Patent ID: 7546259

Claim:
A method of using a computer system to validate securities certificates at the time of dematerialization, comprising: obtaining identifying indicia for an instant physical securities certificate, wherein the indicia is read from the instant physical securities certificate, querying a database with the indicia; generating, in the computer system, a match entry indicative that the queried indicia matches a securities certificate record in the database, if the indicia matches a securities certificate record in the database, wherein the securities certificate record in the database indicates that a physical version of a respective securities certificate is already invalid, wherein invalid constitutes that a certificate is to be described as being in at least one of the following states including: destroyed, and escheated; storing the match entry in the database; generating, in the computer system, a new entry representing the instant physical securities certificate, if the indicia does not match a securities certificate record in the database, wherein the new entry indicates that the instant physical securities certificate has become invalid; storing the new entry in the database; storing an electronic facsimile of the instant physical securities certificate in a database record, wherein if the facsimile entry is associated with the match entry, then the match entry is flagged as being invalid, flagging the new entry as being invalid, if the facsimile entry is associated with the new entry; alerting entities of entries made in the database, wherein the alerts provide notice of trafficking in invalid certificates, if the indicia matches a securities certificate record in the database, and wherein the alerts are sent to any of: brokers, transfer agents, system administrators, banks, securities issuers, law enforcement agencies, and a DTCC.