A patent law firm based in New Jersey provides patent drafting and filing services to its clients. The company is planning to build an electronic database of patent applications it has filed for its clients over the years. However, most of its clients use handwritten notes and figures for their reference. Which of the following software tools would best help the firm convert the large number of paper-based notes from its clients into electronic records that can be easily searched and referenced?
A) image recognitionB) optical mark recognitionC) semantic mappingD) intelligent character recognition

Based on the scenario being described within the question it can be said that the best software tool for this particular situation would be an intelligent character recognition software. In the field of computer science, this is a software that allows an a computer to scan a handwritten note from paper and convert it into an electronic format that can then be stored and archived for future use. Thus allowing you to organize and later search for and reference the information.