Prior Art · Cryptographic Proof · Worldwide

You had the idea first.
Now prove it.

Prior art at AI speed. Cryptographic proof. Court-admissible certificates from £10.

RFC 3161 Timestamping SHA-256 Cryptographic Proof Instant Certificate Court-Admissible UK · EU · USA £10 Flat

"The patent system was built for a world that moved slowly. Ideas today don't wait. Neither should your protection."

Proofr · proofr.ltd · Worldwide

Process

Three steps to proven prior art

No lawyers. No filing fees. No multi-year wait. Submit your idea, we hash it, timestamp it, and issue your certificate. Done.

01

Submit your idea

Type a description, upload a document, attach a photo of notes on a napkin, send a voice memo. Any format. Our consultancy add-on helps you word it for maximum protective effect.

02

Hash & timestamp

Your document is instantly converted into a unique SHA-256 fingerprint and anchored with an RFC 3161 trusted timestamp. Your idea is sealed to the exact second — tamper-proof, permanent, and verifiable by anyone.

03

Certificate issued

Receive your unique PRF-2026-XXXXXXXX certificate immediately. Attach it to emails, pitches, proposals. This was mine, on this date, and the world can verify it. No ambiguity.

Real Use Cases

This happens.
Every day.

These are patterns that repeat across industries, company sizes, and continents — wherever ideas change hands without protection.

The Founder

The Pre-Pitch Protection

A founder timestamps their pitch deck 20 minutes before a VC meeting. Six months later, a competing startup emerges with a near-identical model backed by the same firm. The Proofr certificate shows the idea existed before any contact was made.

Most common founding dispute in early-stage tech. Protection takes 60 seconds.
Co-Founder Dispute

Who Had It First

Two co-founders split. Both claim to have originated the core product concept. The one who timestamped their initial concept note wins the argument before it reaches a lawyer or courtroom.

Co-founder disputes account for 65% of early-stage startup failures.
The Freelancer

The Ghosted Concept

A UX designer submits a detailed concept to a prospective client. The client launches a near-identical product with another agency three months later. The designer's Proofr certificate, issued before the brief was submitted, gives them the evidence they need.

Freelancers lose billions annually to uncredited concept theft.
Corporate R&D

The Consultant Arrives

A company timestamps their internal brief and working documents before engaging an external consultant. When the consultant later files a related patent, the company has prior art evidence predating the engagement.

Routine in-house legal practice. Proofr makes it available to every business at £10.
The Creative Industry

The Songwriter's Safety Net

A producer shares a track concept with a label A&R. The label passes. Two years later, a signed artist releases something strikingly similar. The producer's Proofr certificate, issued the day the concept was recorded, tells the real story.

Music industry prior art disputes are among the most high-profile cases globally.
Academia

The Research Priority Claim

A researcher timestamps their working paper while under peer review. When a rival lab publishes first, they demonstrate independent prior development — a distinction that matters enormously in academic priority disputes.

Academic priority disputes are common and career-defining. Proofr creates an independent verifiable record.
WhatsApp Channel

Protect your idea
from your phone.

Message Proofr on WhatsApp, describe your idea, pay via your local method, and receive your certificate — all without opening a browser.

Message Proofr on WhatsApp
Regional Payment Rails
🌍
Africa
M-Pesa · EcoCash · MTN MoMo
🇬🇧
UK & Europe
Stripe · Open Banking · Card
🌐
Global / Diaspora
PayPal · Stripe · Card
🌏
Asia-Pacific
GCash · GrabPay · Flutterwave

Phone prefix auto-detected · Right payment shown every time

Proofr · WhatsApp
👋 Welcome to Proofr.

1️⃣ Protect an idea — £10
2️⃣ Protect + wording — £20
3️⃣ Add evidence to a certificate
4️⃣ Verify a certificate
14:31
1
14:31
Send your idea — text, document, photo, or voice note. Your words. I handle the rest.
14:31
A peer-verified media marketplace where 3 independent witnesses confirm an event before footage can be sold to press.
14:32
[SHA-256 hash generated · Awaiting payment]
✅ Received. Payment link (M-Pesa · £10):
pay.proofr.ltd/mpesa/a3f8
14:32
Paid ✓
14:33
🔐 Sealed.
PRF-2026-00047302
14 May 2026 · 14:33:07 UTC
SHA-256 · RFC 3161 · ✓ Verified
14:33
Pricing

Start for £10.
Scale as you need.

Accessible by design. Every innovator deserves fast, credible protection.

£10
one-time · instant
Core Certificate

Your idea, sealed and verified. A permanent record of prior art you can carry into any room, any pitch, any dispute.

  • SHA-256 document hash
  • RFC 3161 trusted timestamp
  • Unique PRF reference number
  • Verifiable certificate PDF
  • Permanent public record
  • Court-admissible: UK · EU · USA
  • Proofr Kite Mark badge
Most Popular
£20
core + consultancy
Protected & Worded Right

We help you frame your idea with protective language before we hash and seal it. Maximum legal effect.

  • Everything in Core Certificate
  • Idea wording consultation
  • Protective language guidance
  • Pre-submission review
  • Framing for investor pitches
  • Priority processing
Add-Ons
per addition
Evidence Package

Strengthen your certificate with supporting evidence — all timestamped and linked to your PRF record.

  • Additional file uploads
  • Boardroom & meeting photos
  • Pitch deck evidence bundle
  • Multi-document grouping
  • Signed NDA attachment
  • Corporate bulk protection (coming)
Under the Hood

Three standards.
One unbreakable record.

Every Proofr certificate rests on three globally-recognised technical pillars. Knowing what protects you builds the confidence to use it in any room.

#
SHA-256 Document Hash
Secure Hash Algorithm · 256-bit

Think of it as a fingerprint for your document. SHA-256 produces a unique 64-character string — your document's digital DNA. Change even a single comma and the hash becomes completely different. No one can alter your idea after the fact and claim it's the original.

Works on anything — a typed description, a PDF, a photo of a napkin, a voice note transcript. Your content stays private; only the fingerprint is sealed.

Used globally by

SHA-256 secures Bitcoin, protects online banking, and signs US Government software updates. The gold standard of document integrity.

RFC 3161 Trusted Timestamp
Internet X.509 PKI Time-Stamp Protocol

An international standard governing tamper-proof records of when something existed. An independent Timestamp Authority receives your hash, signs it cryptographically, and returns a token proving: this hash existed at this exact moment. The TSA's signature cannot be forged or backdated.

Accepted as legal evidence in UK, EU, and USA courts under the Electronic Communications Act, eIDAS Regulation, and ESIGN Act.

Used globally by

Software publishers, law firms, and EU-regulated digital notaries. Billions of RFC 3161 timestamps issued daily. Proofr uses the same standard.

Unique PRF Reference Number
Proofr Certificate Identifier

Your PRF reference — PRF-2026-XXXXXXXX — is your permanent, public, searchable record in the Proofr registry. It ties together your hash, timestamp token, and date of protection into a single verifiable identity.

Anyone can go to proofr.ltd/verify and enter this number to confirm: this certificate is genuine, issued on this date, and the document hash matches.

How to use it

Include in pitch deck footers, covering emails, and beside the Proofr Kite Mark. Reference it in any NDA you sign. It leads directly to the full cryptographic record.

Sample Certificate

What your protection looks like

Every Proofr certificate carries a unique reference, cryptographic hash, verified timestamp, and the Proofr seal.

Certificate of Prior Art Protection
Proofr
PRF-2026-00047302
14 May 2026 · 14:33:07 UTC
Peer-Verified Media Marketplace
RFC 3161 · Trusted TSA
SHA-256
✓ Verified & Sealed
a3f8c291be4d7f0e2c159a83d6b84f1e92c0d3a7f5b2e6c8d1a4f9b3e7c0d5a2b6f1e8c4d0a7f3b9e2c5d8a1f4b7e0c3d6a9f2b5e8c1d4a7f0b3e6c9d2a5f8
A Proofr Certificate · proofr.ltd
Two-Sided Trust

Proofr protects
every side of the table.

We are not an innovator's weapon against investors. We are a mutual truth standard. Anyone can protect their version of events.

For Innovators & Creators
Your idea. Your timestamp. Your proof.

You had the idea. You can prove it. Proofr gives you a cryptographic record that no NDA, no handshake, and no corporate legal team can overwrite. Walk into every room with confidence.

  • Prior art established before any pitch
  • Certificate attached to every email you send
  • Public proof beyond the private NDA
  • Protection if a VC passes — then revisits your idea later
  • Foundational timestamp if you later pursue a full patent
For Investors, Employers & Recipients
Your response. Your evaluation. Your record.

You heard a pitch. Your team built something similar, independently and legitimately. Proofr lets you protect your side of the story too — so no one can rewrite history against you either.

A VC firm can timestamp their internal evaluation memo. An employer can seal the date they briefed a team. Proofr is a level truth surface for everyone.

  • Timestamp your own evaluation notes
  • Seal the date of an internal project brief
  • Protect independent R&D from future claims
  • The same £10. The same standard. The same weight.
Origin Story

"Fred Smith outlined the FedEx hub-and-spoke model on a napkin at Yale. Howard Schultz sketched the Starbucks concept on a notepad in Milan. Every one of those moments was unprotected. The idea existed. The proof did not."

Today, that napkin can be photographed on your phone and uploaded to Proofr in sixty seconds. The image is hashed, timestamped, and sealed. The moment you had the idea — the coffee shop, the flight, the 3am spark — is now a permanent, verifiable record. Not a memory. Not an anecdote. Proof.

Photo of napkin · upload · SHA-256 · RFC 3161 · PRF certificate issued · done.
Comparison

Proofr vs
the old world

We are not here to replace the patent system — we are here to make prior art protection fast, affordable, and universal.

AttributeTraditional PatentNDA OnlyProofr
Cost£15,000–£25,000+Legal fees vary£10 flat
Time to Protection2–4 yearsHours (limited scope)Instant
Public & Verifiable Eventually Private only Immediately
Proof of Prior Art Strong but slow Not designed for this Cryptographic
AI-Era Ready Struggling to adapt No Built for AI speed
Works Alongside Patents Complementary
Globally Accessible Cost-prohibitiveDepends on counsel Any device, anywhere
After Your Certificate

What happens next.
And how to retrieve anything.

Your certificate is issued. Here's exactly what to do with it — and how to access every part of your record now or five years from now.

01
Download your certificate
Your PRF certificate PDF is available immediately. Web users download from their dashboard. WhatsApp users receive it directly in the thread. Email it to yourself and a trusted third party as backup.
02
Attach the Kite Mark
Download your Proofr Kite Mark badge and place it on every document related to the protected idea. Include your PRF reference number. Every version you share now carries the mark.
03
Go pitch with confidence
Walk into any meeting, send any email, share any deck — knowing your prior art is sealed, dated, and publicly verifiable. The NDA you sign is now backed by cryptographic proof that predates the conversation.
04
Add evidence as you build
As your idea develops — meeting notes, updated drafts, boardroom photos — add them to your certificate as evidence add-ons. Each addition is hashed and linked to your PRF reference.
Retrieving Your Certificate
Any time. Any device.
Log in to proofr.ltd with your email or phone number. WhatsApp users: message "MY CERTIFICATES" and we'll send direct links. Your certificate never expires.
Verifying a Certificate
Public. Permanent. No login.
Anyone — you, a lawyer, an investor, a court — can verify any PRF certificate at proofr.ltd/verify using just the reference number. No account. No fee. Open to the world.
Using Your Proof in a Dispute
Show the hash. Show the date.
Retrieve your original document, run it through any SHA-256 hash tool, confirm the hash matches your certificate. The timestamp proves when. The hash proves what. Together: prior art. No lawyer needed at the first stage.
FAQ

Every question.
Answered plainly.

Does Proofr replace a patent?+
No — and we'd never claim that. A patent is a government-granted legal monopoly giving exclusive rights over an invention. Proofr gives you provable prior art — a cryptographic record that you had this idea on this date. The two work beautifully together: protect the idea today for £10, pursue the full patent later using your Proofr certificate as foundational evidence. Many patent attorneys welcome timestamped prior art documentation as part of the application file.
Is my idea safe? Does Proofr read my content?+
Your content is hashed, not read. The SHA-256 process converts your document into a fingerprint — we never need to open or analyse the document itself to create a valid timestamp. Your idea stays completely private. Only the hash is processed and stored permanently. The original document is encrypted at rest and held for 90 days, after which you can request deletion.
What can I protect with Proofr?+
Anything you can document: a business model, a product concept, a software feature, a creative work, a scientific hypothesis, a marketing strategy, a photo of notes on a napkin. If you can capture it, we can protect it. Proofr protects evidence of existence — it does not evaluate whether the idea is legally novel. That assessment belongs to a patent attorney if needed.
Is the certificate legally admissible?+
Yes. RFC 3161 trusted timestamps are recognised as legally valid evidence in the UK under the Electronic Communications Act 2000, across the EU under the eIDAS Regulation (No 910/2014), and in the USA under the ESIGN Act. SHA-256 provides mathematical proof that the document was not altered since the timestamp was issued. Proofr certificates are designed with legal admissibility as a core requirement.
What if someone submits the same idea before or after me?+
Proofr creates a permanent, dated record for every submission. If two people submit similar ideas, the timestamps make the order of events clear and public. Proofr provides evidence — not adjudication. In a dispute, the earlier timestamp is powerful prior art. This is why submitting early matters: a rough description protected today outweighs a polished version submitted six months later.
Can investors and companies use Proofr too?+
Absolutely. A VC firm can timestamp their investment evaluation memo on the date they reviewed a pitch. An employer can seal the date they commissioned an internal project. A company can protect their own R&D prior to hiring external consultants. Proofr is a mutual truth standard — not an innovator's weapon. The same £10, the same standard, the same legal weight.
Can I protect a photo, voice note, or sketch?+
Yes. Any digital file can be hashed — a JPEG photo, an MP3 voice note, a PNG sketch, a scanned napkin. SHA-256 doesn't care about format; it produces a unique fingerprint regardless. Via WhatsApp, send an image or voice note directly and our system handles the hashing automatically. The idea doesn't need to be a polished document.
What is the consultancy add-on and do I need it?+
The consultancy add-on (+£10) is a review service where we help you frame your idea in language that maximises its protective value. Vague descriptions protect less than precise, mechanism-describing ones. If you're protecting something commercially significant, the consultancy is worth every penny. If you just need a fast date-locked record, the £10 core certificate is perfect.
How do I retrieve my certificate later?+
Log in to proofr.ltd with your email or phone number at any time. WhatsApp users: message "MY CERTIFICATES" and we'll return links. The verification page at proofr.ltd/verify is publicly accessible — no login required — using just your PRF reference number. Your certificate never expires and the record is permanent.
How does Proofr compare to just emailing myself?+
A self-sent email is not tamper-proof, lacks cryptographic integrity, and carries no independent verification. Email timestamps can be manipulated, spoofed, or disputed. A Proofr certificate uses an independent Timestamp Authority and SHA-256 hashing — the same standards used in digital notarisation globally. Courts accept RFC 3161 certificates as evidence. They do not accept self-sent emails as equivalent.
Get Started

Protect an idea.
Right now.

Submit your idea directly, request a consultancy session, or simply ask a question. We respond promptly.

Within 2 business hours. Certificates issued instantly on payment confirmation.

proofr.ltd/verify — no account required.

✓ SENT — We'll be in touch shortly.

Something went wrong. Please email us directly or message on WhatsApp.

Ready?

Protect your idea.
Right now. For £10.

Before you walk in that room, before you send that email — give yourself an unforgeable record that it was yours first.

Get Your Certificate — £10 Message on WhatsApp

SHA-256 · RFC 3161 · Instant · Permanent · PRF-2026-XXXXXXXX

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