[author: Leila Mirzoeva]
On 27 May 2020 WIPO launched new online business service, WIPO PROOF1, that provides tamper-proof evidence of the existence at a point in time of any digital file, including data sets, in any format.
The WIPO PROOF service generates tamper-proof evidence proving that a digital file existed at a specific point in time, and that it has not been altered since that time. An evidence in this case will be a digital WIPO PROOF token which consists of a date- and time-stamped digital fingerprint of the file (or data).
It is expected that the platform will be useful both for the sphere of innovation and for the sphere of creativity. Any information about research notes, research results, large data sets, laboratory notes can be generated as a WIPO PROOF token. Moreover, authors can also encrypt in WIPO PROOF tokens the manuscripts, music scores, sketches, storyboardings, with a view to prove that a work of art existed at a specific point in time. Besides, WIPO PROOF can also be used for trade secret strategies, using the token to certify the existence of a file or data at a specific point in time is a type of concrete action that underscores its value and demonstrates that steps were taken to safeguard it.
The WIPO PROOF service, which can be used online from anywhere in the world, should significantly facilitate the process of proving that certain information existed at a specific point in time. WIPO PROOF tokens will replace the familiar deposition of intellectual property and other ways of proving existence of information on a certain date and time, e.g. computer forensics. It is obvious, that WIPO PROOF tokens will change the argumentation in copyright disputes, in trade secret disputes, patent infringement disputes, industrial design disputes, utility model disputes and many others.
_____
1WIPO PROOF: WIPO Introduces New Business Service That Provides Evidence of an Intellectual Asset’s Existence // https://www.wipo.int/pressroom/en/articles/2020/article_0012.html
