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document

vr.tr.document-possession · thing-document-possession

Let an agent treat such documents as instruments whose authenticity, holder and terms decide rights, and never as ordinary texts.

Thing Registry Society, people and institutions SOC.ECO
Bundle → Layer → Finding → QuestionsClassifiersWhat it isWhy it existsDistinguishing featuresWhat robots and AI may and may not doMoral aspectsOwnersLinks to other meta-modelsIdentity and identifiersDirect propertiesRecognitionCapabilities and actionsHazards and failure modesStandards and interfacesContext of useSources

Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled

4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions

Instrument What kind and what it gives.

Type

Deed, certificate, credit, receipt.

Instrument type

The type and governing law.

  1. What type of instrument is this, under which law? definition
  2. Is it negotiable? boundary

Rights

The right or obligation recorded.

Recorded right

What the document entitles or obliges.

  1. What right or obligation does it record, and for how much? definition
  2. What conditions must be met to enforce it? boundary
Parties and holder Who issued it and who holds it.

Issuer

The obligor or registry.

Issuer identity

Who issued it.

  1. Who issued this document, and are they authorised to? provenance
  2. Is the issuer solvent or still in existence? boundary

Holder

The current holder.

Holder record

Who holds it and how they got it.

  1. Who is the current holder, and by what chain of transfer? provenance
  2. Is the holder entitled to enforce it? boundary
Authenticity and validity Is it genuine and current.

Authenticity

Security features and verification.

Verification

How it was verified.

  1. How can this document be verified with the issuer or registry? action
  2. Which security features are present? definition

Validity

Dates and cancellation.

Validity status

Whether it is still valid.

  1. Is it still valid, and until when? boundary
  2. Has it been cancelled or replaced? provenance
Transfer and custody Moving and keeping it.

Transfer

Endorsement, delivery, registration.

Transfer rules

How it is transferred.

  1. How is this document transferred, and what records the transfer? definition
  2. What taxes or fees apply? boundary

Custody

Storage and loss.

Custody arrangement

Where it is kept and what happens if lost.

  1. Where is it kept, and by whom? provenance
  2. How is a lost document replaced? action

Classifiers Filled

Family
Thing Registry
Category
Society, people and institutions
Entry kind
noun.possession
Plane
SOC
Domain
SOC.ECO
Facets: substance
social
Facets: origin
conceptual
Facets: agency
inert
Facets: mobility
not-applicable
Facets: scale
not-applicable
Facets: affordances
observable
Other names and narrower kinds
cash equivalent, certificate of deposit, CD, letter of credit, commercial letter of credit, traveler's letter of credit, traveller's letter of credit, traveler's check, traveller's check, banker's check, time deposit, debt instrument

What it is Filled

A written account of ownership or of an obligation, such as a certificate, deed, letter of credit, bond certificate or certificate of deposit, whose possession or presentation carries legal or financial effect.

Why it exists Filled

Let an agent treat such documents as instruments whose authenticity, holder and terms decide rights, and never as ordinary texts.

Distinguishing features Filled

  • Carries rights: holding or presenting it has legal effect
  • Negotiable instruments can transfer rights by endorsement or delivery
  • Increasingly dematerialised into registers and electronic records
  • Distinct from informational documents, which carry no such rights

What robots and AI may and may not do Filled

Must not

  • Forge, alter or back-date a deed, certificate or other instrument.
  • Present or transfer a document on behalf of someone who is not its lawful holder.
  • Act on an instrument that has expired, been cancelled or reported lost or stolen.
  • Destroy or hide an original without the holder's instruction.

Only with a human decision

  • Endorsing, presenting or surrendering a document that transfers ownership or money.
  • Declaring a document lost and requesting a replacement.

May

  • Read and summarise the terms of a document of title or obligation for its holder.
  • Check a document against the stated requirements, such as those of a letter of credit, and report discrepancies.
  • Record where an original is kept and who holds it.

Moral aspects Filled

  • Possession of these documents carries rights, so loss or forgery can transfer wealth unjustly.
  • Documentary checks must be applied consistently, not bent for favoured parties.

Who is affected

  • The lawful holder
  • Issuers and obligors
  • Banks and counterparties relying on the document

Owners Filled

Steward

The lawful holder of the document; the issuer answers for the obligation it records.

Master systems

  • Land registries
  • Securities depositories and share registers

Links to other meta-models Filled

parent

  • oewn-00033319-n - registry parent class

related

  • document - shares authorship, format and retention questions
  • ownership or obligation - the right it records is a separate model
  • endorsement or registration - rules differ by kind
  • money - cash equivalents are near-money but not legal tender

What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled

Identity and identifiers required Filled

  • Vercy registry: vr.tr.document-possession
  • Open English WordNet: oewn-13424504-n
  • ISIN: 12-character code securities
  • land registry title number: jurisdiction-specific real property

Direct properties not applicable Not applicable

Not applicable

Plane SOC: no invented physical properties.

Recognition optional Filled

  • Issuer name, identifying numbers and security features
  • Signatures, seals or electronic signatures
  • Titles such as certificate, deed, letter of credit
  • A formal paper or electronic record with issuer details, parties, amounts, dates, signatures, seals or security features.

Capabilities and actions required Filled

  • issue it, by the obligor or registry
  • hold, transfer or endorse it, under the rules for its kind
  • present it, to claim payment or delivery
  • verify it, for authenticity and validity

Hazards and failure modes required Filled

  • Forgery and fraud
  • Loss or destruction of a bearer document
  • Discrepancies that make a document non-compliant, such as under a letter of credit
  • Acting on an expired or cancelled instrument

Standards and interfaces required Filled

  • UCP 600 for documentary credits
  • Uniform laws on bills of exchange and national negotiable instruments law
  • UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records
  • Land registration law

Context of use required Filled

  • Evidencing and transferring ownership or claims, and securing payment.
  • title documents: deeds, certificates of title
  • financial instruments: certificates of deposit, bonds, share certificates
  • trade documents: letters of credit, bills of lading, warehouse receipts
  • cash equivalents

Sources Filled

  1. Open English WordNet 2024, synset oewn-13424504-n - sense and gloss of the concept
  2. Wiktionary: document - word senses and usage

Open questions

  • Should each instrument type be a separate entry?
  • How should electronic transferable records be represented?
  • What must an agent verify before relying on such a document?

Machine files

Card as JSON Specification Card backlog vercy.card/1

Provenance

thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed

Built from: models/things/publications/thing-document-possession/spec.json