Form (document)
A form is a document with spaces (fields) in which to write or select, for a series of documents with similar contents. The documents usually have the printed parts in common, possibly except for a serial number. Advantages of forms include:
- one has to write less (while the printing is almost universally done in some automatic way)
- one is told or reminded what information has to be supplied
- uniformity, for convenience in processing
A form on a computer allows for conveniently typing in the variable parts (the input data).
Forms, when completed, may be a statement, a request, an order, etc., e.g. a check may be a form. Also there are forms for taxes; filling one in is a duty to have determined how much tax one owes, and/or the form is a request for a refund. See also Tax return.
Forms may be filled out in duplicate (or triplicate, meaning three times) when the information gathered on the form needs to be distributed to several departments within an organisation. This can be done using carbon paper.
Forms have existed for a significant amount of time, with historians of law have discovered preprinted legal forms from the early 19th century that greatly simplified the task of drafting complaints and various other legal pleadings. It is believed that the form was conceived by mathematician and inventor Charles Babbage.[1] In some jurisdictions, like California, many common types of legal pleadings must be submitted on official government forms.
Blank forms are generally not copyrightable in the USA.[2]
Notes
- ^ On the economy of machinery and manufactures p114
- ^ 37 Code of Federal Regulations § 202.1(c) (2006) ("Blank forms, such as time cards, graph paper, account books, diaries, bank checks, scorecards, address books, report forms, order forms and the like, which are designed for recording information and do not in themselves convey information [are not subject to copyright]"); see also Baker v. Selden, 101 U.S. 99 (1880).