# Prove when you made a song
Source: https://docs.aden.space/docs/help/your-music/versions/proof-of-creation

Every version gets a legally recognised timestamp, so you can show the song existed on that date.
Copyright exists the moment a song is made. The hard part is proving it. When a version's audio lands, Aden records its fingerprint with how it was made: the credits, the session it came from, the project files and the earlier versions. A qualified timestamp service on the EU trusted list signs it.

In the EU, a qualified timestamp is presumed accurate for its date and for what it covers. There's nothing to click and nothing to pay.

<Callout>
  Upload before you send promos. The proof then predates anything a recipient could claim.
</Callout>

## See the proof [#see-the-proof]

A stamped version shows a **shield** beside its time on the track's timeline. Open it to see when it was timestamped and what the proof holds.

**Download certificate** saves a zip with a readable PDF, the exact text that was stamped, and the signed timestamp. Anyone can check it against your audio file.

In the phone app the shield sits on the version row. Download the certificate on the web or desktop.

## Older versions [#older-versions]

Versions from before this existed have no shield. Search **Timestamp versions** in ⌘K on the track to stamp them, dated today.

## When there's no shield [#when-theres-no-shield]

* Same audio, already stamped: if another team already timestamped the exact same file, that earlier proof is the one that counts.
* A promo copy: if the file carries the hidden watermark of a promo link another team sent you, it gets no proof, and that team is told.

## Related [#related]

* [Proof tool](/docs/help/free-tools/proof-tool)