Patent ID: 6944648

Claim:
A method for generating and transferring electronic documents, comprising: uploading and storing an electronic document to a document system from a customer system over a network; designating the uploaded electronic document as a single authoritative copy and as a transferable record; generating and storing a salt value that is associated with the uploaded electronic document; generating and storing a digest of the uploaded electronic document using the generated salt value; and identifying the holder in due course of the uploaded electronic document; and transferring the uploaded electronic document to a new holder in due course, wherein transferring comprises: endorsing the document by the present holder in due course to a new holder in due course; sending the endorsed document, the associated stored salt value, and the associated generated digest to the new holder in due course; verifying that the sent document is the single authoritative copy based on the associated stored salt value and the associated generate digest; storing a new electronic document to the document system from the new holder in due course; generating and storing a new salt value that is associated with the newly stored electronic document; and generating and storing a new digest of the newly uploaded electric document using the generated new salt value.