Registered post or a sealed envelope vs a timestamp for drawings

Registered post or sealed envelope vs a timestamp at a glance

What registered post provides

Australia Post says Registered Post includes a unique identification number, tracking, signature on delivery and proof of posting when lodged over the counter at a Post Office. It adds a delivery confirmation card signed by the recipient as an optional extra (Australia Post: Registered Post). Its terms say it will use reasonable endeavours to obtain a signature and has no obligation to verify the identity of the person signing, and that scan data can be deemed to meet a signature request in some delivery cases such as parcel lockers (Schedule 30: Signature on Delivery services). Other countries’ postal services have their own services and terms, so read the one you use.

That is useful when a tender requires a hard copy to be delivered and signed for, or when you need to show a physical package reached a person.

What a sealed copy to yourself does and doesn’t do

The U.S. Copyright Office says the practice of sending a copy of your own work to yourself "is sometimes called a ’poor man’s copyright’", that "there is no provision in the copyright law regarding any such type of protection, and it is not a substitute for registration" (U.S. Copyright Office FAQ). The Copyright Alliance says the postmark could have some value as evidence that a work existed on a certain date, while the ABA’s Landslide says it may show the work was in your possession on the date mailed and in no way proves you are the author (Copyright Alliance, ABA). See also our page on poor man’s copyright.

For design files, the practical weaknesses are these:

• An unopened envelope is only as good as how it was stored. Whoever relies on it may have to show nobody opened it.
• A Revit model, an IFC file or a DWG set on a disc has to be read back later, and discs and drives fail or become unreadable.
• The envelope shows when it was posted. It doesn’t show what version of a file was on the disc unless the contents are intact and examined.

What a timestamp adds

• An exact-file record. If a file is edited at all, its fingerprint changes, so a changed file no longer matches. A TimeBind therefore helps show which version existed when.
• No physical storage. The certificate and the original files are all you keep.
• Speed and low cost. Your first Pooled TimeBind is free. ASAP is US$15.
• Easy re-checking. Checking a TimeBind is free.

Using both

When a tender needs a hard copy by post, send it by a tracked, signed-for service and keep the receipt. Before you send it, make a TimeBind of the digital files the hard copy was printed from. Keep the certificate and the receipt together. See tender portal receipts vs a timestamp for the online equivalent.

When a timestamp isn’t the right tool

• A person must sign for the delivery. Use registered post or a courier with signature.
• You need copyright registration. A timestamp is not registration. See copyright registration vs a timestamp.
• You need a witnessed copy. See blockchain timestamp vs notary.

Why a digital drawing set needs a digital record

Registered post proves that an envelope was sent on a date, not what the file contained, and a posted copy is easy to dispute. A TimeBind records the fingerprint of the exact digital drawing set, so you can show later that the file you hold existed by the recorded time and still matches. It adds a layer of protection for digital work; it does not show who drew it.

General information, not legal advice. A TimeBind shows that this exact file existed no later than the recorded time and still matches its fingerprint. It does not show authorship, ownership, copyright status or how any court, tribunal, client or insurer will treat it.