Expiring NFT Metadata for Transferable Software Feature Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional software applications manage feature access based on user accounts, leading to inefficiencies, resource waste, lack of flexibility, and security vulnerabilities due to locked/unlocked features being tied to specific users and applications.
Innovation Solution
Utilize non-fungible tokens (NFTs) stored on a cryptographically-immutable distributed database to represent feature access, allowing transferable and secure access management across different software applications.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If feature access is tied to user accounts in traditional software architecture, then access control is simple to implement, but flexibility and transferability of feature access are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces NFTs as an intermediary between users and feature access. Instead of directly tying features to user accounts, the system uses transferable NFT tokens that represent feature access rights. This intermediary enables flexible transfer of access between users while maintaining a manageable system architecture through standardized token protocols.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the feature access rights from the user account system and encapsulates them in separate, transferable NFT tokens. This separation allows access rights to be independently managed, transferred, and traded without modifying the underlying user account structure, thereby increasing flexibility while keeping the core system simple.
2Loss of energy
If feature access is granted to specific users, then security control is straightforward, but resource waste occurs when users have unused unlocked features
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic feature access through transferable NFTs. Instead of static, permanent feature unlocks tied to users, the system allows access rights to dynamically change hands through NFT transfers. Users only hold and consume resources for features they currently possess NFTs for, eliminating waste from unused permanent unlocks while maintaining security through cryptographic verification.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent enables discarding of unused feature access by allowing users to transfer or burn NFTs they no longer need. When NFTs are transferred to users who will actually use the features, or burned when no longer needed, resource waste is eliminated. The system recovers resources by revoking access when NFTs leave a user's possession, maintaining security through blockchain verification.
3Reliability
If feature access is locked per user account, then management is simple, but the system is prone to hacking and improper access granting
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical access control mechanisms (server-side account verification, permission databases) with cryptographic NFT verification. Instead of relying on centralized authentication systems that are vulnerable to hacking, the system uses blockchain-based NFTs with cryptographic signatures that are inherently secure and decentralized, making the system more resistant to attacks while maintaining verification capabilities.
4Quantity of substance
If traditional user-specific feature management is used, then state maintenance is straightforward, but memory resources are wasted maintaining state for unused features
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts feature access state from the application's memory and stores it externally on the blockchain as NFTs. Instead of maintaining user-specific feature unlock states in application memory, the system verifies NFT ownership on-chain and grants access accordingly. This eliminates the need to allocate memory for tracking unused feature states while keeping state management simple through standardized NFT verification protocols.
Data Source
AI summary
An example embodiment may involve, based on input from an entity, defining, by a computing system, a non-fungible token (NFT) that is associated with metadata representing a value and an expiry time that defines when the NFT expires, wherein the NFT incorporates smart contract functionality to emit an event when the NFT expires, and wherein the NFT is usable by its holder to modify behavior of a software application; submitting, by the computing system, the NFT as an entry proposed for addition to a cryptographically-immutable distributed database; receiving, by the computing system, confirmation that the entry has been added to the cryptographically-immutable distributed database; and listening, by the computing system, for the event, wherein firing of the event causes the value associated with the NFT to be transferred to the entity.