How to prove you made a product first: building an evidence file

What counts as convincing proof of authorship for handmade products and product photos — original files, EXIF dates, hashes, archive snapshots and process photos.

Updated 2026-10-26 · Markdown

When a dispute starts, the question is almost always the same: who had it first? The sellers who win are the ones who can answer with dated records they didn't create after the fact.

The five layers of proof

1. Original files

Keep the original photo files from your camera or phone — not exports from Etsy or social media, which strip metadata. Most cameras record the capture time in the file's EXIF data (DateTimeOriginal).

2. Process evidence

A few photos or a short clip of the item being made — on your bench, with your tools, at different stages. This is often the most persuasive evidence for handmade work, because factories don't have it.

3. Material receipts

Invoices for raw materials (clay, fabric, findings, wood) show you make rather than resell.

4. Independent timestamps

• Internet Archive — submit your listing URL at web.archive.org (“Save Page Now”) when you publish.
• Marketplace dates — your listing's creation date on Etsy.
• Email to yourself with files attached creates a dated record in your inbox, though it's weaker than a third-party archive.

5. A hash list

Record a SHA-256 hash of each original file with the date. If anyone questions whether a file was edited later, you can recompute the hash and show it matches. Tools to do this are built into macOS (shasum -a 256 file.jpg), Windows (certutil -hashfile file.jpg SHA256) and Linux.

Make it a habit, not a scramble

Building this file after a removal means searching old phones and inboxes under pressure. Building it when you list takes minutes:

1. Save originals into a folder named after the listing.
2. Take two or three process photos.
3. Archive the listing page.
4. Record the hashes.

MakerSentry's Proof Vault does all four automatically for every listing — originals are stored write-once with hashes and server timestamps, and listing pages are archived on publish.

Presenting it

Lead with a timeline, then list the evidence. Reviewers decide faster when the dates are in one place. See how to write an Etsy appeal.

General information, not legal advice.

Questions

Is a screenshot good evidence?

It helps, but original files are stronger: they carry metadata such as the capture date, and they can be hashed so you can show they haven't changed since you recorded them.

What is a SHA-256 hash?

A fingerprint calculated from a file's exact contents. If even one pixel changes, the hash changes. Recording a hash with a date lets you show later that a file is the same one you had then.

Does the Internet Archive count as proof?

It's independent evidence of what a public page looked like on a given date. It isn't a legal certificate, but reviewers and platforms treat it as a neutral record.