Document Watermarking for Secure Paper-Digital Signing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for signing documents fail to efficiently bridge the paper and digital worlds, lacking a solution that allows secure and reliable signing of paper documents while ensuring the authenticity of the document being signed.
Innovation Solution
A process that involves encoding a document identification into watermarks on a hard copy of the document, using an optical reader device to decode these watermarks, and then signing the document using a digital signing device, which generates a digital signature based on the decoded identification and signatory information, thereby creating a digitally signed copy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a fully digital signing process is used (as in WO 2018/211475 A1), then security and authentication are improved, but the ability to bridge paper and digital worlds is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces watermarks as an intermediary element that bridges the paper and digital worlds. The watermark serves as a physical manifestation of digital document identification that can be read by optical devices, enabling the connection between physical document signing and digital authentication without requiring fully digital or purely paper-based processes
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a physical copy of digital document identification through watermarks on the paper document. This allows the digital document identification to be represented in the physical world, enabling signing processes that combine both paper and digital elements while maintaining security and authentication capabilities
2Reliability
If digital signatures are applied to digital copies only, then authentication is improved, but the natural paper signing process is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The watermark acts as an intermediary that enables optical reading devices to detect and verify document identification on paper documents. This allows the signing process to occur naturally on paper while maintaining digital authentication capabilities through the watermarked document identification
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical paper-based signing with an enhanced process that uses optical reading devices to detect watermarks and verify document identification. This substitution maintains the natural paper signing experience while adding digital authentication layers through optical detection and verification mechanisms
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This process ensures reliable and robust signature of documents by verifying the authenticity of the hard copy and combining digital and biometric signatures, allowing multiple signatories to sign documents securely and naturally, while ensuring the document is the correct version.
Implementation Method 1
reading the one or more watermarks provided on the hard copy of the document using an optical reader device
Data Source
AI summary
A process of signing documents including generating a document identification from a digital copy of a document to be signed by at least one signatory, and encoding the document identification into one or more watermarks. A hard copy of the document to be signed incorporating the watermark(s) is produced. The watermark(s) is/are read using an optical reader device, and the document identification encoded into the watermark(s) and read by the optical reader device is decoded. The hard copy is associated to the digital copy based on the decoded document identification. Signing of the document is performed using a digital signing device, and signatory information unique to the signatory is obtained. Finally, a digital signature of the digital copy is generated based on the decoded document identification and the signatory information, following which the digital signature is applied to the digital copy to produce a digitally signed copy of the document.