SOP01 | Preserving the original work: writing, books, illustration, photographs

English translation produced by the platform. It has not been reviewed by a native speaker and is not a certified translation. The Chinese version is the source.

Version 0.1 | 2026-09-24 | draft walkthrough. Goal: end up with the material closest to when you made the work, without buying software or already holding a copyright certificate.

Read this first

Start by saving the original files, older versions and notes that already exist. For writing and books, keep the editable draft; for illustration, keep the layered project you already have; for photography, keep the original photos or RAW files you already have. Work on paper can go through this process too.

Having no RAW, no PSD and no manuscript does not mean you have no rights. File creation times, EXIF and your own account of events are not on their own proof of authorship or date, and you must not back-date drafts to make the record look complete.

Time, cost and tools

Plan 10–20 minutes, not counting time spent hunting for old files. This is an estimate, not a measured figure. You do not need to buy any new software.

• Your system file manager, a notes app or the writing software you already use: nothing new to pay for; save to the device itself where possible; if cloud sync is already switched on, files may end up in your cloud account.

Before you start

• First follow SOP02 to preserve anything in front of you that might disappear. Do not sign out or refresh first.
• Do not crop original files or screenshots, do not repair them with AI, and do not fabricate metadata.
• Record who actually did the work if someone helps you. Never give a helper your password or a verification code.

Step by step

Step 1 | Find where the original file is

Where to click: On a computer, open Finder or File Explorer and look where you normally keep your work. On a phone, open Files or your file manager, or the app you created the work in. Write down the file names you can see.

What you should see: You can point to a file, or a physical item, that actually exists.

If you can't: Keep whatever you do have, even if it is only a web page or an old screenshot. In the "Work record" template write "this copy is all I have at the moment". Do not download an unfamiliar file with the same name from the internet and pass it off as the original.

Step 2 | Make a private folder

Where to click: On a computer, right-click in a location on the device and choose New Folder. On a phone, open Files, pick a location on the device itself (On My iPhone, Internal storage), then the menu and New Folder. Name it something like AI-evidence_W001.

What you should see: The folder exists, and you know whether it is on the device or in a cloud drive.

If you can't: If you have no permission to create folders, leave the files where they are and note the location in a notes app. Do not rely on forwarding something through a chat app and downloading it back as your only copy.

Step 3 | Make three subfolders

Where to click: Inside that folder, create 00_originals, 01_notes and 02_working-copies.

What you should see: The three purposes are kept clearly apart.

If you can't: If this is awkward on a phone, one folder is fine. Use file names to mark "note" and "copy" instead, and leave the single original untouched.

Step 4 | Copy the original — do not cut it

Where to click: On a computer, select the file, copy, open 00_originals and paste (Cmd+C/Cmd+V on Mac, Ctrl+C/Ctrl+V on Windows). On a phone, press and hold the file, choose Copy, open the target folder and paste.

What you should see: The file is still in its old place, and there is now a second copy in the new one.

If you can't: If the interface only offers "Move", cancel. Use the app's own Export or Save a copy instead, and note that this is a fresh export, not the untouched original.

Step 5 | Writing and books: keep the editable draft you already have

Where to click: Copy the file in its existing format — .docx, .odt, .txt and so on. Keep old versions, editing emails and publisher proofs as well. Do not convert today's draft and present it as an older one.

What you should see: The editable draft and the published version both exist, separately.

If you can't: If the work only exists in a web editor, use its own File → Download or Export. If the menus differ, keep a screenshot and the selectable text, mark it "web export", and do not claim it contains the full version history.

Step 6 | Illustration and photography: keep what you already have

Where to click: Copy project files such as .psd or .procreate in their original format. If you have both RAW and JPEG, keep both. For photos in a photo library, prefer an export option that explicitly says unmodified original. If there is no such option, keep the version you can get and record how you got it.

What you should see: Nothing has been deliberately compressed, colour-graded, watermark-removed, or flattened where the layers were the only copy.

If you can't: If you do not have professional formats, you do not need to buy software. Keep the images, sketches and publication records you do have. Note that a platform download or photo-library export cannot be guaranteed to preserve all EXIF.

Step 7 | Work on paper: photograph it and keep the physical item

Where to click: Use your own phone camera. Take one photo of the whole thing, then photos of the signature, the date and the relevant pages. For a book, photograph the cover, the copyright page and the passages concerned. Put the physical item back somewhere safe.

What you should see: The photographs are legible and you know which physical item each one belongs to.

If you can't: If there is glare, change the angle and photograph it again, and keep the earlier attempt. Do not use AI enhancement to generate text that cannot be read. For something too large to photograph in one go, photograph what you can and say so.

Step 8 | Fill in the work record, and write "I don't know" when you don't

Where to click: Open the "Work record" template at the foot of this page, save your own copy into 01_notes, and fill in the name of the work, your role, roughly when it was made or published and what you are basing that on, where the file came from, whether AI was used, and any transfer or commission you know about.

What you should see: The record makes clear which parts are "I remember", which are "the file says" and which are "the publication page says".

If you can't: With no text editor, pen and paper or a notes app is fine — photograph it and keep that. Where you do not know an exact date, do not invent one down to the second.

Step 9 | Check it is readable, without changing the only copy

Where to click: Open a copy from 02_working-copies and check a page or an image. If you need one, copy it out of 00_originals first and then open it. Do not choose "save changes".

What you should see: The content opens, is readable, and the page count or dimensions roughly match what you remember.

If you can't: If it will not open, keep the original bytes as they are, and record the format and a screenshot of the error. Someone with the right software can help later. Do not upload it to an unfamiliar online converter.

Step 10 | Add file fingerprints and a backup

Where to click: Follow SOP05 to produce a fingerprint for each actual file in 00_originals. If a tool cannot handle one, keep the file anyway and make a safe backup separately.

What you should see: The files, the notes and either the fingerprints or the reason they are missing line up with each other.

If you can't: Do not compress an original just because it exceeds a tool's size limit. Keep the original and wait for a tool that can handle it.

Check when done

• The original location was not emptied by a "move".
• The original draft is kept apart from converted copies and screenshots.
• Dates, rights and metadata you cannot establish are written down as unknown.

What you end up keeping

• Whatever you have, in 00_originals
• The work record in 01_notes, or a photograph of a handwritten one
• A list of what is missing, and the export method you actually used

If something is missing

• Only the published version survives: keep the publication page, the version and the source.
• The work was made with others, for an employer, or on commission: keep the contract and a description of your own contribution, and do not claim all the rights for now.
• You have no file of the work at all: you can still register. Record a description of the work and who might still hold a copy.

Where your data goes, and sharing

Files on your device are not uploaded by this process. Your photo library, iCloud, Google Drive, OneDrive or your editor may already be syncing, so check where something is saved before you save it. An account export communicates with the original service. A full account export is not handed to this project by default.

Keep originals somewhere private. Make a separate copy before sending anything to anyone outside, and check it first for unrelated personal material and for contract restrictions. Share only when the recipient, the purpose and the scope are clear. Nothing is sent automatically in this phase.

When to get professional help

If evidence is about to disappear, if you have received court papers or a deadline, if the chain of rights is unclear, if trade secrets or a minor is involved, or if a formal certificate is required, have a qualified professional in the relevant place check it promptly rather than waiting for this research to finish.

Basis and testing status

Source identifiers: S01, S04, S06, S10, S14, S17. Official URLs and locators are listed on the law pages. The actions in this walkthrough are preservation suggestions, not a claim that the law requires every person to complete every step.

Document checks have been done. Real-device testing on Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android, testing with five non-technical users, and lawyer sign-off have not.

Work record

A private working note, not a sworn statement.

• Work number
• Title or working title
• Type: writing / book / illustration / photography / other / don't know
• Your relationship to the work
• Original file name and where it used to be kept (private)
• What you have: original file / copy / web page / paper / other
• When it was made (month or year alone is fine)
• Basis for that date: my memory / a field in the file / an email at the time / a publication record / don't know
• First publication date, place and version (as far as you know)
• Co-created, made in employment, or commissioned?
• Ever assigned or licensed: yes / no / unknown — on what basis
• Was AI or third-party material used when making it: yes / no / unknown — what you know
• How and when it was copied or exported
• Where the existing metadata came from and any known changes
• What is missing, why, and who might still hold it
• Who filled this in, when, in what time zone, and whether from memory afterwards