Frequently asked questions
Wondering whether Bernstein is right for you? Straight answers about getting started, keeping your work private, and using your evidence.
Is Bernstein right for me?
Whenever you create something or build know-how worth protecting. Make certification a habit - build a verifiable history of your work, document your trade secrets, and give contracts and shared files a clear reference to exactly what you mean. It backs your collaborations and deals today, and has you ready if your rights are ever challenged.
No. Bernstein is a web app - nothing to install, no cryptography to learn. Add your files and certify them in one click. When you work with a lawyer or IP counsel, your certificates give them verifiable evidence to build on. See how it works.
Any file, in any format - documents, images, audio, video, designs, source code, research data. From one small file to a large collection, Bernstein builds verifiable evidence of your work and how it develops over time.
Every certification gets a Bitcoin blockchain certificate. On Scale and Enterprise plans, the same click also issues separate timestamp certificates from an EU qualified and a Chinese trusted timestamp authority. Each one is an independent way to verify the date and integrity of the same version. Compare plans.
No. No crypto to buy, no wallet to set up, no transactions to manage - Bernstein runs the protocol for you. Each certificate's Bitcoin address combines your personal key, a key derived from your files' fingerprint, and a Bernstein key. Your private key is created and encrypted on your device, and only your device signs with it. You get Bitcoin's security without its complexity.
A project groups the files for one work, product, or activity. Each time you certify a new version, it gets its own certificates. On Bitcoin, each new certificate builds on the previous one, so the whole sequence is chained publicly on the blockchain. The result is a dated trail of your innovation or creative work, from first draft to finished product.
Yes. You don't have to do it all by hand in the web app. Our API and command-line tools (closed beta) connect Bernstein to your own systems, so you can certify automatically, for example at each software release or project milestone. Tell us about your volumes and workflow.
One credit certifies one version of a project, however many files it holds. Certifying a later version uses another credit. Certificate types, file limits, and services depend on your plan. See pricing.
Will my work stay private?
No. Your files are encrypted in your browser before they reach our servers. We store them, but we can't read them - that's zero-knowledge architecture. Explore the security features.
No. Only a cryptographic fingerprint goes on the Bitcoin blockchain or to the timestamp authorities. Your files stay private. Want to make an idea public on purpose, so nobody else can patent it? That's defensive publishing, a planned Bernstein feature.
Forgot your password? Reset it by email. Your encryption key is separate - we can't see it or reset it. That's why you keep a Recovery Kit, whose one-time codes restore access to your vault. Lose both the key and the kit, and nobody, us included, can decrypt your files.
A certified version is frozen, with its files kept in encrypted storage, ready to validate. Add or change a file and you start a new draft - the certified version doesn't move. Certify the draft and it becomes the next frozen version, with its own certificates. Its Bitcoin certificate builds on the previous one, chaining the versions together.
How can I use and keep my evidence?
It's verifiable evidence that specific content existed at a precise moment and was in your hands. Together with a documented development history, it strongly supports your claim of authorship and ownership. On its own, it doesn't settle who created the work, whether it's original, or whether rights were validly transferred.
No, it strengthens the evidence behind it. Inventions often start as confidential know-how, and Bernstein documents their development without disclosing them. Your certificates then support a patent application, help document prior art and prior use when you defend your freedom to operate, and back agreements or enforcement. The same goes for trademarks, designs, and copyright. Certified evidence for IP filings and enforcement.
Yes. Courts increasingly accept Bitcoin blockchain evidence and trusted timestamps, including in cross-border cases. How much weight they carry depends on the country, the procedure, and what you need to prove. Read our research on blockchain evidence in court.
Because your evidence needs to stay verifiable for decades. Bitcoin has run since 2009 with a proven track record of resilience. No company, government, or operator controls it, and a huge ecosystem of developers, users, and infrastructure keeps it going. It's the foundation we trust for evidence meant to outlast Bernstein itself.
The certificate, the original certified files (including the project cover file), and the validation data. Bernstein keeps them together in your encrypted project. You can also export them and validate on your own, with no Bernstein account and without us. How validation works.
With Secure Sharing (beta), included with every subscription. Recipients get encrypted access to the files and their certificates together, so they can see exactly which version they received and validate it.
Yes. Your Bitcoin record never needs renewing, and it doesn't depend on your subscription or on Bernstein still being around. Keep exported copies of your certificates, project files, and validation data, and anyone can validate them. Hosted storage and the app depend on your plan and our terms.