Blockchain timestamping recognized by french courts: a turning point for digital evidencer
The court acknowledges blockchain-based timestamping as valid evidence: a major milestone for the Tediji by Coexya solution.
On March 20, 2025, the Paris Judicial Court issued an unprecedented ruling in the field of digital evidence. For the first time, a French court recognized the evidentiary value of a timestamp generated via a public blockchain. This decision marks a significant step forward in the evolution of digital justice and in the acceptance of distributed ledger technologies as reliable means of proof.
A Case of Counterfeiting and Proof of Prior Art
The dispute concerned an allegation of copyright infringement involving visual assets. The presumed author of the works had used a timestamping solution based on the Bitcoin blockchain to demonstrate prior creation. The timestamps were generated by a specialized third party, ensuring the integrity and the date of deposit of the files.
In its ruling, the court accepted the principle of establishing prior art through the deposit on a blockchain of the digital fingerprints (hashes) of files representing sketches and clothing visuals.
Implications for Businesses and Digital Professionals
This first French case law strengthens the position of stakeholders who integrate blockchain-based proof technologies into their business processes. It provides greater legitimacy to distributed timestamping as a method for protecting intangible assets, digital works, or contractual commitments.
This stance paves the way for broader use of blockchain as an evidentiary tool in civil litigation, particularly in matters related to intellectual property, contracts, or regulatory compliance.
For companies, this represents an opportunity to optimize traceability and secure evidence throughout the value chain, at lower cost and without relying on a traditional certification authority. However, this requires ensuring the quality, interoperability, and legal robustness of the chosen solutions.
At Tediji, this recognition reinforces our conviction: blockchain is far more than a technological innovation — it is now a fully acknowledged evidentiary tool in the eyes of the French justice system.
For a more detailed analysis of this ruling, we invite you to read the insights of our expert Alain Broustail.
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About the Expert
A graduate of ESCP in 2002, Alain Broustail began his career with publishers of banking software solutions. He joined Coexya in 2011, holding several leadership roles within consulting teams focused on content dematerialization, document management, AI, and task automation. An expert in applying emerging technologies in the banking and finance sector, he discovered blockchain and digital assets in 2018 and has since led our advisory and delivery activities in this domain.
