Farewell, Dotted Line
By Bret A. Fausett
The new federal Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act went into effect October 1, 2000, and it could revolutionize the way business is done on the Internet (see "
Online"). The act not only solves prosaic problems with paper, but it also creates entirely new modes of transacting business electronically.
Putting Pen to Paper
If you've ever negotiated an agreement with a business partner or vendor, chances are high that the deal points and legal mumbo jumbo were detailed in email. That's simply the way communication happens these days. Terms and conditions are drafted, revised, and added via electronic mail until, finally, all points are agreed and the deal's done.
At that moment, someone prints the contract and takes it to the person who has corporate authority to execute it. That person signs in ink, places the document in a manila file folder, and has it alphabetized away in an executive file cabinet. For all the formality that accompanies these final acts, the executed original is often unceremoniously dispatched to a dark corner of the office, far away from where it can be used by most of the people who will be impacted by its terms.
For most people who do business on the Internet, paper is just a place to hold the ink of a binding signature. While electronic records are easily indexed and searched, paper gets buried or even lost. Many companies without a strict document management and retention policy would be hard pressed to find an original signed contract.
