Patent ID: 7673006

Claim:
A system for writing a collaborative email document with delegable authorities, the system comprising: means for establishing a hierarchy of delegation authority for signatures; means for establishing at least one authority delegation policy comprising at least one rule for automated delegation of signature authority among signatories in the hierarchy, wherein rules for automated delegation of signature authority comprise: a first rule that the signature authority of a first signatory means for having a first position in a hierarch of delegation authority may be delegated to a second signatory means for having a second position in the hierarchy of delegation authority, wherein the second position is higher in the hierarchy than the first position; a second rule that a first signatory means for having a first position in the hierarchy of delegation authority may digitally sign the collaborative email document only after a second signatory means for having a second position in the hierarchy of delegation authority has signed the collaborative email document, wherein the second position is higher in the hierarchy than the first position; a third rule that signature authority is to be delegated to a second signatory if a first signatory does not sign the document within a specified period of time; and a fourth rule that signature authority may be delegated during a specified period of time; means for establishing a collaborative email document on an administrator's computer; means for establishing time parameters for writing the collaborative email document; means for providing alerts and reminders in accordance with the established time parameters; means for forwarding copies of the collaborative email document to delegated backup collaborators in accordance with the established time parameters; means for identifying one or more signatories for the document; means for identifying editable portions of the email document; means for specifying that only certain collaborators are authorized to view and edit one or more portions of the document; wherein authority to view and edit one or more portions of the document includes authority to delegate to another collaborator the authority to view and edit one or more portions of the document; means for providing to the collaborators copies of the document for viewing and editing, wherein the collaborators' copies reside on collaborators' computers; means for updating the copies of the document on collaborators' computers with revisions from the collaborators; means for delegating signature authority from at least one signatory to another signatory in accordance with the authority delegation policy; and means for sending the collaborative email document from the administrator's computer to addressees when the document bears valid digital signatures from all signatories.