Granted Patent B2

US 12,724,757 · App. 19/540,609 · Granted Sep 1, 2026

Inventor: Scott Lipskin (Boca Raton, FL)

Assignee: The Mirror Project LLC

G06F16/22G06F16/13G06F21/101G06F21/6209G06F2221/2137

Abstract

Claims (42)

1 . A computer-implemented authority binding system for a digital document, the system comprising:

one or more user devices, each comprising a processor and a memory storing instructions, configured to display a malleable representation of the digital document and to transmit interactions with the digital document over a network;

at least one backend server comprising one or more processors and one or more memories storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the at least one backend server to implement:

a document entity configured to represent the digital document as a single canonical identity that persists across time;

a temporal state model, executed on the at least one backend server and in communication with the document entity over the network, configured to receive the digital document from the document entity, receive a time output from a clock, and bind an authoritative state of the digital document to the time output by incorporating the time output as a first-class enforceable primitive directly into a structural model of the digital document, wherein the authoritative state is a single authoritative state of the digital document at any moment in time;

an authority control layer, executed on the at least one backend server, configured to receive an authority signal from an authorized cryptographic key and to govern the authoritative state of the digital document by a plurality of time-bound lifecycle state transitions;

a lifecycle state machine, executed on the at least one backend server and in communication with the authority control layer, configured to structurally enforce the plurality of time-bound lifecycle state transitions of the digital document, wherein the lifecycle state transitions include transitions between a malleable state in which the digital document is editable by the one or more user devices, a fixed state in which the digital document is preserved at a specific moment in time, and an absolute state in which the digital document is permanently finalized;

a resolution engine, executed on the at least one backend server and in communication with the lifecycle state machine and the temporal state model, configured to close a plurality of temporal windows of mutability of the digital document in response to the authority signal being received from the authorized cryptographic key in order to execute the plurality of time-bound lifecycle state transitions and to record corresponding time coordinates as structural boundaries in the temporal state model; and

a temporal query interface, executed on the at least one backend server and in communication with the temporal state model and a storage layer, configured to resolve requests to access the digital document received from the one or more user devices by reference to the canonical identity and the time coordinates generated from the time output when the plurality of temporal windows of mutability have been closed by the resolution engine,

wherein the one or more user devices are configured to transmit user interactions and authority signals over the network to the backend server and to receive authoritative document states from the backend server via the temporal query interface, such that the document entity, the temporal state model, the authority control layer, the lifecycle state machine, the resolution engine, and the temporal query interface operate together with the one or more user devices as a unified system that forms a closed control loop to maintain only a single authoritative state of the digital document at any given moment in time, with all historical states remaining addressable via the canonical identity and the time coordinates without binding the authoritative state by any of a number of version numbers of the digital document,

wherein the backend server, via the resolution engine and the lifecycle state machine, prevents the one or more user devices from displaying at least one of non-authoritative divergent states, local copies, forks, and continued editable representations of the digital document when the plurality of temporal windows of mutability have been closed, and

wherein the system is agnostic to storage such that time and authority are enforceable primitives of the digital document, and such that the one or more user devices are prevented from maintaining mutable representations of the digital document outside of the authority-controlled closed control loop enforced by the backend server.

2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the lifecycle state machine is further configured to structurally enforce the plurality of time-bound lifecycle state transitions of the digital document without employing at least one of a permission change mechanism, a user interface lock mechanism, and a workflow label mechanism.

3 . The system of claim 2 , wherein the lifecycle state machine is further configured to structurally enforce the plurality of time-bound lifecycle state transitions of the digital document without employing each of the permission change mechanism, the user interface lock mechanism, and the workflow label mechanism.

4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the resolution engine is further configured to close the plurality of temporal windows of mutability of the digital document responsive to at least one authorized party executing one of the plurality of time-bound lifecycle state transitions of the digital document.

5 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the resolution engine is further configured to close the plurality of temporal windows of mutability of the digital document without reliance on at least one of an organizational policy, a user agreement, a workflow completion signal, and an interface-based status indicator.

6 . The system of claim 5 , wherein the resolution engine is further configured to close the plurality of temporal windows of mutability of the digital document without reliance on each of the organizational policy, the user agreement, the workflow completion signal, and the interface-based status indicator.

7 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of time-bound lifecycle state transitions are configured to be triggered in the lifecycle state machine independent of an editing action with respect to the digital document.

8 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the document entity is further configured to represent the digital document as a multi-author digital document.

9 . An authority binding computer-implemented method for a digital document, comprising:

receiving, at one or more user devices each comprising a processor and a memory, user interactions with a malleable representation of the digital document and transmitting the interactions over a network to at least one backend server;

at the at least one backend server comprising one or more processors and one or more memories:

representing, by a document entity, a single canonical identity for the digital document that persists across time;

receiving, by a temporal state model in communication with the document entity, the digital document and a time output from a clock, and binding an authoritative state of the digital document to the time output by incorporating the time output as a first-class enforceable primitive directly into a structural model of the digital document, wherein the authoritative state is a single authoritative state of the digital document at any moment in time;

receiving, by an authority control layer, an authority signal from an authorized cryptographic key, and governing the authoritative state of the digital document according to a plurality of time-bound lifecycle state transitions;

structurally enforcing, by a lifecycle state machine in communication with the authority control layer, the plurality of time-bound lifecycle state transitions of the digital document, wherein the lifecycle state transitions include transitions between a malleable state in which the digital document is editable by the one or more user devices, a fixed state in which the digital document is preserved at a specific moment in time, and an absolute state in which the digital document is permanently finalized;

closing, by a resolution engine in communication with the lifecycle state machine and the temporal state model, a plurality of temporal windows of mutability of the digital document in response to the authority signal received from the authorized cryptographic key, thereby executing the plurality of time-bound lifecycle state transitions and recording corresponding time coordinates as structural boundaries in the temporal state model;

resolving, by a temporal query interface in communication with the temporal state model and a storage layer, requests to access the digital document received from the one or more user devices by reference to the canonical identity and the time coordinates generated from the time output when the plurality of temporal windows of mutability have been closed;

transmitting, from the backend server to the one or more user devices via the temporal query interface, authoritative document states; and

transmitting, by the one or more user devices, user interactions and authority signals over the network to the backend server and receiving, by the one or more user devices, authoritative document states from the backend server via the temporal query interface, such that the document entity, the temporal state model, the authority control layer, the lifecycle state machine, the resolution engine, and the temporal query interface operate together with the one or more user devices as a unified closed control loop that maintains only a single authoritative state of the digital document at any given moment in time, with all historical states remaining addressable via the canonical identity and the time coordinates without binding the authoritative state by any version numbers of the digital document;

wherein the method prevents the one or more user devices from displaying at least one of non-authoritative divergent states, local copies, forks, and continued editable representations of the digital document when the plurality of temporal windows of mutability have been closed, and

wherein the method is agnostic to storage such that time and authority are enforceable primitives of the digital document, and such that the one or more user devices are prevented from maintaining mutable representations of the digital document outside of the authority-controlled closed control loop enforced by the backend server.

10 . The method of claim 9 , wherein binding the authoritative state is performed without auxiliary data being a governing dimension of the digital document.

11 . The method of claim 9 , further comprising constantly providing the authoritative state to the digital document after binding the authoritative state with the temporal state model.

12 . The method of claim 9 , further comprising triggering the plurality of time-bound lifecycle state transitions in the lifecycle state machine independent of an editing action with respect to the digital document.

13 . The method of claim 9 , wherein representing further comprises representing the digital document as a multi-author digital document having the authoritative state at any moment in time, and wherein the method further comprises:

receiving a plurality of interactions with respect to the digital document from each of a first author and a second author different than the first author; and

determining to close the plurality of temporal windows of mutability of the digital document responsive to receiving the authority signal at the authority control layer from the first author and not close the plurality of temporal windows of mutability of the digital document responsive to receiving another signal at the authority control layer from the second author because the first author is an authorized authority and the second author is not.

14 . The method of claim 9 , wherein structurally enforcing is performed without employing at least one of a permission change mechanism, a user interface lock mechanism, and a workflow label mechanism.

15 . The method of claim 14 , wherein structurally enforcing is performed without employing each of the permission change mechanism, the user interface lock mechanism, and the workflow label mechanism.

16 . The method of claim 9 , wherein closing is performed without reliance on at least one of an organizational policy, a user agreement, a workflow completion signal, and an interface-based status indicator.

17 . The method of claim 16 , wherein closing is performed without reliance on each of the organizational policy, the user agreement, the workflow completion signal, and the interface-based status indicator.

Assignments (1)

Continuity (2)

References Cited (15)