{
  "slug": "proof-of-ownership",
  "term": "Proof of ownership (deduplication)",
  "aliases": [
    "PoW (deduplication)"
  ],
  "definition": "A proof of ownership lets a deduplication client demonstrate possession of file content beyond a short identifier to a storage service.",
  "note": "The client is the prover, reversing the roles of remote storage auditing. The original author presentation assumes bounded leakage and remaining file uncertainty; it distinguishes PoW from full retrievability. This is evidence of data possession, not legal title or an authorization policy. [pow2011-slides]",
  "related": [
    "deduplication",
    "deduplication-side-channel",
    "proof-of-retrievability",
    "provable-data-possession",
    "cryptographic-hash"
  ],
  "citations": [
    {
      "id": "pow2011-slides",
      "title": "Halevi et al. Proofs of Ownership in Remote Storage Systems. Author slides, July 2011, 10-13, 25-31, 41-46.",
      "url": "https://people.csail.mit.edu/shaih/pubs/PoW-Watson-July2011.pdf",
      "accessed": "2026-10-18"
    },
    {
      "id": "hesela-storage-proofs",
      "title": "Hesela: Encrypted deduplication, ownership proofs and remote storage audit boundaries",
      "url": "https://hesela.com/analyses/encrypted-deduplication-trust-boundaries/#storage-proofs",
      "accessed": "2026-10-18"
    }
  ],
  "status": "research",
  "advantages": [],
  "limitations": [],
  "supersedes": [],
  "supersededBy": [],
  "firstSeen": null,
  "lastSeen": null,
  "updated": "2026-10-18"
}