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Christian Ahrweiler
Christian Ahrweiler

Posted on Originally published at Medium

Seal Your Work Before You Deliver It

Seal Your Work Before You Deliver It### Preserve the original files before they leave your hands.

A photographer completes a commercial shoot for an agency.

The final selection is edited, exported, and delivered in full resolution. The agency receives everything it needs to begin the campaign.

But the invoice remains unpaid.

A few weeks later, the photographs appear online and in promotional materials. The agency now claims that the images were created internally — or obtained from somewhere else.

The photographer still has the original files, but that alone may not clearly establish when those exact files existed or whether they were subsequently changed.

Fortunately, the complete project was sealed with Beaver File Proof before delivery.

Preserve the complete working set

Before sending the images, the photographer placed the relevant material into one project folder:

  • Original RAW files
  • Final edited images
  • Lightroom or Photoshop project files
  • Exported delivery files
  • A short project description
  • A list of the files supplied to the agency Beaver File Proof sealed the complete folder and created a timestamped, verifiable proof package.

The package confirms that these exact files existed by the confirmed time — and that they have not been modified since they were sealed.

Even the smallest change to a file produces a different digital fingerprint and causes verification to fail.

What the proof can establish

Beaver File Proof does not automatically determine who created a photograph or who owns its copyright.

What it provides is a verifiable point in time for the exact project files.

In this example, the proof can demonstrate that the photographer possessed the original RAW files, working files, and finished exports before the agency published the images.

Combined with contracts, invoices, emails, delivery records, and the later publication date, the sealed package can become an important part of the evidence.

The agency may dispute where the images came from. It cannot change the confirmed timestamp or secretly modify the files inside the proof package.

Not only for photographers

The same workflow applies to many types of original work:

  • Manuscripts before submission to a publisher
  • Designs before presentation to a client
  • Source code before delivery
  • Music recordings and project files
  • Research data and reports
  • Architectural plans
  • Video productions
  • Product concepts and prototypes
  • Contract drafts and important document versions Whenever files leave your control, preserving the exact version beforehand can be valuable.

Your files are not uploaded to the blockchain

Beaver File Proof uses the open OpenTimestamps protocol.

Your photographs, documents, source code, or other private files are not published on the Bitcoin blockchain. The timestamping process uses only a cryptographic fingerprint derived from the sealed package.

The original content remains in your possession.

Anyone can verify the package

A proof becomes more useful when another person can check it.

The separate Beaver Proof Verifier app allows a client, adviser, insurer, lawyer, or other recipient to verify the package for free.

Verification confirms whether the files still match the sealed proof and whether the timestamp has been anchored to the Bitcoin blockchain.

No Beaver account is required.

Preserve first. Deliver second.

Once a file has been shared, copied, edited, or published, reconstructing its earlier state can become difficult.

Beaver File Proof makes the precaution simple:

  • Collect the original and working files.
  • Create the proof package.
  • Wait for the timestamp confirmation.
  • Store the proof safely.
  • Deliver or publish the work. If a dispute arises later, the original project state has already been preserved.

Before your work leaves your hands, seal the files.

Get Beaver File Proof on the Mac App Store

Download Beaver Proof Verifier for free

Learn more at beaverproof.com.

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