Adequate auditing and sealing technologies make determining the authenticity of an electronic copy of an electronic record easy. Electronic copies of DocuSign transactions are digitally signed to ensure the integrity of versions of the electronic records that exist outside of the DocuSign system.

Like their paper counterparts, however, electronic records pose authenticity challenges when they are copied onto a paper medium.

For example, when a paper copy of a paper-based transaction is submitted, one assumes that the copy is a photographic reproduction of the original document as executed by the parties. Reliance on that copy is based on many factors, including the presumption that risk of repudiation of the transaction is mitigated because parties have hand signed. While these are merely copies of handwritten signatures and the original signatures may not have been verified that the named parties were indeed the individuals who signed the original document, lenders, underwriters and government agencies have generally accepted these copies as providing adequate evidence of authenticity to mitigate the risk of fraud or repudiation. If necessary to enforce the underlying transaction, the original paper document can be found and the handwritten signatures can be verified through handwriting analysis.

With a paper copy of an electronic record, more may be required to support the initial assumption that the copy is a reliable reproduction of the original document. The two reasons for this are:

First, unlike a photocopy of a paper document, the version of an electronic record that is reduced to paper may not look anything like the record that was signed electronically.

Second, and more importantly, the visual representation of a signing party’s electronic signature on a paper rendering, if present at all, may not be adequate by itself to affirmatively identify it as an actual signature. It may be a stamp or seal, a mark or border, or just a notation. Each of these symbols or marks indicates that the document has been signed using an electronic process, but the symbols do not themselves constitute the electronic signatures.

Since the adoption of the signature and association of the signature with the record (along with consent and authentication) have all occurred electronically, an extra step is required to bring some evidence of the electronic signature process into the paper record so that it can be relied upon to the same extent that an image of a handwritten signature on a paper document can be.

DocuSign accomplishes this important step by capturing, retaining and reproducing the essential elements of the signing process.

The DocuSign system:

  • Captures the party’s identity, his consent to use electronic signatures, adoption of a GUID/Symbol combination as a signature, and his application of that signature to an unalterable document with a unique envelope ID number.
  • Retains an audit log of the sending and signing process and retains a hash value for the actual image of the signed document.
  • Can reproduce the document as it was presented to and signed by the parties, test the hash value against contested versions or images, and furnish a certificate of completion with an audit log of the transaction.
  • Attest to the systemic treatment of all signers using the system. In other words, no party can sign a document without going through the process defined by DocuSign’s closed system.
  • Can issue a digitally signed (sealed) electronic record of the transaction for true reproduction of the electronic version of the document.

Thus far, all cases of attempted repudiation of a DocuSigned contract have been defeated, simply by presenting to the signer the evidence of their participation in the transaction.

 

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