Ownich Glossary

Definition

A cryptographically signed digital record that links a specific physical item to its verified owner at a specific point in time. The Digital Ownership Certificate is the atomic unit of the Ownich system — it is issued at registration and updated on every verified ownership transfer.

In detail

A DOC contains: the item's identity (name, category, serial number, description), the owner's verified identity, the date of ownership, supporting evidence (receipts, photographs, appraisals), and a cryptographic signature that makes the record tamper-evident. It is not a static document — it is a live record that is superseded when ownership transfers. The previous owner's certificate is archived in the Ownership Passport; the new owner receives a new certificate.

Definition

Ownership Passport™ is an Ownich-developed digital ownership framework for maintaining a persistent record of an asset's identity, ownership, provenance, evidence, and transfers. It is the living, cumulative record of a physical item's complete ownership history — accumulating every Digital Ownership Certificate, every verified transfer, every appraisal, and every evidence event across the item's entire lifecycle into a single permanent record.

In detail

Every registered item has exactly one Ownership Passport™. It is accessible via a permanent, QR-linked URL at ownich.io/p/:productId. The Ownership Passport™ does not reset when an item changes hands — it grows. A buyer can inspect the complete provenance of an item before committing to a purchase. The Ownership Passport™ is the public-facing expression of an item's identity and history; the Digital Ownership Certificate is the private, owner-specific record of current ownership. The Ownership Passport™ is structured across five persistent data dimensions: (1) Asset Identity — the item's name, category, serial number, manufacturer, model, and physical attributes, sealed at registration; (2) Ownership Record — the current owner's verified identity, linked to their Ownich account, with a cryptographic signature binding them to the item; (3) Provenance — the complete, unbroken sequence of prior owners, each represented by an Ownership Transfer Record, forming the item's Provenance Chain; (4) Evidence — all supporting documentation attached to the item's record, including purchase receipts, photographs, appraisals, service records, and condition reports; (5) Transfers — every ownership transfer event, timestamped and cryptographically signed, forming the chain of custody. Uses of the Ownership Passport™ include: resale — a seller presents their Ownership Passport™ to a buyer as proof of legitimate ownership and verified provenance, commanding a premium in secondary markets; insurance — the Ownership Passport™ provides the strongest possible evidence base for an insurance claim, combining purchase proof, ownership history, and item identity in a single tamper-evident record; theft deterrence — a registered item with an Ownership Passport™ is traceable; buyers can verify ownership before purchase, making stolen items significantly harder to sell; estate and inheritance — the Ownership Passport™ provides a clear, verifiable record of asset ownership for estate administration, probate, and inheritance transfers; brand and retailer integration — brands and retailers can issue Ownership Passports™ at the point of sale via the Ownich Partner API, extending their product record into the consumer's hands and the secondary market; marketplace verification — resale platforms and auction houses can programmatically verify an item's Ownership Passport™ via the Ownich API before listing or accepting a consignment.

Definition

The underlying relationship and data layer of the Ownich platform — a structured graph of entities (items, owners, transfers, evidence, and events) and the verified relationships between them, forming the persistent data foundation on which every Ownership Passport™ is built.

In detail

The Ownership Graph is the internal data architecture that powers the Ownership Passport™. Where the Ownership Passport™ is the user-facing framework — the record a consumer sees, shares, and transfers — the Ownership Graph is the machine-readable relationship layer that makes that record queryable, verifiable, and extensible. The Ownership Graph is composed of six node types and the edges between them: (1) Item nodes — each registered physical asset, identified by its unique Ownich product ID (OW-P-XXXXXXXX) and its sealed identity attributes; (2) Owner nodes — each verified user account that has held or currently holds ownership of an item; (3) Certificate nodes — each Digital Ownership Certificate issued, linking an owner node to an item node at a specific point in time; (4) Transfer edges — directed, timestamped edges between owner nodes, representing each verified ownership transfer event; (5) Evidence nodes — documents, photographs, appraisals, and other supporting records attached to an item's history; (6) Event nodes — timestamped records of significant events in an item's lifecycle (registration, verification runs, stolen-item flags, appraisals, service records). The Ownership Graph enables: traversal queries (who has owned this item, in what order, and when?); integrity checks (is the chain of custody complete and unbroken?); provenance depth scoring (how many verified evidence nodes are attached?); stolen-item propagation (a stolen flag on an item node is immediately visible to all parties querying that node); and API-level ownership verification for marketplace and partner integrations. The Trust Engine operates directly on the Ownership Graph — its Trust Score is a function of the graph's completeness, integrity, and evidence depth at the time of assessment.

Definition

The structured, verified history of an item's origin, ownership, condition, and significant events — stored digitally and linked to the item's Ownership Passport.

In detail

A Digital Provenance Record is built incrementally. Each time an owner adds evidence (a receipt, a service record, an appraisal, a photograph), the DPR grows. Each time ownership transfers, the transfer is recorded as a permanent entry. The DPR is the evidentiary layer of the Ownership Passport — it is what gives the passport its credibility and what the Trust Engine analyses to produce a Trust Score.

Definition

The infrastructure layer that connects a physical item's Digital Product Passport (DPP) to the individual consumer who owns it — enabling ownership verification, transfer, and provenance tracking at the consumer level.

In detail

The Consumer Ownership Layer is the missing piece in most Digital Product Passport implementations. A DPP records product-level data (materials, sustainability, compliance) but stops at the point of sale. The Consumer Ownership Layer extends that record into the consumer's hands — linking the product's identity to a specific owner, enabling ownership transfers in secondary markets, and maintaining provenance continuity across the item's full lifecycle. Ownich is the Consumer Ownership Layer for physical assets.

Definition

A permanent, cryptographically signed record of a single ownership transfer event — documenting the transferring owner, the receiving owner, the date of transfer, and the conditions under which the transfer was completed.

In detail

An Ownership Transfer Record is created every time an item changes hands through the Ownich platform. Both parties authenticate before the transfer is recorded. The OTR is appended to the item's Ownership Passport and becomes a permanent, immutable entry in the Provenance Chain. It cannot be deleted or modified after creation. The OTR is the mechanism by which chain of custody is maintained across the item's lifecycle.

Definition

The property of a Digital Ownership Certificate that guarantees its contents have not been altered since it was issued. Certificate Integrity is maintained through cryptographic signing — any modification to the certificate's data invalidates the signature.

In detail

When Ownich issues a Digital Ownership Certificate, the certificate data is signed using a server-side secret key (CERT_SIGNING_SECRET). The resulting signature is stored alongside the certificate. Any attempt to modify the certificate's contents — ownership details, item identity, evidence — produces a signature mismatch that is detected on verification. Certificate Integrity is what makes an Ownich certificate trustworthy as a proof of ownership in secondary market transactions.

Definition

The process of confirming that a specific person is the current, legitimate owner of a specific item — by checking the item's active Digital Ownership Certificate against the authenticated identity of the person claiming ownership.

In detail

Ownership Verification in Ownich works in two modes. Public verification: anyone can scan the QR code on an item and see the item's Ownership Passport — confirming the item is registered and its ownership history is intact. Authenticated verification: a buyer or marketplace can request that the seller prove current ownership by authenticating into Ownich and presenting their active Digital Ownership Certificate. The Ownich API supports programmatic ownership verification for marketplace integrations.

Definition

The complete technical and operational layer that enables physical items to have verifiable, transferable, persistent digital ownership records — including certificate issuance, ownership passports, transfer protocols, verification APIs, and trust scoring.

In detail

Digital Ownership Infrastructure is the category Ownich occupies. It is not a single feature or product — it is the foundational layer that makes digital ownership of physical assets possible at scale. The infrastructure includes: the certificate issuance system, the Ownership Passport record layer, the transfer protocol, the QR-linked public verification layer, the Trust Engine, the Consumer Ownership Layer for DPP integration, and the API layer for brand, retailer, and marketplace integrations. Ownich is building this infrastructure for the physical asset economy.

Definition

The ownership and transfer infrastructure that extends a Digital Product Passport (DPP) beyond the point of first sale — enabling consumer ownership records, secondary market transfers, and provenance continuity across the item's full lifecycle.

In detail

The EU Digital Product Passport regulation requires manufacturers to attach a structured data record to physical products — covering materials, sustainability, repairability, and compliance. However, the DPP specification does not define what happens to ownership data after the first sale. The DPP Ownership Layer is Ownich's answer to this gap: a standardised, interoperable layer that connects the product's DPP identity to its current consumer owner, and maintains that connection through every subsequent transfer. Brands and retailers integrate the DPP Ownership Layer via the Ownich API.

Definition

The structured, persistent digital record of a physical item's identifying characteristics — including its name, category, description, serial number, manufacturer, model, and any other attributes that uniquely distinguish it from other items.

In detail

Item Identity is established at registration and forms the foundation of the item's Digital Ownership Certificate and Ownership Passport. It is the answer to the question: what, exactly, is this item? Item Identity is distinct from ownership — the same item can change owners many times, but its identity remains constant. Item Identity is what allows an Ownership Passport to be recognised as belonging to a specific physical object across its entire lifecycle, regardless of how many times it changes hands.

Definition

The complete, unbroken sequence of verified ownership records for a physical item — from its first registration in Ownich through every subsequent ownership transfer to the present day.

In detail

A Provenance Chain is built automatically as an item moves through the Ownich system. Each Ownership Transfer Record adds a new link to the chain. Each piece of evidence — receipts, appraisals, photographs, service records — strengthens the chain. The Provenance Chain is stored in the item's Ownership Passport and is permanently accessible via the item's QR-linked URL. A complete, unbroken Provenance Chain is the strongest possible signal of an item's legitimacy and the most powerful tool a seller has for commanding a premium in the secondary market.

Definition

The Ownich analytical system that evaluates the authenticity, ownership legitimacy, and provenance integrity of a registered item — producing a structured assessment that can be used by owners, buyers, and marketplace integrations to make informed decisions.

In detail

The Trust Engine runs a multi-layer analysis across an item's complete record: it checks Certificate Integrity (has the certificate been tampered with?), Provenance Chain continuity (is the ownership history complete and unbroken?), evidence quality (are supporting documents present and credible?), stolen-item status (cross-referenced against external databases), and identity verification status of the current owner. The Trust Engine is triggered manually by the item owner from the dashboard, or programmatically via the Ownich API for marketplace and partner integrations. Its output is a Trust Score and a structured breakdown of each assessment layer. The Trust Engine is AI-enhanced — machine learning signals augment the analysis — but is never AI-dependent: every assessment layer has a deterministic fallback that functions without AI.

Definition

A structured, multi-dimensional score produced by the Trust Engine that represents the overall strength and completeness of an item's digital ownership record at a specific point in time.

In detail

The Trust Score is not a single number — it is a composite assessment across several dimensions: Certificate Integrity (is the certificate cryptographically valid?), Provenance Completeness (how many ownership transfers are documented?), Evidence Depth (how much supporting documentation is attached?), Identity Verification (is the current owner's identity verified?), and Stolen Status (has the item been flagged as stolen?). Each dimension contributes to an overall score, displayed as a percentage or tier (e.g. Verified, Strong, Partial, Incomplete). The Trust Score is recalculated each time the Trust Engine runs — it reflects the current state of the record, not a historical snapshot. A Trust Score is most commonly used at the point of resale: a buyer can request a Trust Engine run before committing to a purchase, and the resulting score gives them a structured basis for assessing risk.

Definition

The Ownich system that estimates the current market value of a registered item by combining the item's identity, condition, provenance record, and real-time market data from external pricing sources.

In detail

The Valuation Engine draws on multiple data inputs: the item's category, brand, model, age, and condition as recorded in its Item Identity; the completeness and strength of its Provenance Chain (a well-documented item commands a premium); real-time and historical market pricing from integrated data partners (auction results, resale marketplace data, retail pricing indices); and AI-assisted valuation signals that identify comparable sales and adjust for condition and provenance quality. The Valuation Engine produces a valuation range (low, mid, high estimate) rather than a single figure, reflecting genuine market uncertainty. Valuations are advisory — they are not appraisals and do not constitute a professional valuation for insurance or legal purposes. For formal appraisals, the Appraisal module provides a structured, evidence-backed report.

Definition

The process of confirming that a Digital Ownership Certificate and its associated Ownership Passport have not been altered, forged, or tampered with since they were issued — by re-computing and comparing the cryptographic signature against the stored record.

In detail

Integrity Verification is one of the core checks performed by the Trust Engine, and can also be triggered independently via the Ownich API. When a certificate is issued, Ownich signs the certificate data using a server-side secret key. Integrity Verification re-runs that signing computation against the current state of the certificate data and compares the result to the stored signature. A match confirms the record is intact. A mismatch indicates the record has been altered — either through a system error or a deliberate tampering attempt. Integrity Verification is applied at three points: (1) at every QR scan, to confirm the scanned record is valid before displaying it; (2) during a Trust Engine run, as the first layer of the Trust Score assessment; (3) programmatically by marketplace and partner integrations before accepting an ownership claim. Integrity Verification is deterministic and does not rely on AI — it is a pure cryptographic check.