2025, July, the 29th
As blockchain is gradually establishing itself as a central tool for traceability and rights protection strategies, we are witnessing European courts beginning to draw increasingly clear boundaries around its evidentiary value.
Two recent decisions, delivered in March 2025 by the French Conseil d’État and the Judicial Court of Marseille, mark a turning point. They lay the groundwork for a balance between technological innovation and legal security, recognizing the essential role of legal officers in the validation of digital evidence.
A Higher Standard for the Reliability of Digital Evidence
In a decision dated March 10, 2025 (No. 0472387), the French Conseil d’État reaffirmed a fundamental principle: digital evidence, even when accompanied by metadata (such as a time-stamped photograph), cannot be considered fully reliable if it is not secured by a trusted authority.
Why? Because metadata—technical information attached to a file, such as creation date, device used, or geolocation—can be altered after the fact. In the context of a legal dispute, this vulnerability weakens the evidentiary weight of the document. In this case, the court upheld a previous decision that dismissed a series of photographs as evidence, ruling that their date could not be considered sufficiently authenticated.
This position reflects a broader trend in European law: the demand for authenticity, traceability, and integrity in digital evidence, particularly when used in litigation.
Blockchain: A Powerful but Non-Autonomous Tool
This raises a natural question: Is blockchain sufficient to guarantee the integrity of digital evidence? At first glance, yes—public blockchains are known for being tamper-proof, decentralized, and time-stamped. But the legal reality is more nuanced.
In the same decision, the Conseil d’État specified that only a legal officer, operating directly on the blockchain through their own node, can provide sufficient legal guarantees.
Why? Because between the time a file is created and the time it is recorded on the blockchain, it can be altered. Only the involvement of a public officer, recognized by the state, can ensure the certainty of the file’s authenticity and timestamp.
In other words: blockchain is a tool—but it does not replace the legal officer. It strengthens their report, but cannot stand on its own.
Toward a Regulated Legal Recognition of Blockchain
This is where a second decision comes into play, delivered on March 20, 2025 by the Judicial Court of Marseille (No. 23/00046). In this case, a blockchain timestamp report created through the BlockchainyourIP platform by a legal officer was fully recognized as valid proof of copyright ownership.
The court affirmed that when a legal officer uses a blockchain anchoring solution to establish a report, the result carries full evidentiary value. However, this recognition depends on a key element: the direct and traceable involvement of the public officer in the registration process.
This ruling represents a significant step forward for creators, artists, companies, and platforms seeking to protect their rights in a digital environment.
Consistent and Complementary Case Law
These two decisions are not contradictory—on the contrary, they are perfectly complementary.
- The first confirms that digital evidence, when left to stand alone, does not have sufficient probative force.
- The second recognizes that blockchain can become a robust medium of proof, only if it is supported by the intervention of a legal officer.
This coherence lays the foundation for a stable legal framework in the years ahead. It allows stakeholders—particularly in the fields of art, innovation, and intellectual property—to build strong evidence strategies that combine advanced technologies with legal reliability.
What Does This Mean for ARTTS Users?
At ARTTS, this case law fully supports our hybrid approach: combining cutting-edge technology with the involvement of trusted professionals such as legal officers.
In practical terms, this means that an artist, gallery, or collector can:
- anchor a work of art on a blockchain via ARTTS,
- request a legal officer to verify the work, its date, and associated data,
- and benefit from complete, legally enforceable proof in case of litigation or verification needs.
This approach is particularly relevant in disputes over authenticity, authorship, or intellectual property. It also responds to growing demands from the secondary art market, insurance companies, and cultural institutions.
Conclusion: Legal Security Requires a Smart Alliance
The case law of 2025 shows that European law is moving in the right direction: it recognizes the usefulness of digital tools but requires a reliable and traceable human framework to support them.
Blockchain alone is not enough. The involvement of a legal officer, operating through their own blockchain node, guarantees the integrity of the evidence. This combination paves the way for a new generation of certifications—robust, transparent, and fully recognized in court.
At ARTTS, we believe that technology only gains legal value when it is embedded within a trusted ecosystem. And that is precisely what we are building: a secure, accessible, and compliant environment for all professionals in the art and culture sector.
François Toussaint