Legal Aspects of SOFTPRO E-Signing Solutions

Laws for electronic signatures vary around the globe. It is important to understand that laws on electronic transactions typically include laws and regulations on Electronic Signatures. Only in some cases separate bills exist for esignatures. Check our overview about
E-Sign Laws and RegulationsIndustry Regulations and StandardsAdditional Sources
Since the time when the first versions of laws about digital signatures were created (e.g. 1997: Germany, Malaysia; 1998: Singapore) there was no such option as a "trustworthy capturing and verification of handwritten signatures, including static images and dynamic (biometric) characteristics" that allowed creating a reliable e-signature based on a digitized handwritten signature ("biometric signatures") in the same manner as now introduced at Berliner Sparkasse. As a consequence, laws usually reflect primarily on "digital signatures" (e-signatures created in a public key infrastructure [PKI]). However, digital signatures can simply be considered a subset of electronic signatures.

In the 1999 European Directive, a framework for electronic signatures (1999/93/EU) opened a broader technological approach for this industry.  Law makers are now also gradually reflecting them as "Biometric Signatures".

Taking Signatures Seriously

The embedding of dynamic signatures in electronic documents - as executed with SOFTPRO E-Signing solutions like SignDoc - creates electronic signatures with a high level of proof.

Legal experts define this kind of esigning as "a legal surrogate equivalent to the conventional method of signing with ink on paper, and thus similarly fulfilling the same formal intention to sign of the written paper form." In other words: Electronic Signatures crated with SignDoc offer at least the same security as handwritten signatures on paper, and more.

These kind electronic signatures may be used in all processes that do not require a written form according to paragraph 126 of the German Civil Code. The processes are defined as "form free". Primary application fields in banking for SOFTPRO E-Signing solutions are for example

• cash deposits and withdrawals
• account opening, modification, and deletion

Unreliable Workarounds and Half-way Solutions

Nowadays many people are capturing a signature image (graphic file, i.e. JPG, GIF) and paste it into business documents or their e-mail message. This image will not allow any further verification process if its authenticity is in doubt. It is more or less decoration. A simple image search in Google for signatures shows where these signatures appear again - "out in the wild". 
Google Image Search: Signatures

Signing with Digital Ink as Annotation only

Handwritten signatures on paper are often also described as "wet ink signatures". The electronic equivalent is a "digital ink signature".

Digital ink became a common feature in the mainstream PCs with the launch of Windows Vista, e.g. for comments or annotations. This feature is available in mainstream products like Microsoft Office (from version 2007) or Adobe Acrobat  (from version 9). It puts a handwriting-like signature on a file that could be printed out or emailed, much in the same way a fax signature might work. 

A signature which was captured using digital ink only is not securely bound to a document (unlike when signed with SignDoc). These signatures can be manipulated, duplicated or deleted. There exists no protection against document tampering hence these kind of signature can be repudiated easily. Consquently ink signatures do not appear in the signatures pane of the document.

Signature Decoration in Click-to-Sign Solutions  

Several solutions on the market require a simple click on an "I accept" button to sign a document. Some of these solutions embed a previously stored signature image as a graphic representation or a sort of visual seal. Theoretically anybody may trigger a signing process with a simple click. The intent of a signer may be hard to prove where simple click-to-sign systems are used.

Reliable Click-to-Sign solutions require additional trust building features such as

• challenge-response elements
• an audit data base
• a connection to a time stamp server

A very popular form of adding trust is to add a snap shot image of the signer at the time of signing and add this image as part of the created electronic signature. This feature is part of SignDoc Desktop and SignDoc Mobile too. Users like it as many smart phones, tablets and notebooks are equipped with built-in cameras. It is a feature which makes "signing on the go" almost as personal as the handwritten signature itself.

Disclaimer

If expert legal assistance is required, the services of a competent legal professional for the legal situation in the particular country / countries where the application is intended to be rolled-out and the particular vertical should be sought.

While every effort has been taken to ensure that all details are correct, SOFTPRO cannot accept any responsibility for the accuracy of information. nor for the consequences of any actions taken or not taken as a result of this information. Reasonable efforts have been made at the time of publishing to examine the accuracy of the content and publications linked to on this web site, but no responsibility is taken for the contents contained on such links.