Adobe hit by lawsuit after buying digital signature firm
Software giant Adobe has made what could prove to be an important step in the digital mail arena, acquiring electronic signature company EchoSign. But, the use of electronic signatures in Adobe’s globally popular PDF document format has today been complicated by patent infringement claims.
Adobe announced the acquisition of electronic signature developer EchoSign yesterday, which was followed today by the filing of a lawsuit by Los Angeles-based RPost, claiming five patent infringements.
EchoSign’s electronic signatures are now to be integrated with Adobe’s document software, which the Silicon Valley-based company says will make its PDF offerings even more effective in competing with overnight mail services for sending trusted documents.
The Echosign system can automate a signature process so that documents can be signed with a single click. Along with the sending of trusted documents, the system will improve tracking and management of signed agreements, Adobe said yesterday.
Adobe is already integrating the technology with partner communications software systems like Salesforce.com and NetSuite. The company’s PDF format is already being used by digital postal mail systems, including Hearst Corporation’s Manilla service.
Kevin M. Lynch, a digital solutions vice president at Adobe, said: “Adobe’s document solutions help organizations turn inefficient, paper-based workflows into streamlined electronic ones.
“By adding electronic signature capabilities to Adobe’s document exchange services platform, we will be addressing the need to provide better customer experiences by significantly reducing the time, cost and complexity associated with having a document signed.”
“Our turf”
Rpost, which is also currently suing rivals DocuSign and postal operators including Swiss Post and Canada Post for similar claims of patent trespassing, insisted that Adobe’s EchoSign relies on its patented technology. It has asked for a court injunction to prevent Adobe from using the EchoSign technology.
Zafar Khan, CEO of RPost, said that when an electronic signature system looks to create a proper audit trail for e-documents, that area of technology “is on our turf”.
“We pioneered the technology for proof of email and document delivery, including recording recipient reply or signoff on the message content, and have the patents to prove it,” he said.
RPost says it has 35 patents granted worldwide covering technologies of verifiable proof for email delivery and the recording of recipient consent in received messages and documents.
The company currently provides registered email services for postal operators including the Bermuda Postal Service, the Colombia Postal Service, the Cayman Islands Postal Service and Iceland Post.
“We have seen the marketplace put more emphasis on electronic signature services that produce signed contracts with high evidential weight, assure electronic signatures have been applied to contracts in a manner that is legally valid, and return auditable proof records to all signing parties. This has been the core of RPost technology for years,” said Khan.
