CONTEXT(CLONE)
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Check third-party permissions before a new edition

For: Rights and permissions manager preparing a new format or territory for a title

Pattern: Cross-examinationRuns todayDesigned for 4 to 80 agents
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The pain today

Each figure, photo and long quotation has its own licence with its own territory, format, print run and term. A digital or translated edition reuses them all, and one missed limit means a claim.

The ask

“I attached the permission licences and the permissions log for this title. Can we publish a worldwide digital edition? For each licensed item, tell me what the licence says about territory, format and term, quote it, and show where the readings disagree or the licence is silent.”

Plain words, as you would say it to a colleague. Edit it to fit your case before you send it.

What you attach or connect

  • Permission licences and grant letters
  • Permissions log for the title
  • Description of the planned edition

The unit of work

One worker task per one permission licence.

Why a swarm fits

Each licence is a short document read against the same few questions. Two model families read independently because licence language is loose, and disagreements go to the rights manager rather than being settled by guesswork.

Not for

Legal opinion on fair dealing or implied licences. It reports what each licence text says.

The decision tree

6 typed decisions, each with an action for every answer

At fixed moments in a run, the engine puts one narrow question to a decision model. The decision model never writes text: it answers yes or no with a probability, picks from listed options, or gives a score, about a small slice of the material. The engine then does exactly what this tree says, which is what makes the run auditable. The thresholds are the template's design values, not measured results.

  1. Planner, while planning

    Scope checkA choice among options

    Before work starts on a unit

    Does this licence or grant letter name the figure, photograph or quotation recorded in this permissions log entry?

    Sees only: One permissions log entry and one licence's description of the licensed material

    Why: A reading of the wrong licence is worse than no reading.

    • Same itemthenAccept
    • Different itemthenSkip this unit
    • Description too loose to tellthenMark unresolved

  2. After workers, the judge checks

    Evidence checkA choice among options

    After a worker answers

    What does the quoted grant clause state about use in the planned edition's territory, format and term?

    Sees only: The planned edition's territory, format and date, and the quoted grant clause with its limits

    Why: Silence on digital or territory must be reported as silence, never read as permission.

    • Expressly permitsthenAccept
    • Expressly limits or excludesthenAccept
    • Silent on this pointthenMark unresolved
    • Quote does not show itthenReject and retry

  3. Evidence checkYes or no, with a probability

    After a worker answers

    Does the licence's stated term or print run limit end before the planned publication date or quantity?

    Sees only: The licence's term and print run clause, and the planned edition's date and quantity

    Why: Expiry and run limits are the limits most often missed when an old title is reissued.

    • Yes: 0.85 or higherthenAccept
    • Unsure: 0.50 up to 0.85thenEscalate to a strong model
    • No: below 0.50thenReject and retry

  4. Reconciler, while merging

    Conflict checkYes or no, with a probability

    While reconciling

    Do the two independent readings of this licence differ on whether the grant reaches the planned edition?

    Sees only: Both readers' statements and quoted clauses for one licence

    Why: Loose licence language shows up as disagreement between families.

    • Yes: 0.70 or higherthenEscalate to a strong model
    • Unsure: 0.30 up to 0.70thenEscalate to a strong model
    • No: below 0.30thenAccept

  5. Run control, between rounds

    Retry or stopYes or no, with a probability

    After a rejection or low confidence

    Is the disagreement about what the licence's words say, rather than about what the rights holder would accept?

    Sees only: Both readings and the full grant section of the licence

    Why: Only textual disputes are worth a stronger model; the rest need a new request to the rights holder.

    • Yes: 0.85 or higherthenEscalate to a strong model
    • Unsure: 0.50 up to 0.85thenMark unresolved
    • No: below 0.50thenMark unresolved

  6. Accountable person, before anything is settled

    Person decidesYes or no, with a probability

    Before anything is reported as settled

    Is this item anything other than expressly permitted for the planned territory, format and term by an in-date licence on file?

    Sees only: One item's readings, limits and open points

    Why: The rights manager decides what is cleared and sends every new permission request.

    Accountable: The rights and permissions manager decides what is cleared and sends every new permission request.

    • Yes: 0.20 or higherthenAsk a person
    • Unsure: 0.05 up to 0.20thenAsk a person
    • No: below 0.05thenAccept

The fleet: who does what

Model tiers by role, not brands: you choose the models. Strong reasoning models plan and reconcile, small fast models do the wide work, and the judge is a decision model from a different family, so it does not share the workers' blind spots.

  1. Planner

    A strong reasoning model turns the planned edition into fixed questions on territory, format, term and print run.

    Decisions here:1. Scope check

  2. Workers

    Two sets of small fast workers from different families read each licence independently and quote the grant.

    Designed for 4 to 80 agents, one worker task per one permission licence. Each worker receives only its own unit.

  3. Judge, from a different model family

    A decision model from a third family settles disagreements the licence text resolves and keeps the rest open.

    Decisions here:2. Evidence check3. Evidence check

  4. Reconciler

    A strong reasoning model lists items cleared by the text, items not cleared and items that need a new request.

    Decisions here:4. Conflict check5. Retry or stop

  5. Accountable person

    The rights and permissions manager decides what is cleared and sends every new permission request.

    Decisions here:6. Person decides

Checked before anything is accepted

  • Every reading quotes the grant clause and its limits
  • Silence on digital or territory is reported as silence, never as permission
  • Expiry dates and print run limits are extracted and shown beside each item
  • Log entries with no licence document are listed as unsupported

What comes back

  • Per item: what the licence allows for the planned edition, with quotes
  • Items where the two readings disagree
  • Items needing a new permission request
  • Log entries with no licence on file

What to measure

  • Share of readings the rights manager confirms
  • Permission problems found after publication
  • Rights team hours per title
  • Cost per title compared with one strong model alone

Names of measures only. No result is claimed for this template.

Templates open in the workspace chat with the ask filled in. Nothing runs until you send it.

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