Retention Services Preventing Premature Content Deletion
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Solution Overview
Problem
In managed content systems, there is a need to ensure that content is not deleted prematurely until the last applicable retention period has expired, especially when content is associated with multiple stored objects, to comply with legal or internal policies and avoid duplication.
Innovation Solution
A content management system is implemented with retention services that include business logic to manage retention policies, ensuring content is not deleted until all associated objects require its retention, using retainer objects to enforce policies and handle conflicts between multiple retention periods.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If content is stored only once and linked to multiple documents/objects, then storage space is conserved and duplication is avoided, but the risk of premature deletion increases when one of the associated objects expires
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces retainer objects as intermediaries between content and documents/objects. These retainer objects track the association between content and multiple documents, monitor expiration dates, and control deletion operations. The retainer object acts as a mediator that ensures content is only deleted when all associated documents have expired, thus preventing premature deletion while maintaining storage efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback mechanisms where retainer objects continuously monitor the status of associated documents and their expiration dates. When a document expires, the system receives feedback through the retainer object, which then updates its internal state and adjusts deletion timing accordingly. This feedback loop ensures that content retention decisions are based on real-time status of all associated documents.
2Reliability
If content is retained for the longest applicable retention period, then regulatory compliance is ensured, but storage costs increase and management complexity rises
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the retention management function into distinct components: content objects, document objects, and retainer objects. Each segment has a specific responsibility - content objects store the actual data, document objects track usage contexts, and retainer objects manage retention policies. This segmentation distributes the complexity across multiple simple components rather than requiring a single complex retention management system.
Solution Approach 2:
The retainer objects are designed to autonomously monitor their associated documents, track expiration dates, and execute deletion operations without requiring external intervention. The system implements self-service by having each retainer object independently manage its own content retention based on the expiration dates of associated documents, eliminating the need for centralized complex retention management logic.
3Reliability
If multiple copies of content are stored for each document, then deletion safety is improved, but storage space is wasted and duplication occurs
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of creating multiple content copies, the patent uses retainer objects as intermediaries that reference the single content copy. The retainer object maintains the relationship between the content and multiple documents, allowing the system to track which documents are still active without duplicating the content itself. This approach provides deletion safety through reference counting rather than through duplication.
Data Source
AI summary
Retention and disposition of stored content associated with multiple stored objects is disclosed. An indication is received that a first stored object associated with an item of content comprising a body of managed content is no longer subject to retention under a retention policy applicable to the first stored object. The item of content is deleted or otherwise disposed of only if the item of content is not associated with a second stored object that is still required or desired to be retained.