How artists show when they made something: a simple routine

Artists show when they made something by keeping dated evidence from the start, not by scrambling after a dispute. In practice that means three habits. Keep your process files: sketches, layered source files, earlier saves and time-lapses. Timestamp the key files before you post, enter or send them (for example with TimeBinder^®), so there’s an independent record that those exact files existed no later than a recorded time. Then keep each certificate with the original files, unedited. A timestamp won’t stop anyone copying your work, and it doesn’t show who made it. In most places copyright already exists without registration. What a dated record gives you is something concrete to point to if anyone ever questions your timeline.

Disclosure: I’m Inna Hall, co-founder of TimeBinder, the file timestamping tool mentioned in this guide. This page is general information, not legal advice.

How artists show when they made something: the short answer in three steps

1. Keep your process. Save sketches, layered files, earlier versions, reference boards and time-lapse exports. Don’t flatten or overwrite them.
2. Timestamp before you share. Before a piece goes online, into a competition or to a client, record the key files. With TimeBinder, your browser calculates each file’s hash (a short code calculated from the file’s exact contents) and records it on the Bitcoin blockchain. The file itself is never uploaded.
3. Store the record with the originals. Keep the Proof of Time Certificate in the same folder as the exact files you sealed. A re-saved or edited copy gives a different hash, so it won’t match.

What to timestamp (up to 10 files at a time)

Each TimeBind holds up to 10 files of any type and size. For one artwork, a useful set might be:

• the layered source file (PSD, Procreate, Krita, CLIP or similar)
• one or two earlier saves or work-in-progress stages
• the first sketch or thumbnail
• the time-lapse export, if your app makes one
• the final export you plan to post or deliver

You don’t need to seal every save. Pick the versions that tell the story of how the piece developed. For app-specific tips, see showing a Procreate illustration existed before a date and showing a PSD file existed before a date. For ongoing projects, see draft history.

When to timestamp

The best moment is just before a piece leaves your hands:

• Before posting. Once something is online, anyone can download it. A record made before you post is dated before the piece went public.
• Before a competition. Seal your entry and its process files before you submit.
• Before sending to a client. Seal concepts and revision rounds before they go out. See protecting your design before sending it to a client.
• Before sharing a pattern with testers. Sewing, knitting and crochet designers can see how to protect your patterns.
• At milestones. For long projects, seal a set at each major stage.

What the certificate shows, and what it doesn’t

Your Proof of Time Certificate is a PDF with the Bitcoin transaction ID and a QR code. It can help you show:

• that these exact files existed no later than the time recorded on the Bitcoin blockchain
• that a file shown later still matches its fingerprint

You choose who can check it: anyone with the QR code, or only email addresses you pick. They need the file itself to check it, and checking is free.

If someone copies your work, or an AI tool imitates your style

A timestamp can’t stop copying. It’s a record you can point to afterwards, alongside your process files.

It also helps to know what copyright covers. In Australia, the Attorney-General’s Department says:

“Copyright protection is free and automatic in Australia.”

and:

“Copyright does not protect ideas or information, only the original expression of ideas or information.”

On style specifically, the U.S. Copyright Office’s 2024 report on digital replicas says:

“Copyright law’s application in this area is limited, as it does not protect artistic style as a separate element of a work.”

The same report adds:

“The Copyright Act may, however, provide a remedy where the output of an “in the style of” request ends up replicating not just the artist’s style but protectible elements of a particular work.”

That report is about US law. In short, a style on its own is generally not protected, but copying an actual work can be a different matter. If a copy of a specific piece turns up, your dated files help show when your version existed. For what to do next, speak to a lawyer where you live.

If someone accuses you of using AI, your process files matter most. A timestamp records when files existed. It can’t tell anyone how they were made. See falsely accused of using AI art, and for photographers, showing a photo isn’t AI-generated.

Keep your process files

The habit that matters most costs nothing:

• Don’t flatten or delete layers when you finish.
• Keep earlier saves under new names rather than overwriting them.
• Export time-lapses and keep them.
• Back up the originals somewhere safe, unedited.
• Work from copies when you resize or export for posting.

A timestamp is checked against the exact original file. If the original is lost or re-saved, the certificate can’t be matched.

When TimeBinder isn’t the right tool

• You want to stop copying or take copies down. A timestamp can’t do that.
• You need a registered right, such as a registered design or trade mark.
• You need a record that shows who made the work. Keep process files, dated messages and witnesses for that.
• You’ll only use Pooled TimeBinds but need a record that can be checked without TimeBinder. Use ASAP.

What it costs

There are two ways to anchor a TimeBind:

• Pooled (1 Token). Your fingerprint is grouped with other users’ in one shared Bitcoin entry, usually recorded within 24 to 48 hours, and often sooner, depending on Bitcoin network activity. It’s checked through TimeBinder. The Free plan’s monthly Token covers one Pooled TimeBind.
• ASAP (3 Tokens). It gets its own Bitcoin transaction, sent straight away. It can be checked independently with the certificate and the Bitcoin blockchain, without relying on TimeBinder.

From the pricing page, in US dollars:

• Free: $0. The Free plan includes 1 Token every month (1 Pooled TimeBind). No credit card required. The Free plan’s monthly Token doesn’t roll over. A paid plan replaces the Free plan’s monthly Token.
• Extra Tokens, no plan needed: 1 for $5, 3 for $15 or 9 for $40. They never expire.
• Essential: $20 a month for 5 Tokens, replacing the Free plan’s monthly Token. Unused Tokens roll over every month.
• Expert: $50 a month for 15 Tokens, for heavier use.

For musicians and creatives, the pricing page says: “Buying Tokens on the Free plan costs the same or less, so Essential is about convenience, not a lower price.”

Plan details were checked against timebinder.io/pricing on 30 October 2026.

Start your routine free. Make it a habit before your next post: start with a free Pooled TimeBind: the Free plan includes 1 Token a month, and no credit card is required. See plans and start free