Use Case
An unbroken chain from creation to distribution.
Cryptographic ingredient chain tracking for every asset.
Chain of custody means an unbroken, verifiable record of who had an asset, what they did with it, and when. Verbitas implements this via the C2PA ingredient chain: each edit or transformation creates a new manifest node that references its parent. The result is a verifiable lineage from the original capture to the final distributed version.
How it works
- 01 Original creation: Verbitas signs the asset with a C2PA manifest
- 02 Edit or transformation: Verbitas creates a new manifest node with ingredient reference
- 03 Each node is RFC 3161 timestamped by a trusted TSA
- 04 The ingredient chain is embedded in the file and stored in the Verbitas index
- 05 Downstream verifiers see the full lineage when they verify the asset
Technical notes
Ingredient chain tracking requires that each step in the pipeline calls Verbitas. Steps that do not call Verbitas break the chain — the verifier will report the break. The require_ingredient_chain flag in the recipe enforces that the chain is present in verification.
Limitations
Chain of custody only covers steps that call the Verbitas API. Steps performed outside Verbitas (e.g., by third parties without integration) will appear as gaps in the chain. A gap means "unknown," not "tampered." Verbitas does not make claims about steps it did not observe.