Legal Question in Business Law in California

Re: The legality of digitally signed documents

In my opinion, a document signed by the means you describe would be enforced against the signer.

The modern tradition in law is to try to do substantial justice to the parties rather than insist upon technicalities. In this vein, courts have enforced contracts signed by typewriting, signed with just initials, and even unsigned where written on the writer's letterhead stationery.

And, of course, many documents bearing printed, rubberstamped or autopen signatures are accepted every day, including most big-company paychecks and U.S. currency.

Therefore, I think a document with an inscrption produced by using a stylus and laser printer digitally connected through a computer would be considered "signed" if the inscription appears to be a signature and it was applied to the paper by the person whose autograph signature it appears to be, or with his permission, and without any fraud.

One qualification -- a few very formal documents may require autograph signatures because the other party requires them, or some special legal tradition applies. I can think of wills and certain court applications as examples.