Signature
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A signature (
Function and types
The traditional function of a signature is to permanently affix to a document a person's uniquely personal, undeniable self-identification as physical evidence of that person's personal witness and certification of the content of all, or a specified part, of the document. For example, the role of a signature in many consumer contracts is not solely to provide evidence of the identity of the contracting party, but also to provide evidence of deliberation and informed consent. In many countries, signatures may be witnessed and recorded in the presence of a notary public to carry additional legal force. In some jurisdictions, an illiterate signatory can make a "mark" (often an "X" but occasionally a personalized symbol) on legal documents, so long as the document is countersigned by a literate witness.[2] In some countries, illiterate people place a thumbprint on legal documents in lieu of a written signature.
In the United States, signatures encompass marks and actions of all sorts that are indicative of identity and intent. The legal rule is that unless a statute specifically prescribes a particular method of making a signature it may be made in any number of ways. These include by a mechanical or rubber stamp facsimile. A signature may be made by the purported signatory; alternatively someone else duly authorized by the signatory, acting in the signer's presence and at the signatory's direction, may make the signature.[3]
Many individuals have much more fanciful signatures than their normal cursive writing, including elaborate ascenders, descenders and exotic flourishes, much as one would find in calligraphic writing. As an example, the final "k" in John Hancock's famous signature on the US Declaration of Independence loops back to underline his name. This kind of flourish is also known as a paraph, a French term meaning flourish, initial or signature. The paraph is used in graphology analyses.
Several cultures whose languages use writing systems other than alphabets do not share the Western notion of signatures per se: the "signing" of one's name results in a written product no different from the result of "writing" one's name in the standard way. For these languages, to write or to sign involves the same written characters. Also see Calligraphy.
Mechanically produced signatures
Special signature machines, called
Wet signatures
A wet signature is a person's name written in their own hand with ink. Some government agencies require that professional persons or official reviewers sign originals and all copies of originals to authenticate that they personally viewed the content. In the United States this is prevalent with architectural and construction plans. Its intent is to prevent mistakes or fraud but the practice is not known to be effective.[citation needed]
Detection of forged signatures
Handwriting experts say "it is extremely difficult for anyone to be able to figure out if a signature or other very limited writing sample has been forged."[5] High volume review of signatures, to decide if a signature is true or forged, occurs when election offices decide whether to accept absentee ballots arriving from voters,[6] and possibly when banks decide whether to pay checks.[7][8] The highest error rates in signature verification are found with lay people, higher than for computers, which in turn make more errors than experts.[9]
There have been concerns that signature reviews improperly reject ballots from young and minority voters at higher rates than others, with no or limited ability of voters to appeal the rejection.[10] [11] When errors are made with bank checks, the payer can ask the bank for corrections.
In 2018, a fifth of adults in the United Kingdom said they sign so rarely they have no consistent signature, including 21% of people 18-24 and 16% of people over age 55. 55% of UK adults said they rarely sign anything.[12]
Researchers have published error rates for computerized signature verification. They compare different systems on a common database of true and false signatures. The best system falsely rejects 10% of true signatures, while it accepts 10% of forgeries. Another system has error rates on both of 14%, and the third-best has error rates of 17%.[13][14] It is possible to be less stringent and reject fewer true signatures, at the cost of also rejecting fewer forgeries.[15] Computer algorithms:
look for a certain number of points of similarity between the compared signatures ... a wide range of algorithms and standards, each particular to that machine's manufacturer, are used to verify signatures. In addition, counties have discretion in managing the settings and implementing manufacturers' guidelines ... there are no statewide standards for automatic signature verification ... most counties do not have a publicly available, written explanation of the signature verification criteria and processes they use.[16]
In an experiment, experts rejected 5% of true signatures and 71% of forgeries. They were doubtful about another 57% of true signatures and 27% of forgeries. If computer verification is adjusted to reflect what experts are sure about, it will wrongly reject 5% of true signatures and wrongly accept 29% of forgeries. If computers were adjusted more strictly, rejecting all signatures which experts have doubts about, the computers would set aside 62% of true signatures, and still wrongly accept 2% of forgeries. Lay people made more mistakes and were doubtful less often, though the study does not report whether their mistakes were to accept more forgeries or reject more true signatures.[17]
Voters with short names are at a disadvantage, since experts make more mistakes on signatures with fewer "turning points and intersections." Participants in this study had 10 true signatures to compare to, which is more than most postal ballot verifications have.[17] A more recent study for the US Department of Justice confirms the probabilistic nature of signature verification, though it does not provide numbers.[9]
Online usage
In
Reusing signature pages
For guidance applicable in England and Wales on the use of pre-signed signature pages being subsequently attached to documents to effect a "virtual" signing, see Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989#Validity of execution under Mercury.
Art
The signature on a painting or other work of art has always been an important item in the assessment of art. Fake signatures are sometimes added to enhance the value of a painting, or are added to a fake painting to support its authenticity. A notorious case was the signature of Johannes Vermeer on the fake "Supper at Emmaus" made by the art-forger Han van Meegeren. However, the fact that painters' signatures often vary over time (particularly in the modern and contemporary periods) might complicate the issue. The signatures of some painters take on an artistic form that may be of less value in determining forgeries. If a painting is
Copyright
Under British law, the appearance of signatures (not the names themselves) may be protected under copyright law.[18]
Under United States copyright law, "titles, names [I c...]; mere variations of typographic ornamentation, lettering, or coloring" are not eligible for copyright;[19] however, the appearance of signatures (not the names themselves) may be protected under copyright law.[18]
Uniform Commercial Code
See also
- Autograph club
- Autograph Collector Magazine
- Biometric signature as form of the electronic signature
- Builder's signature
- Initials
- Images of signatures
- manu propria (m.p.)
- Memorial to the 56 Signers of the Declaration of Independence, includes depicted signatures
- Monogram
- Pawtograph, an animal's paw print
- Round-robin (document), a signed document where the signatures are arranged in a circle
- Royal sign-manual
- Shakespeare's handwriting
- Signum manus
- Tughra
- Huaya
References
- ^ "John Hancock". Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
- ^ "Horton v. Murden, 117 Ga. 72". Caselaw Access Project. Harvard Law School. 1903. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
- ^ 80 Corpus Juris Secundum, Signatures, sections 2 through 7
- ^ "10 facts about the 'autopen' - POLITICO". Politico. 3 January 2013.
- ^ Armitage, Susie (2018-11-05). "Handwriting Disputes Cause Headaches for Some Absentee Voters". ProPublica. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
- ^ "Voting Outside the Polling Place: Absentee, All-Mail and other Voting at Home Options". www.ncsl.org. Retrieved 2020-07-02.
- ^ "What Is Automated Signature Verification?". SQN Banking Systems. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
- ^ Mayhew, Stephen (2012-05-14). "Banks Are Now Embracing The Newer And Tougher Signature Verification System". Biometric Update. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
- ^ a b Srihari, Sangur (December 2010). Computational Methods for Handwritten Questioned Document Examination (Report). National Institute of Justice.
- ^ Smith, Daniel (2018-09-18). "Vote-By-Mail Ballots Cast in Florida" (PDF). ACLU-Florida. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
- ^ Wilkie, Jordan (2018-10-12). "Exclusive: High Rate of Absentee Ballot Rejection Reeks of Voter Suppression". Who What Why. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
- ^ "Sign Of The Times - One In Five Adults Don't Have Their Own Signature". OSS Technology. 2018. Retrieved 2021-03-19.
- S2CID 206932295.
- S2CID 199576552.
- .
- ^ "Signature Verification and Mail Ballots: Guaranteeing Access While Preserving Integrity" (PDF). Stanford University. 2020-04-15. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
- ^ PMID 12353558.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-85941-530-6.
An individual's signature may be protected under law as an artistic work. If so, the unauthorised reproduction of the signature will infringe copyright. The name itself will not be protected by copyright; it is the appearance of the signature which is protected.
- ^ "Copyright Basics Archived 2011-03-05 at the Wayback Machine", United States Copyright Office. Retrieved 15 March 2011.
External links
- signature (P109) (see uses)
- Why Do We Sign For Things? A Rabbi, A Lawyer And A MasterCard Exec Explain NPR / Planet Money
- History of signatures at Slate
- What is Signature? Signature of 100 famous people (video on YouTube)