Preserving user applied markings made to a hardcopy original document

A system for preserving markings made to a hardcopy of an original document, said system comprising:

• a memory;
• an image input device;
• a storage medium for storing data;
• and
• a processor in communication with said storage medium, said image input device, and said memory, said processor executing machine readable instructions for performing the method of:
• receiving an image of an original document;
• extracting one or more embedded objects within said original document to create a first list of objects embedded in said original document, said embedded objects being separable content that includes at least one of text, graphics, pictures, plots, user markings, and line art;
• receiving, using an image input device, an image of a marked document containing at least one user marking;
• extracting one or more embedded objects in said marked document to create a second list of objects embedded in said marked document, said embedded objects being separable content that includes at least one of text, graphics, pictures, plots, user markings, and line art;
• comparing said first list to said second list in order to identify said extracted user marking;
• generating an object identification record comprising a plurality of data fields containing information about said extracted user marking and information which enables said extracted user marking to be associated with a particular location within a given page of said original document;
• associating said object identification record with said extracted user marking;
• storing said extracted at least one user marking to a storage device;
• and
• storing said generated object identification record to a database.