Patent attributes
Electronic documents corresponding to executed paper documents are certified. A certifying agent receives an electronic document and a corresponding paper document that had been executed pursuant to some transaction. The certifying agent compares the information contained in the paper to that in the electronic mortgage document. If the paper adequately corresponds to the electronic document and is otherwise sufficient, then the certifying agent certifies the electronic document so that other parties can reliably engage in transactions involving the electronic document without having to possess or otherwise inspect the executed paper document. Certification involves application of some form of indicia of certification to the electronic document, such as updating the value of a field corresponding to certification in the electronic document and/or applying a digital or electronic signature corresponding to the certifying agent to the electronic document.
