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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.
how to copyright lyrics
Your lyrics, dated before you send them.
How to copyright lyrics — Your lyrics, dated before you send them. Copyright and registration do different jobs. Keep your lyric drafts alongside both.
The short answer
Copyright starts when an original work is created and fixed. For US works, registration is generally required before suing for infringement. Mailing yourself a copy is not a substitute for registration.
A time receipt adds a dated draft trail alongside registration. It does not establish authorship, copying or ownership.
US Copyright Office guidanceYour photos and files stay on your device, so keep them.
EXAMPLE
Lyrics
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.
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How?
Record the date, time, place and who you spoke to. New notes are saved separately rather than editing an old note.
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.
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.
Lyrics
Lyrics
01 · Keep the exact files
Export your lyrics from the notes app. Keep demo audio, a chord sheet and the version label alongside them.
Records to keep: Lyrics
Lyrics
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.
Lyrics
03 · Keep the evidence
Receipt each meaningful draft before sharing with a co-writer or producer. Keep the original exports and your sending record.
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 · 2013
Shared themes do not prove song copying
A writer said a hit song copied an older song. The court kept the case closed because shared themes were not something the writer could own.
Summarized on Oct 29, 2026
Read the decision ›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 exists on creation; registration needed before suing for infringement of a US work; mailing a copy to yourself is not a substitute for registration
A time receipt does not replace registration. Silent on timestamps specifically.
Source summary as of 2026-10-28. Check the current source and applicable local rules.
Read the sourceIMRO
Suggests posting a sealed copy to yourself by registered post, keeping it unopened with the postmark visible, to help establish the creation date in a dispute
Society FAQ guidance, not a legal rule; no mention of digital timestamps.
Source summary as of 2026-10-28. 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
That you wrote them, that they are original, that nobody else wrote something similar, or that someone had access to them; it is not a copyright registration.
A date does not show access, similarity, ownership or who wrote the words. Registration is a separate process.
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.
Do I need this to own my lyrics?
No. In most countries you own copyright as soon as you write the lyrics down or record them. A time receipt is dated evidence, not ownership.
Source summary as of October 30, 2026. Check the current source and its scope.
Context for this answerIs this a copyright registration?
No. In the US you generally must register before you can sue for infringement. A time receipt does not replace that.
Source summary as of October 30, 2026. Check the current source and its scope.
Context for this answerWhy not just mail the lyrics to myself?
The US Copyright Office says it is not a substitute for registration, and a postmark shows when the envelope was handled, not clearly what was in it. A time receipt ties a date to the exact file contents.
Source summary as of October 30, 2026. Check the current source and its scope.
Context for this answerDo you see or keep my lyrics?
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.
What do 'Dated' and 'Permanent' mean?
Dated requires independently validated timestamp evidence. Permanent requires verified Bitcoin anchoring evidence with the required confirmations. The local tester issues neither status.
If I change one word, does the receipt still match?
No. Any change makes a different fingerprint. Get a new receipt for each draft; together they show how the song developed.
Will a court accept it?
Courts and other bodies decide what evidence they accept. It is one dated record to put alongside drafts, recordings and a registration.
Does it prove someone copied me?
No. Lyric disputes usually turn on whether the other side had access and whether the works are substantially similar. A receipt only shows when your file existed.
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.