Legally-Binding e-Commerce a Hot Topic as E-Sign Law Comes Into Effect; Verisign and Cohasset Invite PureEdge Personnel to Speak On Legally-Binding e-Commerce.

Business/High Tech Editors

VICTORIA, British Columbia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 2, 2000

Key PureEdge personnel widely recognized as leading authorities on secure and legally-binding e-commerce speak at conferences this week as the E-Sign Act officially becomes law.

PureEdge CTO David Manning speaks at the Verisign Internet Trust Symposium on Friday, Oct. 6 in San Jose, while Barclay Blair, PureEdge Director of Practices and External Affairs addresses the Managing Electronic Records conference presented by Cohasset Associates on Tuesday, Oct. 3 in Chicago.

A host of Internet visionaries will discuss the future of e-commerce and the Internet at the conferences dealing with the latest issues surrounding e-commerce. The Electronic Signatures in Global and National E-commerce (E-Sign) Act, passed by Congress and ratified by President Clinton in June, became law on Oct. 1.

Verisign Internet Trust Symposium

Manning's presentation, "Electronic Forms and Digital Signatures -- Legally-Binding Solutions," focuses on how to leverage new XML Internet forms software. By moving their forms to the Internet, businesses and governments can expand e-commerce offerings and save money while maintaining the necessary legal attributes of paper-based transaction records.

"It is clear that dependence on paper-based systems is inefficient and costly in a digital world," said Manning. "Analysts estimate that it costs organization in the USA over $120 billion annually to process paper forms. With the growth of electronic commerce, it is clear that a legally-binding method for moving paper forms to the Internet is needed. PureEdge has been providing that solution for the past three years."

A co-founder of PureEdge, Manning is a key architect of Extensible Forms Description Language (XFDL), the world's first open protocol for secure legally-binding XML documents, and is frequently sought as an e-commerce expert for leading industry publications, standards bodies, and conferences. He is also an invited participant in world standards bodies including the World Wide Web Consortium and CommerceNet, where he was editor of the eCo Architecture specification.

Cohasset MER Conference

Blair's presentation, "Signing on the Virtual Dotted Line: Essential Evidence for Electronic Contracts," is an overview of legally-binding electronic transactions as outlined by the E-Sign Act.

With a broad background in Internet technology and extensive expertise in the areas of XML, e-commerce, PKI, security, and related topics, Blair has been following the E-Sign legislation since its introduction to the House. He is an executive editor and co-chair of the Consumers Task Group within the Information Security Committee of the American Bar Association, and chairs the Policy Working Group of the Legal XML consortium.

About PureEdge

Named a Top Ten E-Commerce Company by InternetWeek and a Company to Watch by Wall Street and Technology, PureEdge is the recognized leader in creating legally- binding transactions for e-commerce and the development of secure e-commerce standards. PureEdge products include the award-winning InternetForms Commerce System(TM) and an upcoming suite of applications for the financial services industry. PureEdge customers are Global 2000 and public sector organizations including the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Chase Bank, Arvest Bank, the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Allina Health System, Ameritech, and American Legal Net. PureEdge actively promotes interoperable e-commerce through its participation in a wide a range of industry associations and standards bodies such as the W3C, the American Bar Association, NACHA, and CommerceNet. For more information, visit http://www.PureEdge.com or call 888/517-2675 or 250/479-8334.