Lawful uses of Blockchain Timestamping and Proof-of-Existence Systems.
Modern tools that can assist in proving that a document or a piece of data existed at a particular time are blockchain timestamping and proof-of-existence systems. In extremely basic terms, blockchain is an electronic document journal that is not easily modified. Having added information remains there forever.
This characteristics renders the blockchain extremely effective in terms of legal applications, in which evidence and reliability are highly valued.
Blockchain timestamping is the mechanism that involves taking a digital fingerprint of a document, which is known as a hash and storing them on the blockchain. The document is not stored in public, only the hash is stored. This preserves privacy and at the same time gives evidence.
Should an individual in the future wonder when the document was written, the blockchain document can demonstrate the precise time that it was present. Because records made by blockchain are stored on a large number of computers, no individual can tamper with the date or records without being detected.
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Proof-of-existence systems are even further. They enable individuals or entities to establish the ownership or authorship of a document without exposing the content of the document. An example of a registerable contract, academic work, land agreement, or intellectual property can be held on the blockchain.
In case of a conflict, the owner will be able to demonstrate that the document has the same hash as what was previously stored. This comes in quite handy when it comes to legal matters of copyright, patents or rights to property.
In my opinion, this system is very significant as it decreases the usage of paper documents and manual verification. The old systems may be tedious, costly and even corrupt. The neutral and transparent means of verifying truth is created by blockchain systems. Blockchain time stamps can be very effective as a supporting evidence to lawyers and courts, particularly when it is synchronized with other legal evidences.
The other benefit is that blockchain timestamping is speedy and inexpensive. Any person can access it online and does not need to wait until he or she gets to the government offices or notaries. This is useful in safeguarding small businesses, writers and innovators at an early and easy approach.
There is also minimization of forgery, as it is hard to change a blockchain record.
Finally, systems like blockchain timestamping and proof-of-existence are a potent solution in the case of legal application.
They offer trust, transparency and security in an easy digital manner. With laws still being changed to match the technological advances, I think that blockchain will contribute significantly to the way legal evidence and records will be managed in the future.