My colleagues Dave Navetta, Tanya Forsheit and Scott Blackmer have framed a definition and outlined the essential legal implications of cloud computing. Tanya has started a discussion of the application of electronic discovery and electronic evidence issues in the cloud. This post extends Tanya's discussion of the intersection between electronic discovery and the cloud.
Yesterday, the Utah Supreme Court, interpreting Utah's version of the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA) held that electronic "signatures" gathered through the website of an independent candidate for Utah state governor are valid to put the candidate's name on Utah's November ballot. The court's decision is a huge step forward in recognizing the legal efficacy of electronic signatures that may reverberate around the nation.
At first glance, the seemingly Grand Canyon-wide gap between a verified signature and eSignature's practice is troubling. However, upon reflection, the lack of individual party verification is less worrying than it appears - at least in corporate scenarios.