Confidentiality Notice: This document contains sensitive intellectual property information. Distribution is restricted to founders, legal counsel, and approved due-diligence parties under NDA. Do not distribute without written authorisation from the CEO.
1. IP Ownership Basis
All intellectual property listed in this register is owned by EduCreds Labs by virtue of:
- Founders' Agreement (15 Feb 2026): All five founders assigned all pre-existing and future IP created in connection with EduCreds to the Company (Section 5.1 — IP Assignment)
- Contributor Agreement template: All contributors and contractors assign all Work Product to EduCreds as a condition of engagement
- Work-for-hire principle: All IP created by founders and team during their tenure is Company property
Note: Until formal incorporation is completed (URSB process in progress), IP is held beneficially by the founders collectively on behalf of the Company and will be formally transferred upon incorporation.
2. IP Asset Register
| Asset ID | Asset Name | Type | Description | Created | Registration Status | Priority |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EC-IP-SW-001 | EduCreds Platform Codebase | Software / Trade Secret | Full-stack enterprise platform: NestJS backend API, React/Vite/TypeScript frontend dashboard, 7 Azure microservices. GitHub repository under private access control. | Jun 2025 – ongoing | Unregistered — Trade Secret | Critical |
| EC-IP-DID-001 | did:educreds DID Method | Technical Specification | W3C Decentralized Identifier method specification defining the did:educreds scheme for institutions, students, employers, ministries, and organizations. Format: did:educreds:{type}:{id} | 2026 | Unregistered — W3C submission pending | Critical |
| EC-IP-SW-002 | EduCreds Verification Framework (EVF) | Software | Independent 5-collector evidence-based verification platform. Runs DID, W3C VC, blockchain, PoIC, and metadata evidence collectors in parallel. Produces hash-chained evidence packages for audit replay. | 2026 | Unregistered — Trade Secret | Critical |
| EC-IP-SW-003 | Trust Agent & PoIC Algorithm | Software / Algorithm | AI-powered Proof of Institutional Credibility (PoIC) scoring engine. Computes 0–100 trust score from objective external signals (accreditation, registration, digital footprint, dispute history). Unique moat — no comparable product exists in African EdTech. | 2026 | Unregistered — Trade Secret | Critical |
| EC-IP-SW-004 | Connector Agent | Software | Institution-side SIS connector agent for Tier 1 (enterprise on-prem) and Tier 2 (cloud) deployments. HMAC-signed, read-only SIS access with append-only audit log. Supports PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQL Server, Oracle, SQLite adapters. | 2026 | Unregistered — Trade Secret | High |
| EC-IP-SW-005 | Verifier Agent | Software | Employer-side on-premises verification service. Provides HR/ATS with a local endpoint for high-volume credential verification with queue, cache, retry, bulk, webhook, and audit trail capabilities. | 2026 | Unregistered — Trade Secret | High |
| EC-IP-SC-001 | EduCreds Smart Contracts | Software / Smart Contract | EVM-compatible smart contract suite: Institution Identity NFT (IIN — ERC-721 soulbound), Credential Issuer Contract, PoIC Registry, DAO Governance contracts. Deployed on testnet; production deployment in progress. | 2025 | Testnet deployed — production pending | Critical |
| EC-IP-BRD-001 | EduCreds Brand | Trademark | "EduCreds", "EduCreds Labs", "Revolutionizing Academic Credentials" tagline, logo mark, brand colour system (#0F2044 navy, #C9A84C gold). All brand assets created by founders. | 2025 | Unregistered — TM application pending | Critical |
| EC-IP-DOM-001 | Domain & Digital Assets | Domain / Digital Property | educreds.xyz domain, admin@educreds.xyz, info@educreds.xyz, support@educreds.xyz email infrastructure. GitHub organisation EDUCREDS-LABS. | 2025 | Registered & Active | Critical |
| EC-IP-DOC-001 | Technical Documentation | Copyright | Architecture documentation, API specifications, protocol specifications, DID method specification, developer documentation, support manual, deployment runbooks. Stored in GitHub repository. | 2025 – ongoing | Automatic copyright | High |
| EC-IP-API-001 | EduCreds API Specification | Technical Specification | Full REST API surface definition covering Platform API (/auth, /api/certificates, /api/institutions, /governance), Standard API (/api/v1/standard), Verification API (/api/v1/verify), and EVF gateway (/api/v1/evf). | 2026 | Unregistered — Trade Secret | High |
| EC-IP-FRW-001 | EduCreds Trust Framework | Technical Specification / Methodology | The governance and trust methodology underpinning PoIC computation, institution approval workflow, Governance Council structure, and dispute resolution process. | 2026 | Unregistered — Trade Secret | High |
3. Open Source Register
EduCreds uses the following open-source components in its platform. All are used in compliance with their respective licences. No GPL-licensed components are incorporated into the core platform in a manner that would trigger copyleft obligations on EduCreds' proprietary code.
| Component | Licence | Use in EduCreds | Copyleft Risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| NestJS | MIT | Backend API framework | None |
| React / Vite | MIT | Frontend framework | None |
| TypeScript | Apache 2.0 | Development language | None |
| Ethers.js | MIT | EVM smart contract interaction | None |
| OpenZeppelin Contracts | MIT | ERC-721 smart contract base | None |
| @veramo/core | Apache 2.0 | W3C VC / DID operations | None |
| PostgreSQL | PostgreSQL licence | Primary database | None |
| Redis | BSD 3-Clause | Queue broker and cache | None |
| Tailwind CSS | MIT | Frontend styling | None |
| Lucide Icons | ISC | UI icons | None |
4. IP Risks & Recommendations
Priority Actions Required: The following IP risks should be addressed as part of the Tranche 1 ($25,000) legal spend.
| Risk | Priority | Recommended Action | Estimated Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| EduCreds trademark not registered — third party could register first | Critical | File trademark application with URSB Uganda immediately upon incorporation. Consider international class 42 (software services) and class 41 (education) | ~$500–$1,000 |
| did:educreds DID method not formally published — could be challenged | High | Publish did:educreds method specification to W3C DID spec registry | Founder time only (free) |
| Smart contracts deployed without formal security audit | High | Conduct third-party smart contract audit before mainnet production deployment | $5,000–$15,000 |
| IP assignment not formally notarised or lodged | High | Have Founders' Agreement (IP assignment clauses) reviewed and notarised by Ugandan legal counsel. Lodge with URSB upon incorporation. | ~$500 |
| No formal open-source policy — contributor IP could be unclear | Medium | Adopt formal contributor licence agreement (CLA) for any external contributors to the codebase | Minimal |
| No international trademark protection | Medium | Consider Madrid Protocol international trademark application before pan-African expansion (Kenya, Tanzania) | ~$2,000–$5,000 (pre-Series A) |
5. IP Assignment Confirmation
All intellectual property listed in this register has been assigned to EduCreds Labs by the founders pursuant to Section 5 (Intellectual Property) of the Founders' Agreement dated 15 February 2026. Formal legal assignment documents are recommended for completion upon incorporation.
| Founder | Role | IP Assignment | Agreement Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kyotoyinze Abdulmajid | CEO | Assigned per Founders' Agreement Section 5 | 15 Feb 2026 |
| Sekiziyivu Paul | COO | Assigned per Founders' Agreement Section 5 | 15 Feb 2026 |
| Nabasirye Seanice | Head of Operations | Assigned per Founders' Agreement Section 5 | 15 Feb 2026 |
| Balamaga Experito | Head of Growth & Branding | Assigned per Founders' Agreement Section 5 | 15 Feb 2026 |
| Mudebo Samusi | Head of DevOps | Assigned per Founders' Agreement Section 5 | 15 Feb 2026 |