Say you created some IP in the form of some files. How do you prove that you created the IP, in a theoretical cryptographic sense? A major constraint is to maintain security as well, so you can't just create a patent which will share the information publicly.
I can imagine all kinds of scenarios where someone can say down the road that they created the IP. Say you are in a small group like a government agency and internally to the agency you want to be recognized for some advancement. You can't create a patent or do something else public which would compromise the security of the agency, so you do what to prove you created the IP?
Say you create some advancement in the agency, but don't make a big deal out of it. Someone else in the agency sees the advancement, then draws up some fake "backdated" notes to make it look like they made the contribution. How do you say, "no, actually I did", while still maintaining security?
I am trying to understand if PGP applies, and if the idea of a Notary might be effective. Somehow you tell a Notary a little about your advancement contributed at work, and take an oath or something. Now somebody else at least knows by a certain date that you had some knowledge about the situation. But even then, that doesn't seem like enough to prove you actually created the contribution.
It's as if you need to create a highly detailed document, like a patent, outlining what you did and how it works. Then go to the Notary, have them read it, and sign off on it somehow. You never show this document to anyone else but the Notary. Then if it comes down to it, you can just call up the notary and be like "hey, didn't I do this thing first". But I don't know if that would be sufficient.
Basically, I'm wondering (a) what sort of documentation you need in this situation, and (b) what sort of authentication/security you need to prove identity and ownership, while also maintaining security. That is, how do you prove you were the one responsible for the new feature, without revealing it to the public like would happen through traditional "insecure" channels like patents?
I am trying to imagine like something with PGP. Say I have a website domain which hosts encrypted notes documenting the feature. Only I have the key to the notes, so I show people I can unlock it. BLah, that seems so lame and useless, I don't see how it could apply. Maybe Affidavits apply somehow, I don't know.
