Creator Evidence Record: Your Hash Receipt Is Step One
A free hash receipt proves your file existed at a verifiable moment. Here’s how ScriptShield builds layers of evidence from that first step into a full Rights Graph.
ScriptShield Team
ScriptShield
We build tools that give screenwriters and creators cryptographic proof of authorship. Because your work deserves evidence as strong as your story.
If you are reading this, you probably heard the Prime Minister’s speech. You probably felt something between relief and panic. Relief because the government just said your work is not up for grabs. Panic because you realised you have no record of when you made most of it.
Take a breath. ScriptShield was built for exactly this moment — and the first step is simpler than you think.
A free hash receipt takes about two minutes. You upload your file. ScriptShield generates a SHA-256 cryptographic hash — a unique fingerprint that changes if even one byte of your file is altered. It anchors that fingerprint to an RFC 3161 trusted timestamp from an independent authority. You now have a verifiable record that this exact file existed at this exact moment.
That is a genuinely useful thing to have. And it is just the beginning.
The Short Answer: A free hash receipt from ScriptShield establishes that your specific file existed at a verifiable time with a tamper-evident fingerprint. That is powerful first evidence. But a creator evidence record becomes far stronger when you add versions, declarations, permissions and rights history. Here’s how each layer builds on the last. Get your free hash receipt now.
What does a hash receipt actually prove?
Let’s be precise, because precision is what makes ScriptShield’s evidence credible.
A SHA-256 hash proves that a specific arrangement of data existed. The hash is deterministic — the same file always produces the same hash. It is collision-resistant — no two different files will produce the same hash in any practical scenario. And it is tamper-evident — if you change a single character, the entire hash changes.
Paired with an RFC 3161 trusted timestamp, the hash establishes timing. The timestamp is issued by an independent authority, not by ScriptShield’s own clock. This means neither you nor ScriptShield can backdate a record. The evidence is independently verifiable by anyone, at any time, without contacting ScriptShield.
That combination — unique fingerprint plus independent timing — creates strong first evidence that your file existed in this form at or before this moment.
Your hash receipt is a foundation. It answers the question “did this file exist at this time?” with a clear, cryptographic yes.
Why is a single hash receipt just the starting point?
Because a dispute rarely turns on a single question.
If someone challenges your work, the questions multiply fast. When was the first draft written? How did the work develop? Who else saw it along the way? Was AI involved? What permissions did you grant? To whom? For what purpose? When?
A single hash receipt answers the first question beautifully. The remaining questions need more layers.
The Hash Receipt
Your first evidence: this specific file existed at this specific time, sealed with a tamper-evident SHA-256 fingerprint and independent RFC 3161 timestamp.
Versions
A timestamped version chain protects your first draft, your major revision and your final manuscript. Each one gets its own hash and timestamp, and each one connects to the version before it. The chain tells the story of creative development — a story that is extremely difficult to fabricate after the fact.
A forger might create one file and backdate a claim. A forger cannot create a convincing chain of drafts showing how an idea evolved through six months of late-night rewrites, structural changes and editorial revisions. The version chain is stronger than any individual certificate because it documents the process of creation, not just the product.
Declarations
Your AI & Human Authorship declaration records whether AI was involved in your work and how. The three-tier system — human-authored, AI-assisted, AI-generated — captures this at the point of creation rather than after someone asks. Publishers, grants bodies, awards committees and courts are increasingly asking the question. Having the answer already on record, timestamped and connected to the specific version, is substantially more credible than a verbal assertion months later.
Permissions and rights
Your AI Training Rights Passport records your terms for how your work may be used. When Australia’s paid licensing framework arrives — and the PM has confirmed legislation is expected early 2027 — creators with documented permissions will negotiate from evidence. Creators without them will be starting from scratch.
The Rights Graph
This is where individual records become a connected system. Your Rights Graph links every work, version, hash, timestamp, declaration, recipient, disclosure, permission and licence into one documented history. The certificate is one view of this record. A legal evidence bundle is another. A licensing audit is another. The graph serves every purpose because it captures the facts once and presents them as needed.
How does each layer strengthen the one before it?
They compound. Think of it as a chain of credibility.
A hash receipt alone is strong first evidence. A hash receipt with a version chain is stronger because it shows the creative journey. A version chain with authorship declarations is stronger still because it addresses the AI question before anyone raises it. Declarations with permission records show not only that you created the work but that you controlled its use. And all of these connected through a Rights Graph produce the kind of organised, verifiable, independently timestamped evidence record that stands up under professional scrutiny.
No single layer replaces the others. Each one adds something the previous layer cannot provide on its own.
The beauty of the system is that you do not need to build all five layers at once. You start with a free hash receipt. You add versions as your work develops. You declare authorship when you are ready. You set permissions when you understand your options. The record grows with you.
What should you protect first?
Start with the work that matters most to you right now.
If you are submitting a manuscript to publishers, protect the submission version. If you have just released an album, protect the master files. If you are pitching a design to a client, protect the pitch deck. If you have a backlist of published books, start with the title you care about most and work outward.
You do not need to protect everything at once. You need to begin.
The Bottom Line
The PM just told the world that Australian creative work is not training fuel. That is a powerful political commitment. But the practical question remains the same as it was yesterday: what evidence do you have?
A hash receipt is genuine, valuable evidence. It establishes that your file existed at a verifiable moment with a tamper-evident fingerprint. That alone puts you ahead of most independent creators. And from that first step, every layer you add — versions, declarations, permissions, rights history — builds a stronger, more complete, more credible record.
You do not need to understand cryptography. You do not need to be a lawyer. You need to start.
Start With a Free Hash Receipt
Upload your file. Get a SHA-256 fingerprint sealed with an independent RFC 3161 timestamp. Add versions, declarations and permissions as your record grows.
Get Your Free Hash ReceiptProtect Your Creative Work
Generate SHA-256 authorship certificates and track who sees your scripts, manuscripts, and creative works.
Get StartedScriptShield provides evidence documentation tools for creators. It is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.