The important part is in the grey box. The guy went to a notary public and legalized a statement that he could later use in court.
You could take your idea further and actually charge users to have their submission automatically notarized, after they prove their real life identity, of course (there's already a startup that offers to certify users' identities, anyone remember the name?).
You're right, it's situations like that which brought up this idea. Some way to reliably document a statement or idea and the date just seems like a useful service.
The notarization would be a bit difficult since each state has their own rules and laws. Additionally, I think they all have a residency requirements, at least the two states I've been a notary in did.
The important part is in the grey box. The guy went to a notary public and legalized a statement that he could later use in court.
You could take your idea further and actually charge users to have their submission automatically notarized, after they prove their real life identity, of course (there's already a startup that offers to certify users' identities, anyone remember the name?).