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Electronic Signature: Scope and DefinitionFiled Under: General

The term electronic signature could be defined as a sound, symbol or process attached to or logically associated with an electronic record by a person (a signer) with the present intent to authenticate that record. Every downloading software activity from the Internet includes reading the licensing agreement and clicking “I accept,” where a person is using some kind of an electronic signature (the click combined with a person self identification create the signature). If a person places a trade over the phone and verbally confirms that wants to buy or sell stock, the recording of a person’s voice could be considered as an electronic signature. Digital signatures and images of handwritten signatures also constitute electronic signatures. A handwritten signature signals intent to agree with the terms of a document, and it authenticates – at least in theory – the identity of the signer.

Handwritten signatures don’t have an exact parallel online. In the electronic world, a person may end up doing the same things in a different way. The authentication may be done up front and the signal of intent may be done later. Authentication, the act of making sure that signers are who they say they are, can be handled online in several ways. A signer can use a digital certificate or smart card, take a fingerprint or retina scan, answer additional questions regarding personal identification. A signal of intent may be created online by clicking an “I accept” button, by signing one’s name on an electronic signature pad or by appending a signature image to a document.

Hence, the foregoing definition of electronic signature within most national legislation is a generic, technology-neutral definition, which recognizes that there are many different methods by which a person can sign an electronic record. In all cases, electronic signatures are represented digitally, but they can take many forms, and can be created by many different technologies. Examples of electronic signatures include:

• A name typed at the end of an e-mail message by the sender;
• A digitized image of a handwritten signature that is attached to an electronic document (sometimes created via a biometrics-based technology called signature dynamics);
• A secret code, password, or PIN to identify the sender to the recipient (such as that used with phone cards and credit cards);
• A unique biometrics-based identifier, such as a fingerprint, voice print, or a retinal scan;
• A mouse click (such as on an “I accept” button);
• A sound (or voice) attempting to issue a meaning to agree);
• A digital signature (created through the use of public key cryptography).

There are other ways of signing an electronic document, and presumably many more will be developed in the future. However, all forms of electronic signature must satisfy the three requirements:
• there must be a digitally mediated symbol, or process,
• digitally mediated symbol, or process must be logically associated with an electronic record, and
• digitally mediated symbol, or process must be made with the intent of a person (a signer) to sign the electronic record.

Taken From : Digital Economy – Impacts, Influences and Challenges