How do I prove I created something first?

Why self-dated evidence is weak on its own

Anyone can change a file's creation date, backdate an email, or claim a private drawer full of drafts predates a rival's release. This is why disputes over who created something first usually turn not on who is telling the truth, but on who has evidence a court or platform can independently trust. The strength of your claim depends entirely on how hard your evidence is to fake or dispute.

The gold standard: registration

In the US, registering with the Copyright Office creates an official public record with a clear effective date and, importantly, is a prerequisite to filing an infringement lawsuit and to claiming statutory damages and attorney's fees for US works. In the EU, there is generally no formal registration system for copyright, since protection arises automatically on creation, so proving a date relies more heavily on other independent evidence.

Independently verifiable timestamps

Where formal registration is unavailable, slow, or not appropriate for the type of work, an independently verifiable, tamper-evident timestamp is the next best thing. This is precisely what a Deed provides: a publicly checkable, dated record that you registered a specific work at a specific time, which a third party can confirm without needing to trust your word or your files alone.

Other supporting evidence includes dated emails to collaborators, drafts sent to a third party such as a publisher or client, and metadata from professional software, though these carry less independent weight than a formal registration or public record.

What to do the moment a dispute arises

Gather every piece of dated evidence you have, in chronological order, and avoid editing or resaving the original files, since that can alter metadata you may need later. If the dispute is serious, formal registration or legal advice becomes necessary quickly, since delays can weaken your position further.