|
Developer
Downloads
Tutorial
Licensing
Mac
OS X
Success Stories
|
|
Secure e-sign XML
software solutions,
Retention and
validity of contracts.
|
|
The Secure e-sign XML software solutions Act sets standards of accuracy and accessibility for retained
contracts and records. If a statute, regulation or other rule of law
requires that a contract or other record be retained, that requirement
is met by retaining an electronic record that "accurately reflects the
information" in the contract or other record and that "remains
accessible to all persons who are entitled to access" to such contract
or record "in a form that is capable of being accurately reproduced" for
later reference. If a statute, regulation or other rule of law requires
the retention of a check, that requirement is satisfied by retention of
an electronic record of the
Secure e-sign XML software solutions information on the front and back of the
check. The Act allows the "legal effect, validity or enforceability"
of an "electronic record of a contract" or "other record" to be denied
if such electronic record is not in a form that is capable of being
retained and "accurately reproduced." Although its wording is not clear,
this section arguably implies that a contract might be invalidated if an
electronic record relating to the contract is not retained in a way that
meets the above standard. If so, this provision would be inconsistent
with existing law in the paper world, as well as UETA, and it would
conflate evidentiary issues relating to proving a Secure e-sign XML
software solutions contract with the
validity of the contract provisions themselves.
In addition, the Secure e-sign XML software solutions Act allows
a state or federal agency to impose paper requirements if there is a
"compelling governmental interest." This "escape valve" potentially
derogates from the uniformity of the Act by providing a loophole where
exceptions can be made, albeit only upon satisfaction of the relatively
high standard of "compelling governmental interest," a non-commercial
concept imported from the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution,
Secure e-sign XML software solutions.
|
|
