Legal Question in Business Law in California

Re: Electronic Legal Documents

For many purposes, yes. There are exceptions where hard copy originals are needed -- real estate transfers, testamentary instruments such as wills, codicils and trusts, certain court filings, certain disclosure documents, and on and on.

Even where a FAX or e-mail is not a "legal document" itself, i.e. is not enforcable, it can often be evidence of an oral agreement or have some other legal significance.

This area of law is evolving rapidly. California has recent legislation on the books to encourage electronic commerce and you can expect more use of e-documents as well as laws and court decisions aimed at enforcing the intent of parties to contracts based on electronic transmissions but also discouraging their use to perpetrate frauds.