating nodes may be able to interpret the relationship between the decentralized identifiers and the physical entities of the products.

[0034] The chemical product may be involved in the production of a product using a chemical product through a manufacturing chain of products based on or produced using the chemical product. The manufacturing chain may include multiple manufacturing processes relating to different manufacturing stages of the manufacturing chain leading to the product. The product may be a discrete product produced by using the chemical product in at least one manufacturing step that produces the product. The product may be produced through one or more manufacturing stages associated with different intermediate and / or chemical producers. The manufacturing stages may be controlled by the intermediate and / or chemical producers. The chemical product may relate to a non-discrete product. The chemical product may be produced through continuous manufacturing or batch manufacturing. The chemical product may be provided continuously or in batches. The chemical product may be used to produce the product. The chemical product may be provided as an input to the manufacturing process of the product or any intermediate. The product and / or intermediate may be produced from the chemical product. The chemical product may be chemically, thermally, and / or mechanically transformed to produce the intermediate and / or product. The chemical product may be provided to the manufacturing process of the product or any intermediate as an input to produce the discrete product. A manufacturing process may include multiple manufacturing stages, such as a chemical manufacturing process, an intermediate manufacturing process, and / or a finished product manufacturing process. The manufacturing process may be distributed across different manufacturers that produce the chemicals, intermediates, and / or finished products. Multiple chemicals, intermediates, and / or finished products may be produced in the manufacturing chain of a product.

[0035] The life cycle chain of a product may relate to the use of a product manufactured using chemical products. The life cycle chain may include, for example, the use of the product by an end user. An example is a foam mattress. An intermediate product, in this example, a foam, may be manufactured by reacting chemical components. PU foam may be manufactured, for example, by reacting diisocyanates with polyols. The intermediate product, in this example, a foam, is manufactured separately using chemical products. Separate manufacturing of the product, in this case a mattress, may follow. The product may be manufactured using separate manufacturing. The product, in this example, a mattress, may be used by an end user, for example, to sleep on. The end user may provide feedback regarding the comfort or degradation of a product, such as a mattress. This may relate to product data collected during the life cycle or use of the product, in this example, a mattress.

[0036] A product, such as an intermediate or final product, may be associated with product data. The product data may be associated with the product, the use of a chemical product, the application of a chemical product, or the use of a chemical product to manufacture a product. The product data may relate to or include characteristics of a chemical product related to its use to manufacture a product. The product data may relate to or include characteristics of a product related to the use of a chemical product to manufacture a product. The product data may relate to the type of product in which the chemical product is used for or in a product identifier, such as a distributed identifier associated with the product, performance data associated with a chemical product included in the product, the use of the chemical product to manufacture the product, or a combination thereof. The product data may include application data associated with application characteristics of a chemical product included in the product, application characteristics of a product made by or from the chemical product, or a combination thereof. The product data may be generated or collected before, during, or after the manufacture of the product. The product data may be generated or collected before, during, or after the product lifecycle. The product data may be generated by a product manufacturer or a product user. The product may be any intermediate or final product manufactured by any intermediate or final product manufacturer or product user, respectively. The product data may be associated with a manufactured product or characteristics of a manufactured product. The product data may be associated with a manufactured intermediate or final product or a characteristic of the manufactured intermediate or final product. The product data may be intermediate or final product data as generated by an intermediate or final product manufacturer or user, respectively. The final product data may be generated by a product user. The product data may be provided to the distributed network by a participating node associated with a product manufacturer or product user, such as an intermediate or final product manufacturer or user. The product data may be provided to the distributed network by a data providing service of the product manufacturer or product user. The product data may be associated with a characteristic of a chemical product used to manufacture the product or at least one characteristic related to the use of the chemical product.

[0037] In one embodiment, the at least one authorization rule relates to a decentralized identifier associated with a chemical and / or data related to the chemical. The at least one authorization rule may be provided in association with a decentralized identifier associated with a chemical and / or data related to the chemical data. The data related to the chemical data may include or be connected to a digital representation pointing to the chemical data or a portion thereof. The data related to the chemical data may include or be connected to the chemical data or a portion thereof.

[0038] The decentralized identifier may be uniquely associated with the chemical product or a physical entity of the chemical product, such as the chemical product being packaged for transport to a consumer. The data related to the chemical product data may include one or more digital representations pointing to the chemical product data or portions thereof. The digital representation may comprise at least one interface to a data providing service. The digital representation may include at least one interface to a data consuming service, which may include endpoints for data exchange or sharing (resource endpoints) or endpoints for service interaction (service endpoints), uniquely identified via a data transaction protocol. The digital representation pointing to the chemical product data or portions thereof may be uniquely associated with the decentralized identifier. The decentralized identifier may be connected to the digital representation of the chemical product data.

[0039] In another embodiment, the at least one authorization rule is provided as part of a chemical passport that includes a decentralized identifier associated with the chemical and / or data related to the chemical. The chemical passport may comprise or be connected to a digital representation of the chemical data. The digital representation may include a representation for accessing the chemical data or a portion thereof. The digital representation may include a representation of the chemical data, such as a hash. The chemical passport may include the decentralized identifier. The chemical passport may include or be connected to authentication information and / or authorization rules. The chemical passport may include or be connected to data related to the chemical data.

[0040] In another embodiment, the at least one authorization rule is provided by an authorization management system, which is associated with a product manufacturer's or product user's data providing service. The authorization management system may provide the at least one authorization rule to the product manufacturer's or product user's data providing service to generate tracking data. The product data may be provided to the product manufacturer's or user's data providing service, and the authorization management system provides the at least one authorization rule. The authorization management system may be a central or distributed registry that manages authorization mechanisms or rules for a distributed network. The authorization management system may be a distributed tracking application that manages authorization mechanisms or rules for reverse tracing. The product data may be provided to the product manufacturer's or user's data providing service for access by the distributed tracking application, and the distributed tracking application provides the at least one authorization rule.

[0041] In another embodiment, providing the tracking data includes forwarding the tracking data to a chemical product manufacturer's data consumption service. In another embodiment, the tracking data associated with each product is provided to a respective product manufacturer's or product user's data provisioning service. In another embodiment, the tracking data associated with each product is aggregated and provided to an end product manufacturer's or user's data provisioning service. In another embodiment, the tracking data is provided to an end product manufacturer's or user's data provisioning service for access by a data consumption service. In another embodiment, the intermediate product manufacturer's tracking data is processed and provided by an end product manufacturer or user. The tracking data may be associated with a product, chemical product use, and the use of chemical products to manufacture the product. The tracking data may relate to or include characteristics of chemical products related to their use to manufacture the product. The tracking data may relate to or include characteristics of a product related to the use of chemical products to manufacture the product. The tracking data may relate to the type of product in which or for which the chemical product is used, such as a distributed identifier associated with the product, performance data associated with the chemical product, and the use of the chemical product to generate product application data associated with application characteristics of the chemical product and products made with or from the chemical product, or combinations thereof.

[0042] In another embodiment, providing the tracking data includes providing a tracking passport that includes a distributed identifier associated with the tracked product, a distributed identifier associated with the tracked chemical product, data related to the tracked chemical product data, and / or data related to the tracked product data.

[0043] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present disclosure will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0044] [Figure 1]1 illustrates, in simplified form, one embodiment of a method or apparatus for providing chemical data and tracking data over a distributed network. [Figure 2] 1 illustrates a flow diagram of a method for tracking chemical products based on at least one authorization rule. [Figure 3] 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a method or apparatus for providing at least one authorization rule; [Figure 4] 10 shows a schematic diagram of another embodiment of a method or apparatus for providing at least one authorization rule; [Figure 5] 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of an embodiment of implementing at least one authorization rule. [Figure 6] 1 shows a schematic representation of a finished product passport including a chemical product passport. [Figure 7a] 1 is a diagram illustrating one embodiment for tracing chemical products back through a manufacturing or supply chain. [Figure 7b] 1 is a diagram illustrating one embodiment for tracing chemical products back through a manufacturing or supply chain. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0045] Detailed Description The following embodiments are merely examples for implementing the methods, apparatus, systems, or applications disclosed herein and should not be considered as limiting.

[0046] FIG. 1 illustrates, in simplified form, one embodiment of a method or apparatus for providing chemical data and tracking data over a distributed network.

[0047] Chemical products 104, as produced by the chemical production network, may be provided in association with a chemical product passport. The chemical product passport may be associated with a chemical product identifier. The chemical product identifier may include one or more decentralized identifiers. The decentralized identifiers may be identifiers in a decentralized network that enable data exchange over the decentralized network. The data exchange may include discovery of decentralized identifiers for participants of the decentralized network, authentication of participants of the decentralized network, and / or authorization of data transfer via peer-to-peer communication between participants of the decentralized network.

[0048] A chemical passport may include or relate to data about a chemical. A chemical passport may include a digital representation of chemical data associated with a chemical 104.

[0049] The chemical passport may further include or be associated with authentication and / or authorization information tied to the chemical identifier. The authentication and / or authorization information may be provided for authentication and / or authorization of the data providing service and / or data consuming service 210, 214. The chemical identifier may include or be associated with a decentralized identifier uniquely associated with the chemical. The decentralized identifier may be connected to a digital representation of the chemical data associated with the chemical 104. The digital representation may include a representation for accessing the chemical data or a portion thereof. The decentralized identifier may include a universally unique identifier (UUID) or a digital identifier (DID). The decentralized identifier may include any unique identifier uniquely associated with a data owner and / or a chemical.

[0050] The data owner may be a chemical manufacturer. Through the decentralized identifier and its unique association with the data owner and / or the chemical data, access to the chemical data may be controlled by the data owner.

[0051] Chemical passports containing digital representations of chemical data may be stored in a distributed database 200. The chemical data may be stored in a database 202 associated with a data owner, such as a manufacturer of chemicals 104.

[0052] The chemical product 104 may be physically delivered to a manufacturer that produces chemical-based products. The chemical product may be associated with a QR code that encodes a chemical product identifier. A user of the chemical product may read the QR code through a QR code reader 206. The chemical product identifier may be provided to a database 208 associated with the manufacturer that produces the chemical product 104-based products. In other embodiments, the manufacturer that produces the chemical-based products may obtain the chemical product identifier via the distributed database 200.

[0053] The data owner in this example may be a chemical manufacturer, any intermediate manufacturer that produces an intermediate product based on a chemical product, or any manufacturer that produces a product based on a chemical product. The data owner may include any entity that produces data. The data producing node may be coupled to the data owner or an entity that owns or produces the physical product from which the data is produced. The data may be produced by a third party entity on behalf of the entity that owns the physical product from which the data is produced.

[0054] The data consuming services 210, 214 may comprise computer-executable instructions for accessing and / or processing data, such as chemical product data, associated with a data owner. The data providing services 210, 214 may comprise computer-executable instructions for providing and / or processing data, such as chemical product data, associated with a data owner for access and / or processing by the data consuming services 210, 214.

[0055] Based on the received chemical identifier, a request to access chemical data related to the chemical identifier may be triggered by the data consumption service 210, as indicated by arrow 212. The chemical identifier may be associated with the manufacturer of the chemical 104 or provided to that manufacturer's data providing service 214. Additionally, authentication and / or authorization information may be provided. The request may be authenticated and / or authorized to access the chemical data related to the chemical identifier. Based on successful authorization and / or authentication, access to the chemical data related to the chemical identifier may be granted.

[0056] The chemical identifier may be provided to a data providing service 214 for access, as indicated by arrow 212. The data providing service 214 may use the received chemical identifier to obtain chemical data associated with the chemical 104, as indicated by arrows 218 and 220. The chemical data associated with the chemical 104 provided to the data providing service 214 may be provided to a data consuming service 210, as indicated by arrow 216. The chemical data associated with the chemical 104 may be stored in a database 208 associated with a user of the chemical 104, as indicated by arrow 220.

[0057] Chemical data can be uniquely associated with a chemical product via a chemical product identifier or a decentralized identifier. Through a decentralized network, chemical data may be transferred between chemical product manufacturers and chemical product users. In this way, chemical data, along with its unique association to a chemical product, can be shared between product supply chain participants without a direct central intermediary. This enables transparency of chemical data throughout the product supply chain.

[0058] Similar to the provision of chemical product data, tracking data may be provided. To be provided, the tracking data may be generated by a node associated with an intermediate product manufacturer that produces an intermediate product based on a chemical product or a manufacturer that produces a product based on a chemical product. In one example, the tracking data may be provided via a tracking passport. In the following, an exemplary embodiment for transferring tracking data to a participating node associated with a chemical manufacturer is described. This example should not be considered limiting and serves for illustrative purposes only.

[0059] The tracking passport may be related to a chemical product identifier. The chemical product identifier may include a decentralized identifier. The decentralized identifier may be an identifier in a decentralized network that enables data exchange over the decentralized network. The data exchange may include discovery of the decentralized identifier for participants in the decentralized network, authentication of participants in the decentralized network, and / or authorization of data transfer via peer-to-peer communication between participants in the decentralized network. The tracking passport may include data related to tracking data. The passport may include a digital representation of tracking data associated with an intermediate product or a chemical product 104 used to manufacture the product. The tracking passport may be provided by a node associated with an intermediate product manufacturer that manufactures an intermediate product based on a chemical product or a manufacturer that manufactures a product based on a chemical product. Via the tracking passport, the tracking data may be provided to a data providing service of the product manufacturer for access by a data consuming service.

[0060] The tracking passport may include or be associated with authentication and / or authorization information tied to the chemical product identifier. The authentication and / or authorization information may be provided for authentication and / or authorization of the data providing service and / or data consuming service 210, 214. The chemical product identifier may include or be associated with a decentralized identifier uniquely associated with the chemical product. The decentralized identifier may be connected to a digital representation of the tracking data associated with the chemical product 104. The digital representation may include a representation for accessing the tracking data or a portion thereof. The decentralized identifier may include a universally unique identifier (UUID) or a digital identifier (DID). The decentralized identifier may include any unique identifier uniquely associated with the chemical product.

[0061] The data owner of the tracking data may be an intermediate product manufacturer that produces an intermediate product based on a chemical product or a manufacturer that produces a product based on a chemical product. The tracking data owner may be any intermediate product manufacturer that produces an intermediate product based on a chemical product or any manufacturer that produces a product based on a chemical product. Through the decentralized identifier and its unique association with the tracking data of the chemical product, access to the tracking data may be controlled by the data owner. The data owner may include any entity that generates the data. A data generating node may be coupled to the data owner or an entity that owns or produces the physical product from which the data is generated. The data may be generated by a third party entity on behalf of the entity that owns the physical product from which the data is generated.

[0062] A tracking passport containing a digital representation of the tracking data may be stored in distributed database 200. The tracking data may be stored in database 208 associated with a data owner, such as an intermediate product manufacturer that produces an intermediate product based on the chemical product or a manufacturer that produces a product based on the chemical product.

[0063] The data consuming services 210, 214 may comprise computer-executable instructions for accessing and / or processing data, such as chemical product data, associated with a data owner. The data providing services 210, 214 may comprise computer-executable instructions for providing and / or processing data, such as chemical product data, associated with a data owner for access and / or processing by the data consuming services 210, 214.

[0064] Based on the chemical product identifier, a request to access tracking data related to the chemical product identifier may be triggered by the data consuming service 214, as indicated by arrow 216. The chemical product identifier may be provided to a data providing service 210 associated with an intermediate product manufacturer that produces an intermediate product based on the chemical product 104 or a manufacturer that produces a product based on the chemical product 104. Additionally, authentication and / or authorization information may be provided. The request may be authenticated and / or authorized to access tracking data related to the chemical product identifier. Based on successful authorization and / or authentication, access to tracking data related to the chemical product identifier may be granted.

[0065] The chemical product identifier may be provided to a data providing service 210 for access, as indicated by arrow 216. The data providing service 210 may use the received chemical product identifier to obtain tracking data associated with the chemical product 104, as indicated by arrows 222 and 220. The tracking data associated with the chemical product 104 provided to the data providing service 210 may be provided to a data consuming service 214, as indicated by arrow 222. The tracking data associated with the chemical product 104 may be stored in a database 202 associated with a user of the chemical product 104, as indicated by arrow 218.

[0066] The tracking data can be uniquely associated with the chemical product via a chemical product identifier or a distributed identifier. Through a distributed network, the tracking data may be transferred between intermediate product manufacturers that produce intermediate products based on the chemical product or manufacturers that produce products based on the chemical product, and chemical product manufacturers, and users of the chemical product. In this way, the tracking data, along with its unique association to the chemical product, can be shared between product supply chain participants without a direct central intermediary. This enables transparency of tracking data throughout the product supply chain.

[0067] FIG. 2 illustrates a flow diagram of a method for tracking chemical products based on at least one authorization rule.

[0068] In order to track chemical products in the production chain of products manufactured based on the chemical products, tracking data may be provided via a distributed network to participating nodes of the distributed network, as outlined in the context of Figure 1.

[0069] To track chemical products across participating nodes of the distributed network, product data may be generated by participating nodes associated with manufacturers that produce chemical-based products. The product data may be generated during the manufacture of the chemical-based products. The generated product data may be provided to a database associated with a data providing service 210, 214 of each participating node of the distributed network. The generated product data may be accessed by data consuming services 210, 214 of other participating nodes of the distributed network.

[0070] To access the product data provided in this manner, at least one authorization rule may be applied by the data owner providing the tracking data. The at least one authorization rule may relate to a decentralized identifier associated with the chemical product and / or data related to the chemical product. The at least one authorization rule may provide a participating node associated with a chemical product manufacturer access to tracking data associated with products manufactured based on the chemical product. This relationship ensures that a chemical product manufacturer can access tracking data related to chemical products manufactured by the chemical product manufacturer. Thus, access to tracking data associated with another chemical product of another chemical manufacturer can be prevented.

[0071] The authorization rule may relate to or include at least one event trigger associated with the use of a decentralized identifier associated with a chemical product and / or data related to the chemical product. Such use may include any processing of the decentralized identifier associated with the chemical product and / or data related to the chemical product. For example, linking or associating a decentralized identifier associated with a product manufactured based on the chemical product with the decentralized identifier associated with the chemical product and / or data related to the chemical product may be an event trigger specified in the authorization rule.

[0072] The authorization rules may relate to or include specification of tracking data based on product data associated with products manufactured based on the chemical product. The authorization rules may relate to specification of tracking data derived from product data associated with products manufactured based on the chemical product. The authorization rules may relate to or include instructions for processing product data to generate tracking data and providing such tracking data based on an event trigger. For an event trigger, the authorization rules may include instructions for fetching product data specified by the authorization rule, generating tracking data, and providing such tracking data. In other embodiments, the authorization rules may include instructions for fetching product data, processing the product data as specified by the authorization rule, generating tracking data, and providing such tracking data. Processing of the product data may include any transformation or mapping of the product data to the tracking data, such as aggregation, filtering, combining, enrichment, etc.

[0073] The tracking data may include application type and application data for the chemical product. In this way, tracking data related to chemical product development can be provided, and confidential information of supply chain participants can be masked. The application type may relate to a product type, such as an intermediate product type and / or a final product type, produced based on the chemical product. The application data may include at least one performance characteristic of a chemical product used to produce the product. The application data may be associated with application performance of the chemical product used to produce the product. The application performance may be specified by performance characteristics for the chemical product and / or the product produced using the chemical product. The performance characteristic may relate to any application characteristic of the chemical product. The performance characteristic may relate to application characteristics of a chemical product included in the product. The performance characteristic may relate to application characteristics of the use of the chemical product in the production of the product. In such cases, the product may not contain the chemical product. The chemical product may be used only in the production of the product. One example may be a detergent applied to a product during a manufacturing step. In this example, the application data may relate to product performance affected by such manufacturing step.

[0074] The tracking data may be provided or accessed over the distributed network by one or more participant nodes associated with a product manufacturer, such as an intermediate product manufacturer or an end product manufacturer. The tracking data may be provided over the distributed network by all participant nodes associated with a product manufacturer that produces products using the chemical product. The tracking data may be provided over the distributed network by selected participant nodes associated with a product manufacturer that produces products using the chemical product. The tracking data may be provided over the distributed network by a participant node that processes tracking data of a participant node associated with a product manufacturer that produces products using the chemical product.

[0075] The tracking data may be provided over a distributed network by participating nodes that aggregate, filter, and / or enrich tracking data from participating nodes associated with product manufacturers that manufacture products using the chemical product.

[0076] The tracking data may be provided to a data providing service of a product manufacturer for access by a data consuming service. The tracking data may be forwarded to a data consuming service of a chemical product manufacturer. The tracking data may be provided by a participating node associated with a product manufacturer that produces a product using a chemical product via a tracking passport. The tracking passport may include a decentralized identifier associated with the tracked product, a decentralized identifier associated with the tracked chemical product, data related to the tracked chemical product data, and / or data related to the tracked product data. The tracking data may be provided to a participating node associated with a chemical product via a decentralized network. One exemplary embodiment for forwarding tracking data to a participating node associated with a chemical product is described in connection with FIG. 1 . The example is for illustrative purposes only and should not be considered limiting.

[0077] FIG. 3 shows a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a method or apparatus for providing at least one authorization rule.

[0078] As described in connection with Figure 2, an authorization rule may relate to or include an event trigger. An authorization rule may relate to or include specification of tracking data based on product data associated with products manufactured based on the chemical product. An authorization rule may relate to or include instructions for processing product data specified by the authorization rule to generate tracking data and providing such tracking data based on an event trigger.

[0079] The authorization rules may be provided as part of a chemical product passport. The chemical product passport may include a decentralized identifier associated with the chemical product and / or data about the chemical product as described in relation to Figure 1. By providing the authorization rules with the chemical product passport, the authorization rules may be inherently bound to the decentralized identifier associated with the chemical product and / or data about the chemical product. This binding may be permanent or non-permanent.

[0080] If the link is persistent, tracking of chemical products through the manufacturing and / or life cycle chain can be based on the use or processing of a decentralized identifier associated with a chemical product and / or data related to the chemical product at any participating node of the decentralized network. In particular, authorization rules may be provided in association with a decentralized identifier associated with a chemical product and / or data related to the chemical product, and such a connection may be maintained for any data exchange related to chemical product data. In this way, authorization rules may adhere directly to data flows in the decentralized network via a decentralized identifier associated with a chemical product and / or data related to the chemical product.

[0081] If the link is non-persistent, tracking of chemical products through the manufacturing and / or life cycle chain can be based on linking authorization rules to any decentralized identifiers associated with products manufactured based on the chemical products and / or data related to the products manufactured based on the chemical products. In both cases, the unique link to the chemical products used to manufacture the products may be maintained to enable back-tracing as described herein. In particular, tracking data may be provided via a tracking passport that includes a decentralized identifier associated with the tracked product, a decentralized identifier associated with the tracked chemical product, data related to the tracked chemical product data, and / or data related to the tracked product data. In this way, authorization rules may indirectly adhere to data flows in the decentralized network via decentralized identifiers associated with the chemical products and / or chemical product data.

[0082] FIG. 4 shows a schematic diagram of another embodiment of a method or apparatus for providing at least one authorization rule.

[0083] As described in connection with Figure 2, an authorization rule may relate to or include an event trigger. An authorization rule may relate to or include specification of tracking data based on product data associated with products manufactured based on the chemical product. An authorization rule may relate to or include instructions for processing product data specified by the authorization rule to generate tracking data and providing such tracking data based on an event trigger.

[0084] The authorization rules may be provided by an authorization management system. The authorization management system may be associated with a product manufacturer's data provision service. The authorization management system may include an authorization registry that provides authorization rules in relation to decentralized identifiers associated with tracked products, decentralized identifiers associated with tracked chemical products, data related to tracked chemical product data, and / or data related to tracked product data.

[0085] The authorization management system may include a distributed tracking application that includes authorization rules associated with distributed identifiers associated with tracked products, distributed identifiers associated with tracked chemical products, data related to tracked chemical product data, and / or data related to tracked product data.

[0086] The product data may be provided to a product manufacturer's data providing service for access by a distributed tracking application. The distributed application may apply authorization rules. The product data may be provided to the distributed tracking application, and tracking data may be generated by applying the authorization rules. The tracking data may be provided by the distributed tracking application for access by a chemical product manufacturer's data consuming service.

[0087] The authorization rules of the embodiments described in connection with Figures 3 and 4 may be implemented by pushing and / or pulling data from the data providing services of the participating nodes to the data consuming services of the chemical producers.

[0088] To push data, the authorization rules may include event triggers that trigger the generation of tracking data and push requests to transfer the data from the data providing service of the participating node to the data consuming service of the chemical manufacturer.

[0089] To pull data, the authorization rules may include event triggers that trigger the generation of tracking data and provide such tracking data upon receipt of a request for data transfer from the chemical manufacturer's data consuming service, which triggers the transfer of data from the participating node's data providing service to the chemical manufacturer's data consuming service.

[0090] In some embodiments, authorization rules may be implemented to push and pull data from the data providing service of a participant node to the data consuming service of a chemical manufacturer. Such protocols include push and pull requests. For example, the data consuming service of a chemical manufacturer may include a monitoring service that collects tracking data over a distributed network. The monitoring service may be triggered by authorization rules in a push scenario. The authorization rules may include instructions to provide an identifier of the participant node to the data consuming service when generated tracking data is updated. Based on the identifier of the participant node, the monitoring service may generate a request to transfer the tracking data from the data providing service of the participant node to the data consuming service of the chemical manufacturer. These are just some example protocols for transferring tracking data based on authorization rules. Other protocols are possible, and the examples provided herein should not be considered limiting.

[0091] 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of an implementation of an authorization mechanism that uses a usage control data flow. Such an example may be implemented in an international data space (IDS) framework, such as that specified in the IDSA Reference Architecture Model, Version 3.0, dated April 2019.

[0092] The international data space (IDS) framework is just one example framework: many other implementations exist that may or may not use distributed ledger technology, and that may or may not use smart contract implementations that run on a distributed ledger. Distributed ledger technologies include, but are not limited to, technology stacks such as Bitcoin (see, e.g., the Bitcoin documentation dated November 11, 2022, published at https: / / en.bitcoin.it / wiki / Protocol_documentation), Ethereum (see, e.g., the Ethereum documentation dated August 15, 2022, published at https: / / ethereum.org / en / developers / docs / ), Solana (see, e.g., the Solana documentation dated November 11, 2022, published at https: / / spl.solana.com / ), Polygon (see, e.g., the Polygon documentation dated November 11, 2022, published at https: / / wiki.polygon.technology / ), or other implementations with varying degrees of data transactions performed on a distributed ledger. The description of example frameworks is for illustrative purposes only and should not be considered limiting. The traceback concept may be implemented on any technology stack forming a distributed network including, for example, peer-to-peer communication based on authentication and / or authorization mechanisms.

[0093] For data exchange or sharing according to the IDS framework, authentication is performed via the IDS connector. For authentication, the decentralized identifier or data relating to the decentralized identifier of the accessing entity is made available to the connector IDS connector. Access to the IDS connector associated with the data providing service is authorized according to a specified procedure, which may then be followed by authorization based on authorization rules.

[0094] Usage control data flows may be used to enforce authorization rules or usage policies on data exchanges or sharing. Usage control may be achieved by binding usage policies to the data being exchanged and subsequently controlling how the data is processed, aggregated, or forwarded to other endpoints.

[0095] To enforce usage policies, data flows may be monitored and potentially intercepted by control points. Intercepted data flows may be passed to a decision engine to request that the data flow be allowed, denied, or modified. Decisions may be based on evaluation of usage policies by the decision engine. Data usage transactions may trigger interception and evaluation.

[0096] The usage policies may be provided to the decision engine by a policy manager to provide a set of authorization rules for the chemical data associated with the distributed identifiers of the IDS connector. The usage policies may be stored independently of the data. The policy manager may reside within the IDS connector and / or within the clearinghouse to enforce the usage policies.

[0097] Based on the distributed identifier of the accessing entity or data related to the distributed identifier, authorization rules for chemical product data associated with the distributed identifier may be selected for enforcement. The enforcement mechanism may function differently (e.g., affect different system actions) for different systems or technologies. Abstract policies may have different instantiations. Usage policies may be instantiated in target systems. In another embodiment (not shown), usage policies may be attached to data (also called sticky policies). Sticky policies are one way of dealing with the distribution of usage restrictions. In this approach, machine-readable usage policies may be attached to data when the data is exchanged. Different implementation possibilities exist. For example, data may be encrypted and can only be decrypted if adherence to usage restrictions is guaranteed.

[0098] The usage policy may include additional information, for example provided by a policy information registry, such as information regarding previous data usage or the geographic location of the entity, pre- or post-conditions that must be maintained before (e.g., integrity checks) and after (e.g., data item is deleted after usage) decision-making, and contextual information such as on-conditions that must be maintained during usage (e.g., only during business hours).

[0099] If the decision depends on additional information, the decision engine or control point may request the additional information from a policy information registry, which may provide the requested additional information.

[0100] Additionally, the policy information registry may be used to obtain context information for or about intercepted system actions (e.g., data flow information, geolocation of the requesting device). For example, the policy information registry may be used to resolve a supplier's ID to a postal address and a postal address to GPS coordinates.

[0101] The policy enforcer may be used to perform additional actions based on the policy rules, such as sending a notification via email when the data is used or when writing to a system log. Actions may be triggered, for example, by the control point sending instructions to the policy enforcer regarding the desired additional action after the control point receives the additional information from the policy information system. The policy enforcer may perform the indicated action and confirm the success of the action to the decision engine.

[0102] After the decision engine receives confirmation from the policy enforcer, it may forward the decision to the requesting control point. The decision may include allowing the data flow, denying the data flow, or modifying the data flow. The decision may be implemented by the control point. The selected authorization rule may be applied to the chemical product data associated with the distributed identifier. The chemical product data associated with the distributed identifier may be provided according to the selected authorization rule.

[0103] Usage control enforcement can be implemented in IDS connectors. At runtime, usage control enforcement prevents the IDS connector from handling data in an undesirable manner, for example, by forwarding personal data to a public endpoint. The application of usage policies associated with usage enforcement controls in data provider connectors or data consumer connectors may depend on the usage policy. In data provider connectors, the usage policy may specify how frequently and when (e.g., only during business hours) data can be accessed, or that data must be filtered or masked (e.g., anonymized) before leaving the enterprise. The usage policy in data provider connectors may include obligations to data consumers. Technical enforcement may be handled by a control point or a policy enforcer depending on the usage restrictions. For example, restricting data flow to specific target systems to ensure proper usage may be handled by a control point, while deleting data in storage infrastructure external to the connector may be handled by a policy enforcer.

[0104] Usage control enforcement may be performed in the storage infrastructure. The storage infrastructure may be any type of persistent data store, such as a file system or a database. The storage infrastructure may be used without modification, but all use of the data may be handled by an IDS connector. In certain cases, this may lead to a bottleneck. Usage control may be performed by encrypting data in an IDS connector connected to the storage infrastructure before transferring the data to the storage infrastructure. Use of the data is only possible by decrypting the data using the IDS connector. Thus, all use is controlled by the IDS connector. In such cases, usage restrictions, such as data lifetime or time constraints, may be enforced by deleting cryptographic key material. Additionally or alternatively, the storage infrastructure may include a usage control enforcement component that monitors and / or controls use of the data.

[0105] Usage control enforcement may also be implemented in applications so that data flow within the application may be controlled and adhere to usage policies. Similar to the storage infrastructure, control points may be integrated into applications to control data flow.

[0106] By implementing the above-mentioned usage control in the IDS, the following security requirements can be achieved, which cannot be achieved using conventional access control: - Confidentiality: Sensitive data must not be transferred to nodes that do not have the respective clearance. Integrity: Critical data should not be modified by untrusted nodes, because otherwise the integrity of the critical data cannot be guaranteed. - Lifetime: A prerequisite for persistent data is that it must be deleted from storage after a given period of time. -Anonymization by aggregation: Personal data must be made available to non-trusted parties only in aggregate form. A sufficient number of separate records must be aggregated to avoid personal identification of each individual record. -Anonymization by substitution: Data that allows the identification of an individual (e.g., faces in camera images) must be replaced with appropriate substitutes (e.g., blurred) to ensure that an individual cannot be identified from the data. -Separation of duties: two data sets from competing companies (e.g., two chemical industries) should never be aggregated or processed by the same service. - Scope of use: Data may only serve as input for data pipes within the connector, but must never leave the connector towards an external endpoint.

[0107] Figure 6 shows a schematic representation of a final product passport that includes a chemical product passport. The configuration shown in Figure 6 is just one illustrative example, and different configurations exist for passports secured by digital identifiers, including different parent, child, and grandchild relationships for passports generated in the manufacturing chain up to the final product or in the lifecycle chain up to end-of-life.

[0108] FIG. 6 shows a fully embedded configuration for different products produced in the manufacturing chain up to the final product or the life cycle chain up to the end of life. Individual passports may be generated for multiple stages of the manufacturing chain up to the final product or the life cycle chain up to the end of life. The generation of the passport may include providing a decentralized identification and authentication mechanism for each of the multiple stages. By fully embedding the chemical product passport, authorization rules for back-tracing may also be embedded in the chemical product passport. In this way, authorization rules for back-tracing may be available at any stage of the life cycle chain up to the final product produced in the manufacturing chain or up to the end of life.

[0109] In other embodiments, individual configurations may be used for different passports generated in the manufacturing chain leading up to the end product or the life cycle chain leading up to the end of life. Individual passports may be generated for multiple stages of the manufacturing chain leading up to the end product or the life cycle chain leading up to the end of life. The generation of the passports may include providing a decentralized identification and authentication mechanism for each of the multiple stages. The relationship of passports at different stages of the manufacturing chain leading up to the end product or the life cycle chain leading up to the end of life may be based on a link between such product passports.

[0110] In yet other embodiments, a fixed configuration may be used for different passports generated in the manufacturing chain or lifecycle chain up to the end of life of the final product. Individual passports may be generated for multiple stages in the manufacturing chain or lifecycle chain up to the end of life of the final product. The generation of the passports may include providing a decentralized identification and authentication mechanism for each of the multiple stages. The relationship of the passports at the different stages may be fixed in the final product passport based on a link from the passports at the different stages to the final product passport.

[0111] Figures 7a, b show a schematic diagram of one embodiment for tracing chemical products back through a manufacturing or supply chain.

[0112] Figure 7a shows an embodiment in which respective tracking data is provided to a chemical producer's node by individual participating nodes in the manufacturing or supply chain. Authorization rules may be handled as described in connection with Figures 3 and 4. Authorization rules for chemical products may be passed to participating nodes in the manufacturing or supply chain, for example.

[0113] The chemical product manufacturer may provide a decentralized identifier associated with the chemical product and / or at least one authorization rule related to data related to the chemical product for access to the tracking data by the chemical product data consumption service. The chemical product manufacturer may provide at least one authorization to an intermediate product manufacturer. The intermediate product may be manufactured based on the chemical product. The intermediate product manufacturer's tracking data may be provided to the intermediate manufacturer's data providing service. The intermediate product manufacturer's tracking data may be provided for access by the chemical manufacturer's data consumption service.

[0114] The chemical manufacturer may provide at least one authorization to the end product manufacturer for access to the tracking data by the chemical manufacturer's data consumption service.

[0115] A final product may be manufactured based on the intermediate product. The final product manufacturer's tracking data may be provided to a final product manufacturer's data providing service. The final product manufacturer's tracking data may be provided for access by a chemical manufacturer's data consuming service.

[0116] The respective tracking data may be provided to the respective product manufacturer's data providing service for access to the tracking data by the chemical manufacturer's data consuming service. Reverse tracing in this embodiment allows customization of authorization rules for different manufacturing or supply chain participants without publishing the authorization rules to other manufacturing or supply chain participants.

[0117] Figure 7b shows an embodiment in which the respective tracking data is aggregated at the end product participant node and the aggregated tracking data is provided to the chemical manufacturer's data consumption service. Authorization rules may be handled as described in connection with Figures 3 and 4. Authorization rules for chemical products may be passed to manufacturing or supply chain participant nodes, for example.

[0118] The chemical product manufacturer may provide a decentralized identifier associated with the chemical product and / or at least one authorization rule related to data related to the chemical product for access to the tracking data by the chemical product data consumption service. The chemical product manufacturer may provide at least one authorization to an intermediate product manufacturer. The intermediate product may be manufactured based on the chemical product. The intermediate product manufacturer's tracking data may be provided to the final product data provision service. The intermediate product manufacturer's tracking data may be provided for access by the chemical product data consumption service via the final product manufacturer's data provision service.

[0119] The intermediate product manufacturer may provide at least one authorization to the final product manufacturer for access to the tracking data by the chemical manufacturer's data consumption service. The final product may be manufactured based on the intermediate product. The tracking data of the intermediate product manufacturer and the final product manufacturer may be aggregated at the final product manufacturer node. The tracking data of the intermediate product manufacturer and the final product manufacturer may be provided to the final product manufacturer's data providing service.

[0120] Intermediate and final product manufacturer tracking data may be provided for access by chemical manufacturer data consumption services.

[0121] The respective tracking data may be aggregated along the manufacturing and / or life cycle chain.

[0122] The aggregated tracking data may be provided to the end product manufacturer's data providing service for access to the tracking data by the chemical manufacturer's data consuming service.

[0123] The intermediate product manufacturer's tracking data may be processed and provided by the final product manufacturer. In this embodiment, reverse tracing allows for unified approval rules from chemical manufacturers. The aggregated tracking data transfer from the final product manufacturer reduces network load.

[0124] The embodiment of Figures 7a and 7b is merely an example for implementing a method for back-tracing chemical products in a supply chain. In other embodiments, authorization rules may be shared with some supply chain participants, as described in connection with Figure 7b, or hidden, as described in connection with Figure 7a. Such a combination allows for more flexibility in handling customization and distributed transfer of tracking data. The supply chain shown in Figures 7a and 7b relates to the manufacturing chain of a product and the back-tracing of chemical products used to manufacture the product. This example may be easily extended to include participant nodes associated with the product's life cycle chain and users of the product.

[0125] Although the disclosure has been described in conjunction with preferred embodiments and examples, other variations can be understood and effected by those skilled in the art in practicing the claimed invention, from a study of the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims.

[0126] Any steps presented herein may be performed in any order. The methods disclosed herein are not limited to any particular order of these steps. It is also not required that different steps be performed at a particular location or at a particular node of a distributed system; i.e., each of the steps may be performed at a different computing node using different equipment / data processing.

[0127] As used herein, "identifying" also includes "initiating identifying or causing to be identified," "generating" also includes "initiating generating and / or causing to be generated," and "providing" also includes "initiating identifying, generating, selecting, transmitting, and / or receiving, or causing to be identified, generating, selecting, transmitting, and / or receiving." "Initiating or causing to be performed an action" includes any processing signal that triggers a computing node or device to perform the respective action.

[0128] In the claims as well as in this specification, the term "comprising" does not exclude other elements or steps, and the indefinite article "a" or "an" does not exclude a plurality. A single element or other unit may fulfill the functions of several entities or items recited in the claims. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage in implementations.

[0129] Any disclosures and embodiments described herein relate to the methods, systems, devices, and computer program elements outlined above, and vice versa. Advantageously, benefits provided by any of the embodiments and examples apply to all other embodiments and examples as well, and vice versa.

[0130] All terms and definitions used herein are broadly understood and have their ordinary meaning.

Claims

1. 1. A method for back-tracing a chemical product during the manufacture of a product using said chemical product and / or during the use of said product manufactured using said chemical product, comprising: providing at least one authorization rule associated with the chemical product, the at least one authorization rule providing access for a manufacturer of the chemical product to product data generated regarding the production of the product using the chemical product and / or use of the product manufactured using the chemical product; applying the at least one authorization rule to the product data to generate tracking data associated with at least one characteristic related to the use of the chemical product; providing the tracking data to a product manufacturer and / or product user data providing service for access by a data consuming service of the chemical product manufacturer; method.

2. 1. A method for authorizing access to traceback data by a chemical product manufacturer, comprising: providing at least one authorization rule associated with the chemical product, the at least one authorization rule providing access for a manufacturer of the chemical product to product data generated regarding the production of a product using the chemical product and / or the use of the product manufactured using the chemical product, the at least one authorization rule configured to generate tracking data from the product data associated with at least one characteristic regarding the use of the chemical product, and including at least one event trigger and one or more instructions configured to provide the tracking data; method.

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the at least one authorization rule relates to a decentralized identifier associated with the chemical product and / or data relating to the chemical product.

4. 10. The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the at least one authorization rule is provided as part of a decentralized identifier associated with the chemical product and / or a chemical product passport containing data relating to the chemical product.

5. 10. The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the at least one authorization rule is provided by an authorization management system, the authorization management system being associated with the data providing service of the product manufacturer and / or product user.

6. 10. The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the at least one authorization rule relates to a decentralized identifier associated with the chemical product and / or at least one event trigger associated with the use of the data related to the chemical product.

7. 10. The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the authorization rules relate to the specification of tracking data based on product data associated with the products manufactured based on the chemical product.

8. 10. The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein providing the tracking data includes forwarding tracking data to the data consumption service of a manufacturer of the chemical product, and / or the tracking data associated with each product is provided to the data provision service of a manufacturer or user of each product.

9. 10. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the tracking data associated with each product is aggregated and provided to the data providing service of an end product manufacturer and / or an end product user.

10. 10. The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein providing tracking data comprises providing a tracking passport including a distributed identifier associated with the tracked product, data related to the tracked chemical product data, and / or data related to the tracked product data.

11. 10. The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the tracking data includes application type and application data for the chemical product.

12. 1. An apparatus for tracing back a chemical product during the manufacture of a product using said chemical product and / or during the use of said product manufactured using said chemical product, comprising: an authorization provider configured to provide at least one authorization rule associated with the chemical product, the at least one authorization rule providing access for a manufacturer of the chemical product to product data associated with generated related to the production of the product using the chemical product and / or use of the product manufactured using the chemical product; a tracking data generator configured to apply the at least one authorization rule to the product data to generate tracking data associated with at least one characteristic related to the use of the chemical product; a tracking data provider configured to provide the tracking data to a product manufacturer and / or product user data providing service for access by a data consuming service of the chemical product manufacturer; Device.

13. A product manufacturer data provision service, a product manufacturer and / or product user data provision service, or a chemical product manufacturer data consumption service configured to process tracking data as provided in accordance with the method of any one of claims 1 to 11 or as provided by the apparatus of claim 12.

14. Use of tracking data associated with a chemical product provided according to the method of any one of claims 1 to 11 or provided by the apparatus of claim 12 to adapt the performance of the chemical product or to manufacture a chemical product.

15. A chemical product associated with at least one authorization rule for tracking said chemical product according to the method of any one of claims 1 to 11 or provided by the device of claim 12.

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