Smart Contract Intervention via Virtual Court Judgment Checking

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Solution Overview

Problem

Smart contracts in distributed ledger systems can execute illegal transactions or contain logical errors, and their immutability hinders stopping their execution.

Innovation Solution

A system and method for intervening in smart contract operations by launching a judgment checking function, determining if a judgment against the contract exists, and intervening to prevent execution if a judgment is found, or continuing execution if none exists, using a virtual court server system and judgment database.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If immutability is implemented in distributed ledger systems to ensure data reliability, then system reliability is improved, but the ability to intervene in smart contract execution is lost

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedata immutabilityVSAvoidcontract intervention capability
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary actions by checking for judgments against a smart contract before executing its code. The judgment checking function is invoked prior to contract execution, allowing intervention to be prepared and applied in advance, thus preventing harmful executions while maintaining the immutability of the contract code itself

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

An intermediary mechanism is introduced between the smart contract code and the execution process. The judgment database and judgment checking function act as intermediaries that mediate between the immutable contract code and the execution environment, allowing selective blocking of harmful contracts without modifying the code itself

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Productivity

If smart contracts are made executable without intervention to maintain system efficiency, then productivity is improved, but illegal or erroneous transactions may execute

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecontract execution efficiencyVSAvoidillegal transaction execution
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary validation by checking the judgment database before contract execution. This preliminary action filters out harmful contracts in advance, allowing efficient execution of legitimate contracts while preventing harmful ones from running

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system implements feedback mechanisms where the judgment checking function provides feedback about whether a contract should be executed based on stored judgments. This feedback loop allows the system to maintain high productivity for valid contracts while blocking harmful ones, balancing efficiency with safety

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

Data Source

PatentEP3685333B1Systems and methods for smart contract intervention
Publication Date: 2025.08.27 THOMSON REUTERS ENTERPRISE CENTRE GMBH
  • EP3685333B1 patent drawingFigure 1~2
  • EP3685333B1 patent drawingFigure 3~4
  • EP3685333B1 patent drawingFigure 5

AI summary

A method of remedying erroneous transactions in a distributed ledger system may include: determining, by a court system associated with the distributed ledger system, a judgment that a transferring, by a contract of the distributed ledger system during a conducting of a financial transaction, of a quantity of tokens of the distributed ledger system, from a first account corresponding to a first counterparty to a second account corresponding to a second counterparty, is erroneous; and in response to determining the judgment, executing, by a court contract of the distributed ledger system, a transfer function, configured to be responsive to the court contract, to transfer at least a portion of the quantity of tokens from the second account to the first account.