Show HN: OpenSign – Open source alternative to DocuSign
1–10 of 164 posts
Re: Show HN: OpenSign – Open source alternative to DocuSign
#2My understanding (possibly incorrect) is that competing with DocuSign is hard because of the need to follow obscure state and National laws (many of which are defined by case law rather than published law) in order for the signatures to be legally binding.
Is that the case? And if so, is there evidence OpenSign has done this kind of SME research to make sure the electronic signatures are legally binding, or is this more "we brought in some devs and UI designers and built something" without actual legal review and guidance?
Re: Show HN: OpenSign – Open source alternative to DocuSign
#3It is interesting to me how they (tm) on OpenSign, but don't do it in all their references to their competitors...
Re: Show HN: OpenSign – Open source alternative to DocuSign
#4My understanding (possibly incorrect) is that competing with DocuSign is hard because of the need to follow obscure state and National laws (many of which are defined by case law rather than published law) in order for the signatures to be legally binding. Is that the case? And if so, is there evidence OpenSign has done this kind of SME research to make sure the electronic signatures are legally binding, or is this m…
DocuSign itself just refers you to your own counsel for legal advice, but does publish and update a handy multi-country legal reference.
For the US one, at least, they give examples of where electronic signatures are pretty common and straightforward, and where you need to be careful.
Software-wise, they have features to help you show evidence of who signed, where, and when in multiple ways. Nothing magical, though.
If there were secret sauce, you would think they’d mention it prominently, but they don’t.
https://www.docusign.com/products/electronic-signature/legal...
Re: Show HN: OpenSign – Open source alternative to DocuSign
#5My understanding (possibly incorrect) is that competing with DocuSign is hard because of the need to follow obscure state and National laws (many of which are defined by case law rather than published law) in order for the signatures to be legally binding. Is that the case? And if so, is there evidence OpenSign has done this kind of SME research to make sure the electronic signatures are legally binding, or is this m…
Thanks for asking the right question. We are taking legal help to be compliant with various jurisdictions. Our solution is currently able to safely sign a document with a digital signature that will make it tamper-proof and show a geen tick in Adobe PDF while keeping track of incremental annotations added by multiple signers. We envision to add support for eIDAS and AADHAAR e-sign(widely accepted in India) very soon.
Re: Show HN: OpenSign – Open source alternative to DocuSign
#6My understanding (possibly incorrect) is that competing with DocuSign is hard because of the need to follow obscure state and National laws (many of which are defined by case law rather than published law) in order for the signatures to be legally binding. Is that the case? And if so, is there evidence OpenSign has done this kind of SME research to make sure the electronic signatures are legally binding, or is this m…
Are there really any laws requiring special types of signatures? Because I've never had a legal doc sent to me that they weren't fine with just stamping my signature on the line or even printing it out, signing it, and scanning it back in.
Re: Show HN: OpenSign – Open source alternative to DocuSign
#7My understanding (possibly incorrect) is that competing with DocuSign is hard because of the need to follow obscure state and National laws (many of which are defined by case law rather than published law) in order for the signatures to be legally binding. Is that the case? And if so, is there evidence OpenSign has done this kind of SME research to make sure the electronic signatures are legally binding, or is this m…
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Re: Show HN: OpenSign – Open source alternative to DocuSign
#8This is naïve. DocuSign's main sell from a commercial perspective is it separates the parties into the signer, the signee and the authority. If the authority is the signee or the signer then it could be considered unfair. And really no one wants to end up having to hire lawyers to unfuck that mess.
Not only that DocuSign does ID verification if you pay them which is required for a bunch of contract types. This does definitely not!
Re: Show HN: OpenSign – Open source alternative to DocuSign
#9My understanding (possibly incorrect) is that competing with DocuSign is hard because of the need to follow obscure state and National laws (many of which are defined by case law rather than published law) in order for the signatures to be legally binding. Is that the case? And if so, is there evidence OpenSign has done this kind of SME research to make sure the electronic signatures are legally binding, or is this m…
Are there really any laws requiring special types of signatures? Because I've never had a legal doc sent to me that they weren't fine with just stamping my signature on the line or even printing it out, signing it, and scanning it back in.
It depends on jurisdiction you are located in and the level of legal safety and acceptance you need. Our solution is already able to digitally sign the document which kind of makes it tamper proof and electronically sign(draw annotations) which will have you covered in most regions. Some regions have specific laws for example India has IT Act 2000, UETA & ESIGN Act while Europe has eIDAS.
Re: Show HN: OpenSign – Open source alternative to DocuSign
#10My understanding (possibly incorrect) is that competing with DocuSign is hard because of the need to follow obscure state and National laws (many of which are defined by case law rather than published law) in order for the signatures to be legally binding. Is that the case? And if so, is there evidence OpenSign has done this kind of SME research to make sure the electronic signatures are legally binding, or is this m…
Are there really any laws requiring special types of signatures? Because I've never had a legal doc sent to me that they weren't fine with just stamping my signature on the line or even printing it out, signing it, and scanning it back in.
Depends where you are but contracts and other legal documents are only ultimately enforceable in court usually. Electronic signatures tend to shorten that process somewhat as they provide signatory verification, contract integrity and ID verification so it's seen as a legal risk and cost mitigation rather than an actual hard contractual requirement.