[Macworld]

Post your comments for Create a digital ID with Adobe Acrobat here

[Tgonser]

Interesting article, but it misses the basic requirements for a legally-binding signature because it is not externally validated. It may be "legal", but not enforceable. And enforceable is what we really need.
Consider that anyone can obtain an image of your signature easily, and can create an Adobe ID without any 3rd party validation. Because it is so easy to create a signature, and nobody validates me, it would be next to impossible to prove the signature was the act of a specific person.
This method works for aesthetic signing, but would not work for much more than that.
If you want to rely on an electronically signed document, you will need to show much more than an image of a signature. This can be accomplished by obtaining a digital certificate which requires you notarize and present your actual credentials. The challenge there is cost and complexity.
In addition, the Federal ESIGN act requires a number of other things be true such as content control, intent, consumer consent, & retention.
The Adobe method has been around for a very long time and has really never taken off due to technical challenges, and lack of complete contract signing process management.
The new way to execute contracts online is to use 3rd party ESIGN services such as DocuSign, where the whole transaction is managed securely end-end. DocuSign provides multiple levels of authentication, and allows you to sign any type of file format using only your browser - not requiring expensive Adobe software.

[jlunberg]

Thanks for the info.

[JScott]

Good information Tgonser but for the sake of full disclosure can you say if you're affiliated with DocuSign?

[Tgonser]

I started DocuSign, so yes, of course. The email I used to register here was a DocuSign email also.

Reason for my interest in this post is that there are lots of blogs out there telling folks to 'just past an image of their signature' into a document, and you'll have an 'electronic signature'. This article was put together much better, and discussed more than this.

I don't want to imply that pasting your signature into a contract or even just typing your name does not create a legally binding contract - It might if the right surrounding conditions are met. However, it also might not be enforceable...

I wanted to point out that adherence to the Federal ESIGN act, or a state's UETA laws involve more rigor than the article described to increase the chance the contract will be enforceable, and that there are services available like DocuSign that manage all of those surrounding circumstances like authentication, encryption, & process control to make it much more likely that the contract will have a lower risk profile.

There are whole range of ESIGN services available today from low end offers to high end systems like DocuSign. It might be an interesting blog/article to compare and contrast these services in light of the requirements set forth by ESIGN to create a legally binding and enforceable electronic contract.

-TG

[JScott]

Thank you TG! this is great information to have and I for one appreciate getting it from someone who is an obvious expert in the field.

[whitedog]

{quote}It might be an interesting blog/article to compare and contrast these services in light of the requirements set forth by ESIGN to create a legally binding and enforceable electronic contract.{quote}

I agree. Since Macworld raised the issue it would be appropriate for them to expand on the subject beyond the Adobe Acrobat solution which, apparently, has limited value.

[rdas7]

Yes, thanks TG for posting, and informing us about the DocuSign service, that's very helpful.

I was drawn to this article because the headline implied that there would be some sort of verification/security process, but instead boils down to: choose "add signature" from Adobe's menu, and put a picture of your signature (thanks, I can do that in Photoshop too).

I'll check out DocuSign immediately and see if it is suitable for my small business needs. Thanks!

[fmsch7ltzjr]

I forgot my password and now can't sign. Any advice