> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://grant.datarelay.run/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Patent Foundation

> The issued patent foundation behind DataRelay Grant.

# Patent Foundation

DataRelay Grant is being defined from the approval-management invention represented by the following granted patents.

| Jurisdiction      | Patent                                                                 | Application        | Priority date | Filing date | Grant / publication |
| ----------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------ | ------------- | ----------- | ------------------- |
| United States     | [US 12,056,667 B1](https://patents.google.com/patent/US12056667B1/en)  | US 18/597,368      | 2023-03-13    | 2024-03-06  | 2024-08-06          |
| Republic of Korea | [KR 10-2567118 B1](https://patents.google.com/patent/KR102567118B1/ko) | KR 10-2023-0058658 | 2023-03-13    | 2023-05-04  | 2023-08-16          |

Inventor: **Young Oak Lee / 이영옥**

<Note>
  The U.S. and Korean patents belong to the same underlying invention lineage and share the 2023-03-13 priority foundation. Their issued claim sets are not word-for-word identical, so this page treats them as the same product foundation rather than claiming that every issued claim is identical.
</Note>

## Problem addressed

The patent material starts from a simple operational problem: approval is important, but conventional approval often requires conversations, document handoffs, forms, and manual interpretation of free-form responses.

The invention turns that interaction into a structured approval case and connects the human decision to a deterministic next action.

## Core approval flow

The common technical pattern is:

1. Create an approval-request case from user-provided information or an API-originated request.
2. Send the approval request to an approver through email.
3. Capture an explicit result such as **approve**, **pending**, or **deny**.
4. If denied, notify the requester or originating system.
5. If pending, send reminders at configured intervals.
6. If approved, execute or trigger the automation associated with the selected playbook.

## Email as the approval interface

The issued material describes an email-centered interface in which an approver can select a response through a generated response menu. The response can be represented by a hyperlink carrying approval-server, case, response, and approver information.

This makes the approval step lightweight for the approver while keeping the result structured enough for automated processing.

## Templates and guided request creation

The patent material also describes:

* case templates;
* lists of automation playbooks / scenarios;
* approver lists; and
* guidance returned to a requester when the submitted email does not contain enough information to create a valid approval case.

This is important to the DataRelay Grant product direction because an approval layer should reduce ambiguity before execution rather than merely forward free-form messages.

## Modular automation

Automation is described as a composition of reusable modules or unit operations. A playbook / scenario is formed from a combination of those operations, allowing the approval result to control a defined automated action rather than an unspecified manual follow-up.

## External-system integration

The patent foundation explicitly includes a second system sending an approval request to the approval-management server through an API message and receiving the result back through an API message.

That pattern is the basis for positioning DataRelay Grant as a reusable approval layer for other DataRelay products and for external systems that need a human authorization gate.

## Product interpretation

For DataRelay Grant, the patent concepts translate into the following design principles:

* **Human decision stays explicit.** Approval is not inferred from ambiguous text.
* **Execution is gated.** The requested automated action is separated from the authorization decision.
* **Approval is reusable.** Other systems can request approval instead of implementing their own approval workflow.
* **Automation is composable.** Approved work can be represented as a defined playbook built from reusable operations.
* **Pending is a real state.** A request can remain open and drive reminders without being treated as approved or denied.

## Current product status

DataRelay Grant is **Coming Soon**. The patent foundation is public; the product implementation, API contract, security model, deployment architecture, and GA release scope are still being defined.

<Warning>
  This page is a technical and product summary, not a legal opinion. For legal scope, rely on the official issued patent records and claims.
</Warning>