Every year, millions of physical items change hands, are sold, passed on, lost, forgotten or unfortunately stolen.
Yet once separated from its owner, an object often becomes just one object among many.
Even when it is found by law enforcement or handed over to an authority, it is often impossible to identify its rightful owner with certainty. Without usable information, many items are never returned.
Added to this is a reality that has become part of everyday life: the growth of the second-hand market. Buying or selling an item is essentially based on trust. How can you know whether an object comes from theft? How can you prove that you really own it? How can proof of ownership be preserved over time when original documents disappear?
Today, registries exist for a few very specific categories: vehicles, domain names, certain patents or some specialised items. But there is no universal system for identifying, documenting and proving ownership of most physical items around us.
The Woobaz answer
WOOBAZ was created precisely to address this absence.
WOOBAZ aims to build a universal registry of physical items, independent of manufacturers, insurers, resellers and states. Its purpose is not to replace existing systems, but to create the missing link between them.
Each registered item can be associated with one or more identification elements: manufacturer serial number, engraving, QR code, RFID or NFC chip, microdot, invisible marking, certificate or any other method that can permanently link an object to its owner.
When an object has no original identifier, Woobaz encourages and supports the implementation of suitable marking through a network of specialised partners.
An ambition broader than fighting theft
WOOBAZ's ambition goes far beyond simply fighting theft.
It is about enabling everyone to build a reliable digital inventory of their items, preserve proof of ownership over time, facilitate insurance procedures, secure second-hand transactions, improve the chances of returning found objects and, ultimately, encourage better traceability of items throughout their existence.
Because a physical item often has economic value, but also emotional, historical or heritage value, it deserves an identity as lasting as that of its owner.
Lasting principles
WOOBAZ is based on a few simple principles that will sustainably guide its development:
- neutrality
- transparency
- traceability
- personal data protection
- no compromise on trust
All sensitive consultations are logged. Access is traced. Owners are informed when an authorised authority consults information about their items. Every change to the system is designed to strengthen this relationship of trust.
WOOBAZ's objective is not merely to create a database.
Its ambition is to gradually become a trust infrastructure serving the identity of physical items.
An open, sustainable and international infrastructure, able to interact with manufacturers, partners, authorities, insurers, second-hand platforms and, above all, the millions of owners who want to be able to simply prove that an item belongs to them.
