How can I show I had my design, writing or code first?
Before you share it, prove the exact version you have, and keep that proof. Fingerprint the file (or the whole folder) and have the fingerprint time stamped by an independent witness: that shows this exact work existed, in your hands, by that moment. It is useful when someone later presents the same idea as theirs, because your proof predates their claim. Be clear about the limit: a time stamp shows you had it by a date, not that you created it, and not who owns it. In many countries copyright exists from the moment a work is made, without registering anything; a proof of when you had it supports that, alongside drafts, emails and version history. For anything valuable, talk to a lawyer; this is not legal advice.
Why before matters
The moment you send a design to a client, a manuscript to a publisher or code to a repository, copies exist that you do not control. A proof made before that moment shows your version came first, whatever happens to the copies.
Build a trail, not a single proof
Prove each important version as you go: the first sketch, the draft, the version you send. A series of proofs, each later than the last, tells the story of the work better than any one document. Keep the drafts themselves, too.
A simple habit
- 01
Prove before you share
Make a proof of the exact files you are about to send.
- 02
Prove each milestone
First version, major revisions, the final. Folders can be proved as one.
- 03
Keep originals and proofs together
And keep your drafts, emails and version history, which support the same story.
Rashnova Proof makes this a habit that takes seconds: drop in the file or folder, get a proof witnessed by four independent services, free and offline, without the work ever leaving your computer. It does not prove you made the work or that you own it, and it says so on every certificate.