Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02868275 2014-10-20
Title: Methods and Systems for Exchanging Electronic Documents
Field
[1] The described embodiments relate to methods and systems for exchanging
electronic documents and in particular, for exchanging electronic documents
for legal
proceedings.
Background
[2] Information exchange is continuously evolving with technological
advancements.
The widespread availability of various forms of electronic communication, for
example,
has facilitated information sharing between different entities.
[3]
Electronic mail (e-mail), for instance, provides for nearly instantaneous
transmission of messages to other(s). The messages can also include various
media
types, such as documents, images, etc. Electronic exchange systems that can
electronically receive information (e.g., documents) from one user and
electronically
provide that information to other users can minimize restrictions associated
with
physical submission boxes and/or availability of staff to receive the
information.
Information exchange, therefore, is now less restricted by transit time and
accessibility
of physical submission locations.
[4]
However, as information exchange increases in convenience, certain aspects
of
information exchange may require further consideration. In certain settings,
for
example, the time at which a document is received by an electronic exchange
system
can be critical. Although there is less restriction on when submissions can be
received,
the electronic exchange system should nevertheless operate to provide timely
responses to the submissions. Continuous authentication of the submission may
also
be required depending on the impact that the submission may have.
[5]
For example, legal proceedings generally involve a rigid timeline for each
party to
submit documents to each other as well as to respond to the submissions from
the
other party. The authenticity of the legal documents may, in some cases, be
also
difficult to verify due, at least, to the large volume of documents generally
associated
with legal proceedings.
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[6] Electronic document exchange systems can facilitate information
exchange.
Other aspects of the information exchange, such as verification and
authentication, may
also be enhanced.
Summary
[7] The various embodiments described herein generally relate to methods
(and
associated systems configured to implement the methods) for exchanging
electronic
documents. Generally, the various embodiments described herein may be applied
in
systems that involve some verification of the submission of the electronic
documents.
For example, the various embodiments described herein may be directed to the
exchange of electronic documents for legal proceedings, for educational
purposes, and
other similar applications.
[8] In some embodiments, there is provided a method of exchanging
electronic
documents for a legal proceeding. The method including: receiving, by a
document
exchange system, an exchange initiation request from an exchange creator, the
exchange initiation request comprising a set of user identifiers and the set
of user
identifiers including two or more user identifiers corresponding to respective
users
associated with the legal proceeding; receiving, by the document exchange
system, a
document submission request from a sender for the legal proceeding, the sender
being
associated with a sender identifier, wherein receiving the document submission
request comprises determining whether the sender identifier is within the set
of user
identifiers to authenticate the sender is a user associated with the legal
proceeding and
receiving an electronic document from the sender; storing the electronic
document in a
storage component when the sender is authenticated and otherwise, indicate the
sender is not associated with the legal proceeding, the storage component
being in
electronic communication with the document exchange system; receiving, from
the
sender, a recipient list for the electronic document, the recipient list
comprising one or
more recipient identifiers associated with one or more respective intended
recipients of
the electronic document and the one or more recipient identifiers being within
the set of
user identifiers; providing the one or more intended recipients with access to
the
electronic document; and in response to providing the one or more intended
recipients
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with access to the electronic document, generating, by the document exchange
system,
an exchange record for the electronic document, the exchange record providing,
at
least, (i) a receipt confirmation indicating the electronic document was
received by the
document exchange system and (ii) a receipt verification link to the exchange
record
stored in the storage component.
[9] In some embodiments, the storage component may be separate from the
document exchange system.
[10] For example, in some embodiments, the receipt verification link can
include a
Universal Resource Link (URL) that provides access to the exchange record
stored in
the storage component.
[11] In some embodiments, the exchange record may include an access link to
the
electronic document stored in the storage component. The access link can, in
some
embodiments, include a URL that provides access to the electronic document
stored in
the storage component. The URL may be encoded as a Quick Response (OR) code in
some embodiments.
[12] In some embodiments, generating the exchange record for the electronic
document may include generating a unique exchange record for each recipient
identifier
in the recipient list, each unique exchange record including, at least, a
recipient name
associated with the respective recipient identifier.
[13] In some embodiments, generating the exchange record for the electronic
document may include providing the sender with access to the exchange record.
[14] The exchange record, in some embodiments, can include data associated
with
at least one of (i) the electronic document and (ii) the legal proceeding. The
data
associated with the electronic document can include a screenshot of at least
one page
of the electronic document.
[15] The receipt confirmation can, in some embodiments, include at least a
timestamp and a recipient name corresponding to at least one recipient
identifier in the
recipient list.
[16] In some embodiments, providing the one or more intended recipients with
access to the electronic document via the document exchange system may
include:
generating a notification of the receipt of the electronic document by the
document
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exchange system; and transmitting the notification to the one or more intended
recipients.
[17] The two or more user identifiers can, in some embodiments, include a user
identifier corresponding to at least one of (i) a party to the legal
proceeding and (ii) a
legal counsel for one of the parties to the legal proceeding.
[18] The exchange creator can, in some embodiments, include an administrator
user
who is not associated with a user identifier within the set of user
identifiers.
[19] In some embodiments, there is provided a system of exchanging electronic
documents for a legal proceeding. The system including: a storage component;
and at
least one processor in electronic communication with the storage component,
the at
least one processor being configured to: receive an exchange initiation
request from an
exchange creator, the exchange initiation request comprising a set of user
identifiers
and the set of user identifiers including two or more user identifiers
corresponding to
respective users associated with the legal proceeding; receive an electronic
document
from a sender for the legal proceeding, the sender being associated with a
sender
identifier, wherein receiving the electronic document comprises determining
whether the
sender identifier is within the set of user identifiers to authenticate the
sender is a user
associated with the legal proceeding; storing the electronic document in the
storage
component when the sender is authenticated and otherwise, indicate the sender
is not
associated with the legal proceeding; receive, from the sender, a recipient
list for the
electronic document, the recipient list comprising one or more recipient
identifiers
associated with one or more respective intended recipients of the electronic
document
and the one or more recipient identifiers being within the set of user
identifiers; provide
the one or more intended recipients with access to the electronic document;
and in
response to providing the one or more intended recipients with access to the
electronic
document, generate an exchange record for the electronic document, the
exchange
record providing, at least, (i) a receipt confirmation indicating the
electronic document
was received and (ii) a receipt verification link to the exchange record
stored in the
storage component.
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. .
Brief Description of the Drawings
[20] Several embodiments will now be described in detail with reference to the
drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of components interacting with a document exchange
system in accordance with an example embodiment;
FIG. 2 is a flowchart of an example embodiment of various methods of
exchanging electronic documents;
FIG. 3 is a screenshot of a user profile within the document exchange system
in
accordance with an example embodiment;
FIGS. 4A and 4B are screenshots of a new user invitation interface within the
document exchange system in accordance with an example embodiment;
FIGS. 5A and 5B are screenshots of an exchange initiation request interface in
accordance with an example embodiment;
FIG. 50 is a screenshot of an exchange summary interface in accordance with
an example embodiment;
FIG. 6A is a screenshot of a document upload interface in accordance with an
example embodiment;
FIG. 6B is a screenshot of a recipient selection interface in accordance with
an
example embodiment;
FIG. 60 is a screenshot of the exchange summary interface of FIG. 50 at a
different time in accordance with an example embodiment;
FIG. 6D is a screenshot of another exchange summary interface in accordance
with another example embodiment; and
FIG. 7 is a screenshot of an exchange record in accordance with an example
embodiment.
[21] The drawings, described below, are provided for purposes of illustration,
and not
of limitation, of the aspects and features of various examples of embodiments
described herein. For simplicity and clarity of illustration, elements shown
in the
drawings have not necessarily been drawn to scale. The dimensions of some of
the
elements may be exaggerated relative to other elements for clarity. It will be
appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration, where considered
appropriate,
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=
reference numerals may be repeated among the drawings to indicate
corresponding or
analogous elements or steps.
Description of Example Embodiments
[22] The various embodiments described herein generally relate to methods (and
associated systems configured to implement the methods) for exchanging
electronic
documents. Generally, the various embodiments described herein may be applied
in
systems that involve a degree of verification of the submission of the
electronic
documents. For example, the various embodiments described herein may be
directed
to the exchange of electronic documents for legal proceedings, for educational
purposes, and other similar applications.
[23] Generally, the methods described herein can include receiving an exchange
initiation request from an exchange creator. The exchange creator may be an
administrative user who is not part of the document exchange or may be a user
associated with the document exchange. For example, when the methods are used
for
the exchange of electronic documents for legal proceedings, the exchange
creator may
include a user associated with the legal proceeding itself, such as a party to
the legal
proceeding or a legal counsel for a party to the legal proceeding. The
exchange
initiation request can include a set of user identifiers that identify the
users who are
associated with the legal proceeding, for example, and will participate, to
some extent,
to the exchange of documents ¨ whether as senders of the documents, recipients
of
the documents and/or viewers of the documents.
[24] After the exchange initiation request is received by the document
exchange
system, a document submission request can be received from a sender. The
sender
can be associated with a user identifier, or referred to as a sender
identifier. When the
document submission request is received by the document exchange system, the
document exchange system can authenticate the sender to ensure that the sender
is
authorized to engage in the document exchange and to receive an electronic
document
from the sender. For example, the document exchange system can authenticate
the
sender by determining whether the sender identifier is within the set of user
identifiers
provided by the exchange creator, When the document exchange system determines
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that the sender is authorized to engage in that particular document exchange,
the
document exchange system can store the received electronic document in a
storage
component The described system can also receive a recipient list for the
electronic
document from the sender. The recipient list can identify the users from the
set of user
identifiers who are intended to be provided with access to the electronic
document
and/or a listing of electronic documents for which each of the users can
access via the
document exchange system.
[25] When the intended recipients are provided with access to the electronic
document, the described systems can then generate an exchange record. The
exchange record can include various different information. In particular, the
exchange
record can include a confirmation of receipt of the electronic document (or
receipt
confirmation data) and a receipt verification link to the exchange record
stored in the
storage component. Other information, such as the sender identifier and
certain
properties of the electronic document, may similarly be provided by the
exchange
record.
[26] The exchange record can be applied in electronic document exchange
systems
that involve certain time limits on document submissions by any of the
associated
users. As electronic document exchange systems become more prevalently used,
the
ability to efficiently regulate and verify the submissions increases in
importance. In legal
proceedings, for example, certain documents must be served on the other party
within a
regulated time period. The exchange record can therefore be proof of when the
document was submitted by the sender. However, it can be difficult to verify
which
version of the electronic document led to the generation of the exchange
record.
[27] An example verification of the electronic document may involve providing
the
receipt verification link. When an exchange record is provided as proof of a
submission,
the individual responsible for verifying the submission can access the stored
exchange
record via the receipt verification link and verify the exchange record by
comparing the
exchange record with the stored exchange record.
[28] Another example verification of the electronic document may involve
providing
an access link as part of the exchange record. By providing the access link as
part of
the exchange record, the version of the electronic document can, in some
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'
embodiments, be easily verified by an individual with access to the exchange
record. As
briefly noted, in certain legal proceedings, strict timelines may be set for
each of the
parties to serve onto the other party certain documents. This helps to ensure
fairness in
the legal proceedings so that the recipient of the document will have
sufficient time to
respond and for the legal proceeding itself to be as expedient as possible.
Therefore,
while the ability to show that documents were submitted and made available by
the
relevant parties by a certain time can be crucial, it may, in some cases, be
important to
facilitate access to the document associated with the exchange record.
[29] With the exchange record described herein, an individual, such as a court
official
or legal counsel in the case of a legal proceeding or a teacher in the case of
an
education environment, provided with access to the exchange record may,
generally,
gain access to the associated electronic document. As a result, the individual
can easily
gain access to the authentic version of the electronic document. There may be
situations in which access to the electronic documents may be limited to
certain
individuals due to privacy and security concerns.
[30] Also, in some embodiments, certain users may be associated with a user
type
and the user type may be associated with a predefined scope of access to the
electronic documents. For example, a user identifier corresponding to a judge
and/or
his/her clerk can be associated with a judge user type. The described system
can
define the scope of access for the judge user type to include all electronic
documents
received in respect of the legal proceeding even if the judge/clerk were not
specifically
identified as recipients of those electronic documents. Other user types can
include a
prosecutor user type for a legal counsel working on behalf of the attorney
general's
office, a teacher user type for a teacher, teaching assistant and/or professor
of a
course, a student user type for a participant of a course, and other user
types
depending on the application of the described system.
[31] It will be appreciated that numerous specific details are set forth in
order to
provide a thorough understanding of the example embodiments described herein.
However, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the
embodiments
described herein may be practiced without these specific details. In other
instances,
well-known methods, procedures and components have not been described in
detail so
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as not to obscure the embodiments described herein. Furthermore, this
description and
the drawings are not to be considered as limiting the scope of the embodiments
described herein in any way, but rather as merely describing the
implementation of the
various embodiments described herein.
[32] The embodiments of the systems and methods described herein may be
implemented in hardware or software, or a combination of both. These
embodiments
may be implemented in computer programs executing on programmable computers,
each computer including at least one processor, a data storage system
(including
volatile memory or non-volatile memory or other data storage elements or a
combination thereof), and at least one communication interface. For example
and
without limitation, the programmable computers (referred to below as computing
devices) may be a server, network appliance, embedded device, computer
expansion
module, a personal computer, laptop, personal data assistant, cellular
telephone,
smart-phone device, tablet computer, a wireless device or any other computing
device
capable of being configured to carry out the methods described herein.
[33] In some embodiments, the communication interface may be a network
communication interface. In embodiments in which elements are combined, the
communication interface may be a software communication interface, such as
those for
inter-process communication (IPC). In still other embodiments, there may be a
combination of communication interfaces implemented as hardware, software, and
combination thereof.
[34] Program code may be applied to input data to perform the functions
described
herein and to generate output information. The output information is applied
to one or
more output devices, in known fashion.
[35] Each program may be implemented in a high level procedural or object
oriented
programming and/or scripting language, or both, to communicate with a computer
system. However, the programs may be implemented in assembly or machine
language, if desired. In any case, the language may be a compiled or
interpreted
language. Each such computer program may be stored on a storage media or a
device
(e.g. ROM, magnetic disk, optical disc) readable by a general or special
purpose
programmable computer, for configuring and operating the computer when the
storage
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media or device is read by the computer to perform the procedures described
herein.
Embodiments of the system may also be considered to be implemented as a non-
transitory computer-readable storage medium, configured with a computer
program,
where the storage medium so configured causes a computer to operate in a
specific
and predefined manner to perform the functions described herein.
[36] Furthermore, the system, processes and methods of the described
embodiments
are capable of being distributed in a computer program product comprising a
computer
readable medium that bears computer usable instructions for one or more
processors.
The medium may be provided in various forms, including one or more diskettes,
compact disks, tapes, chips, wireline transmissions, satellite transmissions,
internet
transmission or downloadings, magnetic and electronic storage media, digital
and
analog signals, and the like. The computer useable instructions may also be in
various
forms, including compiled and non-compiled code.
[37] Reference is first made to FIG. 1, which illustrates a block diagram 100
of
components interacting with a document exchange system 140. As shown, the
document exchange system 140 is in electronic communication with a network
storage
component 120 and computing devices 110A and 110B via a network 130.
[38] Each of the computing devices 110A, 110B may be any networked device
operable to connect to the network 130. A networked device is a device capable
of
communicating with other devices through a network such as the network 130. A
network device may couple to the network 130 through a wired or wireless
connection.
[39] As noted, these computing devices 110 may include at least a processor
and
memory, and may be an electronic tablet device, a personal computer,
workstation,
server, portable computer, mobile device, personal digital assistant, laptop,
smart
phone, WAP phone, an interactive television, video display terminals, gaming
consoles,
and portable electronic devices or any combination of these.
[40] In some embodiments, these computing devices 110 may be a laptop, or a
smartphone device equipped with a network adapter for connecting to the
Internet. In
some embodiments, the connection request initiated from the computing devices
110A,
110B may be initiated from a web browser and directed at the browser-based
communications application on the document exchange system 140.
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[41] In the illustrated example, each of the computing devices 110A and 110B
may
be associated with a different user. For example, the document exchange system
140
may receive the electronic document from a sender via the computing device
110A and
the document exchange system 140 may provide one of the recipients with access
to
the electronic document. One of the recipients may then access the electronic
document using the computing device 110B, for example. It will be understood
that
although two computing devices 110A, 110B are shown in FIG. 1, other number of
computing devices 110 may access the document exchange system 140 via the
network 130. For example, it may be possible for only one computing device 110
to be
provided for receiving input from the various users and also displaying the
relevant
outputs to the respective users. It may also be possible for more than two
computing
devices 110 to access the document exchange system 140 via the network 130.
[42] The network 130 may be any network capable of carrying data, including
the
Internet, Ethernet, plain old telephone service (POTS) line, public switch
telephone
network (PSTN), integrated services digital network (ISDN), digital subscriber
line
(DSL), coaxial cable, fiber optics, satellite, mobile, wireless (e.g. Wi-Fi,
WiMAX), SS7
signaling network, fixed line, local area network, wide area network, and
others,
including any combination of these, capable of interfacing with, and enabling
communication between, the computing devices 110, the document exchange system
140 and the network storage component 120.
[43] The network storage component 120, as shown, is separate from the
document
exchange system 140. Generally, the network storage component 120 can be
provided
using any suitable data storage elements, such as disk drives, etc., and may
include
one or more databases (not shown) for storing information relating to, for
example, the
electronic documents and the users. In some embodiments, one database may be
used to store this information. In some other embodiments, one database may be
used
to store, for example, information related to the electronic documents (e.g.,
a document
database) and another database may be used to store, for example, information
related
to the users (e.g., a user information database). As will be described, the
local storage
component 146 within the document exchange system 140 may operate to provide
similar functions as the network storage component 120.
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'
[44] The document exchange system 140 includes a processor 142, an interface
component 144, a management component 148 and a local storage component 146.
For ease of exposition, only one document exchange system 140 is shown.
However, it
will be understood that there may be multiple document exchange systems 140
distributed over a wide geographic area and connected via the network 130.
[45] It will be understood that in some embodiments, each of the processor142,
the
interface component 144, the management component 148 and the local storage
component 146 may be combined into fewer number of components or may be
separated into further components. Furthermore, the processor 142, the
interface
component 144, the management component 148 and the local storage component
146 may be implemented in software or hardware, or a combination of software
and
hardware.
[46] The interface component 144 may be any interface that enables the
document
exchange system 140 to communicate with other devices and systems. In some
embodiments, the interface component 144 can include at least one of a serial
port, a
parallel port or a USB port. The interface component 144 may also include at
least one
of an Internet, Local Area Network (LAN), Ethernet, Firewire, modem or digital
subscriber line connection. Various combinations of these elements may be
incorporated within the interface component 144.
[47] For example, the interface component 144 may receive input from various
input
devices, such as a mouse, a keyboard, a touch screen, a thumbwheel, a track-
pad, a
track-ball, a card-reader, voice recognition software and the like depending
on the
requirements and implementation of the document exchange system 140.
[48] The local storage component 146 can include RAM, ROM, one or more hard
drives, one or more flash drives or some other suitable data storage elements
such as
disk drives, etc. The local storage component 146, like the network storage
component
120, may include one or more databases (not shown) for storing information
relating to,
for example, the electronic documents and the users. In some embodiments, one
database may be used to store this information. In some other embodiments, one
database may be used to store, for example, information related to the
electronic
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documents (e.g., a document database) and another database may be used to
store,
for example, information related to the users (e.g., a user information
database),
[49] Unlike the network storage component 120, the local storage component 146
can be provided as part of the document exchange system 140 and can be in
electronic
communication with the other components of the document exchange system 140,
such as the processor 142, the interface component 144 and the management
component 148, without accessing the network 130. It will be understood that,
depending on the configuration of the document exchange system 140, the data
stored
at the local storage component 146 may be the same as or different from the
data
stored at the network storage component 120.
[50] For example, in some embodiments, the local storage component 146 may
operate as temporary storage for any data provided via the interface component
144.
Since the local storage component 146 is accessible by the processor 142
without
accessing the network 130, it may sometimes be more efficient to store data
temporarily at the local storage component 146 and to transmit the data to the
network
storage component 120 when sufficient bandwidth becomes available at the
network
130 and/or when access to the network 130 becomes available.
[51] In some other embodiments, the data stored at each of the local storage
component 146 and the network storage component 120 may be distinguished based
on data types. For example, data that is more frequently accessed by the
processor
142, such as some user information, may be stored at the local storage
component
146, while data that is less frequently accessed by the processor 142, such as
some
electronic documents, may be stored at the network storage component 120. It
will be
understood that other configurations of the data storage may similarly be used
depending on the requirements and implementation of the document exchange
system
140.
[52] The processor 142 may be any suitable processors, controllers or digital
signal
processors that can provide sufficient processing power depending on the
configuration, purposes and requirements of the document exchange system 140.
In
some embodiments, the processor 142 can include more than one processor with
each
processor being configured to perform different dedicated tasks.
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[53] The processor 142 may be configured to control the operation of the
document
exchange system 140. The processor 142 can initiate and manage the operations
of
each of the other components in the document exchange system 140. The
processor
142 may also determine, based on received data, stored data and/or user
preferences,
how the document exchange system 140 may generally operate.
[54] For example, the processor 142 may be configured to receive an exchange
initiation request from a user and to associate certain electronic documents
with the
exchange initiation request. The processor 142 may also be configured to
initiate the
management component 148, when appropriate.
[55] The management component 148 can include various applications associated
with facilitating the exchange of documents by the various users. In some
embodiments, instructions associated with the methods described herein may be
stored
at the management component and implemented by the processor 142.
[56] In some embodiments, the management component 148 may include a profile
application for developing and maintaining a user profile for each user. The
management component 148 may, in some embodiments, include a status
application
for providing a status of each of the electronic documents provided to the
document
exchange system 140. It will be understood that other applications may also be
provided.
[57] FIG. 2 is a flowchart diagram illustrating an example method 200 of
exchanging
electronic documents. To illustrate the method 200, reference will be made
simultaneously to FIGS. 3 to 7 which illustrate various screenshots associated
with an
electronic document exchange system for legal proceedings. It will be
understood that
the method 200 may similarly be applied to different types of document
exchange
systems.
[58] Legal proceedings can generally include any activity associated with a
legal
process, such as, but not limited to, a trial, arbitration, legal transactions
(e.g., real
estate, etc.), administrative hearings, etc. In the case of a trial, the legal
proceeding can
involve various participants, such as the defendant, the plaintiff and their
respective
counsels, presenting evidence and arguments before a decision maker or fact
finder,
such as a judge and/or jury. In the case of legal transactions, the legal
proceeding can
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"
involve parties to the transaction (e.g., seller and purchaser, etc.) and
their respective
counsels defining and negotiating the terms of the legal transaction.
[59] Generally, to access the document exchange system 140, individuals can
register with the document exchange system 140 to have an account with the
document
exchange system and are referred to as users of the document exchange system
140.
FIG. 3 is a screenshot of an example user profile interface 310 for a user
associated
with the user identifier 312, John Smith. The user profile interface 310 may
be
accessed using a browser application 302 via a computing device, such as
computing
device 110A.
[60] As shown in FIG. 3, as a user of the document exchange system 140,
certain
user preferences and account details can be stored for the user. In the
example of FIG.
3, the user profile interface 310 for the user 312 includes account
information 320, such
as personal information 320a (e.g., name and address) and security credentials
320b
(e.g., account password), membership information 330, payment information 340
(e.g.,
credit card information) and notification information 350 (e.g., preferred
forms of
notification, contact information, etc.).
[61] The notification information 350 can also include notification
preferences 352,
such as when the user 312 will be notified and/or what can trigger a
notification to be
provided to the user 312. For example, the example notification preferences
352 of FIG.
3 allow for the user 312 to elect to be notified when served with an
electronic document
via the document exchange system 140, when a document served by the user 312
via
the document exchange system 140 is accessed, when the user 312 is associated
with
a case (or legal proceeding) on the document exchange system 140, and/or when
certain settings are changed. It will be understood that other example
notification
preferences 352 may similarly be provided.
[62] It will also be understood that the types of information illustrated in
the user
profile interface 310 are merely examples and that other types of information
may
instead or also be provided.
[63] As described, in some embodiments, certain users may be associated with a
user type and the user type may be associated with a predefined scope of
access to
the electronic documents. For example, a judge user type can indicate that the
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corresponding user is to receive access to all electronic documents received
in respect
of the legal proceeding even if the judge/clerk were not specifically
identified as
recipients of those electronic documents. In another example, the sender can
select a
user type, such as the prosecutor user type, as recipient of the electronic
document. It
is possible that a prosecutor, arbitrator or judge may not be assigned to the
legal
proceeding when the electronic documents are being received by the system.
Therefore, with the application of the user types, the document exchange
system 140
can either notify a generic user account or the office of the respective user
types of the
electronic document (e.g., the office of the attorney general may be
associated with an
attorney general user account), and/or automatically provide access to the
assigned
prosecutor and/or judge when the document exchange system 140 receives a
notification that a judge or prosecutor has been assigned to the document
exchange.
[64] The examples to be described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 7 generally
involve
individuals who are users of the document exchange system 140.
[65] For example, the user 312 may send individuals invitations to become a
user of
the document exchange system 140 via a new user invitation interface. The new
user
invitation interface may be accessed via an invitation control 360 on the user
profile
interface 310. FIG. 4A illustrates a screenshot of an example new user
invitation
interface 410A in the browser application 302. As shown in FIG. 4A, the new
user
invitation interface 410A can include various fields 412 for identifying an
invitee along
with contact information for the invitee. It will be understood that other
data fields, such
as a message field, may also be provided in the new user invitation interface
410A.
After the document exchange system 140 receives the invitation request via the
new
user invitation interface 410A, the document exchange system 140 can generate
the
new user invitation interface 410B including a confirmation message, such as
the
message 414 shown in FIG. 4B. It will be understood that other messages 414
may
similarly be provided.
[66] At 210, the processor 142 receives an exchange initiation request from an
exchange creator.
[67] The exchange initiation request can initiate a document exchange between
certain users of the document exchange system 140. Generally, the exchange
initiation
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request can include certain properties of the relevant legal proceedings to
enable
associated users to exchange electronic documents for that legal proceeding.
An
example exchange initiation request interface will now be described with
reference to
FIGS. 5A and 5B.
[68] FIG. 5A illustrates an exchange initiation request interface 510A via the
account
interface of the user 312. The exchange initiation request interface 510A, in
this
example, includes case information fields 520 for receiving data associated
with the
legal proceeding and user selection fields 530 for receiving input selecting
users
associated with the legal proceeding.
[69] The case information fields 520 can include a court selection dropdown
box 522,
one or more party identification fields 524 (such as a plaintiff field 524a
and a defendant
field 524b), and a proceeding type field 526. Other information, such as a
court file
number, may also be received via the case information fields 520. As shown in
FIG. 5A,
in this example, the plaintiff field 524a indicates that the user 312, John
Smith, is the
plaintiff in this example legal proceeding, while the defendant field 524b
indicates that
another individual, namely Sandra Jacksonn, is the defendant. The court
selection
dropdown box 522 indicates that the legal proceeding will take place before
the
Superior Court of Justice (Divisional Court) and the proceeding type field 526
indicates
the legal proceeding is a civil matter.
[70] The user selection fields 530 can include a user search control 532 for
receiving
inputs from the exchange creator identifying the relevant users to be
associated with
the legal proceeding. Each of the users selected may be associated with a user
identifier. For embodiments in which one or more individuals are associated
with the
legal proceeding but are not users of the document exchange system 140, the
user
search control 532 will not be able to retrieve a user identifier for those
individuals. In
response, the document exchange system 140 can notify the exchange creator
that the
individuals are not users and provide the exchange creator with access to a
new user
invitation interface, such as 410A of FIG. 4A. The document exchange system
140 may
temporarily include the individuals as part of the document exchange and
associate the
relevant user identifier to the exchange initiation request once the
individual(s) becomes
users.
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CA 02868275 2014-10-20
[71] The exchange initiation request can include a set of user identifiers to
identify the
users associated with the legal proceeding. The selected users are the users
who
should participate in the document exchange for that legal proceeding and/or
be
provided with access to electronic documents associated with the document
exchange
according to the exchange creator. The user identifier corresponding to the
exchange
creator may, in some embodiments, be automatically included in the set of
identifiers.
[72] The set of user identifiers can usually include two or more user
identifiers. Also,
the relationship, or user type, of the selected user can be provided to the
document
exchange system 140, such as via a relationship dropdown box 534 shown in FIG.
5A.
The user identifiers can correspond to a party to the legal proceeding, such
as a plaintiff
or a defendant, or a legal counsel for one of the parties to the legal
proceeding. An
example set of user identifiers 540 is illustrated in FIG. 5B.
[73] The set of user identifiers 540, as shown, includes a user identifier
542a
corresponding to the plaintiff 544a (John Smith), a user identifier 542b
corresponding to
the defendant 544b (Sandra Jacksonn), and a user identifier 542c corresponding
to a
legal counsel for the defendant 544c (Lawyer Joe).
[74] The exchange creator may be a user, such as administrator user, who is
not
associated with the legal proceeding. The exchange creator may, in some
embodiments, access the document exchange system 140 to initiate the document
exchange. For example, the document exchange system 140 may receive the
exchange initiation request from a legal assistant of the defendant's legal
counsel 544c.
The exchange creator in the example shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B is a user
associated
with the legal proceeding, namely, the plaintiff 544a.
[75] In response to the exchange initiation request, the document exchange
system
140 can then facilitate the document exchange by the identified users in
respect of the
legal proceeding. In some embodiments, the document exchange system 140 may
create a user interface, such as an exchange summary interface 550 shown in
FIG. 50,
for illustrating the document exchange. The relevant legal proceedings and
cases may
be identified generally at 560 of the exchange summary interface 550. Other
user
interfaces and controls may similarly be used for facilitating the document
exchange.
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[76] At 220, the processor 142 receives a document submission request from a
sender.
[77] The sender can be any user associated with a user identifier. The user
identifier
associated with the sender may be referred to as the sender identifier.
[78] When the document exchange system 140 receives the document submission
request from the sender, the document exchange system 140 can authenticate the
sender to ensure that the sender is authorized to engage in the document
exchange at
222. That is, in the present example, the document exchange system 140 can
determine whether the sender is a user authorized to engage in the document
exchange for the legal proceeding. To determine whether the sender is an
authorized
user for the legal proceeding, the processor 142 can determine whether the
sender
identifier is within the set of user identifiers 540 provided at 210. The
sender is
authenticated for the legal proceeding when the sender identifier is
determined, by the
processor 142, to be within the set of user identifiers 540. When the sender
is
authenticated, the document exchange system 140 can also receive the
electronic
document from the sender.
[79] However, when the processor 142 determines that the sender identifier is
not
within the set of user identifiers 540, the processor 142 can indicate that
the sender is
not authorized to engage in the document exchange accordingly (at 224).
[80] The document exchange system 140 can receive the electronic document from
the sender via a document upload interface 610. The document upload interface
610
may be initiated via a document upload control 552 provided in the exchange
summary
interface 550 of FIG. 5C, for example. FIG. 6A illustrates a screenshot of an
example
document upload interface 610. The document upload interface 610 in this
example
includes a file browsing application. It will be understood that other types
of file
selection applications may similarly be used, such as a "drag-and-drop"
application.
[81] In some embodiments, the document exchange system 140 may also provide
the sender with fields for providing further information associated with the
electronic
data, such as a name or type of the electronic document.
[82] Also, FIG. 6A illustrates only one electronic document being provided to
the
document exchange system 140 but it will be understood that, depending on the
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' -
configuration of the file selection and upload applications used, it may be
possible to
provide multiple electronic documents to the document exchange system 140 at
any
one time. In some embodiments, in response to receiving multiple electronic
documents, the document exchange system 140 may combine the documents together
to form a document set. The document exchange system 140 may also generate a
summary or table of contents for the document set.
[83] At 230, the processor 142 stores the electronic document in the storage
component 120, 146 when the sender is authenticated at 222.
[84] When the processor 142 determines that the sender identifier is within
the set of
user identifiers 540, the processor 142 can proceed to store the electronic
document in
the storage component 120, 146.
[85] The storage component can be in electronic communication with the
document
exchange system 140. Therefore, the storage component may be the local storage
component 146 and/or the network storage component 120. In some embodiments,
the
storage component can be separate from the document exchange system 140, such
as
the network storage component 120.
[86] At 240, the processor 142 receives a recipient list for the electronic
document.
[87] Referring now to FIG. 6B, which is a screenshot of an example recipient
selection interface 620.
[88] The recipient selection interface 620 can include recipient selection
fields 622.
The recipient selection fields 622 can include the set of user identifiers 540
provided in
the exchange initiation request at 210. In the example of FIG. 6B, the
recipient selection
fields 622 includes a recipient selection field for each of the users, Lawyer
Joe 542c
(legal counsel for the defendant 544c) and Sandra Jacksonn 542b (defendant
544b).
Both recipient selection fields are selected in the example of FIG. 6B ¨ that
is, the
sender intends for both Lawyer Joe 542c and Sandra Jacksonn 542b to receive
the
electronic document. However, it will be understood that the sender may not
provide the
electronic document to all users identified as being associated with the legal
proceeding. For example, the sender may decide to only provide the electronic
document to the legal counsels, such as Lawyer Joe 542c.
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[89] The recipient list can include the recipient identifiers corresponding to
the
selected recipient selection fields 622.
[90] In the example of FIG. 6B, sender selection fields 624 are also provided.
In
some embodiments, the sender may be providing the electronic document on
behalf of
another user and so, the sender may indicate that the electronic document is
being
provided on behalf of another user within the set of user identifiers 540. For
example,
the document exchange system 140 may receive the electronic document from a
law
clerk assisting a legal counsel associated with the legal proceeding. The
document
exchange system 140 can indicate that the law clerk is providing the
electronic
document on behalf of the legal counsel.
[91] At 250, the processor 142 provides the intended recipient or recipients
with
access to the electronic document.
[92] The document exchange system 140 can provide the intended recipient(s)
access to the electronic document directly, or indirectly via a listing of
electronic
documents for which the recipient has been provided access. The listing of
electronic
documents can be specific to a certain document exchange (such as the listing
shown
in FIG. 6C) or can include documents for which that recipient has be provided
access
regardless of the document exchange. For example, when a recipient user logs
into the
document exchange system 140, the document exchange system 140 can generate a
listing of all available documents that have not be accessed by that recipient
user. The
listing of all available documents may be limited by certain time periods as
determined
by the document exchange system 140 and/or the recipient user. For example,
the
listing of all available documents may include only documents that have not be
accessed by the recipient user and received by the document exchange system
140
within the past three months.
[93] FIG. 60 is a screenshot of an updated version of the exchange summary
interface 550 of FIG. 50, namely an updated exchange summary interface 550',
after
the electronic document is received by the document exchange system 140. The
exchange summary interface 550 can include a listing of electronic documents
630 for
each legal proceeding or case identified generally at 560.
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[94] As shown in FIG. 6C, the listed electronic document 630a corresponds to
the
electronic document provided via the document upload interface 610 of FIG. 6A
as
described with reference to 220. The electronic document 630 is associated
with a title
632a ("Statement") and a delivery timestamp 634a (August 12, 2014 at 5:01pm).
As
described with reference to FIG. 6B, the recipient list 640a for the
electronic document
630a includes all other users associated with the legal proceeding, namely
Lawyer Joe
542c and Sandra Jacksonn 542b. As described, the recipient list 640 for an
electronic
document 630 can vary and may not necessarily include all users associated
with the
document exchange.
[95] A status 650 can also be provided for each delivery of the electronic
document
630a. For example, the status 650b and 650c indicates that the electronic
document
630a has been delivered to each of the intended recipients. According to the
statuses
650b and 650c shown in FIG. 60, the document exchange system 140 has provided
the recipients in the recipient list with access to the electronic document
630a.
[96] FIG. 6D is a screenshot of another exchange summary interface 550". The
exchange summary interface 550" is provided via an account associated with the
defendant 544b (Sandra Jacksonn). As shown in FIG. 6D, the electronic document
630a can be accessed by the defendant 544b via the exchange summary interface
550". Also, the exchange summary interface 550" indicates that the defendant
544b
has provided another electronic document 630b to the document exchange system
140
with a recipient list 640b including only her legal counsel, Lawyer Joe 542c.
The
electronic document 630b is also associated with a title 632b, a timestamp
634b and a
delivery status 650c.
[97] In some embodiments, the document exchange system 140 may, in response to
receiving the electronic document 630, generate a notification of receipt. The
notification may then be provided to the users in the respective recipient
list 640 and/or
the sender in various forms, such as an electronic mail or text message. The
notification may include some information associated with the legal
proceeding, the
electronic document and/or the sender. The notification may also include the
status 650
of the electronic document 630. For example, the status 650 may be any one of
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delivered, opened and/or saved. Other example statuses may similarly be used
to
describe the electronic documents 630.
[98] The exchange record may, in some embodiments, be sent together with the
notification of receipt of the electronic document 630 by the document
exchange
system 140.
[99] In some embodiments, the document exchange system 140 can also track the
actions conducted by the recipients in respect of the electronic document. For
example,
the document exchange system 140 can maintain a record of which recipient has
accessed the electronic document and, in some embodiments, the type of access,
such
as whether a copy of the electronic document was downloaded from the document
exchange system 140 to the computing device 110B, and/or opened via the
document
exchange system 140. The document exchange system 140 may also track a length
of
time and/or frequency in which the electronic document may have been accessed.
[100] At 260, in response to providing the intended recipient(s) 640 with
access to the
electronic document 630, the processor 142 generates an exchange record for
the
electronic document 630.
[101] The exchange record generally indicates that the electronic document 630
was
received by the document exchange system 140. Various different information
can be
included in the exchange record. In particular, as will be described with
reference to
FIG. 7, the exchange record can include a receipt confirmation and an access
link to
the electronic document 630 stored in the storage component 120, 146.
[102] FIG. 7 is a screenshot of an example exchange record 700 for the
delivery of the
electronic document 630a to Lawyer Joe 542c by the plaintiff 544a.
[103] The exchange record 700, in this example, includes various information
regarding the legal proceeding (e.g., jurisdiction 722, parties to the legal
proceeding
724 and the relationship or user types of those parties), the electronic
document 630a
itself (e.g., title 732, a screenshot 710 of a page from the electronic
document 630a, a
total number of pages, sender of the electronic document 630a, recipient(s) of
the
electronic document 630a), and/or the document receipt and delivery (e.g.,
timestamp
734a indicating when the electronic document 630a was received by the document
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exchange system 140, timestamp 734b indicating when the electronic document
630a
was delivered to the recipient, Lawyer Joe 542c).
[104] One or more users in the recipient list 640 of the electronic document
630a may
also be identified in the corresponding exchange record 700. As shown in FIG.
7, the
exchange record 700 indicates that the recipient is Lawyer Joe 542c. Although,
in this
example, a unique exchange record 700 is generated by the document exchange
system 140 for each recipient 640 of the electronic document 630a, it is
possible for
fewer exchange records 700 to be generated. For example, one exchange record
700
can be generated for the electronic document 630a and include the recipient
list 640.
[105] The exchange record 700 also includes a receipt verification link 750 to
the
exchange record 700 stored in the storage component 120, 146. The receipt
verification
link 750 can ensure that the authentic exchange record 700 is being accessed.
The
exchange record 700 may also include an access link 752 to the electronic
document
630a as it is stored in the storage component 120, 146.
[106] The receipt verification link 750 and the access link 752 may be
provided in
different forms. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the access link 752 may be
provided
as a Universal Resource Link (URL) and the receipt verification link 750 may
be
provided as a URL that is encoded as a Quick Response (QR) code Although both
the
access link 752 and the receipt verification link 750 are shown in FIG. 7, it
will be
understood that one or the other may be provided. It will also be understood
that
alternative representations of the access link 752 and the receipt
verification link 750
may similarly be provided in the exchange record 700.
[107] As described, certain settings, especially in legal proceedings and
education
environments, involve strict timelines for all parties. The timelines are
important in
maintaining procedural fairness and, at the same time, minimizing unnecessary
delays
in the legal proceeding. It can, therefore, be critical to ensure the
timelines are met.
With the described methods and systems, an individual, such as a court
official,
presented with the exchange record 700 can authenticate the exchange record
700
itself via the receipt verification link 750 and the timing of the electronic
document
submission using the receipt confirmation information. As well, the individual
can
authenticate the version of the electronic document 630a with the access link
752. The
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CA 02868275 2014-10-20
access link 752 enables direct access to the version of the electronic
document 630a
associated with the exchange record 700. As a result, undesired and
unwarranted
alterations to the exchange record 700 and the electronic document 630a can be
prevented.
[108] The document exchange system 140 may then provide the sender with access
to the exchange record 700. For the example shown in FIG. 7, the intended
recipient is
Lawyer Joe 542c.
[109] Various embodiments have been described herein by way of example only.
Various modification and variations may be made to these example embodiments
without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, which is limited
only by the
appended claims. Also, in the various user interfaces illustrated in the
figures, it will be
understood that the illustrated user interface text and controls are provided
as
examples only and are not meant to be limiting. Other suitable user interface
elements
may be possible.
¨ 25 ¨
