The digital signature scheme used by Hedera to sign and verify all transactions on the network. ED25519 is based on elliptic curve cryptography and is considered more quantum-resistant than the RSA or ECDSA schemes used by most other blockchains. Hedera has a protocol-level migration path to NIST post-quantum signature standards (ML-DSA) without requiring users to re-submit existing claims.

Cannot be changed, altered, or deleted after the fact. On a public blockchain or distributed ledger like Hedera, once a record is written and the network reaches consensus, it is permanent. No single party — including the company that submitted the record — can go back and modify or erase it. This is the property that makes a PriorMark timestamp meaningful as evidence: it reflects what existed at that moment, and that moment cannot be rewritten.

In the context of PriorMark, an NFT is an ownership record — not a speculative asset. Each idea is minted as an NFT on the Hedera Token Service. Owning the NFT means owning the idea. When an idea is sold, the NFT transfers to the buyer on-chain. This is the same technology used by digital art markets, but here it serves a purely functional role: tracking who owns what.

A record book that anyone can read and verify, maintained by a distributed network of independent computers rather than a single company. Entries are permanent and cannot be altered retroactively — not even by the people who run the network. PriorMark uses the Hedera public ledger to record idea timestamps and fingerprints.

The encryption algorithm used to protect idea content before upload to secure cloud storage. AES-256-GCM is a global standard used by governments, banks, and militaries. GCM (Galois/Counter Mode) adds authentication: each encrypted file carries a 128-bit authentication tag that detects any tampering — if anyone modifies the file in storage, decryption fails rather than silently returning corrupted data.

A 128-bit value produced by AES-256-GCM alongside the encrypted content. It mathematically covers the entire ciphertext. If anyone modifies the encrypted file after it is stored, the authentication tag will not match and decryption will fail with an explicit error — silent corruption is not possible.

A two-way transformation that scrambles data so only someone with the correct key can read it. Unlike hashing, encryption is reversible — the right key decrypts the data back to its original form. PriorMark uses AES-256-GCM encryption to protect idea content in secure cloud storage. Important: encryption and hashing are not the same thing. We use both, for different purposes.

A one-way mathematical transformation that converts any input (a document, a piece of text) into a fixed-length string called a hash or fingerprint. It is one-way: you cannot reverse a hash back to the original content. Even a single character change produces a completely different hash. This makes hashing ideal for proving that a document hasn't changed without revealing its contents.

A random value generated fresh for every encryption operation. Because the IV is random, encrypting the same content twice produces completely different ciphertext each time — making it impossible for an attacker to detect when two submissions contain the same content. PriorMark uses a 96-bit IV per submission.

The hashing algorithm used by PriorMark to fingerprint your idea content and documents. SHA-3 (also called Keccak) is the current NIST standard hash function. We use the 512-bit variant for maximum collision resistance. Even on a quantum computer, SHA-3/512 retains approximately 256-bit effective security — making it among the most quantum-resistant hash functions in common use.

The degree to which a cryptographic algorithm can withstand attacks from quantum computers. Quantum computers can theoretically run algorithms (like Grover's) that weaken symmetric encryption and hashing by halving their effective bit strength. SHA-3/512 retains ~256-bit security; AES-256 retains ~128-bit — both considered safe for the foreseeable future. PriorMark monitors NIST's post-quantum standards (ML-KEM, ML-DSA) and has migration paths for all layers of the stack.

A unique identifier assigned to your encrypted file when it is uploaded. It tells the system precisely where to retrieve your content. This is separate from your proof of claim — the SHA-3/512 hash on the Hedera ledger is your proof, and it is independent of storage entirely.

In PriorMark, storage is where encrypted idea content is kept after submission — separate from the proof of claim. Files are stored in secure, redundant cloud infrastructure and encrypted before upload so only you hold the key. Storage is a convenience layer for content viewing; your proof of claim lives permanently on the Hedera ledger and is entirely independent of storage availability.

The patent system used by most of the world, including the US (since 2013 under the America Invents Act). The first person to file a patent application wins the right to the patent — regardless of who invented it first. PriorMark does not grant patent rights, but a timestamped public disclosure can prevent a later filer from obtaining a patent by establishing prior art.

A legal contest over who invented something and when. Timestamped records — emails, lab notebooks, commit logs, and increasingly blockchain timestamps — are admitted as evidence in these disputes. A PriorMark claim provides a cryptographically strong, independently verifiable timestamp that supports your position.

A requirement for patentability. An invention must be new — not already publicly known, used, or described anywhere in the world before the patent filing date. If your public PriorMark disclosure predates someone else's patent application, it may defeat that patent's novelty under 35 U.S.C. § 102(a)(1) ("otherwise available to the public").

Any publicly available evidence — a patent, publication, product, or public disclosure — that an idea existed before a patent's filing date. If prior art predating a patent can be shown, the patent may be invalid for lack of novelty. A PriorMark claim, combined with a publicly accessible disclosure, can constitute prior art under US, European, and Chinese patent law.

The date that legally establishes when an idea was first disclosed or filed. In patent disputes, the priority date determines who was first. On PriorMark, your priority date is the Hedera consensus timestamp assigned when you submit — set by the public ledger, not by us.

A document or submission held in confidence but with a verifiable creation date — commonly used in patent disputes, trade secret litigation, and inventor priority contests. Courts routinely admit timestamped records as evidence of when information existed. A PriorMark submission functions as a sealed record: the content is encrypted and private, but the ledger timestamp and SHA-3/512 fingerprint are publicly verifiable. If you later need to prove priority, you can decrypt and produce the original content, and any court or third party can independently verify that it matches the fingerprint recorded on the ledger at the stated time.

Confidential business information — a formula, process, design, strategy, or other non-public knowledge — that has commercial value precisely because it is not widely known. Unlike patents, trade secrets are protected indefinitely as long as they remain confidential; disclosure destroys the protection. PriorMark allows you to timestamp and store a trade secret without disclosing it: the content is encrypted and never made public, but the ledger record proves it existed at a specific point in time. This creates a sealed, timestamped record that can be produced in court if ownership or priority is ever challenged — without revealing the secret prematurely.