Patent ID: 7523315

Claim:
At a computer system, a computer implemented method of signing an electronic document with legally enforceable electronic signature, the method comprising the acts of: determining that an electronic document has reached a state appropriate for one or more human signers to electronically sign the document; registering the electronic document with a document publication service; receiving a URL from the document publication service, the URL indicating a location of the electronic document at the document publication service so that arbitrary recipients that lack prior knowledge of the electronic document's location can utilize the URL to access the electronic document from the document publication service; receiving authorization, under the control of a user of the computer system, to electronically sign the electronic document with an electronic signature corresponding to a human signer of the electronic document; embedding a legally enforceable electronic signature for the human signer into the electronic document, the embedded electronic signature tying the identity of the human signer to the document, wherein the electronic signature comprises: a barcode, the barcode comprising: a scannable representation of the URL; a unique document ID identifying the document; and a unique signature ID relating to the signer of the document; receiving an indication that the human signer authorizes paper versions of the electronic document including the digital signature to be accepted as containing a valid signature; embedding language in the electronic document to indicate that the human signer authorizes paper versions of the electronic document including the digital signature to be accepted as containing a valid signature such that printed copies of the electronic document retain the legal enforceability of the electronic document based on inclusion of the bar code; and publishing the electronic document to the document publication service for electronic storage at the indicated location, the stored version of the electronic document for use in automated and visual comparisons to other versions of the electronic document, including paper versions of the electronic document, during subsequent attempts to determine the legality of the content of the electronic document.