Digital Signatures

In early July, President Clinton used his “E-John Hancock” to sign the digital signatures bill into effect as law. The signing of this bill accepts e-signatures as valid and legally binding as the old fashioned pen and paper signature.

The effects of this law

It also opens the doors to the way that businesses contract on a routine basis. For example, loan transactions, sales of automobiles, and other contractual relations can all be effectuated without written signature. The effects of this law also include that transmissions via email instead of written letters via the Post Office will serve as original and legally binding documents. The way that documents are stored will also change. The enactment of this law permits database storage of documents in lieu of printing and storing documents in boxes.

How to e-sign?

The process used to receive an e-signed item is through the use of a smart card or other key that is encoded with numbers that serve as your personal identification. Additionally, the proper software and hardware to send, retrieve, and store such transmissions are needed for the system to work.