Legality of eSignatures

United States of America

E-signatures in the United States are legally binding under the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce (ESIGN) Act and the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act 

European Union

In 2014, the European Parliament created a pan-EU regulation for e-signatures. The regulation known as eIDAS means electronic signatures are legally binding and enforceable throughout Europe.

Worldwide

Many countries worldwide have adopted an electronic signature law or recognize e-signatures as legally valid. Accordium meets the high standards of 
e-signature specifications under the vast majority of laws worldwide.

The most common question we’re asked is about legality. Are contracts signed through Accordium binding, and will they stand up in a court of law? Almost every country around the world including the United States, the United Kingdom, those of the European Union, and the majority of Asia, recognize electronic signatures as legally binding.

Capturing Intent

In most cases, signing electronically is functionally equivalent to doing so on paper. There is nothing magic about the creation of a legal agreement, and typically no special forms are required to become binding. What matters is that both transacting parties recognize each other’s intent to become bound, and state that intention explicitly. Whether by verbal agreement, paper, or clicking a button, contract law does not differentiate between methods of establishing intent.

So long as intent is clearly recorded and understood, and the identity of the parties known, an electronic system is at least the same (and in most cases superior) to pen and paper.

Unlike other electronic signature providers who paste a copied image of your signature to documents, Accordium uses its unique TurnKey technology to guarantee that specific intent is captured every time a document is signed.

User Authentication & Identifying Data

Accordium validates the identity of all participants by a number of methods; including email, SMS, Google or Linkedin accounts. Connections to our service are encrypted via SSL, and signatories must have either an Accordium account, or a valid one-time email invitation.

Every document signed using Accordium is embedded with a package of data used to uniquely identify the participants, along with an audit trail detailing every action taken by their account. We compute hashes of every document stored, and use these to cryptographically guarantee that no tampering has occurred since the time of signing.

Accordium Forensic Engine

Our background processes collect a sophisticated array of digital forensic evidence, that when used in conjunction with our cryptographic systems, verify every action taken on a document. Data such as associated IP addresses, user behaviour, interaction snapshots, accurate timestamps and other collateral help ensure maximum legal enforceability. Evidence generated by Accordium is court admissible and highly dependable.

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