Contracts

[Sarah]

I've always wondered - are contracts in the USA really blue and white or is it a prop? I've noticed in every American drama I watch, especially Dallas obviously, any divorce papers, business contracts etc are always blue and white.

In the UK and Ireland ours are just plain old white papers and I wondered if the ones we see on Dallas are how they really are, or just made up?

 

[Lastkidpicked]

Hello Sarah,
In the U.S., we use blue ink on contracts and important papers. This is because it makes it obvious from a glance if you are looking at an original, or a copy.

A copy will be in black and white. It is still a legal document, but sometimes we want to refer to the original draft, which will be blue, as you noticed.

If you ever physically have a blue and white document and want to do something fun, then make a photocopy of the document. Magically, the words COPY will appear in several places. It's pretty neat.

 

[Sarah]

Hello Sarah,
In the U.S., we use blue ink on contracts and important papers. This is because it makes it obvious from a glance if you are looking at an original, or a copy.

A copy will be in black and white. It is still a legal document, but sometimes we want to refer to the original draft, which will be blue, as you noticed.

If you ever physically have a blue and white document and want to do something fun, then make a photocopy of the document. Magically, the words COPY will appear in several places. It's pretty neat.

Oh that's really cool - it's real then??? Thanks for the info! Glad I asked

 

[Lastkidpicked]

Oh that's really cool - it's real then???

It's real.

Notice that this Texas pickup truck title is in blue, with the State of Texas as a watermark.

Now, look very carefully just to the right side of the State of Texas watermark, see how you can barely see the word VOID?

If you make a copy of this title, the word VOID will magically appear and stand out.

Wouldn't it be cool if this was the title to Ray's truck?

 

[Sarah]

That's excellent. All these years I thought they were just props!!!

 

[Lastkidpicked]

As the regulars on here know, I'm a real behind-the-scenes buff, and enjoy discussions just like this one.

If you ever have anything else pop into your mind while watching Dallas, just ask away.

 

[Sarah]

As the regulars on here know, I'm a real behind-the-scenes buff, and enjoy discussions just like this one.

If you ever have anything else pop into your mind while watching Dallas, just ask away.

Thank you I will! It's something I've wanted to ask for a long time, not sure why I didn't. Thanks again!

 

[Bill Dilks]

LKP - I never knew that. Excellent info, thanks.

Sarah - the other blue/white used is the document cover, which is what I was thinking of while reading your opening post. That indicates that's it's beyond just a plain ol' piece of paper. I've received some over the years with a blue cover on it. It's legitimate. Why? To make it stand out perhaps, and/or to lend an air of importance to the contents.

"The tradition of associating legal documents with the color blue originated in England several hundred years ago. In the United States, it began in the 19th century when, in jurisdictions such as New York, the word blueback designated the blue cover of legal documents. The public became familiar with bluebacks through seeing the blue-covered documents in courtrooms or used as props in films and television legal dramas.

Over the years the meaning of blueback has been expanded to include any document cover that houses legal documents such as contracts, powers of attorney, wills, and so on. Today, many federal and state jurisdictions require the use of a blue document-cover to distinguish a particular type of document. For example, Los Angeles Superior Court Rule 9.2(f) requires that every “Attorney Generated Document shall be attached to a ‘blue back’ which serves as a document tab.”