Some key use cases for WIPO PROOF

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CREATIVE WORKS AND DESIGNS

video of how WIPO PROOF can be used for creative works and designs

Copyright applies to a wide range of creative output such as art, music, lyrics, software, and textile designs. You automatically have copyright for your creative works – you don’t have to register them. But if there is a dispute about the work, it is invaluable to have solid evidence proving it existed at a specific point in time – which is what a timestamping service can provide.

How can a proof support the creative and design industries

Prior existence: Demonstrating with a strong evidence that you created your work before a certain point in time can help establish prior existence, which is often a critical element in copyright-related legal disputes.
Link to authorship: For example, you can generate your evidence before you publish new works, whether you are using content creation software or uploading to a digital content distribution platform.
Multiple collaborators: Music, film and video productions are often the work of several creators. A digital evidence system allows you to create separate tokens for lyrics, scripts, musical composition and final works, documenting each individual piece. This helps resolve possible future disagreements around authorship in joint endeavors.
Design registration support: a digital evidence can prove prior use of industrial designs, which is a critical element for infringement disputes in countries such as Japan, China and the Republic of Korea.
In the EU, patterns and designs from the fashion, flooring, and textile industries are short-lived and often unregistered. Such designs are given protection for 3 years from the date on which the design was disclosed to the public. A digital evidence can prove that important date of disclosure.
First use: In common law jurisdictions, it is essential to prove you were the first to use a trademark in order to protect it. A digital evidence can be used to certify actual samples of a mark being used in the marketplace from the very beginning of its promotional activities.

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You are a creative and design professional

You are a musician focused on the digital market. You produce all your work through digital music studio software and most of your creations are used by others in joint ventures - operas, films, TV series - and even by DJs in creating new compilations. Your reach is immense and it is impossible to keep track of every use of your music. But you may discover unauthorized use, which costs you lost revenue. By generating a digital evidence at the moment each work is officially produced, you can prove original authorship, bringing you peace of mind and the ability to reap all the rewards of your great work.

TRADE SECRETS AND KNOW-HOW

video of how WIPO PROOF can be used for trade secrets and undisclosed know-how

Depending on your business, trade secrets and know-how could be a software algorithm, a formula, a recipe, a manufacturing process, a list of clients, a business plan, or many other assets. These can all be protected by law, but only if you can prove you gain economic value from them and that you have taken steps to preserve their confidentiality and prevent misuse or misappropriation. But it is difficult for the owner of a trade secret to seek an injunction or claim damages: how can you prove that you possessed and used a trade secret at a certain point in time, if you always kept it secret?

You can solve this problem by generating a digital evidence of the existence of that file. Such an evidence not only proves that you possessed a trade secret at a given point in time, it can also discourage possible theft or misuse.

A digital evidence helps:

Prove that you possessed a trade secret at a certain point in time, demonstrating that you took steps to secure your intellectual assets. This indicates their high value and in turn deters employees from unauthorized sharing or use while employed or after they leave the organization.
Deter external parties, who may gain access to trade secrets and confidential files through common business relations, from relaying or using the knowledge.

Digital evidences can also be used in legal disputes, such as:

Establishing prior use: for example as a defense from patent hoarding or in cases where a patent holder claims infringement of an invention that was previously held by a separate party in the form of a trade secret.
Demonstrating theft of a trade secret: it is possible to prove that a patent application was filed unlawfully if you can show that it was based on a previously non-disclosed trade secret, and that the trade secret was made public without the owner’s authorization

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You value trade secrets and undisclosed know-how

You are a fast-growing business that has cornered the local beverages market with a unique and healthy alternative to carbonated soft drinks. A collection of exceptional recipes, very difficult to replicate, is the key to your company’s competitive advantage. You plan to expand internationally through decentralized management and production. You already have a robust IT and security network but you seek additional protective measures. Using a PKI based timestamping service helps prove that you are taking actions to safeguard your trade secrets, whilst deterring misuse of your intellectual assets.

RESEARCH AND DATA

video of how WIPO PROOF can be used for research and data

Research and development, as well as data, are driving advances across numerous industries. The insights and know-how generated are valuable because they are both inputs and outputs of the innovation and creation process. Even if this process leads to a formal intellectual property such as a patent, know-how and data may remain vulnerable to misappropriation and other potential future disputes. Innovators and creators should take steps to safeguard such digital assets.

Digital timestamping services help secure your intellectual assets by:

Mitigating risks associated with future disputes. Structured data used to train Artificial Intelligence is rapidly increasing in value and demand, becoming an important intellectual asset for many organizations. A digital timestamp acts as a virtual insurance policy, establishing that the data was in your possession at a certain point in time.
Creating a version history for iterations of software code, research results, and lab notes. For example, the Life Sciences sector generates large amounts of data and research, and the generation of evidences across versions allows a formal and controlled management of such assets.

Life Sciences:

Genetic, biochemical and chemical structure information are valuable assets, even if they are not – or not yet – sufficiently developed to provide patentable subject matter or a disclosure is not desired for business reasons. Establishing that the genetic, biochemical, and chemical structure information was in possession at a certain point in time provides an insurance policy against risks such as theft, misuse or misappropriation. Here are more specific examples:

High performing hybrid plants are often generated by using so called “parent inbred lines”, which are kept as trade secrets. Biochemical industrial production processes are often based on microorganisms and these are also kept as trade secrets. The genetic information or a “genetic fingerprint” of parent lines and microorganisms can be confirmed using WIPO PROOF. WIPO PROOF not only provides evidence on possession of a parent line or information about a microorganism, at a given point in time, it can also discourage possible theft or misuse or can be used as evidence in a potential trade secret misappropriation case.
Researchers at a public institute find new biochemical or chemical structure information on a regular basis. While enough information may not be available to enable a patent application, researchers should be concerned that information may leak and/or be misappropriated by others which claim it as their own. WIPO PROOF can help to establish a clear date of earlier possession which might be useful to prove original conception of an invention. Such evidence can be advantageous e.g., in a case of vindication.
Working with genetic resources – plants, animals, microorganism – for research or commercial activities is another use case. Filing patent applications on the genetic resources, or their uses, may not be planned; as such, the risk of 3rd parties doing so on similar uses is very real, which would potentially constrain freedom-to-operate. WIPO PROOF can establish evidence of prior possession and uses of the genetic resources, which can be of critical importance to establish a prior use defense.

Artificial Intelligence (AI):

AI is as good as the data used to train its algorithms. Although quantity of data is important, what can be more important is the quality of the data. High quality data is the result of cleaning, structuring, and organizing the data, requiring human intervention; this can take a tremendous amount of effort and skill to do correctly. The science and process of improving the quality of data can be considered as a trade secret in industry, but the output is the high quality data itself, which should be appropriately safeguarded in case it falls into the wrong hands. This is where WIPO PROOF can help – The service provides the AI industry with an effective method to record (and subsequently prove) the possession and existence of any unique data set, at a very specific point in time. This helps not only pre-empt unlawful behaviour related to the data, but also prove prior possession of a specific data set.

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You are a researcher and work with data

You lead the R&D department of a global life sciences giant conducting hundreds of experiments, tests, and trials every week. They generate many precious lab notes and sets of data, all of which could lead to a new product. You have a digital work-flow tool to help capture and manage these assets; however, the tool does not provide a means to certify their existence at a specific point in time. A digital evidence system, not only can certify the existence, it also provides virtual insurance policies against potential future misappropriation for each intellectual asset.

OTHER DIGITAL ASSETS

video of how WIPO PROOF can be used for any digital file

The process of innovation and creativity can lead to legal complications in the future if not managed properly. You can reduce the likelihood of legal disputes by generating evidence that certain assets were in your possession at a specific point in time.

A digital evidence system can prove

Date of disclosure prior to patent filing date (during pre-patent filing grace periods).
Existence of related digital assets used to support the quality of a patent or trade secret (which is usually requested by parties interested in purchasing them).
Existence of earlier and preparatory work related to the registration of a trademark, supporting arguments for prior use claims.
Historical development of designs or technology that are challenged in IP infringement cases.
Prior existence of creative works.
Existence of operational records and data essential to undisclosed know-how.

It is useful for

Establishing prior art and prior use defense; even to fight patent hoarding or to certify existence and possession of assets supporting formally protected IP.
Assisting auditing and compliance activities.
Supporting complex investigations, such as forensic science, with a method to securely document notes and findings essential for full disclosure by investigator.
Supporting the insurance industry with certification of damage documentation, such as photographs, reports and other evidence.
Protecting contracts and certificates against forgery and tampering.
Internal content management. Content can include digital documents, data sets, source codes, laboratory notes, design sketches, draft technical specifications, confidential contracts, and other confidential digital files.
Protecting against deleted or edited controversial online news, slander and threats via digital channels, online scams, and the publication of unauthorized information.

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You want to provide your digital files with a protective measure against misuse, misappropriation, and infringement

You are an IP services firm with a large legal department that handles all documentation related to patent, trademark, and industrial design applications for clients. Your firm uses e-signature software to digitally sign key documents. However, if these e-signatures are not dated and time stamped, their validity may be questioned. You can solve this problem by cost-effectively generating large numbers of digital certifications of e-signatures.