Metadata, or embedded data, is included in almost every electronic record imaginable. Metadata associated with e-mail may include headers, attachments, date and time, domain names and recipient lists; metadata in file systems can provide information about revision lists, modification dates, file sizes and authors; and documents created by popular office programs such as Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel can include embedded document information such as changes made, deletions and reviewer names.
While this data may appear superfluous, metadata may be directly relevant to litigation or to the authenticity of electronic documents. Metadata is discoverable when required in the matter at hand; however, there is no official requirement to produce metadata during discovery unless there is an affirmative showing of need. In addition, privacy and privilege concerns offer additional arguments against the default, mandated retention of metadata. The larger the amounts of electronic material that are produced in native (original) format, the greater the odds that privileged content and/or metadata will get disclosed.
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