Proofs of Ownership: securing your collection
Reading time 2 min
You most likely have seen a Proofs of Ownership button appear in the private area of your items, as well as a new Digital Safebox page.
This certainly deserves some explanation! First of all, let's take a look at a rather common notion; ownership... According to article 2276 of the civil code (in French law) the rule is simple: possession is equivalent to a title of ownership.
A person claiming ownership of an object in dispute will have to prove that it belongs to him. In order to have his object returned to him, the said person will have to:
- Prove that the purchaser is acting in bad faith
- Prove that the object was stolen or found less than 3 years ago
- Prove ownership of the object
How to prove ownership of an object?
During a trial or litigation, any type of evidence will be admissible. The burden of proof always lies with the plaintiff, the owner of the object being by default the person in possession of said object.
The possessor therefore does not have to prove his right of ownership. The claimant will therefore have to provide the judge with a maximum of elements attesting to his claim.
If you do not have proof that has an absolute value, you will have to provide the judge with a bundle of evidence that he can retain or discard.
If the evidence is deemed sufficiently credible, the decision may be rendered in favor of the applicant for restitution.
What types of evidence are admissible?
Property titles:
A property title can be an invoice, a certificate of authenticity, a will or a donation.
These elements have a strong legal value but do not absolutely prove a possession. You may have disposed of an object without giving up these documents, or without providing new documents that invalidate those in your possession.
Clues:
We can consider as a clue any element outside the title of ownership that may confirm the ownership of an object. These indices can take multiple forms, it can be for example :
- A photo on which you appear with the object of the dispute
- A very precise description of the acquisition context
- A reliable witness present during the transaction
- A datable element without any possible dispute
- An accurate inventory of your possessions
What about ColleOnline?
When you inventory an object on CollecOnline you have, without even realizing it, completed your proof of ownership bundle on your objects.
As a reminder, in addition to the confidentiality aspect which allows you to publish an object in public or in private, your object files contain 2 types of information:
- General information: title, description, images, source, reference...
- Private information: price, date, seller, certificates, invoices...
The simple fact of filling out this information on CollecOnline already protects you in the event of a hard blow (fire, water damage, burglary) that would result in the loss of these items. You will indeed be able to extract in a few clicks and a few seconds all of your information in order to transmit it to the competent authorities.
We have decided to go even further by developing a Digital Safebox service. This service will allow you to record in an archive all the information about your object, but also the personal information that you have given us (email address at least, name, surname, nationality, age ...).
Once the archive is constituted, it is sealed, a unique fingerprint is generated, and the whole is dated. Any change in the contents of the archive will break the seal, and change the fingerprint permanently.
We could make the analogy of a letter stamped in wax with a seal sealing the reading of a document and identifying you with a stamp of your own.
Our solution will add a high level of security to your proofs of ownership thanks to time stamping. Your digital stamp is indeed dated using a technology, the Blockchain, which gives it a timeless, indisputable and universal character.
Example of certificate by CollecOnline
Is it time-proof, safe, and can I handle it all by myself?
Yes! The advantage of our solution is that our evidence, once sealed, is independent of our services. Once an archive is created, it is stored on our servers, but you also have the possibility to download it at home.
The method with which we generate the unique fingerprint is international and infinitely reproducible, so that you or a third party will be able to verify it without even using our dedicated page.
Sources
