The creative process behind a new business idea may imply the sharing of valuable documents with third parties, or just the publication of such material on the Internet, so large amounts of assets are circulating exposed to improper use.
The World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) has created the WIPO PROOF service to help IP owners to protect these valuable digital files.
These files can be processed on the WIPO PROOF platform, which functions as a “digital notary”.
Digital assets are processed by WIPO PROOF in an efficient, accessible and cost-effective manner, serving to prove the existence and possession of the document at any given time in the event of litigation or other legal disputes (including out-of-court), based on the fundamental principle “First in time, first in law”.
WIPO PROOF does not replace other types of official industrial property registries, which remain recommended, but it is very useful for pre-constituting evidence of possession of valuable and confidential information, such as trade secrets, software source code, laboratory and research data, designs, creative works, etc.
This new WIPO tool has been created for a generalised and easy use. Anyone can use the service and create digital proofs for a wide variety of digital files. In particular, WIPO PROOF processes any type of file, of any size, including .zip.
Any IP owner will be able to process several digital files and the WIPO PROOF will generate a digital token formed by a set of encrypted codes. The obtained token will uniquely identify the original file and certify its existence at the time it was processed. The system uses the public key technology (similar to blockchain technology, but with a faster response and more respectful of confidentiality principles).
At a later stage, if required in a legal proceedings, any interested party will be able to verify the existence and possession of the digital file using the WIPO PROOF verification system.
WIPO PROOF may also issue a downloadable PDF certificate, signed and sealed by the Director General of WIPO, containing all the information of the original holder, the name of the file, the ASCII code, the date of creation of the file and the legal representative of the process (if any).
This digital evidence is similar to the function of a national notary. However, it has an international value: it is administered by the WIPO, an organisation recognised by practically all the countries of the world and of great prestige in the field of valorisation and protection of the IP rights.
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Authors: Lara Rodriguez, Riccardo Ciullo
