CINXE.COM
Supporting evidence :: The UK Copyright Service
<!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en"> <head> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0, shrink-to-fit=no"> <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/font-awesome/5.15.4/css/all.min.css" integrity="sha512-1ycn6IcaQQ40/MKBW2W4Rhis/DbILU74C1vSrLJxCq57o941Ym01SwNsOMqvEBFlcgUa6xLiPY/NS5R+E6ztJQ==" crossorigin="anonymous" referrerpolicy="no-referrer" /> <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/animate.css/4.1.1/animate.min.css" integrity="sha512-c42qTSw/wPZ3/5LBzD+Bw5f7bSF2oxou6wEb+I/lqeaKV5FDIfMvvRp772y4jcJLKuGUOpbJMdg/BTl50fJYAw==" crossorigin="anonymous" /> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/packages/corebsp_catalyst/themes/corebsp_catalyst/css/catalyst-v.08e25bd113538eba5595.css"> <link href="/application/files/cache/css/corebsp_catalyst/catalyst.css?ts=1721401020" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" media="all"> <title>Supporting evidence :: The UK Copyright Service</title> <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"/> <meta name="description" content="Copyright protection information, and tips on how to protect your work. Supporting evidence falls into 2 basic categories: evidence of the evolution of your work which helps to prove the work was not copied, and evidence that links you to the creation of the work."/> <meta name="keywords" content="copyright protection, how do i protect my work, supporting evidence, copyright categories, evolution of ideas, copied, form, development work, research, draft versions, sketches, recordings, evolution, registration, independent, date evidence, supporting work. additional protection, original development, duplicate, registered, registration update, facility, submit updates and revisions, independently verifiable evidence, evolution of your work, version control system, modifications, version, open source developers, PVCS, SubVersion,CVS (Concurrent Versions System), git, github, copyright registration updates, digital footprint, digital watermarking."/> <meta name="generator" content="concrete5"/> <link rel="canonical" href="https://copyrightservice.co.uk/protect/supporting"> <script type="text/javascript"> var CCM_DISPATCHER_FILENAME = "/index.php"; var CCM_CID = 1081; var CCM_EDIT_MODE = false; var CCM_ARRANGE_MODE = false; var CCM_IMAGE_PATH = "/updates/concrete-cms-8.5.13/concrete/images"; var CCM_TOOLS_PATH = "/index.php/tools/required"; var CCM_APPLICATION_URL = "https://copyrightservice.co.uk"; var CCM_REL = ""; var CCM_ACTIVE_LOCALE = "en_GB"; </script> <style type="text/css" data-area-style-area-handle="Main" data-block-style-block-id="5809" data-style-set="1729">.ccm-custom-style-container.ccm-custom-style-main-5809{border-width:1px;border-color:rgb(66, 88, 39);border-radius:7px;-moz-border-radius:7px;-webkit-border-radius:7px;-o-border-radius:7px;-ms-border-radius:7px}</style> <link href="/application/files/cache/css/ba3b0a1e4492de40099737f51889fc3aa11587eb.css?ccm_nocache=da8db17eee919fbd9aeaa664a6d09d94050d7c2a" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" media="all" data-source="/updates/concrete-cms-8.5.13/concrete/blocks/tags/view.css?ccm_nocache=da8db17eee919fbd9aeaa664a6d09d94050d7c2a"> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/packages/globus3_cust/css/globus3_cust-v.788df4ceee5e81fa2d95.css" > <link rel="stylesheet" href="/packages/globus3_cust/css/globus3_cust.fb7349e91c828ab6ccbc.css" > <meta property="og:site_name" content="UK Copyright Service" /> <meta property="fb:app_id" content="888284448675757" /> <link rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="180x180" href="/_f/favicon/apple-touch-icon.png"> <link rel="icon" type="image/png" sizes="32x32" href="/_f/favicon/favicon-32x32.png"> <link rel="icon" type="image/png" sizes="16x16" href="/_f/favicon/favicon-16x16.png"> <link rel="manifest" href="/_f/favicon/site.webmanifest"> <link rel="mask-icon" href="/_f/favicon/safari-pinned-tab.svg" color="#080445"> <link rel="shortcut icon" href="/_f/favicon/favicon.ico"> <meta name="msapplication-TileColor" content="#080445"> <meta name="msapplication-config" content="/_f/favicon/browserconfig.xml"> <meta name="theme-color" content="#ffffff"> <style type="text/css"> .cw_factsheetLinks a { font-weight:bold; } .cw_feature { margin: 1.5rem 0; box-shadow:0 .5rem 1rem #aaa; border-radius: .25rem; padding:1rem; border: 1px solid #6c757d; } .cw_feature_dark { background-color:#b9b8e0; } /*Will this fix Google CLS issue?*/ .catalyst-nav { min-height:38px; } .cw_blue_head { background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: auto; background-position: right center; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0,0,0,0.5), rgba(0,0,0,0.6)),url("/_f/5515/7979/5022/cyber-security-3400657_1920__copy.jpg"); min-height:200px; } </style> </head> <body> <div id="catalyst" class="ccm-page ccm-page-id-1081 page-type-page page-template-full"> <header id="catalyst-header" class="catalyst-h"> <div class="catalyst-hu"> <div class="container"> <div class="catalyst-hul float-left"> <div id="cspa-security-widget"> </div> </div> <div class="catalyst-hur float-right"></div> <div class="clearfix"></div> </div> </div> <div id="catalyst-header-nav"> <div class="catalyst-hm"> <div class="container p-0"> <div class="d-flex flex-sm-column flex-md-row justify-content-center justify-content-md-between align-items-center"> <div class="catalyst-hm-logo d-flex align-items-center flex-wrap"> <div> <p class="p-0 m-0"><a href="/"><img alt="UK Copyright Service logo" height="115" src="/_f/ukcs/_i/logo.jpg" width="240" /></a></p> </div> <div class="d-md-none"> <a class="catalyst-nav-button p-2 ml-3" v-on:click="toggleNav" role="navigation"><i class="fas fa-bars" aria-hidden="true"></i></a> </div> </div> <div class="d-none d-sm-block"> <p style="color:#080445;opacity:0.8;text-align: right;"><em>Protecting your work across the world<br /> and into the future</em></p> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="catalyst-hl d-none d-md-block" v-scroll="scrollSticky" :data-mobile="mobileNav?'true':'false'" data-collapse="true"> <div class="container"> <div class="row m-0 align-middle"> <div class="catalyst-hl-logo float-left"> <p class="text-uppercase font-weight-bold m-0 p-0"> <a href="/" title="Home">UK Copyright Service</a> </p> </div> <div class="catalyst-nav col align-self-center"> <div class="d-flex justify-content-center"> <div class="catalyst-nav col"> <div class="d-flex justify-content-center"> <ul role="navigation" class="catalyst-nav-mega catalyst-nav-fancyline "> <catalyst-nav-dyn title="Registration" type="megamenu"> <ul> <li><span>Registration</span> <ul class="catalyst-nav-megasub"> <li><a class="catalyst-nav-link" href="/reg">Register your work</a></li> <li><a class="catalyst-nav-link" href="/acc/update_reg">Update a registration</a></li> </ul> </li> <li><span>Your account</span> <ul class="catalyst-nav-megasub"> <li><a class="catalyst-nav-link" href="/forms/account/contact_details">Update contact details</a></li> <li><a class="catalyst-nav-link" href="/acc/extend_reg_online">Extend/renew registration</a></li> <li><a class="catalyst-nav-link" href="/acc/order_certs_labels">Order certificates/labels</a></li> <li><a class="catalyst-nav-link" href="/acc/order_dupwork">Order duplicate work</a></li> <li><a class="catalyst-nav-link" href="/acc/transfer_reg">Transfer a registration</a></li> </ul> </li> </ul> <div class="catalyst-nav-megamenu-footer" style="border-top:1px solid #555;padding-left:15px"> <a href="/services/price_list">Price list</a> </div> </catalyst-nav-dyn> <!-- //// --> <catalyst-nav-dyn title="Information" type="megamenu"> <ul> <li><span>IP rights</span> <ul class="catalyst-nav-megasub"> <li><a class="catalyst-nav-link" href="/copyright/intellectual_property">Introduction to IP rights</a></li> <li><a class="catalyst-nav-link" href="/copyright/copyright">Introduction to copyright</a></li> <li><a class="catalyst-nav-link" href="/protect/p15_design_rights">Design rights</a></li> <li><a class="catalyst-nav-link" href="/copyright/international_copyright">International copyright law</a></li> <li><a class="catalyst-nav-link" href="/copyright/questions">Copyright FAQ</a></li> <li><a class="catalyst-nav-link" href="/protect">How do I protect my work?</a></li> <li><a class="catalyst-nav-link" href="/services/info_pack">Information pack</a></li> </ul> </li> <li><span>Fact sheets</span> <ul class="catalyst-nav-megasub"> <li><a class="catalyst-nav-link" href="/copyright/p01_uk_copyright_law">P-01: UK copyright law</a></li> <li><a class="catalyst-nav-link" href="/copyright/p02_protecting_copyright">P-02: Protecting copyright</a></li> <li><a class="catalyst-nav-link" href="/copyright/p03_copyright_notices">P-03: Using copyright notices</a></li> <li><a class="catalyst-nav-link" href="/copyright/p04_copyright_registration">P-04: Copyright registration</a></li> <li><a class="catalyst-nav-link" href="/copyright/p05_copyright_infringement">P-05: Copyright infringement</a></li> <li><a class="catalyst-nav-link" href="/copyright/p27_work_of_others">P-27: Using the work of others</a></li> <li><a class="catalyst-nav-link" href="/copyright">more fact sheets...</a></li> </ul> </li> </ul> </catalyst-nav-dyn> <!-- Help / contact --> <catalyst-nav-dyn title="Help/contact" type="megamenu"> <ul> <li> <ul class="catalyst-nav-megasub"> <li><a class="catalyst-nav-link" href="/services">About the registration service</a></li> <li><a class="catalyst-nav-link" href="/about">About us</a></li> <li><a class="catalyst-nav-link" href="/tags/tag/how%20to%20guides">How to guides</a></li> <li><a class="catalyst-nav-link" href="/tags/tag/frequent%20questions">Frequent questions</a></li> <li><a class="catalyst-nav-link" href="/services/provision_policy">Our service standards</a></li> <li><a class="catalyst-nav-link" href="/about/contact">Contact us</a></li> </ul> </li> </ul> </catalyst-nav-dyn> <!-- End --> <li data-incl="mobile"><a class="catalyst-nav-link" href="/search">Search</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="catalyst-hl-search float-right"> <catalyst-search type="popup" action="/search"></catalyst-search> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div> <!--pad--> </div> <catalyst-backtotop y-trigger="150"></catalyst-backtotop> </div> </header> <main id="catalyst-content" class="catalyst-content"> <div class="cw_blue_head"> <div class="container"> <div class="row"> <div class="col-sm-12"> <i class="fas fa-project-diagram"></i> <h1>Supporting evidence</h1> </div></div></div></div> <div class="ccm-custom-style-container ccm-custom-style-main-5977 cw_white_section" > <div class="container"><div class="row"><div class="col-sm-12"> <div class="row"><div class="col-sm-12"> <p>Supporting evidence falls into two categories:</p> <h2>Evolution of ideas</h2> <p>This is defined as evidence that the work progressed over a period of time, rather than being copied from elsewhere, and normally takes the form of development work such as:</p> <ul> <li>Background research,</li> <li>Draft versions,</li> <li>Rough sketches,</li> <li>First recordings etc.</li> </ul> <p><strong>If you include your evolution of ideas work at the time of registration, you will also establish independent date and content evidence of your supporting work as additional protection, you will also have the assurance that if you lose or discard your original development work, we can provide a duplicate if it is ever required.</strong></p> <p>Once your work has been registered, you can also use the <a href="/acc/update_reg" title="Update an existing registration">registration update facility</a> to submit new updates and revisions, this will provide independently verifiable evidence to prove the evolution of your work.</p> <ul> <li><strong>Version control systems</strong> <p>Using a version control system is an good way to provide evidence of evolution.<br /> Most commonly used for software development, version control systems are used to record and track modifications to files, enabling the user to retrieve earlier versions of the work and track development. Examples include: GitHub, Subversion, Mercurial, CVS & Perforce.</p> </li> <li><strong>Copyright registration updates</strong> <p>The <a href="/acc/update_reg" title="Update an existing registration">registration update facility</a> used to register updates to your work. This enables you to include any new content in the registration, whilst still retaining the original registration date, and evidence of the original content of your work. Updates processed in this manner are linked with your existing registration, and protected from the date we process the application. This also provides evidence of 'evolution of ideas' and demonstrates that your work has evolved and developed.</p> <p>Even if you use a version control system, you are still able to register updates as independent proof of the date and evolution of your work.</p> </li> </ul> <h2>Footprints or watermarking</h2> <p>You can also insert supporting evidence into finished documents:</p> <p>Footprints are deliberate mistakes or hidden elements that will be known only to you. A typical example would be the software designer who includes redundant subroutines that make it possible to identify the authorship in some way.</p> <p>Invisible watermarks are algorithms embedded inside a file which can be read by special readers, they are particularly relevant to image files, and many software image packages (such as Adobe Photoshop) provide facilities to include watermark information.</p> <p>Using image editing or photo editing software it is also possible to add a visible watermark (such as semi-transparent text) identifying the owner for images you publish online. This is discussed in detail on our page '<a href="/protect/watermark-images">How to add a visible watermark to images</a>'.</p> </div></div> </div></div></div> </div> <div class="container"><div class="row"><div class="col-sm-12"> <div class="ccm-custom-style-container ccm-custom-style-main-5809 p-2 rounded border border-success cw_noprint cw_tags my-4" > <div class="ccm-block-tags-wrapper"> <div class="ccm-block-tags-header"> <h5>Find related pages by topic</h5> </div> <a href="/tags/tag/protection"> <span class="ccm-block-tags-tag label">Protection</span> </a> <a href="/tags/tag/supporting evidence"> <span class="ccm-block-tags-tag label">Supporting evidence</span> </a> </div> </div> </div></div></div></main> <footer id="catalyst-footer" class="catalyst-f"> <div class="catalyst-fu"> <div class="container"></div> </div> <div class="catalyst-fm"> <div class="container"> <div class="row"> <div class="col-md-3"> <p><a href="/services/price_list">Price list</a></p> <p><a href="/services/info_pack">Information packs</a></p> <p><a href="/about" title="About us">About us</a></p> <p><a href="/copyright" title="Fact sheets and information pages">Fact sheets and information pages</a></p> </div> <div class="col-md-3"> <p><a href="/tags/tag/How%20to%20guides" title="How to guides">How to guides</a></p> <p><a href="/tags/tag/frequent%20questions" title="Frequent questions">FAQs</a></p> <p><a href="/common/sitemap">Site map</a></p> <p><a href="/about/news_items">Latest news</a></p> </div> <div class="col-md-3"> <p><a href="/services/provision_policy" title="Our service standards">Our service standards</a></p> <p><a href="/about/security-privacy" title="Security and privacy policies">Security & privacy policies</a></p> <p><a href="/about/cookie" title="Cookie policy">Cookie policy</a></p> <p><a href="/common/copyright" title="Legal notices">Legal notices</a></p> </div> <div class="col-md-3"> <p><a href="/about/contact" title="Our contact details">Contact details</a></p> <p><a href="/about/link" title="Linking suggestions for webmasters">Link to us</a></p> <p>Follow us on<br /> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ukcopyrightservice/" rel="noopener" target="_blank" title="Like/Follow us on Facebook"><i class="fab fa-facebook-square fa-2x align-middle"></i> Facebook</a><br /> <a href="https://twitter.com/UKCS_Copyright" rel="noopener" target="_blank" title="Follow us on Twitter"><i class="fab fa-twitter-square fa-2x align-middle"></i> Twitter</a></p> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="catalyst-fl"> <div class="container"> <p>Copyright © 2000-2024 Copyright Witness Ltd.</p> </div> </div> </footer> <script src="/packages/corebsp_catalyst/themes/corebsp_catalyst/js/catalyst-v.5d71470113491e277be6.js"></script> <script src="/packages/corebsp_catalyst/themes/corebsp_catalyst/js/catalyst.99201f59910142bdaf1e.js"></script> </div> <script type="text/javascript" src="/packages/cspa_security/js/cspa_security-v.9596c3bb6c088c33a63b.js?ccm_nocache=1f3093d8c37aec2a47f4adabe00aaad4cc453fca"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/packages/cspa_security/js/cspa_security.c7a588750e60fc03b46b.js?ccm_nocache=1f3093d8c37aec2a47f4adabe00aaad4cc453fca"></script> </body> </html>