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The term digital signature refers to the encryption technology used as the foundation for a variety of security, e-business and e-commerce products, including e-SignLive™. Based on public/private key cryptography, digital signatures are used in secure messaging, public key infrastructure (PKI), virtual private networks (VPN), secure socket layers, and electronic signatures.

A digital signature is not a type of electronic signature and does not capture a person’s intent to sign a document and be legally bound to an agreement or contract. Digital signature encryption is used to secure the data and to verify the authenticity of a signed record. e-SignLive™ uses digital signatures to secure the electronic signatures is generates, giving you peace of mind.

Yes, both US federal and state law give electronic signatures the same legality as handwritten paper signatures. The legal foundation of e-signatures in the US derives from the federal Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce law (ESIGN) that was passed in 2000. Consequently, forty-seven states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands have adopted the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA) that derives from the Federal ESIGN law. Three states, Illinois, New York and Washington, have not adopted the uniform act, but have statutes establishing the legality and acceptance of electronic transactions.

e-Signatures are also legal in Canada (in accordance with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act and the Canadian Electronic Commerce Act), in Europe (in accordance with the EU e-Signature Directive), as well as most countries in the Americas and around the world.

e-SignLive™ was designed to comply with applicable e-signature laws and the underlying technology was reviewed with a legal expert specializing in e-signature law.

The Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (ESIGN) is a U.S. Federal law that passed in 2000 enabling the use of electronic records and signatures for commercial transactions. The act enables companies and organizations to adopt a uniform e-signature process across all 50 states with the assurance that records cannot be refused by a court of law solely on the basis that they were signed electronically. e-SignLive™ implements and complies with the ESIGN Act.

The federal Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce law (ESIGN) and the state Uniform Electronic Transactions Acts (UETA) are similar in substance, and together enable the use of e-signatures in commerce throughout the US. There may be additional regulations or compliance requirements that apply to certain processes (like truth-in-lending disclosures, or protecting the privacy of medical records). But these requirements exist for paper processes as much as for electronic ones. e-SignLive™ complies and implements UETA and ESIGN.

Yes, there is a growing body of case law that is establishing precedence for electronic records and signatures.  Examples include: GEICO v. Barwick, Lorraine v. Markel, Vinhnee v. American Express, Campbell v. General Dynamics Government System Corp., Shattuck v. Klotzback, Hotmail Corporation v. Van$ Money Pie Inc. among others.

In a landmark ruling on the admissibility of electronically stored information (ESI), US Magistrate Judge Paul W. Grimm discussed examples of the essential elements of an effective e-contracting process, notably “creating and securely archiving and retrieving an audit trail of the entire ESI management process, from the steps to verifying the identity of the persons signing the record all the way through to sealing electronically the document and then securely archiving and retrieving the e-contract.” Judge Grimm also noted, “These same steps enhance the overall persuasiveness of the hard copy of the e-contract as well.”

The key to ensuring an enforceable e-signed record and staying out of court in the first place, is to capture and reproduce as much electronic evidence as possible that is also secure and easy to understand. That is what e-SignLive™ provides you.

As with paper transactions, a company must prove that it presented clients with the government-mandated disclosures in the required format and within the required timeframe. In addition, you must be capable of demonstrating that your client consented to receiving disclosures electronically, and that he/she could access the information in the electronic format provided.

e-SignLive™ implements the requirements for disclosure delivery, supported by strong and secure legal evidence.

With e-SignLive™’s ironclad tamper-evident seal, once a document is signed electronically, it can’t be altered in any way without being noticed. Any attempt to alter the content of an e-signed document will automatically render the document and the electronic signatures visibly invalid. So you will know right away if someone modified any of your signed documents.

User authentication is the process of identifying an individual and ensuring that the person is who he or she claims to be. Data authentication, on the other hand, is the process of verifying the information contained in a signed document to ensure that it hasn’t changed since it was signed. e-SignLive™ ensures both user and data authentication in a secure and reliable manner.

The federal ESIGN law does not specify the type of user authentication to be used with e-signatures. The level of user authentication depends on your needs. e-SignLive™ provides various methods of user authentication.  

e-SignLive™ offers three out-of-the-box ways to authenticate signers: email and password, secure questions and answers, or an SMS passcode. Which way is best for you depends on your field of business and your security requirements. e-SignLive™ also provides custom user authentication based on secure third-party services. An e-SignLive™ representative can help you decide what you need.