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Difference between a Deposit and an Express Timestamp

1 min read

3 Copyright offers are offered on the service. Deposits offers (Standard or Premium) meet the needs of the majority of professional customers. They benefit from a wide range of integrated services such as saving files up to 5 GB, signing a systematic NDA, legal cover in the event of a dispute, the bailiff’s report, or even the possibility of depositing additional files over time even after the initial deposit.

For certain more simple and isolated needs, Express Timestamp is an adapted offer. The file to prove is not uploaded to the platform. Whatever its size, its unique fingerprint is calculated by the client’s computer via our platform and only this fingerprint is transmitted to be integrated into the time-stamping certificate. This simple process is the one used in the world for computer proof and is based on a robust and reliable hashing algorithm (SHA256).

The advantages of this type of copyright are:

  • Price. Ideal for a creation whose stakes are lower, but for which it is still important to pre-constitute proof of anteriority.
  • Confidentiality. The file does not leave the client’s computer at any time.
  • The size. Since the file is not downloaded by the platform, it doesn’t matter how big it is. On the other hand, beyond 1 GB, the larger it will be, the longer the calculation of the footprint will be because it is based on the capacity of the customer’s computer.

The points of vigilance:

  • No file backup. This means that if the initial file used for the timestamp is destroyed, lost, or modified by a single byte, the timestamp certificate no longer has any use. We strongly advise against using express timestamping if you are not sure that you can keep the file concerned under conditions that guarantee its integrity and durability over time.
  • No access to the additional deposit system. In the event of a new file to be added concerning the same initial creation, the additional deposit system is not accessible for this type of offer.

The Express Timestamp copyright offer is therefore perfectly suited for many use cases, and benefits a public traceability ensured by the blockchain in the Copyright.info register like all our offers. Similarly, the timestamp certificate is archived in our legal electronic archiving system under the same conditions as all prior certificates issued during standard or premium deposits.

When the stakes are high, the Standard or Premium Deposit offers provide more security and also allow more credibility towards economic partners and deterrence against competitors or potential counterfeiters. Finally, if new files are to be deposited later on the same creation, the system of additional deposits makes it possible to add them over time, which will not be possible with an Express Timestamp which is therefore more suitable for proof of an isolated file without continuity of creation.