Security and Legality

You can use eformsign for international contracts.

However, since the laws related to electronic contracts may differ by country (region and technology), it is recommended to sign contracts after reviewing the laws of the country of the contracting party.

When signing a contract with an overseas resident or company, you must carefully review eformsign’s Terms of Use before proceeding.

If you proceed with signing a contract through eformsign, it is deemed that you agree to eformsign’s Terms of Use, Terms of Use (Non-member), and Privacy Policy.

eformsign is not responsible for any legal problems in electronic contracts caused by not reviewing the relevant country laws of the contracting parties.

When contracting with overseas residents or overseas companies, it is recommended to make a request by creating/editing the email notification message in the template/document in the language of the country.

In addition to building an encrypted server to prevent document leakage and loss, regular backups and real-time monitoring are used to prepare for DDOS attacks and maintain security. As well, many security features such as mobile verification, email verification, document password, external cloud storage integration, Certified Electronic Document Center storage, etc. provided, and more security features are under development.

In addition, we are signed up to a personal information protection liability insurance for compensation in the event of an accident related to personal information leakage. Furthermore, if someone intentionally leaks a document, the leaker can be identified through data such as IP, browser information, and access link based on the log information of the document.

Just because you use a stamp or signature of the same shape does not mean it’s legally binding. A contract is legally binding only when it can be proven that the parties have agreed to its contents. In eformsign, the activities of all participants are recorded electronically via identity verification and audit trail certificates. Therefore, even someone signs a contract by stealing your signature or stamp, you can prove that the contract wasn’t signed by you.

1. Provides identity verification methods (email/SMS pin code verification, and document password)
2. Provides audit trail certificates to all participants (time for each step of the contract, IP address, browser, device, etc.).

Electronic contracts are legally binding for company-to-individual and individual-to-individual contracts.

However, for company-to-company contracts, the party who requested the signing of the contract must prove the validity of the signature in a legal dispute.

Therefore, in order to prepare for possible legal disputes, you can use the ‘attachment component’ to require the attachment of supporting documents such as the power of attorney, certificate of incorporation, corporate seal, and corporate seal certificate to the documents.

This way, you can prove that the signer is qualified to sign on behalf of the company.

Additionally, eformsign provides audit trail certificates for electronic documents created using eformsign, which record signature history and related information (such as identity verification, access date, IP address, and signature log) for document validity and non-repudiation.

Electronic signatures have become legally binding in phases in the vast majority of countries around the world. eformsign’s e-signature is legally-binding for individual-to-individual and corporation-to-individual contracts. As well, it provides various additional features for non-repudiation.

The following describes the legal effect of electronic signatures in some regions.

• USA: Through the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA) enacted in 1999 and the Electronic Signature in Global and National Commerce Act (ESIGN) enacted in 2000, electronic signatures that meet specific requirements are recognized to have the same legal effect as wet signatures. There are four main requirements that must be met in order for an electronic signature to be legally binding: the intention of signing (signer certification), the intention and consent, the record of the signing process, and the preservation of the signature. Currently, 48 states in the United States have adopted electronic signature acts, and as a result, electronic signatures are recognized as having the same legal effect as handwritten signatures in almost all transactions.
• EU: In accordance with eIDAS (Electronic Identification and Trust Services) regulations, all types of electronic signatures are recognized as legally effective and binding. They are categorized into Qualified Electronic Signatures (QES), Advanced Electronic Signatures (AdES), and general Electronic signatures, and their legal status is applied accordingly, corresponding to the characteristics of each type of document.
• Korea: According to the Digital Signature Act, the legality of an electronic document or signature is not denied because it is in an electronic format. As well, the monopolistic status of the certificate authority has been abolished and the same legal effect is given to a variety of commercial electronic signature services. In addition, the monopoly status of accredited certificates has been abolished and the same legal effect is given to a variety of private digital signature services.
• Japan: The legal effect of electronic signatures is recognized in accordance with laws on electronic signature and certification services.

[Disclaimer]
Information related to the legal effect of electronic contracts and electronic signatures provided by eformsign is for general information purposes only. All information is used at your own risk and is not a substitute for professional legal advice. For legal advice and defense, please consult a qualified attorney in your area. Since eformsign cannot guarantee that all legal information of electronic contracts by country/region/technology provided by eformsign is up-to-date or accurate, eformsign makes no warranty, express or implied, as to the completeness of the legal information.

An E-signature is a signature in an electronic format that replaces the role of a traditional wet ink signature. When signing electronically, you must go through a verification process that proves that the signer is him/herself just like when a person signs in the traditional wet signature method.

When verifying one’s identity, email, social security number, password, phone number, and digital certificate are used as a means of identity verification.

Typically, E-signatures go through a 1-step verification process, but users can choose to have a 2-step verification process according to user-defined settings. This results in a more secure and reliable identity verification.

A digital signature is a type of E-signature that differs from E-signature in that it goes through a specific method of identity verification. A digital signature uses a certificate-based digital ID to verify the signer’s identity and proves the authenticity of the signature in a document through encryption.

While a digital signature has the advantage of being more legally-binding, its disadvantage is that all the people signing electronically must have a digital signature issued to them in order to sign.