Data Fragmentation and Ontology Search for Legal Discovery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Enterprises face challenges in managing and retrieving data efficiently due to the complexity of integrating disparate data sources, handling legal discovery requests, and ensuring data availability across dynamic network environments, which existing knowledge management solutions fail to address effectively.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that fragments data across network nodes, uses ontologies and taxonomies to search multiple databases, and dynamically converts data formats to ensure data availability and accessibility, while also providing a data collaboration environment that adapts to external events and supports compliance with regulations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If data is stored centrally in a single location, then data access is simple and straightforward, but data availability is compromised when network nodes are disconnected or fail
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides data into multiple fragments and distributes them across different network nodes. Each fragment is stored separately, so that even if some nodes are disconnected, the remaining fragments can still be retrieved and reassembled to restore the complete data, thereby improving data availability without requiring a fully centralized storage structure.
2Reliability
If data is fragmented across multiple network nodes, then data availability is improved, but data retrieval complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates metadata that tracks the location and status of data fragments across network nodes. This feedback mechanism allows the system to automatically identify which fragments are available, retrieve them in the correct sequence, and reassemble the complete data, thereby simplifying the retrieval process despite the distributed fragmentation approach.
3Ease of manufacture
If existing knowledge management solutions are used, then implementation is straightforward, but they fail to address the complexity of integrating disparate data sources and ensuring data availability in dynamic network environments
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a unified data management system that can handle multiple types of data sources and network configurations through a single framework. The system universally applies fragmentation and metadata tracking across diverse data types and network topologies, providing both ease of implementation through a standardized approach and high adaptability to different integration scenarios.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method for obtaining information responsive to a legal discovery request directed at an enterprise having a plurality of databases that potentially include information responsive to the legal discovery request, including structured databases and at least one unstructured database. A plurality of taxonomies are provided, each of which describes a structure of one of the structured databases. An ontology is provided that describes data relationships between the databases. A native application is identified, which is configured to access at least one but not all of the databases associated with the enterprise. The native application is modified to include search functionality for accessing all of the databases associated with the enterprise. A request is received from the user, via the modified native application, to search the plurality of databases associated with the enterprise for information responsive to the legal discovery request. Information included in the request, the ontology and the taxonomies are then used to search the plurality of databases associated with the enterprise. A list of search results responsive to the search request is presented with the modified native application. In response to a user selection of a search result from the list, an application required to view the selected search result is automatically launched if the modified native application lacks functionality required to display the selected search result.