E-signature

• US 10,453,058 B2
• Filed: 12/17/2014
• Issued: 10/22/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 12/17/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Heartland Payment Systems Incorporated (Global Payments Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Heartland Payment Systems Incorporated (Global Payments Incorporated)
• Inventors: Bartley, Joshua A., Battcher, Maxwell J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tsui, Wilson W
• Application Number:
  US14/573,067
• Publication Number:
  US 20160179776A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,770 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/166 Editing, e.g. inserting or deleting
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/027 involving a payment switch or gateway
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/0855 involving a third party
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/32 using wireless devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3825 Use of electronic signatures

Abstract

The present disclosure is directed to electronic transaction management methods and systems that facilitate transactions between multiple parties by providing web-based transaction environments that enable all aspects of transaction establishment and performance, including document processing and execution for establishing binding agreements. The transaction management capabilities facilitate transaction performance through the use of multiple transaction environments, such as a real-time, simultaneous execution environment wherein its establishment and maintenance is determinable and within which the obtainment of multiple handwritten signatures to an executable transaction document can occur simultaneously and in real-time.

Claims

1. A method for establishing a transaction document for a multi-party transaction within a real-time, simultaneous execution environment by a transaction system, comprising:

establishing a first transaction environment, at a first web address, capable of being accessed by a plurality of parties to a transaction and presenting a preliminary transaction document in a first format to each of the plurality of accessing parties upon access;

establishing an RSEE factor matrix including a plurality of required transaction RSEE factors for which compliance must be determined, the RSEE factors comprising;

i. the preliminary transaction document in the first transaction environment requires execution by obtainment of a handwritten signature from at least two signatories among the plurality of parties;

ii. the preliminary transaction document in the first transaction environment is being concurrently accessed by a plurality of the required at least two signatories among the plurality of parties;

iii. at least one of the required at least two signatories among the plurality of parties is accessing the first transaction environment from a mobile computing device;

iv. at least one of the required at least two signatories among the plurality of parties has been provided access to and is accessing the first transaction environment via a link to the first transaction environment sent by email to the at least one of the required at least two signatories;

v. at least one of the required at least two signatories among the plurality of parties is accessing the first transaction environment from a location remote from at least one of the other required signatories;

presenting an RSEE window in the first transaction environment, wherein the RSEE window automatically displays the RSEE factor matrix to the plurality of parties in the first transaction environment;

automatically determining compliance with the transaction RSEE factors of the preliminary transaction document in the first transaction environment;

tracking the compliance determinations of each RSEE factor, wherein the RSEE window displays updates to the RSEE factor compliance determinations and provides a compliance designation;

presenting a first indication of assent to the preliminary transaction document, wherein at least one indication of assent is required from at least one of the required at least two signatories;

determining the required indication of assent has been designated for the preliminary transaction document by at least one of the required at least two signatories; and

upon confirmation of the satisfaction of each transaction RSEE factor determination and the first indication of assent/consent to the preliminary transaction document, establishing the preliminary transaction document as an executable transaction document in a real-time, simultaneous execution environment at a second web address for concurrent access by at least two signatories among the plurality of parties, wherein the executable transaction document includes signature blocks, in a second format, for enabling execution by the required at least two signatories and wherein the real-time, simultaneous execution environment allows real-time, simultaneous execution of the executable transaction document by the obtainment of handwritten signatures from each of the plurality of concurrently accessing signatories in the signature blocks and each of the plurality of concurrently accessing signatories is enabled access to the executable transaction document via a composite URL that includes the second web address and an identifier specific to each of the plurality of concurrently accessing signatories.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising establishing at least one of a partially executed and fully executed transaction document upon the real-time, simultaneous obtainment of handwritten signatures from each of the plurality of concurrently accessing signatories.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising establishing a partially executed transaction document, including any and/or all obtained acts of execution, in at least one of a computer memory location, maintained within the real-time, simultaneous execution environment and another transaction environment.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining the document is established in the real-time, simultaneous execution environment within an establishment period.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining at least one other party to the transaction is concurrently accessing the transaction document with the plurality of concurrently accessing signatories.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining at least one other party, having a user designation, is concurrently accessing the transaction document with the plurality of concurrently accessing signatories.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first transaction environment and the real-time, simultaneous execution environment allows additional acts of execution to be performed by any required signatory.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the first transaction environment allows generation of the document.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the real-time, simultaneous execution environment is closed upon at least one of the obtainment of handwritten signatures from the at least two concurrently accessing signatories, obtainment of all required acts of execution from all required signatories, a determination by a process established for an RSEEV maintenance package, a determination by a process established for an RSEEV PET package.

10. The methods of claim 1, wherein the second web address and hosting of the executable transaction document by the second web address is provided by a secondary computing device networked within the transaction system.

11. A method for generating a fully executed transaction document being hosted within a transaction environment by a transaction system, comprising:

establishing an executable transaction document within an execution environment hosted by the transaction system that allows the real-time, simultaneous obtainment of handwritten signatures from a plurality of concurrently accessing signatories, wherein the establishment of the document within the execution environment is based upon compliance determinations with the following RSEE factors while the executable transaction document is presented in a first format in a preliminary transaction environment at a first web address;

i. the document in the preliminary transaction environment includes a plurality of signature blocks and requires execution by obtainment of a handwritten signature from at least two signatories among the plurality of concurrently accessing signatories;

ii. the document in the preliminary transaction environment is being concurrently accessed by a plurality of the required at least two signatories among the plurality of concurrently accessing signatories;

iii. at least one of the required at least two signatories among the plurality of concurrently accessing signatories is accessing the preliminary transaction environment from a mobile computing device;

iv. at least one of the required at least two signatories among the plurality of concurrently accessing signatories has been provided access to and is accessing the preliminary transaction environment via a link to the preliminary transaction environment sent by email to the at least one of the required at least two signatories among the plurality of concurrently accessing signatories;

v. at least one of the required at least two signatories is accessing the preliminary transaction environment from a location remote from at least one of the other required signatories among the plurality of concurrently accessing signatories;

vi. a first indication of assent to the document is presented, wherein at least one indication of assent is required from at least one of the required at least two signatories among the plurality of concurrently accessing signatories;

determining within the first transaction environment that the electronic transaction document is in execution ready form when the compliance determinations indicate each of the transaction RSEE factors are satisfied;

within the execution environment at a second web address, wherein the plurality of signature blocks on the executable transaction document are presented in a second format to the plurality of concurrently accessing signatories in response to the determination that the electronic transaction document is execution ready, simultaneously obtaining the handwritten signatures within the plurality signature blocks from the plurality of concurrently accessing signatories in real-time, wherein each of the plurality of concurrently accessing signatories is enabled access to the executable transaction document via a composite URL that includes the second web address and an identifier specific to each of the plurality of concurrently accessing signatories; and

in response to the real-time, simultaneous obtainment of the handwritten signatures within the executable transaction document from the plurality of concurrently accessing signatories, establishing a fully executed transaction document.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising determining the document is established in the real-time, simultaneous execution environment within an establishment period.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the fully executed transaction document is established within at least one of the execution environment, a system storage location, and an alternative transaction environment.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein establishing the fully executed transaction document requires at least one of a notarization and a document certification.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the establishing of the fully executed transaction document requires a verification of the completion of all signature blocks included within the transaction document.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein the real-time, simultaneous execution environment is closed upon at least one of the obtainment of handwritten signatures from the at least two concurrently accessing signatories, obtainment of all required acts of execution from all required signatories, a determination by a process established for an RSEEV maintenance package, a determination by a process established for an RSEEV PET package.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein the second web address and hosting of the executable transaction document by the second web address is provided by a secondary computing device networked within the transaction system.

18. A system for facilitating transactions, comprising:

a server computer having a processor, the server communicably coupled with two or more computing devices via the Internet, the two or more computing devices being utilized by two or more parties including at least a plurality of signatories;

a computer readable medium encoded with a transaction management program configured, when executed by the processor, to host a web-based transaction that at least;

provides a preliminary transaction environment at a first web address, accessible by the at least two or more parties, within which a transaction document can be presented in a first format and interacted with to arrive at an execution ready form of the transaction document;

provides for the establishment of the execution ready form of the transaction document within a real-time, simultaneous execution environment at a second web address of the transaction in response to compliance determinations reached regarding the following RSEE factors while the transaction document is presented in the first format within the preliminary transaction environment;

i. the document in the preliminary transaction environment requires execution by obtainment of a handwritten signature from each of at least two signatories of the plurality of signatories;

ii. the document in the preliminary transaction environment is being concurrently accessed by a plurality of the required at least two signatories of the plurality of signatories;

iii. at least one of the required at least two signatories of the plurality of signatories is accessing the preliminary transaction environment from a mobile computing device;

iv. at least one of the required at least two signatories of the plurality of signatories has been provided access to and is accessing the preliminary transaction environment via a link to the preliminary transaction environment sent by email to the at least one of the required at least two signatories;

v. at least one of the required at least two signatories of the plurality of signatories is accessing the preliminary transaction environment from a location remote from at least one of the other required signatories;

vi. a first indication of assent to the document is presented, wherein at least one indication of assent is required from at least one of the required at least two signatories of the plurality of signatories;

determining within the first transaction environment that the electronic transaction document is in execution ready form when the compliance determinations indicate each of the transaction RSEE factors are satisfied;

wherein upon determination that the transaction document is execution ready, at least one of partially or fully executing the transaction document by hosting the transaction document in the real-time, simultaneous execution environment, and enabling each of the plurality of concurrently accessing signatories access to the executable transaction document via a composite URL that includes the second web address and an identifier specific to each of the plurality of concurrently accessing signatories and wherein handwritten signatures from each of the plurality of concurrently accessing signatories are obtained within a plurality of signature blocks of the transaction document in a second format and are required acts of execution that are obtained simultaneously and in real-time.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein upon partial execution of the transaction document a version of the transaction document including the obtained acts of execution is at least one of stored in the memory, maintained within the real-time, simultaneous execution environment and established within another transaction environment.

20. The system of claim 18, wherein the obtainment of handwritten signatures from signatories is accomplished through the establishment and interaction with at least two real-time, simultaneous execution environments.

21. The system of claim 18, wherein the real-time, simultaneous execution environment is closed upon at least one of the obtainment of handwritten signatures from the at least two concurrently accessing signatories, obtainment of all required acts of execution from all required signatories, a determination by a process established for an RSEEV maintenance package, a determination by a process established for an RSEEV PET package.