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.
poor mans copyright
Keep dated drafts alongside registration.
Poor man’s copyright — Keep dated drafts alongside registration. Mailing yourself a copy does not substitute for registration. Keep dated files alongside the official record.
Copyright and registration are separate.
Copyright begins when an original song is created and fixed. Mailing yourself a copy is not a substitute for registration. Registration is generally required before suing over a US work; a time receipt supplies a dated file record alongside it.
US Copyright Office guidanceYour photos and files stay on your device, so keep them.
EXAMPLE
Poor man's copyright replacement
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.
Poor man's copyright replacement
Poor man's copyright replacement
01 · Keep the exact files
Mailing yourself a copy does not substitute for registration. Keep dated files alongside the official record.
Records to keep: Files
Poor man's copyright replacement
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.
Poor man's copyright replacement
03 · Keep the evidence
Keep the exact drafts and any registration records. A new mix or export needs its own fingerprint.
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 the saved copy matters.
Real cases where dated records mattered. We don’t claim a time receipt would have changed the result.
US federal, 7th Circuit · 1984
Sending a song does not prove access
A writer sent a song to firms and later claimed it was copied. No proof showed that the other artists heard it, and their account of their own work went unchallenged. The court set aside the writer's jury win, and the appeal court kept that result.
The supplied verification confirmed the case through an index but could not display the full opinion body.
Summarized on Oct 29, 2026
Read the decision ›US federal, 9th Circuit · 2020
Check which song copy was filed
A song owner relied on a recording with more parts than the sheet music filed for copyright. Under the older law in this case, the filed sheet defined the work. The appeal court kept the verdict for the other side.
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 Office FAQ on mailing a copy to yourself
Says there is no provision in copyright law for the practice and it is not a substitute for registration; copyright exists on fixation, registration is the official record.
Source summary as of 2026-10-28. Check the current source and applicable local rules.
Read the sourceFederal courts
17 USC 410(c) prima facie weight of a registration certificate
A certificate made before or within five years after first publication is prima facie evidence of validity; a private dated record has no such statutory weight.
Source summary as of 2026-10-28. Check the current source and applicable local rules.
Read the sourceFederal courts
17 USC 412 statutory damages and fees
For infringement that begins before registration, statutory damages and attorney's fees are generally unavailable (three-month grace after first publication), so timing of registration matters.
Source summary as of 2026-10-28. Check the current source and applicable local rules.
Read the sourceFederal courts
The U.S. Supreme Court registration-before-suit decision (2019) addresses when an infringement action on a US work can begin. A time receipt does not replace copyright registration.
A registration must be issued or refused before an infringement suit can start; a time receipt cannot stand in for it.
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
It does not prove you wrote or own the work, that no one else made it first, or that a court will accept it, and it does not replace copyright registration.
A private timestamp does not establish ownership, priority over everyone else or the statutory effects of registration.
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 mailing myself a copy of my song protect it?
No. The US Copyright Office says the law has no provision for it and it is not a substitute for registration. Copyright exists once the work is fixed; the envelope is only weak evidence of a date.
Source summary as of October 30, 2026. Check the current source and its scope.
Context for this answerWhen does copyright in a song begin?
The moment it is created and fixed in a tangible form, such as a recording or written score. Registration is not needed for that.
Source summary as of October 30, 2026. Check the current source and its scope.
Context for this answerIs a time receipt a copyright registration?
No. It shows these exact files existed by a date. Registration is a separate government record and is needed before you can sue in US federal court.
Source summary as of October 30, 2026. Check the current source and its scope.
Context for this answerWhy register if I already have a dated record?
Registration affects what you can recover and how your claim is weighed: statutory damages and fees are generally unavailable for infringement that starts before registration, and a timely certificate is prima facie evidence of validity.
Source summary as of October 30, 2026. Check the current source and its scope.
Context for this answerDo I upload my unreleased song to get a receipt?
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 if I export a new mix or change one note?
A changed file has a different fingerprint, so it needs its own receipt. Date each demo, mix and stem you want to be able to show.
Will a court accept the receipt?
Courts decide what evidence they accept and how much it weighs. The receipt is a dated record of the files, not proof of authorship.
The 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.