Document Signing Systems and Methods

• US 20110093777A1
• Filed: 10/20/2010
• Published: 04/21/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/21/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Citrix Systems, Inc. (Cloud Software Group)
• Original Assignee: RightSignature LLC (Cloud Software Group)
• Inventors: Bernstein, Daryl, Siegel, Jonathan, Dunn, Cary
• Granted Patent: US 9,594,739 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/268
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/143 Markup, e.g. Standard Generalized Markup Language [SGML] or Document Type Definition [DTD]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/171 by use of digital ink
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/174 Form filling; Merging
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management

Abstract

A system and method for enabling electronic signing of an unsigned electronic document over the internet or similar network. Responsive to receipt of document and signer information from a document sender, a document execution server makes available to all signer users over a network, the unsigned electronic document, together with signature fields in the document. The document execution server receives over the network, from one or more of the signer users, signature data representative of signer user signatures associated with the respective signature fields of the unsigned electronic document. Responsive to receipt of the signature data from one or more of the signer users, the document execution server generates a signed electronic document corresponding to the unsigned electronic document.

Claims

1. A method for enabling electronic signing of an unsigned electronic document over a network, wherein the unsigned electronic document includes content displayable to a signer user as text and/or graphics on one or more pages, and one or more signature fields at one or more locations on the pages, wherein the signature fields are adapted to receive a signature of a signer user, comprising the steps of:

by a document execution server,

A. receiving over the network from a document sender, the unsigned electronic document together with signer party data representative of the identities of one or more signer users who are to sign the unsigned electronic document,

B. making available to all signer users over the network, the unsigned electronic document together with an online signature entry pad associated with each signature field in the unsigned electronic document,

C. receiving over the network from one or more of the signer users, signature data representative of one or more biometric actions by the respective signer users corresponding to entry of signer user signatures to the signature entry pads associated with the respective signature fields of the unsigned electronic document, and

D. in response to receipt of the signature data from one or more of the signer users, generating a signed electronic document corresponding to the unsigned electronic document, wherein the signed electronic document includes information representative of the signatures of the signer users, and wherein the signed electronic document is displayable to signer users with the text and/or graphic content and signature fields of the unsigned electronic document and a graphical representation of the received signature data in the respective signature fields.

2. The method according to claim 1, comprising the further step of:

by a document execution server,

following step A and prior to step B, establishing the received unsigned electronic document to be web-ready.

3. The method according to claim 1 wherein the document sender is a signer user.

4. The method according to claim 1 wherein the document sender is other than a signer user.

5. The method according to claim 1 comprising the further steps of:

by the document execution server,

E. generating authentication data associated with the received signature data from the respective signer users wherein the authentication data is substantially not changeable by any party, and

F. storing the authentication data in association with the signed electronic document.

6. The method according to claim 4 comprising the further step of:

by the document execution server,

G. substantially irreversibly coupling the authentication data with the signed electronic document.

7. The method according to claim 1 comprising the further step of:

by the document server, sending copies of the signed electronic document to the signer users.

8. The method according to claim 1 comprising the further step of:

by the document execution server,

preceding the sending step of the unsigned document to the signer users pursuant to step B,

modifying the unsigned document to include flag data interpretable by the respective signer users to successively identify to the respective signer users, the signature fields in the unsigned electronic document which require the entry of their signature in the associated signature entry pads, whereby the modified unsigned electronic document is made available to the respective signer users in step B.

9. The method according to claim 1 comprising the further step of:

by the document execution server, in conjunction with the sending step of the unsigned document to the signer users pursuant to step B,

generating for each signer user, summary data interpretable by each signer user to identify the locations in the unsigned electronic document requiring signature by the respective signer users, and sending the summary data to the respective signer users.

10. The method according to claim 1 wherein graphical representation of the received signature data in the respective signature data fields of the signed electronic document for the signer users substantially matches the signatures of the respective signer users.

11. The method according to claim 1 wherein the signer party data representative of identities the signer users includes email addresses for one or more of the signer users.

12. The method according to claim 1 wherein the signer party data representative of identities the signer users includes SMS addresses for one or more of the signer users.

13. The method according to claim 1 wherein the signer party data representative of identities the signer users includes fax numbers for one or more of the signer users.

14. The method according to claim 1 wherein the signer party data representative of identities the signer users includes third party server addresses for one or more of the signer users.

15. The method according to claim 1 wherein at least one biometric action corresponds to a free-form signature effected by a signer user.

16. The method according to claim 1 wherein at least one biometric action corresponds to a retina scan effected by a signer user.

17. The method according to claim 1 wherein at least one biometric action corresponds to an iris scan effected by a signer user.

18. The method according to claim 1 wherein at least one biometric action corresponds to one or more fingerprints effected by a signer user.

19. The method according to claim 1 wherein the network is the Internet.