A quick guide to e-signatures and e-contracts:

Why sign e-Contracts in cross-border B2B transactions?

Except for the standard e-contracts for international sale of goods signed in B2B e-marketplaces or online stores, other forms of contracts (i.e. non-standard or bespoke contracts for international sale, manufacture & supply of goods, etc) are mostly signed manually on paper and exchanged between the parties either by fax or as scanned email attachments.

The security issues of this process can be minimized by executing contracts electronically on a secure platform (e.g. the Adobe Acrobat Pro DC) by using electronic signatures or certificate-based digital signatures in terms of the governing law of the contract. 

What is an e-Contract?  

An electronic contract is an agreement created and "signed" in the electronic form using an electronic signature.

What is an Electronic Signature?                      

Electronic signature is a broader term that refers to any electronic data that carries the intent of a signature. National legislation worldwide provides for the legal significance and validity of several different forms of electronic signatures:

• Click signature: To buy something online, you fill in your personal information, enter a credit card number, and click a button to finalize the purchase. Clicking the button is equivalent to signing the register tape when you use a credit card at a brick-and-mortar store.

• Typed signature: Some online agreements are executed by having the signer type his or her name into a browser-based form. Alternatively, a typed name in a contract can function as a signature. Like a click signature, a typed signature relies on a simple overt act to indicate the signer's acceptance of the terms of an agreement.

• Digitized signature: This is what most people think of when they visualize an electronic signature -- accepting a package by signing with a stylus on a digitizer strip. A similar process allows someone to sign on a computer screen using a light pen. Another type of digitized signature is created by signing on paper, then scanning the signature into an image file (biometric signature).

• Digital signature: It is a technologically advanced type of electronic signature, based on a digital certificate that is used to prove a communication originated from a particular sender and has not been tampered with. It is not a digitized image of the sender’s hand-written signature. A digital signature or digital signature scheme is a mathematical scheme for demonstrating the authenticity of a digital message or document. A valid digital signature gives a recipient reason to believe that the message was created by a known sender, and that it was not altered in transit (tamper-proof). Digital signatures are commonly used in financial transactions and other cases where it is important to detect forgery and tampering.

What are the countries where electronic signatures are legally recognized?          

View the map Electronic and Digital Signatures Around the World, and the Database of Electronic Signature Legislation. 

Also read the handbook Global Guide to eSignature Law: Country by country summaries of e-signature law and enforceability (Adobe Systems Inc). This guide covers the electronic signature laws of 47 countries, including all the largest economies. It gives a snapshot of each country’s electronic signature laws in the form of brief summaries, and provides a reference point for determining the scope of an organization’s use of electronic signatures in different jurisdictions. It is not meant to be an exhaustive or detailed legal analysis, but gives a solid place to start.

​

For more information, please visit the FAQ page.