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EVIDENCE EXCHANGE (A/K/A PERAOGULNE CORP.) AWARDED PATENT ON SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR SECURELY DUPLICATING DIGITAL DOCUMENTS
( New York, NY ) - August 18, 2007
Evidence Exchange, a world leader in Electronic Discovery Processing (EDP), has been issued a U.S. Patent for its "System and Method for Securely Duplicating Digital Documents”, the core technology within its Electronic Discovery Processing Tool, called the Secure Digital Photocopier (“SDP”).

"When we built our flagship product, the SDP, it was in anticipation of a time when the revised federal rules required automated chain-of-custody documentation in connection with the routine processing of “Electronically Stored Information” (“ESI”)," said Michael Prounis, CEO / Co-Founder for Evidence Exchange. "The granting of this patent validates our technology leadership, reflects our history of innovation and protects our intellectual property. Our reliance on this technology is further proof that the issues of ESI chain-of-custody documentation and ESI authentication have emerged as critical Electronic Discovery issues that can no longer be ignored."

Evidence Exchange’s Proven, Patented Technology is the 1st USPTO Patent Awarded for Electronic Discovery Processing and Automated Chain-of-Custody Documentation. It will be vital to Native file format and/or PDF-based Production Initiatives, as contemplated by the revised 2006 Federal Rules governing Electronic Discovery.

About the Patent

Evidence Exchange's U.S. patent (#7,134,020 B2) describes Evidence Exchange's unique method of for securely duplicating documents of disparate types. This business process is used to provide detailed chain of custody information about the various E-Discovery processing strategies employed and is used to build a solid chain of custody from which to authenticate source files and “native” file format productions. This patent includes 53 claims covering among other things:

storage means for storing at least one original file, each containing no more than one original document, said original file being in a first format;
conversion means for converting said original file from said first format to a canonical format thereby generating a duplicate file containing a duplicate document of said original document;
embedding means for embedding notary data associated with said original file into said duplicate file, said notary data being capable of authenticating said original file; and
indexing means for inserting a unique sequence number including at least a portion of said notary data into said duplicate file to provide a cryptographically secure link between said duplicate document and said original document.

Significance of Patent

Chain of custody, under the revised federal rules, can become a complex issue, particularly when one tiny component of a compound document (e.g., e-mail or database file) can become the critical piece of evidence. Steps often taken in post-collection processing (including production) can frequently modify the underlying source data. Virus infected files, encrypted files, corrupted files often need to be modified to be processed. Likewise, non-textual files such as voicemail, video and audio need to be converted to be processed. These requirements can weaken the chain of custody unless parallel steps are taken to link the processed file back to its original state. Evidence Exchange’s patented process is similar to a FEDEX or UPS tracking system that not only tracks packages shipped, but also each package’s contents, their subcomponents and future states (i.e., production formats) without opening or altering the packages themselves.

For more details, please see http://www.uspto.gov/web/patents/patog/week45/OG/html/1312-1/US07134020-20061107.html

Evidence Exchange has been at the forefront of legal document processing since its inception in 1996 and has developed many of the tools and techniques now accepted as standards in the field. It is the first company to provide a system for securely duplicating documents of disparate types so that there is a cryptographically secure link between the copy and the original. This innovative process is called the Secure Digital Photocopier (SDP) and works by taking electronic files of any format and converting them to readable, searchable, printable PDF and/or TIFF files, while it fingerprints and digitally notarizes them so they are secure through the entire discovery process.

Founded as a software development venture in 1996, Evidence Exchange is a privately-held company with offices at Suite 1010, 21 Penn Plaza, New York, NY 10001. Founders have over 50 years of expertise in the legal service industry.

Contact:

Mike Prounis or Myron Eagle
Evidence Exchange
21 Penn Plaza
New York, NY 10001
(212) 594-2500
michael.prounis@evidenceexchange.com
myron.eagle@evidenceexchange.com

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