WIPO PROOF (Discontinued)
WIPO PROOF provided a date- and time-stamped digital fingerprint of any file, proving its existence at specific point in time.
The WIPO PROOF service was launched as a program by WIPO in 2020. Following a review of the program as part of WIPO's planning and budget exercise, it was decided to discontinue the WIPO PROOF service. The token generation service was therefore terminated on January 31, 2022. Existing account holders can continue accessing their dashboard, verifying their tokens and generating premium certificates. All of these services are now provided free of charge.
As per the service specifications, the tokens are stored by WIPO for 5 years from the date of their creation. There wil be no option to renew or extend this period, so we suggest to download the token and store it with the original file at the earliest convenience.
All WIPO PROOF tokens remain indefinitely valid. The WIPO PROOF verification system remains available and it is always possible to verify the tokens using independent platforms or using readily available open source utilities.
Find out more
- Token verification
- Premium certificate
- FAQs
- How it works schematics
- Timestamping Policy and Practice Statement
Verification
When it is necessary to prove that a digital asset, for which a token was generated, existed at a certain date, this can be achieved through the WIPO PROOF verification service.
To validate a token, it is necessary to be in possession of the unaltered original file for which the token was created, and the corresponding WIPO PROOF token.
The verification process compares the unique hash of the original file, with the hash contained in the WIPO PROOF token. If they match, the system provides an on-screen confirmation of the date when token was generated, demonstrating the file existed at that time.
The verification service is public, and can be performed by the owner of the original file or by any third party without logging in the system, free of charge.
Premium certificate
A premium certificate is a document, delivered in .pdf format, that can be downloaded and printed. It contains all the information recorded in a token, and displays the name of the original file owner, the name of the file, the hash, the date the token was created and eventually the legal representative or employee who processed it.
Once generated, the premium certificate can be downloaded in 10 different languages simply by changing the language from the menu - allowing its use in a large majority of jurisdictions.
After the termination of the token generation service on January 31, 2022, the premium certificate service is provided free of charge.
WIPO PROOF Certifications
WIPO PROOF was designed to conform to one of the most comprehensive standards for electronic trust services available: eIDAS. eIDAS is the European Union's regulation that sets out the rules for electronic identification and trusted services, including details of the required technical standards based-on the ETSI standards. WIPO PROOF's compliance with these standards is certified by an independent and eIDAS accredited Conformity Assessment Body (CAB). Additionally, the WIPO PROOF service is also certified to the ISO/IEC 27001 standard for Information Security Management.
The ISO and eIDAS certifications:
- Certification ISO/IEC 27001:2013
- Certification eIDAS Trust Services for Advanced Electronic Time Stamps
The public key certificates and the certificate revocation lists:
Frequently asked questions
From January 31, 2022, the token generation service is no longer available. All other WIPO PROOF services remain active and offered free of charge, including the tokens' storage, their verification and the generation of premium certificates.
As the token generation service was terminated on January 31, 2022, pre-paid bundles can no longer be used.
After January 31, 2022, any unused balance of pre-paid bundles gives right to a reimbursement. To ask for the reimbursement it is necessary to submit a request via the online form.
No, the tokens can be used to demonstrate that a digital file existed at a given point in time and can be verified at any time after the discontinuation of the service. The WIPO PROOF verification system remains available, and it is always possible to verifiy the tokens using independent platforms or using readily available open source utilities, so to ensure their verification in the long term.
Yes. The token storage and verification and the premium certificate services are maintained and offered free of charge. Note that tokens can always be verified using independent platforms or using readily available open source utilities, and so tokens can be validated in the long term.
Read the full list of WIPO PROOF FAQs.