Today “proof” is still very Web2: platforms, cloud history, email-to-self, certification services. Works… until it doesn’t (rules change, accounts get nuked, services die, and it’s rarely portable across countries).
A simple alternative is emerging:
anchor a cryptographic fingerprint (hash) in a public global ledger.
Not the file. Not the content. Just the fingerprint + timestamp.
Later, anyone with the file can re-hash and verify it matches what existed at time T.
No intermediary. No single jurisdiction. No disclosure.
With AI flooding the world with remixable content, “who can prove they had this version first?” becomes a real question (collabs, deals, disputes, research).
I’m experimenting with a small prototype in this direction (Preuvr, early test), but the idea is bigger than any product:
Do you think we’re heading toward a “proof-native web” layer (like HTTPS became invisible infrastructure), or will this stay niche?
http://preuvr.com
6 Comments
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This very much reads like a solution looking for a problem. Crypto isn’t any different than anything we have today and it has the same risks as today, which you call web2.
There is still no viable crypto usecase that is actually better than whst is already out there, and this isn’t it either.
The issue isn’t with proving ownership of IP, it is stopping the IP being used. To date it has been innefective. There are more movies, apps, programs, products being copied, pirated, bootlegged then ever before. There are insufficient resources to stop the flood.
Anyone can think of an idea, what matters is those who csn put thst idea into practice.
Sounds like business secrets to me. But disclosure through patents also means you earn the protection in part by making that info public, and accessible to others to eg further work on.
Love this take Ogygie-it could really shift how global teams collaborate when trust is thin. Anchoring hashes lets you share ideas without fear of theft before partnerships form. Have you seen any projects testing this in cross-border startups yet?