Scenarios
What actually happens when you need your proof?
Three realistic scenarios, step by step, from creating the proof to using it in a dispute.
The freelance designer whose logo is stolen
Léa, freelance designer in Lyon
March 2026 — Creation
Léa finishes a logo for a prospect she met at a B2B trade show. Before sending the preview, she goes to proxae.com, uploads the final .ai file, and clicks. In 30 seconds, she has a proof. She’s on the Pro plan at €4.90/month, so she also receives an eIDAS-qualified PDF certificate, which she stores in her client Drive folder.
March 2026 — Sending
She sends the logo preview to the prospect. No response. Follow-ups: ghosted.
December 2026 — Discovery
Léa scrolls LinkedIn and spots the launch post of a company using her logo, barely retouched, under a different brand. It’s the ghoster prospect.
January 2027 — Building the case
She returns to Proxae, finds her proof in her dashboard. She downloads the eIDAS PDF certificate containing: the SHA-256 hash of the original file, the Bitcoin timestamp from March 14, 2026, the RFC 3161 qualified Sectigo timestamp (ETSI EN 319 422), and her identity signature. She attaches everything to a cease-and-desist letter drafted with her lawyer.
Legal use
Léa’s lawyer can establish that the exact file existed in this form on March 14, 2026 — 9 months before the other party’s publication. The proof is independently verifiable by any third party — including the opposing party, the judge, a technical expert — without needing to trust Proxae.
Total cost for Léa: 9 × €4.90 = €44.10 Pro subscription. An equivalent bailiff’s report in March 2026 would have cost between €200 and €800.
What Proxae doesn’t do here: Proxae establishes the file’s existence date. It doesn’t resolve the intellectual property dispute itself (which remains within the judge’s jurisdiction and copyright law). But without this proof of prior existence, Léa likely couldn’t have proven she was the original creator of the logo.
The developer whose algorithm is reused
Karim, independent developer, works remotely
June 2025 — Creation
Karim finishes an original optimization algorithm for a recommendation system. He plans to open-source it under MIT license. Before pushing the public repo, he timestamps the complete .zip code archive on Proxae. He’s on the free plan with an account.
October 2025 — The conversation
A startup founder contacts him on Twitter to discuss his algorithm. Technical exchanges, sharing some ideas about his approach, no NDA signed. Karim moves on.
March 2026 — Discovery
The startup launches a proprietary product. Karim reads the whitepaper and recognizes his algorithm, barely renamed, presented as an internal innovation. Karim’s repo had been public, but with low visibility.
April 2026 — Building the case
Karim returns to Proxae, finds his proof. He downloads the public verification link (free plan, no eIDAS PDF). He can establish: the exact hash of the code from June 2025, the corresponding Bitcoin block date, and the fact that this date precedes the startup’s whitepaper publication by 8 months.
Resolution
Karim sends a formal letter to the startup with his proof, requesting public attribution and proposing mediation. The startup, seeing the strength of the technical proof, agrees to credit him in the whitepaper and an amicable settlement. No lawsuit.
Total cost for Karim: €0 (free plan).
Limitations: without the Pro plan, Karim doesn’t have an official eIDAS PDF certificate. If the case had gone to court, his lawyer would have recommended subscribing to Pro before proceedings to generate a qualified certificate as evidence. The Pro plan at €4.90/month provides this upgrade in evidential strength when the need materializes.
The author and her manuscript sent to publishers
Hélène, independent author, writing her first novel
September 2025 — Creation
Hélène finishes her manuscript after 2 years of work. Before sending it to publishers, she timestamps the final PDF on Proxae. She subscribes to the Pro plan because her lawyer recommended having an eIDAS-qualified certificate for this type of strategic document.
September 2025 — Submissions
She sends her manuscript to 14 publishing houses. Of these 14, 3 respond, 2 with rejections. No response from the other 11.
March 2026 — The suspicious release
One of the publishing houses that never responded releases a novel whose synopsis, narrative arc, and several key scenes closely resemble her manuscript. The author is an unknown, signed with them 6 months ago.
March 2026 — Building the case
Hélène returns to Proxae, finds her proof, downloads the eIDAS-qualified PDF certificate. Her lawyer notes: the complete manuscript existed in exact form on September 22, 2025, the submission to this publisher is documented by email, the novel they published is 6 months later. The Sectigo eIDAS-qualified certificate is admissible as evidence before French and European courts, with value equivalent to a notarized act.
Resolution
The lawyer sends a formal letter to the publishing house. Negotiation follows. The publisher settles amicably to avoid public litigation, acknowledges the prior existence of Hélène’s manuscript, and offers compensatory damages.
Total cost for Hélène: 6 × €4.90 = €29.40 Pro subscription since September.
What Proxae doesn’t do here: Proxae establishes that the manuscript existed at that date. The underlying legal question (characterized plagiarism, protectable originality under copyright, damages) is resolved by the judge or negotiation. Proxae’s proof enabled a settlement because the balance of evidential power was clear from the start.
These 3 scenarios are realistic compositions inspired by typical cases. They illustrate what Proxae does — provide cryptographic proof of prior existence — and what Proxae doesn’t do — rule on the underlying legal merits.
Key takeaways
- ✦ Proxae establishes the existence date of a file
- ✦ The certificate is independently verifiable by any third party
- ✦ The Pro plan (eIDAS) adds legal value equivalent to a notarized act in the EU
- ✦ Proxae does not replace legal counsel: for a real dispute, consult a lawyer
Proxae provides cryptographic proof of prior existence. It does not confer exclusive rights and does not replace a notarized act or personalized legal advice. For any real dispute, consult a lawyer.