On May 27th 2020, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the leading authority on protection of industrial and intellectual property, presented WIPO PROOF, a new online service that provides a tamper-proof evidence of the existence of a digital file at a precise point in time.
By uploading the file on the website https://wipoproof.wipo.int/ and paying a modest amount, the user will receive the WIPO PROOF token, an actual “digital fingerprint” of the file with a date and time stamped that shows the existence of the file in that particular moment.
The service wants to be an additional help for anyone who wants to protect and safeguard their own digital assets, but the system does not replace patents, trademarks and designs that are still the only valid tools to protect inventions, marks, models and designs.
WIPO PROOF is thought for the works that cannot benefit from the protection provided by industrial property certificates mentioned above but are protected by the copyright law or by other non-titled rights.
Even better, the system introduced by WIPO is useful any time one wants to assign a certain date and acknowledge the paternity of a work.
Among the works that can be uploaded on the system we find:
- Trade secrets
- Creative works (audio, video, literary works)
- Artistic works (pattern, textile, architectural works)
- Technical diagrams, plans, projects
- Software’s code
- Researches (reports, laboratory notes)
- Algorithms, genetic sequences
- Digitally signed documents (contracts, letters, certificates)
The WIPO General Director Francis Gurry affirmed:
“In a highly dynamic global economy where value is increasingly based on human activity enabled by digital technologies and big data, it is critical to be able to prove that you were in possession of your intellectual asset’s digital files. WIPO PROOF helps innovators and creators better protect their digital outputs and represents a significant step in expanding WIPO’s suite of services that meet the demands of the digital economy”.
The system is interesting but it’s should not be overestimated.
It should be used only in cases where it could be useful, keeping in mind that a certain date can also be obtained with different tools that don’t imply the uploading of a file on an online platform, although authoritative as the one of WIPO, but most of all reminding us that this system doesn’t replace the protection offered by a registered patent, trademark or design.
For more information, please see WIPO Press Release.