WIPO has announced the launch of a new business online service, called WIPO PROOF. It will provide tamper-proof evidence of the existence at a point in time of any digital file, including data sets, in any format.

Introducing the service, WIPO Director General Francis Gurry said: "In a highly dynamic global economy where value is increasingly based on human activity enabled by digital technologies and big data, it is critical to be able to prove that you were in possession of your intellectual asset's digital files. WIPO PROOF helps innovators and creators better protect their digital outputs and represents a significant step in expanding WIPO's suite of services that meet the demands of the digital economy."

In its press release, WIPO said that data files containing valuable content can easily fall prey to misuse or misappropriation. This content can include trade secrets, scripts, musical scores, other creative works, research results, large data sets, artificial intelligence algorithms or any business record.

All of these things should be treated as intellectual assets to be independently and securely documented at every stage of development, regardless of whether they eventually become formal IP rights. WIPO PROOF enables you to create evidence of an asset's digital files at each specific point in time.

WIPO describes it a "a sort of digital notary service" to complement patent, trade mark, design, GI and other services.

WIPO PROOF provides services including:

• Token (unique digital fingerprint): from Sfr20
• Premium PDF certificate: from Sfr20
• Bundles of WIPO PROOF tokens: from Sfr190
• Online verification: free

Find out more in the WIPO press release, which includes a speech by Francis Gurry, or visit the dedicated WIPO PROOF page. A flowchart showing how the service works can be seen here.

Look out for analysis of WIPO PROOF from the MARQUES Teams soon.