CertTime is an online service that attaches the date and time information to electronic documents such as images or text files.

This effectively creates a proof that a certain piece of data existed in its exact form at the exact time recorded in the timestamp.

Project status

The project is now dead. I shut it down in late 2010 as it failed to generate any response from the community it was designed for. It was a very good design exercise though, so it was not all in vain.

As of March 2010 the project is in a private beta. If you would like an invitation, send me an email or ping me you know where.

CertTime website
An example of a timestamp

Background

The project came to life as a result of numerous discussions over at LogoPond forums highlighting the need for a simple and reliable way of establishing and asserting the copyright of creative works published online.

While time stamping alone does not completely solve the problem of creative work theft, it is nonetheless a very valuable tool for resolving "whose version came first" kind of disputes.

How it works

CertTime operates by compressing original documents into an archive and then sealing it with a timestamp. The stamp is added in a way that guarantees that it cannot be forged, back-dated or tampered with.

Stamped documents can be downloaded, copied and shared. Their timestamps can be inspected and validated at will, independently from the CertTime service.

Additional technical details

Dec 2009
Updated: Nov 2010