Legal Definitions - examined copy

An examined copy refers to a duplicate of an original document that has been meticulously compared, word-for-word, against the original by a person to confirm its exact accuracy and completeness. This process ensures that the copy is a true and faithful reproduction of the original document, often for legal or official purposes where the authenticity of the copy is paramount.

• Example 1: Court Filings

  A law firm is preparing to submit a crucial piece of evidence, an original handwritten diary, to the court. Because the original diary is old and fragile, the court prefers to keep it in a secure location and requests a verified copy for the case file. A paralegal makes a photocopy of the diary. Then, the paralegal and another legal assistant sit together, with one reading aloud from the original diary while the other carefully follows along on the photocopy, checking every word, punctuation mark, and even the layout. Once they confirm the photocopy is an exact match, they might endorse it as an "examined copy" before it's filed.

  This illustrates an examined copy because the photocopy of the diary was directly and thoroughly compared against the original by two individuals to ensure its perfect accuracy before being submitted as evidence.

• Example 2: Corporate Mergers and Acquisitions

  During a large corporate merger, the acquiring company needs to review hundreds of pages of original contracts from the target company. The original contracts are highly sensitive and must remain in a secure vault. To facilitate the review process, the target company creates photocopies of all relevant contracts. Before the acquiring company's legal team begins their due diligence, a team of legal administrators from both sides spends several days meticulously comparing each page of the photocopies against the original contracts. They then certify these sets of documents as "examined copies" to confirm their authenticity for the audit.

  Here, the contract photocopies become examined copies because they underwent a rigorous, page-by-page comparison with the original documents to guarantee their identical nature, which is critical for legal and financial scrutiny in a merger.

• Example 3: Estate Planning and Wills

  After an individual passes away, their original Last Will and Testament is lodged with the probate court. A beneficiary needs a copy of the will to provide to their bank for estate settlement purposes, but the original cannot leave the court's custody. A court clerk makes a photocopy of the will. Before providing it to the beneficiary, the clerk carefully compares every page of the photocopy against the original will on file, ensuring that all clauses, signatures, and dates are perfectly replicated. The clerk then stamps the copy as a certified "examined copy."

  This scenario demonstrates an examined copy as the court clerk performed a direct, detailed comparison between the photocopy and the original will to verify its exactness, providing assurance of its authenticity for official use.