[Discuss] transmitting legal documents

[gaf at blu.org (Jerry Feldman)]

True. But, as you mentioned there are several industries that are hold
outs,

On 02/22/2015 12:51 PM, Tom Metro wrote:
> Jerry Feldman wrote:
>> Unfortunately fax machines are a legal way to send information. While
>> today many transactions are done by email, fax is the only legally
>> recognized way to send a document.
> It's true that there are industries that are holdouts for using fax
> (like doctors), and few companies are wise enough to adopt open
> encryption standards, like S/MIME (instead fording you to use web sites
> or other proprietary encryption for sending secure messages), but there
> is no legal necessity to use fax.
>
> When you say "legally recognized way" it really comes down to what is
> recognized by the law and the courts as a legitimate way to sign a legal
> document, and that was addressed by the ESIGN Act in 2000.
>
> See:
> https://www.docusign.com/electronic-signature-legality
>
>   "...the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act
>   (ESIGN, 2000) and the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA,
>   1999)...establish that electronic records and signatures carry the
>   same weight and legal effect as traditional paper documents and
>   handwritten signatures..."
>
>
> http://www.pcworld.com/article/253523/how_to_make_sure_that_digital_signature_is_legit.html
> http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/electronic-signatures-online-contracts-29495.html
> http://www.isaacbowman.com/the-history-of-electronic-signature-laws
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_Signatures_in_Global_and_National_Commerce_Act
>
>
> We've executed consulting contracts using e-signatures.
>
> Read the PC World article above to see examples of the actual format
> that an e-signature takes. It has basically no security against being
> forged. The approach seems laughable but I guess PKI was beyond the
> grasp of legislators.
>
> When not using a third party service like DocuSign, we have clients
> digitally sign documents with PKI in addition to adhering to the ESIGN
> signature format.
>
>  -Tom
>

-- 
Jerry Feldman <gaf at blu.org>
Boston Linux and Unix
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