System and method for controlling reproduction of documents containing sensitive information

1. A system for reproducing a document with a plurality of redaction passages of encoded sensitive information comprising:

a scanner for reading a hardcopy printed document with at least one a control passage printed thereon to create a digitized document, wherein the control passage includes: i) an encryption key defining how encoded sensitive information was encrypted; ii) identification information defining which users have access to each redaction passage; and iii) a location of each redaction passage of encoded sensitive information within the digitized document, wherein the location is defined as a region within the digitized document that is to be replaced with the encoded sensitive information as permitted by a user identity;

a device, communicatively coupled to the scanner, for storing the digitized document;

a detector for identifying each redaction passage of encoded sensitive information in the digitized document to create decoded sensitive information;

a decoder operatively connected to the detector, wherein the decoder extracts encoded information from each redaction passage of encoded sensitive information;

a processor operatively connected to the decoder, wherein the processor receives digitally decoded sensitive information;

a user interface module for receiving a user identity;

an access mediator for receiving decoded sensitive information from the processor, comparing the user identity with a decoding scheme associated with the digitized document and allowing or disallowing the decoded sensitive information to be reproduced on a redaction passage-by-redaction passage basis as permitted by the user identity;

and an image producing system for producing a new digitized document with the decoded sensitive information to be reproduced in each of redaction passage as permitted by the user identity; and the decoded sensitive information to remain redacted in each redaction passage as permitted by the user identity.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the image producing system reproduces a hardcopy of the document.

3. The system of claim 1 further comprising:

a decryption processor in operative communication with the access mediator for decrypting the sensitive information.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the sensitive information is encoded as machine readable code.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the decoding scheme is encoded as machine readable code.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein the decoding scheme defines individuals that are allowed access to the sensitive information.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the sensitive information is confidential information.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein the user identity is validated by an authenticator.

9. A system for reproducing a document with a plurality of redaction passages of encoded sensitive information comprising:

an input for receiving the document, the document comprising one or more human readable passages and one or more machine readable passages, the one or more machine readable passages encoding sensitive information or a decoding scheme for the sensitive information;

a device for storing a digitized document as an electronic image;

a code detector for identifying the one or more machine readable passages;

a decoder in operative communication with the code detector, wherein the decoder extracts digitally encoded information from the one or more machine readable passages;

a processor in operative communication with the decoder, wherein the processor receives extracted sensitive information and a location of each redaction passage of encoded sensitive information within the document, wherein the location is defined as a region within the document that is to be replaced with the extracted sensitive information;

a user interface module for receiving a user identity; and

an access mediator for receiving the extracted decoding scheme, receiving the extracted sensitive information from the processor, comparing the user identity with the extracted decoding scheme to determine whether the user should be given access to the extracted sensitive information, and permitting a reproduction of the sensitive information on a redaction passage-by-redaction passage basis as permitted by the user identity.

10. The system of claim 9 further comprising:

an image producing system in operative communication with the access mediator, wherein the image producing system reproduces a hardcopy of the document with

the decoded sensitive information to be reproduced in each of redaction passage as permitted by the user identity; and

the decoded sensitive information to remain redacted in each redaction passage as permitted by the user identity.

11. The system of claim 9 further comprising:

a decryption processor in operative communication with the access mediator for decrypting the sensitive information.

12. The system of claim 9 wherein the one or more machine readable passages are encoded as glyph passages.

13. The system of claim 9 wherein the decoding scheme defines individuals that are allowed access to the sensitive information.

14. The system of claim 9 wherein the sensitive information is confidential information.

15. A computer-implemented method for decoding a document with machine readable passages comprising:

detecting a plurality of redaction passages formed as machine readable passages in a digitized document; decoding the machine readable passages in the digitized document;

determining a decoding scheme associated with the digitized document;

obtaining a user identity;

decoding sensitive information from the digitized document by comparing the user identity with a decoding scheme associated with the digitized document and a location of each redaction passage of encoded sensitive information within the digitalized document, wherein the location is defined as a region within the digitized document that is to be replaced with the sensitive information which has been decoded and allowing or disallowing the sensitive information that has been decoded to be reproduced on a redaction passage-by-redaction passage basis as permitted by the user identity.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein the machine readable passages include passages that encode sensitive information and passages that encode a decoding scheme for the sensitive information.

17. The method of claim 15 wherein the decoding scheme associated with the document defines individuals that are allowed access to the sensitive information.

18. The method of claim 15 further comprising inputting and digitizing the document.

19. The method of claim 15 further comprising decrypting the decoded machine readable passages.

20. The method of claim 15 further comprising:

processing the decoded machine readable passages into electronic page images to create a decoded document with

the decoded sensitive information to be reproduced in each of redaction passage as permitted by the user identity; and

the decoded sensitive information to remain redacted in each redaction passage as permitted by the user identity.

21. The method of claim 20 further comprising reproducing the decoded document.

22. The method of claim 15 further comprising replacing the machine readable passages with a corresponding human readable text.

23. A computer-implemented method for creating a document comprising:

storing a digitized document;

selecting information in the digitized document to encode;

encoding the information into a plurality of redaction passages of encoded sensitive information;

defining a decoding scheme for the information on a redaction passage-by-redaction passage basis as permitted by a user identity and a location of each redaction passage of encoded sensitive information within the digitalized document, wherein the location is defined as a region within the digitized document that is to be replaced with the encoded sensitive information that has been decoded, whereby

encoding the decoding scheme into the plurality of redaction passages of encoded sensitive information; and

creating the document.

24. The method of claim 23 , wherein the plurality of redaction passages of encoded sensitive information are encoded as glyph passages.

25. The method of claim 23 wherein the decoding scheme defines individuals that are allowed access to the sensitive information.