Crane on Law by James Crane

One of the challenges of properly executing e-discovery is the loose use of language used by lawyers, IT personnel, and other persons. As an example, the amended Federal Rules of Civil Procedure was careful to use the phrase Electronically Stored Information in order to account for videos, audios, photos, cds, dvds, flash drives, memory in copy machines, network data, etc. 

So when you’re executing discovery in a case, be just as precise about the language related to the electronic discovery process as you are about the facts and law in your briefs. Set out below are five key terms:

Active Data: Information residing on the direct access storage media (disc drives or servers) of computer systems, which is readily visible to the operating system and/or application software with which it was created and immediately accessible to users without restoration or reconstruction.

Archival Data: Archival Data is information an organization maintains for long-term storage and record keeping purposes, but which is not immediately accessible to the user of a computer system. Archival data may be written to removable media such as a CD, magneto-optical media, tape or other electronic storage device, or may be maintained on system hard drives. Some systems allow users to retrieve archival data directly while other systems require the intervention of an IT professional.

Backup Data: An exact copy of system data which serves as a source for recovery in the event of a system problem or disaster. Backup Data is generally stored separately from Active Data on portable media. Backup Data is distinct from Archival Data in that Backup Data may be a copy of Active Data, but the more meaningful difference is the method and structure of storage which impact its suitability for certain purposes.

Data: Any information stored on a computer. All software is divided into two general categories: data and programs. Programs are collections of instructions for manipulating data. In database management systems data files are the files that store the database information. Other files, such as index files and data dictionaries, store administrative information, known as metadata.

Document: A page, a collection of pages or any file produced manually or by a software application, that constitutes a logical single communication of information. Examples include a letter, a spreadsheet, or an email.

These definitions and many, many others are set out in the Sedona Conference Glossary: E-Discovery & Digital Information Management paper that you can find here. (http://www.thesedonaconference.org/dltForm?did=tsglossarymay05.pdf). Keep in mind that this was originally published in May 2005.

The bottom line is that when you’re discussing e-discovery with vendors or an internal IT department, be sure everyone understands each other.