---
sidebar_position: 99
title: Glossary
description: "Definitions of key TrackForge terms: AAA-D ratings, evidence packets, leakage taxonomy, rating events, Merkle roots, OpenTimestamps proof state and more."
keywords:
  - music industry glossary
  - ISRC ISWC IPI
  - rating event
  - leakage taxonomy
---

# Glossary

### AAA-D Rating

The current TrackForge certificate-facing rating scale. It expresses active royalty-leakage exposure under the declared methodology, taxonomy, workflow, and jurisdictional scope.

### Blockchain Anchor

An independently verifiable timestamp proof, currently produced through OpenTimestamps where available. A confirmed anchor means the proof has confirmed; pending and local-only states must not be presented as confirmed.

### Canonical JSON

A deterministic JSON representation using sorted keys, compact separators, ASCII-safe encoding, and UTF-8 hashing. Canonical JSON lets independent verifiers reproduce evidence and rating hashes.

### Chinese Wall

The separation between evidence/remediation services and rating services. Evidence can be assembled and remediated; rating consumes frozen snapshots and emits deterministic events.

### Evidence Packet

A frozen JSON snapshot containing the evidence needed by the methodology. Its hash becomes a Merkle leaf or rating input.

### ISRC

International Standard Recording Code. A 12-character identifier for a specific sound recording.

### ISWC

International Standard Musical Work Code. An identifier for the underlying musical work.

### IPI

Interested Party Information number. A rights-holder identifier used by societies and CISAC-linked systems.

### Jurisdictional Scope

The direct territory and society pathway scope of a rating event. The current direct TrackForge certification scope is UK and US unless a certificate states otherwise.

### Leakage Taxonomy

The versioned set of royalty-leakage conditions that TrackForge tests. Rating state is projected from this taxonomy.

### Leakage Vector

A deterministic list of taxonomy conditions and their states: active, inactive, or not applicable. It is separate from remediation status and operator review status.

### Legacy Completeness Tier

Historical Gold/Silver/Bronze/Declared fields retained for compatibility. They are not the current certificate-facing rating scale unless a historical certificate explicitly uses that old methodology.

### Merkle Proof

A compact inclusion proof showing that a leaf hash belongs to a Merkle tree with a stated root.

### Merkle Root

The single root hash committing a set of evidence packet hashes or other methodology-defined leaves.

### Methodology Hash

The SHA-256 hash of the methodology artefact or preimage used for a rating. It proves which rules governed the event.

### OpenTimestamps

An open protocol for timestamping hash commitments using calendar servers and public blockchain attestations.

### Process Fidelity

The core certification claim: TrackForge followed the stated methodology on the stated evidence snapshot at the stated time. It is not a legal ownership guarantee.

### Rating Event

The immutable record of a subject's rating under a specific methodology version, taxonomy version, workflow version, jurisdictional scope, evidence snapshot, and proof state.

### Workflow Version

The version of the operational checks performed before rating. Workflow version defines what the system directly checked; it is not the same as roadmap scope.