From 8bc1be38affb06fef854001dc5f1d28c1ae54f7c Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: blocksifrdev Date: Tue, 15 Sep 2026 12:21:09 -0400 Subject: [PATCH] Remove the patent strategy doc, keep the grant it carried MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit docs/patent-strategy.md is gone. It opened by naming two methods as patent-pending, which is a poor first impression for a protocol asking people to implement it, and the strategy framing around it served BlockSiFr rather than the reader. More than half of it was not strategy though. It carried an explicit royalty-free grant and three long-term commitments, and those answer the first question any adopter's counsel asks: will we be sued for implementing this. Deleting the file wholesale would have removed the assurance along with the disclosure, and a withdrawn promise reads worse than one never made — particularly in a public repository where the deletion is visible in the diff. So the grant moved to NOTICE, in BlockSiFr's own words rather than rewritten: the Apache 2.0 express patent grant covers implementing the spec, the five royalty-free permissions, and the commitments never to encumber the core specification, to provide standards-body grants, and to flag new patent-pending mechanisms through the RFC process before they enter the normative spec. Also fixes two relative links left broken by the earlier docs move: protocol/spec.md pointed at ../MVP.md and docs/README.md at ../COMMERCIAL_BOUNDARY.md. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 --- NOTICE | 42 +++++++++++++++++++++++++ docs/README.md | 2 +- docs/patent-strategy.md | 70 ----------------------------------------- protocol/spec.md | 2 +- 4 files changed, 44 insertions(+), 72 deletions(-) delete mode 100644 docs/patent-strategy.md diff --git a/NOTICE b/NOTICE index 0c70022..a30a796 100644 --- a/NOTICE +++ b/NOTICE @@ -14,3 +14,45 @@ the Apache 2.0 grant above. See docs/COMMERCIAL_BOUNDARY.md. "BlockSiFr", "TTP" and "PCTR" are trademarks of BlockSiFr. Trademark use is governed by docs/TRADEMARKS.md and, per section 6 of the License, no trademark rights are granted by the License itself. + +-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- +PATENT GRANT AND IMPLEMENTATION ASSURANCE +-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- + +TTP is released under the Apache License 2.0 and is intended to remain a +permanently open protocol. BlockSiFr's commercial interests are in managed +services and enterprise tooling built on top of the protocol -- not in +controlling the protocol itself. + +The Apache 2.0 license's express patent grant covers any patents BlockSiFr +holds that are necessarily infringed by implementing the protocol +specification as published in this repository. + +In plain language: if you implement what's in the spec, you're covered. + +You may, royalty-free: + + - Implement the TTP protocol as described in the specification. + - Use the reference aggregation algorithm from protocol/aggregation-spec.md + in any product, commercial or otherwise. + - Build competing Trust Authority services, SDKs, issuers, or verifiers that + conform to the protocol. + - Deploy TTP for internal enterprise use without paying BlockSiFr anything. + - Fork and modify the reference implementations under Apache 2.0. + +BlockSiFr commits that: + + 1. The core TTP specification will never be made patent-encumbered in a way + that blocks royalty-free implementation. + + 2. If TTP is submitted to a standards body (IETF, W3C, etc.), BlockSiFr will + provide the patent grants required by that body's IP policy. + + 3. Any protocol change that introduces a new patent-pending mechanism will be + clearly flagged in the RFC process, and the patent grant will be updated + before the change is accepted into the normative specification. + +None of BlockSiFr's commercial offerings gate access to the open protocol. +Alternative Trust Authority implementations are possible and encouraged. + +For questions about IP or licensing: hello@blocksifr.com diff --git a/docs/README.md b/docs/README.md index f6d622e..46f4051 100644 --- a/docs/README.md +++ b/docs/README.md @@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ Start here in order: Start here in order: -1. [`COMMERCIAL_BOUNDARY.md`](../COMMERCIAL_BOUNDARY.md) +1. [`COMMERCIAL_BOUNDARY.md`](COMMERCIAL_BOUNDARY.md) 2. [`docs/enterprise/security-model.md`](./enterprise/security-model.md) 3. [`docs/enterprise/threat-model.md`](./enterprise/threat-model.md) 4. [`docs/enterprise/deployment-patterns.md`](./enterprise/deployment-patterns.md) diff --git a/docs/patent-strategy.md b/docs/patent-strategy.md deleted file mode 100644 index 5b7e605..0000000 --- a/docs/patent-strategy.md +++ /dev/null @@ -1,70 +0,0 @@ -# TTP Intellectual Property and Patent Strategy - -## Open Source Commitment - -TTP is released under the Apache License 2.0 and is intended to remain a permanently open protocol. BlockSiFr's commercial interests are in managed services and enterprise tooling built on top of the protocol — not in controlling the protocol itself. - ---- - -## What is Patented (or Patent-Pending) - -BlockSiFr has filed patent applications covering specific implementations of: - -1. **Issuer weight normalization in multi-source behavioral trust aggregation** — the specific algorithm for capping per-issuer contribution weights to prevent single-source domination. - -2. **Negative signal amplification in trust scoring** — the approach of applying differential weighting to below-threshold behavioral scores to prioritize safety signals in aggregation. - -These patents, if granted, cover specific implementations of these methods. - ---- - -## What This Means for You - -### You CAN, royalty-free: - -- **Implement the TTP protocol** as described in the specification. -- **Use the reference aggregation algorithm** from [protocol/aggregation-spec.md](aggregation-spec.md) in any product, commercial or otherwise. -- **Build competing Trust Authority services**, SDKs, issuers, or verifiers that conform to the protocol. -- **Deploy TTP** for internal enterprise use without paying BlockSiFr anything. -- **Fork and modify** the reference implementations under Apache 2.0. - -The Apache 2.0 license's express patent grant covers any patents BlockSiFr holds that are **necessarily infringed** by implementing the protocol specification as published in this repository. - -In plain language: **if you implement what's in the spec, you're covered.** - -### What is NOT covered: - -- Substantially different aggregation mechanisms that happen to be described in the same patent claims. But implementing the spec as written is covered. -- Modifications that add patented capabilities not present in the open specification. - ---- - -## BlockSiFr's Commercial Model - -BlockSiFr earns revenue through: - -1. **Managed Trust Authority** — hosted, SLA-backed Trust Authority infrastructure for enterprises that don't want to self-host. - -2. **Enterprise features** — audit logging, compliance reporting, multi-tenancy, advanced threat detection. - -3. **Professional services** — implementation support, custom issuer development, security assessments. - -None of these commercial offerings gate access to the open protocol. The protocol remains open, and alternative Trust Authority implementations are possible and encouraged. - ---- - -## Long-Term IP Commitment - -BlockSiFr commits that: - -1. The core TTP specification will never be made patent-encumbered in a way that blocks royalty-free implementation. - -2. If TTP is submitted to a standards body (IETF, W3C, etc.), BlockSiFr will provide necessary patent grants as required by that body's IP policy. - -3. Any protocol change that introduces a new patent-pending mechanism will be clearly flagged in the RFC process, and the patent grant will be updated before the change is accepted into the normative specification. - ---- - -## Questions - -For questions about IP or licensing, contact: hello@blocksifr.com diff --git a/protocol/spec.md b/protocol/spec.md index 1759782..98dcb35 100644 --- a/protocol/spec.md +++ b/protocol/spec.md @@ -15,5 +15,5 @@ For the current scope and grammar, see: - [`../README.md`](../README.md) - [`../SPECIFICATION.md`](../SPECIFICATION.md) -- [`../docs/MVP.md`](../MVP.md) +- [`../docs/MVP.md`](../docs/MVP.md) - [`../THREAT_MODEL.md`](../THREAT_MODEL.md)