How to prove copyright ownership without registration

Disclosure: I’m Inna Hall, co-founder of TimeBinder^®, the file timestamping tool this guide mentions. This page is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your situation, speak to a lawyer in your country.

How to prove copyright ownership without registration: the short answer

Collect records that show two things, and keep the originals unedited:

1. That you made it. Working files, drafts, sketches, versions, notes and messages with people you worked with.
2. When you had it. Dates that someone else can check: publication, emails sent to other people, platform upload records, and timestamps.

No single record does both jobs perfectly. A pile of ordinary, consistent records usually tells a clearer story than one dramatic document.

Why most countries have no copyright register

• Australia. The Attorney-General’s Department says “Copyright protection is free and automatic in Australia.” Business.gov.au says “You don’t need to register for copyright in Australia.” A © notice isn’t required, but the Department calls it “sound practice”.
• United Kingdom. GOV.UK says “You get copyright protection automatically – you do not have to apply or pay a fee” and “There is not a register of copyright works in the UK.”
• United States. Copyright is also automatic, but registration exists and matters. The US Copyright Office says “You will have to register, however, if you wish to bring a lawsuit for infringement of a U.S. work.”

For country detail, see our guides to copyright registration in Australia, UK copyright registration and US copyright registration.

The two things you need to show

That you made it. This is about process. Someone who made a work usually has the messy middle: rough drafts, abandoned versions, layered files, raw recordings, reference notes. Someone who copied it usually has only the finished thing. Keep that middle.

When you had it. This is about dates that hold up. File dates on your own computer are a weak clue, because they can change when you copy, download or edit a file. Dates held by someone else, like a sent email, a publication date or a timestamp, are easier to rely on.

Evidence that helps, from strongest to weakest

The order below is rough, and it depends on your case. US registration is listed last because it only applies in the US.

Evidence	Shows who made it?	Shows when?	Can others check it?	Weakness
Layered working files, stems, raw files	Helps, as part of the story	Only with other dates	Only if you share them	File dates alone are easy to question
Draft history (many dated versions)	Helps, shows how the work developed	Partly	Partly	Needs the original files kept unchanged
Emails or messages with collaborators	Can help	Yes, held by others too	Yes, if they keep copies	Shows what was sent, not who made it
Publication or upload records	Not on its own	Yes	Usually	Only covers what you published
Wayback Machine capture	No	Yes, for a public page	Yes	Only public web pages, and only if captured
A TimeBind (ASAP)	No	Yes: the file existed no later than the recorded time	Yes, from the certificate and the Bitcoin blockchain	Doesn’t show who made the file
Posting it to yourself	No	Weak	Hard	The US Copyright Office says “it is not a substitute for registration”
US registration	Creates a public record of your claim	Yes	Yes	US only, costs a fee, and doesn’t decide a dispute

Where another option is better, use it. For a public web page, a Wayback Machine capture is free and easy for anyone to check. For a US work you may want to sue over, registration does things a timestamp can’t. Read more in copyright registration vs a timestamp and the poor man’s copyright alternative.

What to keep while you work

• Save versions, not just the latest file. Name them with dates, for example “cover-art-v3-2026-11-02.psd”.
• Keep originals unedited. Change one byte and a file’s fingerprint changes. Work on copies.
• Keep the context. Briefs, reference notes, messages with collaborators and invoices.
• Record the moments that matter. Before you send work to a client, publisher, contest or platform, keep the exact file you sent.

If you write, TimeBinder’s free Draft Streak tool is one way to keep that habit. It’s a daily draft log for writers: you drop in the day’s manuscript, and your browser counts the words and makes a SHA-256 fingerprint of the file, without uploading it. The log is saved in your browser only. Its dates come from your device’s clock, so on its own the log isn’t a timestamp; the page says to TimeBind the same file for a recorded time that others can check.

What a timestamp adds and what it doesn’t

A TimeBind records a file’s SHA-256 fingerprint on the Bitcoin blockchain. Your files are fingerprinted in your browser and never uploaded, and one TimeBind can cover up to 10 files. Later, anyone you share the certificate with can check that a file still matches its fingerprint. For more, see how a TimeBind works and how to show a file existed before a date.

There are two ways to 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 verified through TimeBinder.
• ASAP (3 Tokens): It gets its own Bitcoin transaction, sent straight away, and can be verified independently from the certificate and the Bitcoin blockchain.

The Pooled vs ASAP explainer covers the difference.

What a TimeBind does NOT do

• It doesn’t show who made the file, or who owns the copyright.
• It doesn’t show the contents are true or original.
• It doesn’t show whether AI was used.
• It can’t say how a court or anyone else will treat it.
• It doesn’t register copyright anywhere.

If someone has already copied your work

1. Don’t edit your originals. Copy them somewhere safe and work from the copies.
2. Record what you found. Save the page, the date you saw it and the address.
3. Gather your records in date order: drafts, files, emails, publication records, certificates.
4. Use the platform’s own reporting process if the copy is on a site or store.
5. Talk to a lawyer before sending demands, especially if money is involved. In the US, ask whether registration is needed first.

A timestamp made today can’t date work from the past. If you didn’t keep records, gather what exists elsewhere: sent emails, cloud backups, platform upload histories. To put that evidence together, see how to show someone copied your work.

When TimeBinder isn’t the right tool

• You need to show who made the work. No timestamp does that. Your working files and witnesses do more.
• You want to sue over a US work. Ask a lawyer about US Copyright Office registration.
• The work is a public web page. A free Wayback Machine capture may be all you need.
• The copying has already happened and you kept nothing. A timestamp made now can’t help with the past.

TimeBinder pricing

• 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, and a paid plan replaces the Free plan’s Token.
• Essential: $20 a month for 5 Tokens (5 Pooled, or 1 ASAP + 2 Pooled).
• Expert: $50 a month for 15 Tokens (15 Pooled, 5 ASAP, or a mix).
• Business: $149 a month for 60 Tokens. Business Plus: $299 a month for 150 Tokens.

Prices are in US dollars. Enterprise plans have custom Token limits and dedicated support. Service terms for every plan are set out in the TimeBinder Terms and Conditions. To match a plan to how often you finish work, see which plan do I need.

TimeBind your files

TimeBind the work you’re finishing now with a Pooled TimeBind. The Free plan includes 1 Token every month, and no credit card is required.

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