What OCC is Not
Precise distinctions matter for a protocol that makes specific cryptographic claims. Here is what OCC does not claim and does not do.
OCC is not a blockchain
OCC does not use distributed consensus, a global ledger, or tokens. It constrains a single execution boundary. There is no mining, no gas, no network of validators. Proof chaining (prevB64) creates a local hash chain within one boundary — not a distributed data structure.
OCC is not a watermark
OCC does not embed anything in the artifact bytes. The artifact is hashed, not modified. The proof is a separate JSON object that travels alongside the artifact. Removing the proof does not change the artifact; it only removes the evidence of the commit event.
OCC is not DRM
OCC does not prevent copying, sharing, or redistribution of artifact bytes. It prevents the authoritative proof lineage from being duplicated within a policy domain. The artifact itself is freely copyable — but only the original proof will verify against it.
OCC is not proof of truth
OCC proves that specific bytes were committed through an authorized boundary. The content of those bytes may be factually wrong, misleading, or fabricated. An LLM committed through OCC is still an LLM — it can hallucinate. OCC proves the commit event, not the content semantics.
OCC is not proof of authorship
A base proof attests which boundary committed an artifact, not who created the underlying content. Actor-bound proofs can additionally attest that a specific person or device authorized the commitment — but this is actor-binding, not authorship attribution.
OCC is not proof of first creation
OCC does not prove that these bytes never existed before this commit. The same content could have been created elsewhere earlier. OCC proves that this specific boundary committed these bytes at this point in its counter sequence — nothing more.
OCC is not attestation
Attestation is evidence that OCC carries, not what OCC is. A TEE attestation report (e.g., AWS Nitro) proves that specific code is running inside a specific hardware boundary. OCC is the proof architecture that attestation fits into — the framework for atomic commit events where attestation provides environmental evidence.
OCC is not notarization
Traditional notarization involves a trusted third party witnessing a signing event. OCC is a self-contained proof system — the proof is verifiable offline using only the public key and the original bytes. No trusted third party is required for core verification. TSA timestamps are optional, advisory evidence.