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Proof of Creation |
Home > Benefits > Proof of Creation |
Proof of Creation
Proof of Creation is a way for creators to prove (or show that at a given time they already had the concept at their hands) they made something (like a design, artwork, or idea) at a specific time. It involves making a document that includes details about the work, like its title, description, and pictures. The creator signs it, and send to A' Design Awards to keep a copy for safekeeping, during this procedure it is send via a special envelope which is timestamped by yet another third-party institution. It is like getting a receipt for your creative work—it doesn’t make you the legal owner (like a patent or copyright would), but it helps show you were there first (or at a given time) if there’s ever a question whether you or someone else did the design first; this can help you show that you had the design at a given time. Proof of Creation doesn't make you the legal owner in the way a patent or copyright does. However, it helps establish that you had the design (or creative work) at a specific point in time. If there's ever a question or dispute about who created the design first, this document can support your claim by showing that you had the design on a certain date. It’s essentially a time-stamped record to back up your story. While not legally binding, it acts as supportive evidence in cases of theft or disputes, helping to show that you had the design at a specific time. Using Proof of Creation encourages you to document your work properly, think about intellectual property early, and take proactive steps to protect your creative efforts. Knowing your design is documented gives you peace of mind, allowing you to share your ideas more freely without constantly worrying about theft or disputes. In essence, while Proof of Creation’s primary role is to act as a time-stamped record, these secondary benefits make it a valuable tool for protecting, presenting, and building trust around your creative work. Important to remembe and note that the Proof of Creation service is provided as is, where is and as available basis without any guarantees to performance or fitness, and we recommend applying for registered copyrights or patents, always. To repeat; while Proof of Creation may potentially be useful regarding disputes over timing or precedence, we are providing this service without any warranties or guarantees, with full indemnity, and we always recommend you applying for patents and registered copyright protections when possible. While we say the service is "free" please note that it does require postal fees for document submission, and also it requires you to spend time to do it; nothing in this world which requires any movement or information processing is free, and that includes you reading this text, that being said, we do not charge for the service; you will pay postal stamp because the post office needs to stamp it so that we have a government timestamp there.
A' Design Award's Proof of Creation service provides participants with a preformatted template that includes design details and enables creators to deposit their Proof of Creation documents with our organization. The process incorporates witness signatures, official postal time-stamping, and third-party archival, enhancing its credibility. However, A’ Design Award explicitly states that its Proof of Creation service is not a substitute for legal IP protections, but rather a supplementary tool to support claims of authorship and originality. Proof of Creation serves as an important mechanism for creators to establish evidence of their authorship and protect their intellectual property. While it cannot replace formal legal protections, its accessibility and effectiveness in documenting creative works make it a valuable resource for individuals and organizations in the creative industries.
Accessibility for All Designers
The Proof of Creation service offered by A' Design Award is an accessible and straightforward way for designers to document their creations. Unlike complex and costly legal registrations, the Proof of Creation document provides a user-friendly, template-based system available free of charge to all competition participants—winners, runners-up, and non-winners alike. While the Proof of Creation document is not a substitute for formal patent or registered copyright protection, it serves as an affordable and practical starting point for creators to establish evidence of their work’s origin. By associating with the prestigious A' Design Award, designers also gain credibility and recognition for their creative endeavors.
Credibility Through Third-Party Verification
The Proof of Creation service gains its strength from a multi-layered verification process, including postal timestamps, witness signatures, and archival by A' Design Award, a globally recognized authority in design excellence. This creates a reliable and trusted document that can help substantiate the originality of a designer’s work. However, it is important to note that the Proof of Creation document is not equivalent to a legal patent or registered copyright, and designers are encouraged to pursue those avenues for comprehensive protection. By depositing the Proof of Creation document with A' Design Award, creators benefit from enhanced credibility, backed by a respected third-party institution.
Peace of Mind Through Archival Safeguards
The Proof of Creation service offers designers peace of mind by securely archiving their documents for up to five years. This professional archival, combined with the use of official time-stamping and witness verification, creates a verifiable timeline of creation that can serve as supporting evidence in potential disputes. While the Proof of Creation document does not provide exclusive rights or replace the legal protections afforded by registered patents or copyrights, it gives designers an added layer of security when sharing their work. A' Design Award ensures that every step of the process aligns with best practices, offering designers confidence in their intellectual property’s protection.
Practical Legal Support for Dispute Resolution
While the Proof of Creation document is not a substitute for registered copyrights or patents, it provides crucial supporting evidence in situations where the paternity of a design is challenged. By combining time-stamping, witness signatures, and third-party verification by A' Design Award, this document can strengthen claims of ownership and priority. It is particularly valuable in disputes over unauthorized use, cease-and-desist orders, or challenges to originality. Designers should remain aware, however, that the Proof of Creation document does not grant exclusive rights and should be used as a complementary tool alongside formal intellectual property registrations.
Empowerment
Through Knowledge and Guidance
Beyond providing documentation, the Proof of Creation service educates designers on safeguarding their creative rights. By following the detailed guidelines provided by A' Design Award—such as using archival-grade materials, registered mail, and securing witness signatures—participants learn best practices for protecting their intellectual property. While the Proof of Creation document itself does not replace the legal protections of a patent or registered copyright, it equips designers with the knowledge to take proactive steps in their creative journey. By aligning with A' Design Award, designers not only document their work but also benefit from a framework that underscores the importance of formal IP protections for commercially viable designs.
The Proof of Creation service is more than just a documentation tool—it is a mark of prestige associated with the globally renowned A' Design Award. By participating in this service, designers align their work with one of the most respected names in design excellence, enhancing the perceived legitimacy of their creations. While the Proof of Creation document does not provide the exclusive rights associated with patents or registered copyrights, its association with A' Design Award strengthens its credibility, instilling trust among clients, collaborators, and industry peers.
What is Proof of Creation?
"Proof of Creation" is a service that A’Design Award and Competitions offers to the designers that participate to the competition. “Proof of creation” is a paper document that explains your design (title, description and images), and duly signed by the designer and two witnesses, that you deposit at a third-party (A' Design Award) to help you prove that you are the creator of a design (with design we mean “a unique design with artistic value”). It serves as evidence that you created a design at a particular date. Please note that "Proof of Creation documents is not a Patent or Design registration certificate and does not grant any exclusive rights on your design.
The “Proof of Creation” could be useful to protect yourself as the creator of a design from eventual disputes over paternity of your creation, and it serves as a basis to prove that you are the creator of a design at a given time. An Example situation where “Proof of Creation” can be useful: You have created a new design, and shared it with some of your trusted friends. One of your trusted friends, shares it with a trusted company. The Company starts reproducing your work or realizing your design without your consent or knowledge. The company, also register your design or work to their own name. Later, you also want to produce your own design. However, you receive a cease-and-desist letter not to produce your design! The Company is suing you. So, in order to defend yourself, you will need evidence that you were the creator of the design, or you will need evidence to show that your design was created and/or made available to the public before the company’s design application date. According to the Laws of some Countries, the proof that the design was created at a given time along with the proof that it was made available to the public before the filing date of the company’s design application could also be useful in order to obtain a declaration of invalidity of the Company’s design registration. Your “Proof of Creation” can be handy at this step.
Service for depositing “Proof of Creation” sheets provided by A' Design Award has the only aim to provide supportive evidence that you own proofs of the creation of a design at a given time, in order to potentially protect yourself from future claims on third-parties to your design. It can also potentially be used to support your claims about being the creator a design at a given time. For your “Proof of Creation” to be more effective, you would need further evidence to prove that you are indeed the original designer or creator of the design. This could be done, for example, by having two witnesses duly sign your “Proof of Creation”, stating that they have witnessed the creation of the design by you, and by using a time-stamp that cannot be reproduced and legally accepted (such as a post office stamp or a stamp by notary). In addition, your “Proof of Creation” is further fortified by depositing it at a third-party. When done in this manner, the “Proof of Creation” can potentially act as evidence that you are the creator of the design at a given time.
What do A’ Design Award Provide?
We provide the “Proof of Creation” template which you can print in your office by yourself. The template is automatically filled with your design details and images, and can be accessed from your control panel. In addition, we provide a depository service for your “Proof of Creation”. We will keep your “Proof of Creation” documents, as a third-party. For each nominated design, no matter winner or not, and without having the need to wait for the results announced, you can have a "Proof of Creation". Only one document is allowed per nomination.
How much does it cost?
The service is provided free of charge to A’ Design Award Participants (Winners, Runner-Ups and Non-Winners alike). You might be required to pay postage / stamping fees to send your copy of “Proof of creation” sheet which would cost a few euros depending your country of origin. Your stamping fee is not covered by A' Design Award.
How to Apply?
To create the "Proof of Creation" document for your designs, go to your Control Panel and click on the "Proof of Creation" link.
How do I obtain my proof of creation?
We keep the proof of creation in our archives, you will not receive anything from us but you will be sending us the proof so that we add it to our registry. The process is fairly simple: 1. You will download the proof of creation template that is auto generated for you, this template is 4 (four) pages, composed of two very similar templates. 2. Print these template dual sided (front and back) as a single piece of paper. 3. Fold the templates into envelopes. 4. Send your 1st. filled template (which is now an envelope) to A' Design Award as indicated in the template. 5. Send your 2nd. filled template to yourself (which should already have your mail address filled). We will update the database status when we receive your mail as "Received and Archived".
How to: Filling the Forms
The templates are automatically filled if you have a complete profile, therefore it is suggested that you update your profile details completely, especially you should enter your Name, Surname and Postal Address. In addition, your design details should also be entered; the design/book description will be filled on the “Proof of creation” sheet automatically along with the Name and description of the design. The only manual entry required is to have two witnesses sign your document.
How to: Printing the Forms
Use Museum-Grade / Archival-Grade or Conservation-Grade papers for printing your “Proof of Creation”: these papers should be acid-free and long-lasting. Papers with ISO 9706 “permanent paper” or ISO 11108 “archival paper” standards are highly suggested for longer periods of preservation and archival. The "Proof of Creation" should be printed on A4 papers. The sign on the right usually appears at high quality archival papers.
How to: Send the Envelopes
Both mails (printed templates) should be sent by your post office, and must use the "proof of receipt" service: i.e. mails should be send as "Registered","Reply-paid", "Certified" or as "Recorded Delivery" letter for which proof of delivery is mailed to the sender, this service is provided by most of the countries and will have a unique name, for example in Italian it is called "Posta raccomandata". It is important NOT to put your envelope into any other envelope, box or casing. We need the post office in your country to stamp on the envelope which is actually your Proof of Creation” sheet. This way, the post office provides a time stamp which provides us a basis for the time sent. In most countries, registered mail is labelled with a 13-digits reference number and corresponding barcode. The first two letters indicate registration (usually "RR") while the last 2 letters usually represent the country where the registered item was posted.
How to: Fold the Proof of Creation Template into an Envelope
Folding the "Proof of Creation" into an envelope is easy.
This is an origami envelope and is folded from a single sheet of A4 paper. The edges to fold are given here, in the order of folding. Click here to see a demonstration.
How long do we keep them?
We will try to keep our copy of "Proof of Creation" for 5 years upon receipt. However this is not guaranteed. You should keep your own copy as long as you would require. You can also request their removal, if you want us to destroy your "Proof of Creation" or if you want to check its status (Whether it is still kept or not), please use your control panel - proof of creation menu.
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by the laws of most Countries and by International Conventions, giving the creator of a creative intellectual work (belonging to specific categories) exclusive rights to it (moral and economic rights). Generally, it gives the copyright holder the right to be credited for the work, the right to use and spread the work and, therefore, to determine who may adapt the work to other forms, who may perform the work, who may financially benefit from it, and other, related rights. It is an intellectual property form (like the patent, the trademark, and the trade secret) applicable to the expressible form of an idea that is creative, substantive and discrete (the national Copyright Laws and the International Conventions establish the requirements of the works to be subject to copyright). Copyright initially was conceived as a way for government to restrict printing; the contemporary intent of copyright is to promote the creation of new works by giving authors control of and profit from them. Copyright have been internationally standardized, lasting between fifty to a hundred years from the creator's death, or a finite period for anonymous or corporate creations. Under Bern Convention and World Treaty Organizations Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, copyright is not based on any “formality” such as registrations or systems of renewal*. This holds valid for works that pass the “threshold of originality” in the country of creation. “Proof of Creation” is to prove that you are indeed the creator of the design at a given time, so that you could potentially enforce copyrights for your design, of course in the Countries whose Laws acknowledge the copyright protection to industrial design. * Still some jurisdictions have required formalities to establishing copyright, most recognize copyright in any completed work, without formal registration. * Still some jurisdictions have required formalities to establishing copyright, most recognize copyright in any completed work, without formal registration.
Threshold of Creativity
Threshold of creativity is a concept in copyright law that is used to assess whether or not a particular work can be copyrighted, the understanding varies from one country to another while some countries follow the "sweat of the brow" doctrine and others follow the “height of creation” philosophy. In any case, in general, especially artistic designs and artworks can be protected by copyright. The industrial designs do not always fall into the works that are protectable under copyright law: not all the national Copyright Laws provide for the protection of industrial design; the protection granted under the Copyright Laws that acknowledge protection of industrial design usually establish specific requirement for the design; for example, the Italian Copyright Law (Law n. 633, 1941 and subsequent changes) grants protection to the “industrial design that are endowed of creative and artistic value” only.
Disclaimer – Important Notice
The “Proof of Creation” does not have the legal effects of a design registration at the Trademark and Patent Offices and it is not intended to grant to the owner any exclusive right on its work. The only aim of the “Proof of Creation” is to help the designer to demonstrate the creation of his work at a given time. You are suggested to obtain registration of your commercially viable and valuable designs for real protection and control, according to the national Intellectual Property Laws and/or the International Conventions relating to Industrial Design since said registration is the most effective way to protect your rights. “Proof of Creation” cannot be applied to all designs (see “Threshold of Originality” concept) and we cannot guarantee that it can be considered a legal proof of paternity in all the Countries. A' Design Award and Competitions is not an official authority for design registration or copyright certification, it cannot be considered a substitute of a public notary or of any other official entity; A' Design Award and Competitions does not deliver exclusive rights on your works. A' Design Award and Competitions is not liable for any damages or losses that may occur due to utilization of this service; it is not liable for damages or losses due to the destruction or theft of the “Proof of Creation” archived in its premises and, in general, for any damage caused to the “Proof of Creation”. If the “Proof of Creation” envelope is not properly sealed, it will lead to the disclosure of your design. According to the Intellectual Property Laws of some Countries, the disclosure of the industrial design before the filing date for its registration at the competent Patent and Trademark Office implies the invalidity of the registered design: in Italy, for example, a registered design is invalid if the design was made available to the public by the owner more than one year before its filing date. In any case, A' Design Award and Competitions do not accept any liability. A' Design Award and Competitions do not provide any warranty. This document has been prepared by OMC Design Studios S.R.L., and is copyrighted. For further Intellectual Property questions, please contact us.
Copyrights
© 2011 by A’ DESIGN AWARD & COMPETITION, OMC DESIGN STUDIOS SRL.
All rights reserved. No part of this text may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the authors.
Tutti I diritti sono riservati a norma di legge e a norma delle convenzioni internazionali. La riproduzione é vietata ai sensi di legge (art. 171 della legge 22 aprile 1941, n. 633). Nessuna parte di questo testo può essere riprodotta o trasmessa in qualsiasi forma o con qualsiasi mezzo, elettronico o meccanico, compresa la fotocopiatura, la registrazione o l'eventuale archiviazione o riproduzione in rete, senza il permesso scritto dell'editore, salvo nei casi consentiti dalla legge.
How to Make Proof of Creation Documents?
Access the “Proof of Creation” section in your control panel to learn how to create the documents, in essence, the documents are generated by our platform. Below you could see an example which we did, we especially printed them on thin paper so that you could see front/back, but we advise you to print them on thicker, acid-free papers.
The “Proof of Creation”Below, you see a proof of creation document that was sent to us. As you could see, it is sent by registered post, the document is sealed, therefore we do not actually know what is inside, and we keep it that way. The envelopes will be open, only if required by the sender or the law. Keep in mind that the registered posts are by their nature, registered; i.e. the date of sending and receipt of the posts are kept by the sender or the post authority. Therefore this provides proof that the sender had the design with him/her at the time of sending. Hint: As you see below, using a heavy paper, makes it a better envelope.
To update your proof of creation, please change the relevant information in your profile and design details as explained. Images can be changed by updating your design images and logo. Proof of Creation pages are not totally customizable, but could be configured by updating some parameters. Below you see an example proof of creation page for demonstration purposes only.
