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Docuseal: Open-source DocuSign alternative

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Re: Docuseal: Open-source DocuSign alternative

#5
What is the bar for a "legally binding digital signature"? Is this a very complicated topic - or is it quite simple?

I can sign a PDF with OSX Preview for free. I can pay a bunch of money to sign with Docusign. Both produce a PDF with a digital image of my signature. I assume both documents constitute a legally binding agreement, so long as I actually preformed the digital signature. What justification do the e-signature SaaS companies have for their exorbitant prices? I understand the "audit trail" angle - that's just collecting my IP every time I interact with the document.

Is this a big SaaS scam?

Re: Docuseal: Open-source DocuSign alternative

#6
post #4

Very nice and easy to use product. Loved that you provided an live version to try it without any signup wall or anything. Also won't DocuSign accuse you of "misleading" their customers by using a name that is "too similar" to their ?

> won't DocuSign accuse you of "misleading" their customers by using a name that is "too similar"

Docuseal would be the winner with all the free press, and changing a name costs almost nothing.

Re: Docuseal: Open-source DocuSign alternative

#8
post #5

What is the bar for a "legally binding digital signature"? Is this a very complicated topic - or is it quite simple? I can sign a PDF with OSX Preview for free. I can pay a bunch of money to sign with Docusign. Both produce a PDF with a digital image of my signature. I assume both documents constitute a legally binding agreement, so long as I actually preformed the digital signature. What justification do the e-signa…

Docusign makes it easy to collect lots of signatures from lots of people. That’s the use-case from my POV. 1 signature on 1 doc, use any PDF tool—no problem. When a board needs to approve 4 docs and you need 5 signatures on each, it needs to be easy.

Whether that’s worth Docusign’s pricing or if there’s better alternatives, up to you. But it’s objectively a helpful tool.

Re: Docuseal: Open-source DocuSign alternative

#9
post #5

What is the bar for a "legally binding digital signature"? Is this a very complicated topic - or is it quite simple? I can sign a PDF with OSX Preview for free. I can pay a bunch of money to sign with Docusign. Both produce a PDF with a digital image of my signature. I assume both documents constitute a legally binding agreement, so long as I actually preformed the digital signature. What justification do the e-signa…

> What justification do the e-signature SaaS companies have for their exorbitant prices?

They will defend their digital signature in court.

I was shocked to find these "click here to sign" contracts manage to do it all without an ounce of cryptography, but the fact is lawyers don't need cold hard math, they need a warm body to be a subject matter expert to explain to a jury that unless you're claiming someone else has access to your inbox, you're the one that clicked the button.

Re: Docuseal: Open-source DocuSign alternative

#10
post #5

What is the bar for a "legally binding digital signature"? Is this a very complicated topic - or is it quite simple? I can sign a PDF with OSX Preview for free. I can pay a bunch of money to sign with Docusign. Both produce a PDF with a digital image of my signature. I assume both documents constitute a legally binding agreement, so long as I actually preformed the digital signature. What justification do the e-signa…

I think there's more to that. A proper digital signature requires you to obtain some certificate/key from an authority which you can then use to sign documents (this doesn't even require an image of your physical signature in the document). This proves that it was actually you who signed the document. The document also can't be altered afterwards without rendering the signature invalid etc.

Just adding the image of your signature to a PDF is probably fine for unimportant things, but it certainly isn't enough to be legally binding (at least in the EU).

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