What a record proves

A record on chain proves three things; the rest is for whoever weighs the evidence.

The three things it proves

Content

Show the original file: when its recomputed fingerprint matches the record, it is that very file, byte for byte.

Time

The content existed by the moment it went on chain at the latest.

Signature

The record was signed by this key, at this place in this ledger.

For whoever weighs the evidence

Who the author is

A record says “this key already had this content then”. A ledger that records the drafts, revisions and final version along the way is more convincing than one with the final version alone.

Whether two works are alike

The ledger compares bytes; whether works are alike, and who drew on whom, is for an arbiter to judge.

What a grant means

That is in the terms file; the ledger guarantees the terms file is the very one attached at signing.

Who stands behind a key

The parties show it themselves, for example with the address written into a contract.

Record early, record steadily

The same file put on chain before a dispute weighs far more than one brought out after it starts. So record at the moment of delivery, and record every step along the way.

When a dispute comes

1. Pick the records that bear on the matter and export a record kit.
2. Give the kit to the arbiter, who checks it with their own app: whether it is whole, whether the records are on chain, and the time of each.
3. What each record shows, and which side they support together, is for the arbiter to weigh.

How dense records must be, and how much weight one-sided and jointly signed records carry, follow each arbiter’s own published rules. The ledger supplies the facts.