This depends on a lot of factors.
If, like you say, the file is copied between systems, it's up to the OS and the "copying agent" in question to determine what to use as creation-time: The creation time of the original system? The creation time on the local system? In addition, this can usually be overridden, such as with rsync
you have the -t
switch which will make it preserve the original modification time.
To determine the creation time in a reliable way, you have to look at each step along the way and ensure that the original creation time has been preserved. Depending on the file type, there might also be some meta-data in the file relating to its age.