Electronic Signatures In Law

�COME ON IN CHEQUES- YOUR TIME IS UP- ELECTRONIC SIGNATURES NOW RULE!� THE RISE OF THE ELECTRONIC SIGNATURE 170 odd years after �Byles� first appeared we have Mason on Electronic Signatures. Stephen Mason sums up the balance between his work and the long established and companion of renowned, Byles, when he writes that a colleague once referred to electronic signatures as the �burning branch of obscurity. Mason�s friend was �indicating, indirectly, that although electronic signatures in their many forms are used daily by millions of people millions of times�, the understanding surrounding the topic (like bills of exchange) was negligible! Mason succeeds with his aim to bring the topic of electronic signatures into focus with lawyers and non lawyers in an age where the common law notion that it �never had much truck with technological objections� could not be more unfortunate as the global market place dominates. Mason�s book, itself, is an excellent exposition of practices across the world with 16 detailed chapters, five appendices and a glossary. He provides an in-depth analysis of: � what constitutes an electronic signature; � the form an electronic signature can take; � issues relating to evidence, formation of contract and negligence; and � guest authors writing chapters to cover Canada, Germany and the USA. THE INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE As the global economy takes full control this century, �Mason on Electronic Signatures� reviews these �electronic signature acts� throughout the world and investigates how they have been amended by examining a number of important cases which have been reported in the following jurisdictions which may be of interest to your firm: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, England & Wales, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Lithuania, Netherlands, Papua New Guinea, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland and the United States of America. This second edition is very timely giving a practical whilst comprehensive guide to the understanding of what an electronic signature is. The book starts with a clear overview of the concept and history of all forms of signature and provides a fantastic insight into the way the world now views this method of asset exchange since Victorian times.