Patent ID: 8533477

Claim:
An apparatus for generating authentication information for an electronic document image that is transmitted by facsimile transmission, the apparatus comprising: a facsimile communication interface that is connectable to a physical medium that represents at least part of a communication network for sending or receiving facsimile data in accordance with a facsimile protocol, at least a portion of the facsimile data being derived from the electronic document image; a storage device communicatively coupled to the facsimile communication interface for storing the electronic document image; an authentication information generator that is connectable to the physical medium and being operative to read the facsimile data from the physical medium when the facsimile data is being sent or received by the facsimile communication interface via the physical medium and to produce authentication information during the facsimile transmission that is derived from the facsimile data read from the physical medium during the facsimile transmission; and a storage media interface communicatively coupled to the authentication information generator for storing the authentication information to a storage medium.