How to Prove You Created Something First
"I made this first" is easy to say and hard to prove. If your work is copied, leaked, or independently claimed, what matters is the evidence you can produce of when your version existed. Here's how to build that evidence the right way.
Understand what's protectable
Copyright protects your specific expression — the actual words, images, code, or recording — not the underlying idea. You can't lock down a concept, but you can prove your particular execution of it existed on a date. (If your work is an invention, the rules are different — see how to prove the date of an invention.)
Create dated proof as you work
The biggest mistake is waiting until there's a dispute. Build the record while you create:
- Keep your originals. Source files, drafts, and project files with their history are your raw evidence.
- Timestamp key versions. A blockchain timestamp records that your exact file existed on a specific date — tamper-proof and independently verifiable. Do this before you share drafts, pitch, post previews, or hand work to collaborators.
- Register the important ones. For finished works you may need to defend in court, register with the Copyright Office.
Why timestamps beat the usual "proof"
People reach for emails, file dates, or social posts as evidence. The problem: file modification dates can be changed, and platforms strip metadata. A blockchain timestamp can't be quietly back-dated or altered, which is what makes it convincing.
A simple habit
Before any work leaves your hands — a manuscript to an agent, a logo to a client, a beat to an artist, a photo to a client gallery — drop the file into BlockchainSign. Hashing happens in your browser, the fingerprint goes on-chain, and you keep a lifetime certificate. If "who made it first" ever comes up, you'll have the answer ready.