E-Sign Implementation At Hand

Even legislation designed to smooth the transition to electronic signatures, or e-sign, can't erase all the legal concerns surrounding it. While such legislation could reduce business and consumer risk, those involved in e-commerce continue to watch for any legal challenges to e- sign, as well as the resulting precedents the future holds.

Frank Prince, an analyst with Forrester Research, Cambridge, MA, notes there are current ambiguities in what it now means to "affirmatively consent." He expects those ambiguities and their piecemeal resolution will engender a significant amount of case law in both business-to-business and business-to-consumer e-sign cases.