0 items
How?
Write what you remember in your own words. The saved time uses your device’s clock.
How to keep notes that hold upWrite it down
By making a receipt you agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy. The Bitcoin record is permanent.
Online
Keep a private dated copy of an existing idea note before a later discussion, with clear limits on what the date establishes.
Keep a private dated copy of an existing idea note before a later discussion, with clear limits on what the date establishes. Keep your original source records together, then date the exact files. It does not prove identity, authorship, truth, location, sending, receipt, consent, approval, completeness, rights or the outcome.
Your photos and files stay on your device, so keep them.
EXAMPLE
"I had it first" idea
1 Nov 2026
Authority time: 14:02 UTC · example
Bitcoin block time: 14:10 UTC · example
Last checked: 15:02 UTC · example
Bitcoin block time: 14:10 UTC · example
Last checked: 15:02 UTC · example
✓ Dated◆ Permanent
Now keep it safe: three things
- Keep your photos and files unedited. The receipt only matches the originals. Put them in an album such as “My records”.
- Save this receipt to your camera roll.
Keep the receipt file too. The image is a handy copy; checking needs the file.
- Email it to yourself.Email it to myself
Your mail app opens a draft. Attach your receipt image and receipt file. Don’t attach your photos or documents. Timevolt does not send it or know whether it was sent.
Your record, one step at a time.
Your photos and files stay on your device, so keep them.
Local preview: files are fingerprinted here. Notes and progress stay in this browser. Keep downloaded copies; browser storage is not a backup.
0 items
How?
Add the exact original files for this part of the record. Keep them unchanged; a different export or edit has a different fingerprint.
Add link and screenshots
The link is recorded, not fetched or verified.
By making a receipt you agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy. The Bitcoin record is permanent.
How to keep notes that hold up
Write notes as soon as you can. Keep the original account rather than replacing it later; the venue decides what weight it gets.
- Write it down straight away, on paper or in the box on a step.
- Put the date, time and place at the top, and who you spoke to.
- Use their words where you can; separate what you saw from what you were told.
- Sign or initial a paper note, photograph it and add the photo.
- Never edit an old note. Add a new dated entry when something changes. A device save time is not independent time evidence or proof of event order.
"I had it first" idea
"I had it first" idea
01 · Keep the exact files
Keep the original files for "i had it first" idea. Include any existing photos, signed records and source-system exports.
Records to keep: Notes · Sketch
"I had it first" idea
02 · Date the file’s code
Your device fingerprints the selected file or manifest. Dated follows an independent timestamp; Permanent follows Bitcoin anchoring.
An independent time, tied to the exact bytes.
"I had it first" idea
03 · Keep the evidence
Keep the original files and complete receipt separately, alongside any existing venue, signature and workflow records.
Keep the originals too. A changed or compressed copy has a different fingerprint.
Try a file. It stays here.
Make a test receipt on this device.
By making a receipt you agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy. The Bitcoin record is permanent.
or drop a file here
Real cases: why dated versions matter.
Real cases where dated records mattered. We don’t claim a time receipt would have changed the result.
US California · 1956
Submission terms matter beyond an earlier idea
A writer said a producer accepted and used a story outline offered on terms of payment. The court reopened the first claim for more work. Two other claims and a separate appeal stayed closed; no payment was awarded.
Summarized on Oct 29, 2026
Read the source ›US federal New York law · 2000
Keep dated evidence of independent development
A toy firm said it came up with an idea itself, but its video and other proof left gaps. The court reopened the submitter's claims for more work. The firm's claims against the submitter stayed rejected; no payment or ownership was awarded.
Summarized on Oct 29, 2026
Read the source ›Related cases
What courts, schemes and regulators say.
Positions below refer to the cited rule or record type, not endorsement of Timevolt. This service is not represented as an eIDAS qualified timestamp provider. A non-qualified timestamp does not receive the qualified timestamp presumption.
US Copyright Office
Copyright separates expression from ideas.
Circular 31 excludes ideas, methods and systems even when described in a work; qualifying original expression is a separate question.
Source summary as of 2026-10-29. Check the current source and applicable local rules.
Read the sourceUS Copyright Office
Fixation and government registration are separate from a private date record.
FAQ describes protection when a qualifying original work is fixed and explains that mailing oneself is no substitute for registration. A time receipt is not registration.
Source summary as of 2026-10-29. Check the current source and applicable local rules.
Read the sourceOther ways to do this
Prices change. Check each provider’s site for current prices and service details.
Related workflows.
Proves / Doesn’t prove
Proves
A completed time receipt shows that the exact selected file existed by the independently witnessed time. You can check whether a later copy has the same bytes. It does not establish creation time, authorship, identity, event order, location or the truth of the contents.
Doesn’t prove
It does not prove identity, authorship, truth, location, sending, receipt, consent, approval, completeness, rights or the outcome.
It does not prove identity, authorship, truth, location, sending, receipt, consent, approval, completeness, rights or the outcome.
These are the bounds of a completed proof. The local tester does not establish any time. The chosen court, scheme or regulator decides what to accept.
Questions, answered plainly.
Your file stays on your device. During normal receipt creation, your device sends a randomized code made from its fingerprint, plus encrypted recovery data. It doesn't send the plain fingerprint or the random value that opens the code. Keep the original file and the complete receipt for checking. Privacy Policy.
Does a time receipt give me ownership of an idea?
No. The Copyright Office says ideas and methods are not protected by copyright; a dated file does not change that distinction.
Source summary as of October 30, 2026. Check the current source and its scope.
Context for this answerCan a written description be protected separately?
The office distinguishes qualifying original expression from the underlying idea. A receipt does not decide whether those requirements are met.
Source summary as of October 30, 2026. Check the current source and its scope.
Context for this answerIs mailing a copy to myself registration?
The Copyright Office says there is no such substitute for registration in US copyright law. A private time receipt also is not government registration.
Source summary as of October 30, 2026. Check the current source and its scope.
Context for this answerDid a dated pitch automatically win these cases?
No. The 2011 appeal allowed alleged contract and confidence claims to continue; payment and use were not decided.
Source summary as of October 30, 2026. Check the current source and its scope.
Context for this answerWhat else mattered in the toy case?
The court considered the recipient's prior knowledge, disclosure circumstances and development evidence. Its decision left the designer's claims for further proceedings.
Source summary as of October 30, 2026. Check the current source and its scope.
Context for this answerThe file tester runs on your device. It does not issue a timestamp or take a payment.
Keep the records you already have.
Keep your original files and any existing official records while the receipt service is being prepared.