Contract Analytic Binding and Provenance via Blockchain

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Solution Overview

Problem

Value-based agreements often lead to disputes due to lack of transparency and provenance in contract rules, analytics, and outcomes, necessitating a method to ensure trust and immutability in data processing and analytics execution.

Innovation Solution

A contract analytic binding and provenance system that creates a set of analytics tied to contract rules, using directed acyclic graphs and blockchain technology to ensure immutability and alignment, storing these analytics in peer ledgers for verification and activation.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Loss of information

If traditional contract execution methods are used, then flexibility in contract interpretation is maintained, but transparency and provenance of contract rules and analytics are lost

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveprovenance informationVSAvoidsystem complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of informationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces a blockchain-based intermediary system that mediates between contract parties and analytics execution. The blockchain ledger serves as a trusted intermediary that records and verifies the provenance of contract rules, analytics code, and execution outcomes, preventing information loss while maintaining system manageability through decentralized trust.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent creates immutable copies of contract rules and analytics code on the blockchain ledger. These cryptographic copies ensure that the original contract specifications are preserved exactly as agreed, providing transparent provenance without requiring complex centralized verification mechanisms.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #26Copying

2Productivity

If manual verification of contract compliance is used, then flexibility in handling edge cases is maintained, but time and resources for adjudication increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecontract execution speedVSAvoidadjudication time
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent performs preliminary actions by encoding contract rules and analytics logic into executable code on the blockchain before execution. This preliminary structuring of compliance criteria enables automated real-time verification during contract execution, dramatically reducing adjudication time while maintaining the ability to handle edge cases through pre-defined logic.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

3Reliability

If centralized control of contract analytics is used, then consistency in rule interpretation is maintained, but trust and transparency between parties decrease

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetrust between partiesVSAvoidverification complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The blockchain ledger acts as a neutral intermediary that all parties trust equally. It provides a decentralized verification mechanism where contract rules and analytics execution can be independently verified by all participants without requiring complex centralized control structures, thereby enhancing trust while simplifying verification.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

4Adaptability or versatility

If contract rules are updated after deployment, then adaptability to changing conditions is improved, but immutability and provenance are compromised

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecontract flexibilityVSAvoidcontract immutability
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSStability of the object's composition

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the contract lifecycle into immutable deployment phase and adaptable execution phase. The original contract rules are immutably recorded on blockchain, while adaptability is achieved through executing analytics code that can process new data and conditions without modifying the original contract terms, thus maintaining both immutability and flexibility.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentUS11847710B2Contract analytic binding and provenance
Publication Date: 2023.12.19 INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINE CORPORATION
  • US11847710B2 patent drawing
  • US11847710B2 patent drawing
  • US11847710B2 patent drawing

AI summary

A mechanism is provided to implement a contract analytic binding and provenance system. The mechanism loads contract rules for an agreement between a plurality of contract parties and creates an analytic entry per rule to form a set of analytic entries, Each analytic entry is associated with an executable analytic function. The mechanism assigns each analytic entry a directed acyclic graph vertex. The mechanism confirms alignment between the contract rules and the set of analytic entries and stores the set of analytic entries in peer ledgers associated with the plurality of contract parties. The mechanism activates the set of analytic entries responsive to confirming provenance of the peer ledgers associated with the plurality of contract parties.