# GraphLang — US Legal Protection Framework

> **Prepared for**: Josué Argaña Silguero, July 28, 2026
> **Purpose**: Document legal precedents and statutes that protect GraphLang IP
> **For**: Review by US-licensed IP attorney

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## Executive Summary

GraphLang is protected by 4 layers of US law:

| Layer | Statute/Case | Protects | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Copyright | 17 U.S.C. § 101 et seq. | Source code, SPEC, paper | Must register with US Copyright Office |
| Trade Secret | DTSA 18 U.S.C. § 1836 | Normalizer, dataset | Must document "reasonable measures" |
| Contract | BSL 1.1 + Commercial License | Production use, AI training | Enforceable as contract, not preempted |
| Prior Art | 35 U.S.C. § 102 | Blocks others from patenting 12 IR kinds | Does not generate revenue |

---

## 1. Trade Secret — DTSA (Your Strongest Shield)

### Statute
**Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016** (18 U.S.C. § 1836 et seq.)
- Federal cause of action for trade secret misappropriation
- Allows ex parte seizure of property to prevent dissemination
- Protects source code, algorithms, datasets explicitly
- Damages: actual loss + unjust enrichment, OR reasonable royalty
- **Willful misappropriation**: up to 2× damages + attorney fees

### Key Cases

**Epic Systems Corp. v. Tata Consultancy Services Ltd.** (W.D. Wis. 2016)
- **$940 million jury verdict** for trade secret theft of healthcare software
- TCS consultants downloaded 6,000+ documents containing Epic's proprietary code
- Court held: software architecture, implementation details, and internal documentation are protectable trade secrets
- **Lesson for GraphLang**: Your complete_normalizer.py and benchmark_dataset.json qualify. Document your "reasonable measures" (encryption, private repo, NDA policy).

**Waymo LLC v. Uber Technologies, Inc.** (N.D. Cal. 2018)
- Trade secret theft of self-driving car technology
- **$245 million settlement**
- Engineer downloaded 14,000 files before leaving for Uber
- Court held: downloading proprietary files + using them at competitor = misappropriation
- **Lesson for GraphLang**: If anyone takes your normalizer or dataset and uses it at a competitor, DTSA applies.

**United States v. Nosal** (9th Cir. 2016)
- Former employee used colleague's password to access proprietary database
- **Trade secret conviction upheld**: "authorized access" does not mean "authorized for any purpose"
- **Lesson for GraphLang**: If a licensee uses the normalizer for AI training (violating license terms), that exceeds their authorization = potential criminal liability under CFAA.

### What You Need to Prove
1. The information IS a secret (not public)
2. You took REASONABLE MEASURES to protect it
3. It has ECONOMIC VALUE because it's secret
4. The defendant MISAPPROPRIATED it (acquired through improper means)

**Your evidence**: complete_normalizer.py private, benchmark_dataset.json encrypted, benchmarks removed from public repo, NDA requirement in ENTERPRISE.md.

---

## 2. Copyright — Software Structure & APIs

### Statute
**Copyright Act of 1976** (17 U.S.C. § 101 et seq.)
- Protects original works of authorship fixed in tangible medium
- Software source code IS copyrightable
- Registration with US Copyright Office = prerequisite to sue + statutory damages

### Key Cases

**Google LLC v. Oracle America, Inc.** (Supreme Court 2021, 593 U.S. 1)
- Google copied 11,500 lines of Java API declaring code
- Supreme Court held: Google's use was **fair use** (functional, minimal, transformative)
- BUT: Court assumed WITHOUT DECIDING that APIs are copyrightable
- **Lesson for GraphLang**: Your SPEC is similar to an API specification. Publishing it is prior art, but it could also be copyrighted. The key protection is that your IMPLEMENTATION (normalizer) is not copied — only the idea is public. Ideas are not copyrightable; expressions are.

**Oracle America, Inc. v. Google Inc.** (Fed. Cir. 2014, 750 F.3d 1339)
- Federal Circuit REVERSED district court, held Java API declaring code IS copyrightable
- Structure, sequence, and organization (SSO) of 37 Java packages protected
- **Lesson for GraphLang**: Your 12 IR kinds with specific mappings (the SSO of your normalizer) could be copyrightable expression, not just idea. Register it.

**Whelan Associates, Inc. v. Jaslow Dental Laboratory, Inc.** (3d Cir. 1986, 797 F.2d 1222)
- Landmark case: software's "structure, sequence, and organization" is copyrightable
- Defendant wrote a competing program in a DIFFERENT language but copied the structure
- **Lesson for GraphLang**: Even if someone rewrites complete_normalizer.py in Rust or Go, if they copy the structure (which CST types map to which IR kinds), that's infringement.

### Registration
- Register `core.py`, `complete_normalizer.py`, `SPEC.md`, and `paper/paper.md` with US Copyright Office (copyright.gov)
- Costs: $65 per application (single author)
- Deadline: within 3 months of publication for statutory damages ($750-$30,000 per work, up to $150,000 for willful)

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## 3. Contract — BSL 1.1 Enforcement

### Legal Basis
BSL 1.1 is a **contractual license**, not just a copyright license. Key elements:
- **Offer**: "You may use the software under these terms"
- **Acceptance**: By using the software, you accept the terms
- **Consideration**: The licensor provides access; the licensee agrees to restrictions
- **Field-of-use restriction**: "non-commercial purposes only"

### Key Cases

**Jacobsen v. Katzer** (Fed. Cir. 2008, 535 F.3d 1373)
- Enforced Artistic License (open source) as a contract
- Violating open source license = copyright infringement
- **Lesson for GraphLang**: Using BSL-licensed code in production without commercial license = copyright infringement + breach of contract.

**MDY Industries, LLC v. Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.** (9th Cir. 2010, 629 F.3d 928)
- Enforced software license restrictions as contractual conditions
- Using software beyond license scope = copyright infringement
- **Lesson for GraphLang**: If a company uses public core.py beyond BSL scope, that's actionable.

### BSL-Specific
- **No BSL enforcement case yet at appellate level** — this is NEW legal territory
- BSL is modeled on MariaDB's BSL, which HashiCorp, CockroachDB, and Sentry adopted
- HashiCorp moved BSL → BUSL after community pushback, but no litigation yet
- **Risk**: BSL enforceability is untested. But contract law + copyright law provide backup.
- **Mitigation**: Your Commercial License (separate signed agreement) is stronger than BSL alone.

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## 4. Defensive Publication — Prior Art Against Patents

### Statute
**35 U.S.C. § 102** — Conditions for patentability; novelty
- (a)(1): A person shall be entitled to a patent unless the claimed invention was "described in a printed publication" before the effective filing date
- Your GitHub repo with timestamp = "printed publication" under AIA (America Invents Act)

### Official Defensive Publication
- **USPTO**: File a "document of defensive publication" under 37 C.F.R. § 1.91
- No fee required if filed within 2 months
- Becomes searchable in USPTO database, examiners MUST consider it
- **Statutory Invention Registration** (SIR): 35 U.S.C. § 157 (alternative, but discontinued)

### Key Cases

**In re Hall** (Fed. Cir. 1986, 781 F.2d 897)
- Doctoral thesis in university library = "printed publication" = invalidates patent
- **Lesson**: Your GitHub repo is at least as accessible as a library thesis.

**In re Wyer** (CCPA 1981, 655 F.2d 221)
- Microfilm in Australian Patent Office = accessible to the public = prior art
- **Lesson**: Any online publication indexed by Google = prior art. Your README, SPEC, and paper all qualify.

### Action Items
1. File ArXiv paper (free, immediate timestamp)
2. File SPEC.md as USPTO defensive publication (pro se possible, low cost)
3. Archive repo on Software Heritage (softwareheritage.org) for immutable timestamp
4. Register copyright on SPEC.md (strengthens prior art claim)

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## 5. Specific Protections for AI Training Use

### Current Legal Landscape (Unsettled)
- No court has ruled on whether a license can prohibit AI training specifically
- Copyright Office position: using copyrighted works for AI training may be fair use (policy under review, 2025)
- BUT: Contract law can be STRICTER than copyright fair use

### Strategy for GraphLang
1. **BSL explicitly prohibits AI training** (contractual use restriction)
2. **Separate AI Training License** ($500K+): If they want to train on your outputs
3. **Trade secret layer**: Even if BSL fails, normalizer is still a trade secret
4. **Contract > Copyright**: A signed commercial license trumps "fair use" arguments

### Key Case
**ProCD, Inc. v. Zeidenberg** (7th Cir. 1996, 86 F.3d 1447)
- Shrink-wrap licenses are enforceable contracts
- Use restrictions beyond copyright are valid under contract law
- **Lesson for GraphLang**: Your BSL + Commercial License can restrict AI training even if copyright alone couldn't.

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## 6. Damages & Remedies Summary

| Violation | Statute | Max Damages | Precedent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trade secret theft | DTSA 18 U.S.C. § 1836 | Actual + unjust enrichment, OR reasonable royalty. Willful: 2× + fees | Epic v. TCS: $940M |
| Copyright infringement | 17 U.S.C. § 504 | Statutory: $750-$30K per work ($150K willful) | Oracle v. Google (settled) |
| Breach of contract (BSL) | State contract law | Actual damages + specific performance | MDY v. Blizzard |
| Patent (if someone patents your idea) | 35 U.S.C. § 102 | Invalidate their patent with your prior art | In re Hall |

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## 7. Immediate Action Items (This Week)

1. **File ArXiv paper** — free, instant timestamp (arxiv.org/submit)
2. **Register copyright** on core.py + SPEC.md (copyright.gov, $65)
3. **Archive on Software Heritage** (softwareheritage.org/save)
4. **Print and notarize**: SPEC.md + IP.md + first page of LICENSE (physical timestamp)
5. **Update GitHub repo description**: "BSL 1.1 — Protected by DTSA and Copyright. Commercial license required."
6. **Set up Google Alert** for "GraphLang" + "12 IR kinds" + "semantic compression"

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## Notes for Your Attorney

- This document is a strategic overview, NOT legal advice
- BSL enforcement is untested at appellate level — combine with contract + trade secret
- Register copyright EARLY to qualify for statutory damages
- Document all "reasonable measures" for trade secret protection (emails, NDA templates, access logs)
- Consider incorporating as LLC in Delaware before signing any commercial license