# Intellectual Property Disclosure: Aphoria & Epistemic Conflict Detection

- **Date:** 2026-02-04
- **Subject:** Method and System for Detecting Epistemic Conflicts in Computer Code and Configuration

---

## Executive Summary

Aphoria is a "Truth Linter" for software. It introduces a novel method for automated code review called **Epistemic Conflict Detection**.

Current industry tools (Static Analysis, Linters) work by pattern matching: "If code looks like X, flag it." This approach is brittle and generates high false-positive rates because it cannot distinguish between configurations that violate vendor recommendations versus regulatory requirements versus internal policies.

Aphoria works by **Knowledge Graph Alignment**:

1. It extracts the implicit "claims" a developer makes when writing code (e.g., setting `timeout=0` is a claim that "waiting forever is acceptable").
2. It transforms these claims into normalized semantic triples using a predefined ontology.
3. It compares these triples against a hierarchically-structured knowledge graph of "Authoritative Assertions" derived from technical standards (RFCs, NIST, Vendor Docs).
4. It calculates a **Conflict Score** based on a defined weighting function that incorporates authority tier differentials.
5. It outputs ranked conflicts with deterministic prioritization.

This transforms compliance from a manual, subjective audit process into a continuous, mathematical calculation of "Epistemic Drift"—the distance between what code _does_ and what authorities say it _should_ do.

---

## Technical Problem Addressed

Current static analysis tools operate through pattern-matching against predetermined rule sets, requiring manual rule creation for each potential misconfiguration and generating high false-positive rates because they cannot distinguish between configurations that violate vendor recommendations versus regulatory requirements versus internal policies. This creates computational inefficiency (wasted cycles on false positives) and fails to provide deterministic prioritization of detected issues.

**Specific Technical Deficiencies in Prior Art:**

- **Undifferentiated Rule Violations:** All pattern matches are treated equally regardless of source authority
- **Manual Rule Authoring:** Policy-as-code systems require human translation of standards into executable rules
- **No Contextual Weighting:** A "MUST" from an RFC is indistinguishable from a "SHOULD" in vendor docs
- **Static Pattern Libraries:** Rules cannot adapt to organizational context without manual intervention

---

## Technical Solution

A system that:

1. Transforms code configurations into normalized semantic triples using a defined ontology
2. Stores authoritative assertions in a hierarchically-structured graph database with quantified authority weights
3. Performs graph traversal to identify assertion conflicts using a specific matching algorithm
4. Computes conflict scores using a defined weighting function that incorporates authority tier differentials
5. Outputs ranked conflicts with deterministic prioritization

---

## Use Cases

1. **AI Safety Guardrails:** Prevents autonomous AI coding agents from "hallucinating" insecure configurations (e.g., disabling TLS verification) by checking generated code against RFC standards before deployment.

2. **Continuous Compliance:** Replaces annual security audits with a continuous, pre-commit check that blocks code violating specific regulations (GDPR, HIPAA) defined in the knowledge graph.

3. **Federated Policy Enforcement:** Allows large organizations to cryptographically sign and distribute "Trust Packs" (bundles of approved patterns) that automatically override default standards in downstream projects.

---

## Patentability Analysis

To be patentable, an invention must be **(1) Statutory**, **(2) Novel**, **(3) Useful**, and **(4) Non-Obvious**.

### 1. Statutory Subject Matter (Eligible Category)

**Requirement:** Must be a process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter. Abstract ideas (math) are not eligible unless applied practically.

**Aphoria Argument:**

- The claims recite **specific data structures** (semantic triples with authority weights, hierarchical knowledge graph)
- The claims recite **machine-specific operations** (parsing source code files, querying graph databases, computing weighted differences)
- The operations **cannot be performed mentally**—a human cannot feasibly traverse a knowledge graph containing thousands of RFC-derived assertions
- Per _Enfish v. Microsoft_ (Fed. Cir. 2016): Claims directed to a specific improvement in computer capabilities are not abstract

### 2. Novelty (New)

**Requirement:** Must not be known, used, or published before.

**Aphoria Argument:**

- **Prior Art:** Linters check syntax (validity). SAST checks data flow (taint).
- **The Invention:** Aphoria checks **Semantic Alignment** between two disparate graphs (Code Intent vs. Regulatory Authority).
- **Distinction:** No existing tool maps source code to a standardized knowledge graph of RFCs to compute a weighted conflict score. The mechanism of "Source Class Decay" (where anecdotal evidence fades but regulatory evidence remains constant) applied to code analysis is entirely new.

### 3. Utility (Useful)

**Requirement:** Must provide a specific, substantial, and credible benefit.

**Aphoria Argument:** The utility is immediate and quantifiable.

- **Demonstrated Benefit:** In benchmarks against industry-standard tools (Semgrep), Aphoria achieved **100% precision** (vs ~30%) and reduced false positives to zero by utilizing the authority-weighting mechanism.
- **Industrial Application:** It solves the specific problem of "Configuration Drift" in cloud infrastructure, a leading cause of global outages.

### 4. Non-Obviousness (Inventive Step)

**Requirement:** Must not be a trivial combination of existing things to an expert in the field.

**Aphoria Argument:**

- It is **not obvious** to combine "Probabilistic Knowledge Graphs" (typically used in search/AI) with "Static Code Analysis" (typically used in compilers).
- Experts in static analysis focus on "better parsing" or "deeper taint analysis." They do not focus on "modeling the authority of external documentation."
- The use of **Cryptographic Trust Packs** to federate and override static analysis rules dynamically is a non-obvious architecture for a linter.
- Under _KSR_, the question is whether a PHOSITA would combine knowledge graphs + code parsing + authority weighting with a reasonable expectation of success. This combination requires: (1) designing an ontology for configuration semantics, (2) developing an authority-weighting scheme, and (3) integrating with code parsing—none of which are taught or suggested by the prior art.

---

## Proposed Claims

### Independent Claim 1 (System)

A system for detecting configuration conflicts in source code, the system comprising:

**(a)** a parser module configured to:

- receive a source code file containing at least one configuration statement, wherein the configuration statement comprises a key-value assignment in a structured data format selected from the group consisting of YAML, JSON, TOML, and environment variable declaration syntax,
- identify the configuration statement by applying pattern-matching rules to the source code file,
- extract a configuration key and a configuration value from the identified configuration statement, and
- transform the configuration key and configuration value into a semantic triple comprising a subject identifier, a predicate type selected from a predefined configuration ontology comprising property types including at least timeout values, encryption parameters, and authentication requirements, and an object value;

**(b)** a knowledge graph database storing a plurality of authoritative assertions, each authoritative assertion comprising a semantic triple and an associated authority weight, wherein authority weights are numeric values on a scale from 0 to 1, wherein authority weights are assigned based on a hierarchical classification comprising at least three tiers corresponding to regulatory sources, vendor documentation sources, and community sources, wherein regulatory source assertions are assigned authority weights of at least 0.8, vendor documentation assertions are assigned authority weights between 0.5 and 0.79, and community source assertions are assigned authority weights below 0.5, and wherein source code configurations are assigned a default authority weight of less than 0.5 on the authority weight scale;

**(c)** a conflict detection engine configured to:

- query the knowledge graph database to retrieve authoritative assertions having predicate types matching the predicate type of the transformed semantic triple,
- compare the object value of the transformed semantic triple against object values of retrieved authoritative assertions, wherein comparing comprises determining a semantic distance between values, wherein the semantic distance for numeric values is calculated as the absolute value of the difference between the authoritative value and the code value divided by the authoritative value, and wherein the semantic distance for boolean values equals 1.0 when values differ and 0.0 when values match,
- identify a conflict condition when the semantic distance exceeds a predefined threshold; and

**(d)** a scoring module configured to calculate a conflict score for each identified conflict condition by:

- computing a weighted difference between the authority weight of the authoritative assertion and the default authority weight assigned to the source code configuration,
- multiplying the weighted difference by the semantic distance,
- wherein the conflict score increases proportionally with both the authority weight differential and the semantic distance;

wherein the system outputs an ordered list of conflict conditions ranked by conflict score.

---

### Independent Claim 8 (Method)

A computer-implemented method for detecting epistemic conflicts between source code configurations and authoritative technical standards, the method comprising:

**(a)** receiving, by a processor, a source code file containing a configuration statement;

**(b)** parsing the configuration statement to extract a configuration parameter and a configuration value;

**(c)** transforming, by the processor, the configuration parameter and configuration value into a normalized semantic triple according to a predefined configuration ontology, the semantic triple comprising:

- a subject corresponding to a software component identifier,
- a predicate corresponding to a configuration property type, and
- an object corresponding to the configuration value;

**(d)** querying a knowledge graph database to retrieve one or more authoritative assertions having predicates matching the predicate of the normalized semantic triple, wherein each authoritative assertion in the knowledge graph database is associated with an authority tier selected from a hierarchical set of authority tiers, and wherein each authority tier is assigned a numeric authority weight, wherein the knowledge graph database is stored in non-transitory computer-readable memory and the querying comprises traversing graph edges indexed by subject identifier;

**(e)** for each retrieved authoritative assertion, determining whether a conflict exists by computing a semantic distance between the object of the normalized semantic triple and the object of the authoritative assertion, wherein a conflict exists when the semantic distance exceeds a configurable threshold;

**(f)** for each determined conflict, calculating a conflict score based on a difference between the authority weight associated with the authoritative assertion and a default authority weight assigned to developer-specified configurations;

**(g)** ranking determined conflicts by conflict score; and

**(h)** outputting an alert identifying at least the highest-ranked conflict.

---

### Dependent Claims: Parser Variations (Claims 2-4)

**Claim 2.** The system of claim 1, wherein the parser module is further configured to identify configuration statements across a plurality of file formats including YAML, JSON, TOML, and environment variable files.

**Claim 3.** The system of claim 1, wherein the predefined ontology comprises configuration property types including timeout values, retry counts, encryption parameters, authentication requirements, and connection limits.

**Claim 4.** The system of claim 1, wherein the parser module extracts context comprising at least one of: file path, function scope, conditional block, and deployment environment identifier.

---

### Dependent Claims: Knowledge Graph Structure (Claims 5-7)

**Claim 5.** The system of claim 1, wherein the knowledge graph database indexes authoritative assertions by source document, the source documents comprising at least one of: RFC specifications, NIST guidelines, vendor security documentation, and CIS benchmarks.

**Claim 6.** The system of claim 1, wherein authority weights are numeric values on a scale from 0 to 1, with regulatory source assertions assigned weights of at least 0.8, vendor documentation assertions assigned weights between 0.5 and 0.79, and community source assertions assigned weights below 0.5.

**Claim 7.** The system of claim 1, wherein the knowledge graph database implements temporal decay of authority weights for community source assertions based on publication date, while maintaining constant authority weights for regulatory source assertions.

---

### Dependent Claims: Conflict Detection Specifics (Claims 9-11)

**Claim 9.** The system of claim 1, wherein identifying a conflict condition comprises determining that the object value of the transformed semantic triple specifies a less restrictive security parameter than the object value of the authoritative assertion.

**Claim 10.** The system of claim 1, wherein the conflict detection engine performs semantic matching to identify conflicts between configuration values expressed in different formats or units.

**Claim 11.** The system of claim 1, wherein the predefined threshold for identifying conflict conditions is configurable based on deployment environment classification.

---

### Dependent Claims: Trust Pack Feature (Claims 12-15)

**Claim 12.** The system of claim 1, further comprising:
a trust pack module configured to receive a cryptographically signed data package containing a subset of authoritative assertions, verify a digital signature of the data package against a trusted issuer registry, and upon successful verification, merge the authoritative assertions from the data package into the knowledge graph database with authority weights specified in the data package.

**Claim 13.** The system of claim 12, wherein authoritative assertions from a verified trust pack are assigned authority weights that supersede authority weights of conflicting assertions from default sources.

**Claim 14.** The system of claim 12, wherein the trust pack module maintains a provenance record for each merged assertion identifying the trust pack source and verification timestamp.

**Claim 15.** The system of claim 12, wherein the trusted issuer registry is updatable via a secure channel separate from trust pack distribution.

---

### Dependent Claims: Acknowledgment/Override Feature (Claims 16-18)

**Claim 16.** The system of claim 1, further comprising:
an acknowledgment module configured to receive a user input indicating acceptance of a detected conflict, generate an acknowledgment assertion comprising the semantic triple of the accepted conflict and a user identifier, store the acknowledgment assertion in the knowledge graph database with an authority weight below the authority weight of the conflicting authoritative assertion, and suppress output of the accepted conflict in subsequent analyses while maintaining the acknowledgment assertion for audit retrieval.

**Claim 17.** The system of claim 16, wherein the acknowledgment assertion includes an expiration timestamp after which suppression of the conflict terminates.

**Claim 18.** The system of claim 16, wherein the acknowledgment module requires multi-party approval before storing acknowledgment assertions for conflicts involving regulatory source assertions.

---

### Independent Claim 19 (Trust Pack Distribution System)

A system for distributed configuration policy enforcement comprising:

**(a)** a trust pack module configured to receive a cryptographically signed data package containing a plurality of authoritative assertions, each assertion comprising a subject identifier, a predicate type, an object value, and an authority tier indicator;

**(b)** a trusted issuer registry storing public keys of authorized policy issuers;

**(c)** a signature verification module configured to verify a digital signature of the data package against a public key retrieved from the trusted issuer registry;

**(d)** a merge module configured to, upon successful verification, insert the authoritative assertions into a knowledge graph database with authority weights determined by the authority tier indicators;

wherein assertions from verified trust packs supersede conflicting assertions from lower-authority sources in subsequent conflict detection operations.

---

### Dependent Claims: Trust Pack Distribution (Claims 20-23)

**Claim 20.** The system of claim 19, wherein the trust pack module is further configured to:

- validate a version identifier in the data package against a stored version registry,
- reject data packages with version identifiers older than the most recently accepted version for the same issuer, and
- enforce an expiration timestamp after which assertions from the data package are excluded from conflict detection operations.

**Claim 21.** The system of claim 19, wherein the merge module is further configured to:

- store a provenance chain for each merged assertion comprising the trust pack identifier, the issuer public key, and a verification timestamp, and
- enable retrieval of the complete provenance chain for any assertion during audit operations.

**Claim 22.** The system of claim 19, wherein the trusted issuer registry is further configured to:

- receive revocation notices identifying issuer public keys to be invalidated,
- upon receiving a revocation notice, mark all assertions originating from the revoked issuer as quarantined, and
- exclude quarantined assertions from subsequent conflict detection operations while maintaining them for audit retrieval.

**Claim 23.** The system of claim 19, wherein the trust pack module supports cascading trust delegation, comprising:

- a delegation assertion type indicating that a first issuer authorizes a second issuer to issue assertions within a defined scope,
- validation that assertions from the second issuer fall within the delegated scope, and
- authority weight inheritance wherein delegated assertions receive authority weights no greater than the delegating issuer's tier.

---

### Independent Claim 24 (Acknowledgment-Based Suppression System)

A system for auditable conflict acknowledgment comprising:

**(a)** a conflict detection module configured to identify a conflict between a source code configuration and an authoritative assertion stored in a knowledge graph database;

**(b)** an acknowledgment interface configured to receive a user input indicating acceptance of the identified conflict, the user input including a user identifier and a justification;

**(c)** an acknowledgment assertion generator configured to create an acknowledgment assertion comprising the semantic triple of the accepted conflict, the user identifier, and a digital signature of the user;

**(d)** an audit storage module configured to store the acknowledgment assertion in the knowledge graph database with an authority weight below the authority weight of the conflicting authoritative assertion;

**(e)** a suppression module configured to suppress output of the accepted conflict in subsequent analyses while maintaining the acknowledgment assertion for audit retrieval;

wherein the system maintains a complete provenance chain of all conflict acknowledgments for regulatory compliance auditing.

---

### Dependent Claims: Acknowledgment System (Claims 25-27)

**Claim 25.** The system of claim 24, wherein the acknowledgment assertion generator is further configured to:

- include an expiration timestamp in the acknowledgment assertion,
- wherein the suppression module resumes output of the conflict after the expiration timestamp has passed, and
- wherein the acknowledgment assertion remains stored for audit purposes after expiration.

**Claim 26.** The system of claim 24, wherein for conflicts involving regulatory source assertions (Tier 0), the acknowledgment interface requires:

- approval from at least two distinct user identifiers,
- digital signatures from each approving user, and
- storage of all approval signatures in the acknowledgment assertion.

**Claim 27.** The system of claim 24, wherein the system supports acknowledgment inheritance across code branches, comprising:

- detection when a configuration statement subject to an acknowledgment is copied to a new code branch,
- automatic application of the acknowledgment to the copied configuration statement in the new branch, and
- storage of a branch provenance indicator linking the inherited acknowledgment to the original acknowledgment.

---

### Dependent Claims: Integration and Deployment (Claims 28-30)

**Claim 28.** The system of claim 1, wherein the system is integrated with a continuous integration pipeline, and wherein the system is configured to:

- receive a code commit event identifying modified source code files,
- parse only the modified source code files,
- calculate an aggregate conflict score by summing individual conflict scores for all detected conflicts,
- compare the aggregate conflict score against a repository-specific threshold, and
- transmit a merge-blocking signal to the continuous integration pipeline when the aggregate conflict score exceeds the threshold.

**Claim 29.** The system of claim 1, wherein the system operates as a Language Server Protocol provider, and wherein the system is configured to:

- receive document change notifications from an integrated development environment,
- incrementally re-parse regions of the source code file affected by the document change,
- generate diagnostic messages identifying detected conflicts, and
- transmit the diagnostic messages to the integrated development environment for display as inline warnings.

**Claim 30.** The system of claim 1, wherein the knowledge graph database implements temporal decay of authority weights for community source assertions, comprising:

- storing a publication timestamp for each community source assertion,
- calculating a decay factor based on elapsed time since publication,
- applying the decay factor to reduce the authority weight of community source assertions over time, and
- maintaining constant authority weights for regulatory source assertions regardless of publication date.

---

## Prior Art Concerns and Distinction Strategy

### Search Summary

After comprehensive search across patent databases, academic literature, and industry sources, **no single reference or obvious combination teaches the core invention**: the use of a hierarchically-weighted knowledge graph containing RFC/regulatory assertions combined with semantic triple transformation of source code configurations to compute authority-differential conflict scores.

**Overall Assessment: Moderate-to-Strong Patentability**

The invention occupies a novel intersection between:
1. Static code analysis (prior art exists)
2. Policy-as-code enforcement (prior art exists)
3. Knowledge graphs for semantic data (prior art exists)
4. Hierarchical authority weighting for compliance (limited prior art)

The combination is what makes the invention patentable.

---

### Category 1: Static Analysis Tools (Closest Prior Art)

**Relevant Tools Identified:**
- Semgrep (open source, returntocorp)
- Checkov (Palo Alto/Bridgecrew)
- tfsec/Trivy (Aqua Security)
- Terrascan (Tenable)
- KICS (Checkmarx)
- SonarQube, CodeQL

**What They Teach:**
- Pattern matching against predefined rules
- Detection of security misconfigurations
- CI/CD pipeline integration
- Custom rule authoring (YAML, Rego, Python)
- Compliance framework mapping (CIS, PCI-DSS)

**What They Do NOT Teach:**
- Semantic triple transformation of configurations
- Authority-weighted knowledge graph querying
- Conflict scoring based on source authority differentials
- Automatic derivation of rules from RFC/standards documentation
- Temporal decay of authority weights

**Specification Language:**

> "Unlike conventional static analysis tools that apply pattern-matching rules, wherein all rule violations are treated with equal severity regardless of the authoritative source of the violated standard, embodiments of the present invention transform configuration values into normalized semantic triples and query a hierarchically-weighted knowledge graph to compute conflict scores that reflect the regulatory or industry weight of the violated assertion."

---

### Category 2: Policy-as-Code Systems (OPA, Chef InSpec)

**Relevant Prior Art:**
- Open Policy Agent (OPA) with Rego language
- Chef InSpec compliance framework
- HashiCorp Sentinel
- AWS Config Rules

**What They Teach:**
- Declarative policy specification
- Policy evaluation against structured data (JSON/YAML)
- OPA decouples policy decision-making from policy enforcement
- Cryptographically signed policy bundles (OPA supports this)

**Critical Finding - OPA Signed Bundles:**
OPA supports digital signatures for policy bundles to ensure integrity and authenticity from trusted sources. This has some overlap with Trust Pack feature.

**What They Do NOT Teach:**
- Automatic derivation of policies from RFC/standards documentation
- Authority tier hierarchy with numeric weights
- Conflict score calculation based on authority differentials
- Temporal decay for community-sourced assertions
- Semantic triple transformation from source code

**OPA/Trust Pack Distinction:**
- OPA bundles contain **manually-authored Rego policies**
- Trust Packs contain **semantic assertions with authority weights** that **merge into a knowledge graph**
- OPA evaluates policies against input; the invention compares **code-derived semantic triples against authoritative assertions**
- OPA provides binary pass/fail; the invention computes **weighted conflict scores**

**Specification Language:**

> "In contrast to policy-as-code systems that require manual policy authoring and treat all policy violations equivalently, the present invention automatically structures authoritative documentation into a queryable knowledge graph with hierarchical authority weights, enabling automated prioritization of conflicts based on the regulatory tier of the violated standard without requiring manual policy translation."

---

### Category 3: Knowledge Graph Systems and Semantic Analysis

**Relevant Patent Art:**
- **US8566789B2** - "Semantic-based query techniques for source code" (Microsoft) — closest patent art
- **US9442917B2** - "Detecting semantic errors in text using ontology-based extraction rules"
- **EP1468375A1** - "System for generating heterogeneous data source interoperability bridges based on semantic modeling"
- CodeOntology - SPARQL queries over source code (academic)

**What US8566789B2 Teaches:**
- Source code elements identified and extracted (keywords, variable types, method names)
- Mappings between source code elements and respective associated domain concepts
- Semantic analysis for code search and understanding

**What They Do NOT Teach:**
- Configuration-specific ontology for security parameters
- Authority weighting for assertions
- Conflict detection between code claims and authoritative standards
- RFC/NIST documentation as primary knowledge sources
- Temporal decay mechanisms

**Specification Language:**

> "While prior art teaches semantic analysis of source code for purposes such as code search and understanding program structure, the present invention applies semantic triple transformation specifically to configuration parameters and compares the resulting triples against a knowledge graph of authoritative technical standards, a combination not taught or suggested by prior systems focused on code comprehension."

---

### Category 4: Infrastructure-as-Code Security (Styra, Fugue, Bridgecrew/Checkov)

**Prior Art Teaches:** Cloud configuration scanning and policy bundles for infrastructure compliance (Terraform, CloudFormation).

**Distinction:** These tools focus on infrastructure configuration rather than application source code. They do not:

- Transform application code into semantic triples
- Maintain authority-weighted knowledge graphs from RFC standards
- Compute conflict scores based on source class differentials

**Specification Language:**

> "Unlike infrastructure-as-code security tools that scan deployment configurations against cloud provider best practices, the present invention analyzes application source code to detect semantic conflicts with authoritative technical standards (RFCs, security frameworks), operating at the code level rather than the deployment level."

---

### Category 5: Compliance Automation and GRC Systems

**Relevant Patent Art:**
- **US8352453** - "Plan-based compliance score computation for composite targets/systems" (Oracle)
- **US20090205011** - "Change recommendations for compliance policy enforcement" (Oracle)
- **US20210374767A1** - "Automatic remediation of non-compliance events"
- Various GRC platforms (Scrut, Drata, Hyperproof)

**What US8352453 Teaches:**
- Hierarchical compliance scoring for IT infrastructure compliance (servers, databases)
- Steps generated for compliance standard hierarchy

**What US20090205011 Teaches:**
- Compliance policy including organizational regulations, cross-vendor requirements
- User-authored compliance policies for runtime system compliance

**What They Do NOT Teach:**
- Source code parsing for configuration extraction
- Semantic triple transformation
- Authority weighting based on RFC vs. vendor vs. community sources
- Pre-commit/CI integration for code review

**Specification Language:**

> "Unlike compliance systems that monitor deployed infrastructure and require manual policy authoring, the present invention operates at development time by parsing source code files, transforming configuration statements into semantic triples, and comparing them against authoritative assertions to prevent misconfiguration before deployment."

---

### Prior Art Gap Analysis

| Feature | Static Analysis | Policy-as-Code | Knowledge Graphs | Compliance Systems | **Aphoria** |
|---------|----------------|----------------|------------------|-------------------|-------------|
| Source code parsing | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ (some) | ✗ | ✓ |
| Semantic triple transformation | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Knowledge graph querying | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Authority weighting | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | Partial | ✓ |
| RFC/NIST as authoritative source | ✗ | Manual | ✗ | Manual | ✓ Auto |
| Conflict score calculation | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Cryptographic trust packs | ✗ | ✓ (OPA) | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Temporal decay | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |

**The unique combination** of semantic code analysis + authority-weighted knowledge graph + conflict scoring is not taught by any single reference or obvious combination.

---

### Anticipated Examiner Combination

**Biggest Risk**: An examiner combining US8566789 (semantic code analysis) + US8352453 (compliance scoring hierarchy) + general knowledge graph technology.

**Response Strategy:**
1. Neither reference teaches configuration-specific security analysis
2. Neither teaches authority weighting based on RFC vs. vendor sources
3. The combination requires specific ontology design not taught by any reference
4. Under _Berkheimer_, the examiner must provide evidence that the combination is conventional

---

### Prior Art Search Recommendations

The following additional searches are recommended before utility filing:

- **Academic Literature:**
  - IEEE/ACM: "semantic code analysis" + "knowledge graph"
  - arXiv cs.SE/cs.CR: "ontology" + "security analysis"
  - IBM CodeNet and related semantic code analysis research

- **Patent Search:**
  - US Class 717/126 (code analysis)
  - US Class 707/E17 (databases)
  - CPC G06F21/57 (security configuration)

- **Professional Search:** Consider engaging professional prior art search firm ($3,000-$8,000) before utility filing

---

## §101 Prosecution Strategy

### Current Landscape (2024-2025)

The overall PTAB affirmance rate for §101 rejections in 2024 was 88.6% (approximately 7 out of 8 appeals affirmed). However, recent positive developments support software patent eligibility:

- In _Desjardins_, the USPTO's Appeals Review Panel directed PTAB panels to incorporate _Enfish_ reasoning, noting that software can make non-abstract improvements to computer technology just as hardware can.
- USPTO guidance explains that improvements to model performance, memory, data structures, and system architecture can provide the "something more" under _Alice_.

**This invention has strong §101 arguments because:**
1. It uses **specific data structures** (semantic triples, weighted knowledge graph)
2. It achieves **measurable technical improvement** (100% precision vs. ~30% for prior art)
3. It solves a **technical problem** (undifferentiated rule violations) with a **technical solution** (authority-weighted conflict scoring)
4. The operations **cannot be performed mentally** (graph traversal of thousands of RFC assertions)

When the examiner issues a §101 rejection, respond with this structure:

### Step 2A, Prong One: Not an Abstract Idea

The claims are not directed to a mathematical formula in the abstract. The claims recite a specific technical implementation that transforms source code files into semantic data structures, traverses a graph database to retrieve matching assertions, and outputs a ranked conflict report. These operations are performed by specific computer components—a parser module, a graph database, and a conflict detection engine—and cannot be performed by mental steps or pen and paper due to the scale of the knowledge graph (thousands of RFC-derived assertions) and the speed requirements (sub-second analysis of production codebases).

**Cite:**
- _Enfish v. Microsoft_ (Fed. Cir. 2016): Claims directed to a specific improvement in computer capabilities are not abstract.
- _Desjardins_ (USPTO Appeals Review Panel): Software can make non-abstract improvements to computer technology.

---

### Step 2A, Prong Two: Practical Application

The claims integrate any alleged abstract idea into a practical application by providing a specific technical solution to a specific technical problem. The technical problem is undifferentiated rule violation reporting in static analysis tools, which wastes computational resources processing false positives and creates security risk through alert fatigue. The technical solution is authority-weighted conflict detection, which programmatically prioritizes violations based on the authoritativeness of the violated standard, reducing false positive rates from ~70% (prior art) to 0% (claimed invention) as demonstrated in specification benchmarks.

**Cite:** _Core Wireless v. LG_ (Fed. Cir. 2018): Claims providing a specific technical improvement are not abstract.

---

### Step 2B: Significantly More (Berkheimer Argument)

If forced to Step 2B, argue:

The ordered combination of elements—semantic triple transformation, hierarchically-weighted knowledge graph, graph traversal for conflict detection, and authority-differential scoring—is not well-understood, routine, or conventional in the field of static analysis. No prior art reference teaches authority-weighted knowledge graph traversal for code configuration analysis. Under _Berkheimer v. HP Inc._, 881 F.3d 1360 (Fed. Cir. 2018), the conventional nature of claim elements is a factual question. The examiner has cited no evidence that this specific combination is conventional.

**Evidentiary Support:**
- Consider preparing a Rule 132 declaration from a PHOSITA attesting to the technical improvement
- Specification benchmarks (100% precision vs. ~30%) serve as objective evidence of technical improvement
- The combination requires domain expertise across multiple fields (semantic analysis, compliance, knowledge graphs)

---

### KSR Obviousness Defense

Under _KSR_, argue that a PHOSITA would not combine the identified prior art references with a reasonable expectation of success:

1. **Semantic code analysis experts** (US8566789) don't work with compliance hierarchies
2. **Compliance experts** (US8352453) don't work with semantic triple transformations
3. **Knowledge graph experts** don't work with code configuration parsing
4. The combination requires **specific ontology design** for configuration semantics not taught by any reference
5. No reference teaches **authority weighting based on RFC vs. vendor vs. community sources**

---

## Supporting Documents

| Document                                             | Purpose                                                   |
| ---------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------- |
| [patent-specification.md](./patent-specification.md) | Technical detail: ontology, formulas, schemas, benchmarks |
| [patent-figures.md](./patent-figures.md)             | Descriptions of 7 required figures                        |

---

## Revision History

| Date       | Author  | Changes                                                    |
| ---------- | ------- | ---------------------------------------------------------- |
| 2026-02-04 | Initial | First draft with reconstructed claims per counsel feedback |
| 2026-02-04 | Rev 2   | IP counsel feedback: 3 claim families, §101 strengthening, prior art expansion |
| 2026-02-04 | Rev 3   | Comprehensive prior art search: specific patent refs, gap analysis, Desjardins case |
| 2026-02-04 | Rev 4   | Claim 1 structural fixes (antecedent basis, semantic distance definition), Claims 28-30 added |
