I did some more digging into Ed's patent while I was locked up in solitary. Found some pretty interesting stuff.
I started researching the companies who were citing Ed's patent. Most of which were cited by the examiner, however, there are a few that were cited by the patent submitter. The main one of interest happens to be a patent assigned to ING Direct. What makes this one special is the fact that their patent actually lists Ed's patent as PART OF THEIR PATENT!https://www.google.com/patents/US8626662
What makes this pertinent is the fact that ING's patent makes the statement that Ed's method of creating an electronic check could STEM FROM A PHYSICAL CHECK!
So, what does this mean? Well, this just adds another level of validity to Ed's patent and what methods of creation for an "electronic check" is covered by the patent.
So, for the newbies who are just checking out MYEC for the first time, just know that ED HAS THIS FIELD LOCKED UP!!! Only a matter of time from this point forward!