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Content provenance for academic publishing

Sign each version of a paper so readers can tell the version of record from an altered copy, and trace it back to the preprint.

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Three versions of a paper, preprint, accepted manuscript and version of record, each with its own seal, linked back to the version it was made from.
Each new version carries its own label and points back to the one it came from, so anyone can trace it to the first.
Ingredient chainsIngredient chain: The links from a finished piece of content back through every signed source file used to make it.
Preprint, accepted manuscript, and version of record link to each other, so a reader can check which version they hold and where it came from.
C2PA text manifestsC2PA manifest: The signed label itself: a small package inside a file that records who signed it, what they declared and how to check it.
Text can carry its own hidden label, apart from the PDF's. It stays when text is pulled out only if your tools keep the hidden characters. Test your pipeline.
Digital source typeDigital source type: A field in the label that says how content was made: captured by a camera, made by AI, or a mix.
A standard field records whether the author declared the work human-made, AI-assisted, or AI-generated. Editors can read the declaration; it is not a test of the text.

How it works

  1. Create a free account.

    No card needed.

  2. Sign each version you publish.

    Preprint, accepted manuscript, and version of record.

  3. Readers check it free.

    They see who signed it, when, and if it changed.

    Open the checker

Why journals need a label

Paper mills, edited figures, and undeclared AI text are eroding trust in the record. Once a PDF leaves your site, nothing marks the version of record from an altered copy. Retractions rarely reach the copies people cite.

One chain from preprint to version of record

Inside a file, a JUMBF manifest store holds a manifest made of assertions, a claim that lists a hash of each assertion, and a signature with its certificate and timestamp; one assertion hashes the content bytes, which is the hard binding.
One manifest per signing: assertionsAssertion: One statement inside a C2PA label, such as what was done to the content, whether AI was used, or the content's hash. say what happened, the claim lists them, the signature seals the claim, and a hashHash: A short fingerprint of exact bytes. Any change, even one character, gives a completely different hash. ties it all to the content.

Each version you publish gets its own label. Each label names the version before it as an ingredientIngredient: A source file used to make new content, recorded in the new content's label with a link to its own label.. A reader with any copy can see which version it is and trace it to the first. Priority rests on a signed time, not on metadataMetadata: Data stored beside the content in a file, such as author, camera or date. Many tools strip it when they copy or upload a file. anyone can edit.

AI use, declared in the file

A file holds a signed label in four layers: who signed it, what they declared including AI use, a fingerprint of the content, and a signature that seals them together.
The label sits inside the file. It names the signer, carries what they declared, fingerprints the content, and is sealed by a signature.

Most journals ask authors to disclose AI help. A label can carry that statement with the manuscript through review and publication. Editors read it from the file, not a separate form. It records what the author declared. It does not test the text.

Your terms travel with the label

Three layers protect a publisher's work: an access gate where a crawler pays, a signed mark that travels with the article even past a crawler that skipped the gate, and an attribution box that splits payment between sources.
Only the signed mark travels with the work. It carries proof and terms; it does not stop use.

Journal archives are prime AI training data. A signed label names the publisher and carries machine-readable termsMachine-readable rights: Usage terms written so software can read them, such as whether content may be used for AI training. in each signed file. Copies that keep the label keep the terms. If the archive is copied, the record shows the terms were there when it was taken.

Good questions.

Can a label spot an AI-written paper?
Not on its own. A label records who signed a manuscript and what they declared about AI use. A missing label does not mean a paper is fake. Use it beside your other integrity checks.
Do we have to sign our whole archive?
No. Start with new articles. Signing older ones later still helps, but the label shows the date it was signed, not the date it was first published.
Does it reveal who reviewed a paper?
No. A label can record that review happened and when, without reviewer names. Open review journals can add names if they choose.
Can readers check a paper without an account?
Yes. Checking is free in a browser, with no account.

For engineers

Show the technical detail

How versions link

Each version carries its own C2PAC2PA: The Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity: the group that publishes the open standard for content labels. manifest. The accepted manuscript names the preprint as an ingredient, and the version of record names the accepted manuscript. Revisions are recorded with the actions assertionActions assertion: The part of a label that records what was done to the content, such as created, edited or redacted, and by what.. Text pulled from the PDF can carry its own label through the C2PA standard for unstructured textC2PA text-provenance standard: The part of the C2PA standard that puts a signed label inside plain text, using invisible Unicode characters..

Open-access terms, such as a Creative Commons license, can be stated in the label. A reuse that signs its own label can name the original as an ingredient.

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