Web-based e-signature vendor acquires patent license

Yozons recently signed yet another licensee to the Yozons '079 patent. We expect more to come as vendors realize the reach of our patent's web-based, secure document delivery and optional electronic signature system and method, and support and acknowledge how Yozons has changed the landscape from a user-controlled PKI-based signature model to a lighter-weight server-controlled signature model.

This U.S.-based competitor develops and operates various web and mobile apps, and negotiated a patent license that fits their particular needs and ensures their thousands of daily clients are protected when using their online document signature service.

While the negotiations lasted over a month, we applaud the decision they reached after discussing the details with their attorney.  Because they were quick to understand the depth of our patent and how it applied to their technology, we were able to negotiate favorable terms.  Yozons prefers to have competitors so long as we are compensated for our invention that has created a healthy marketplace for web-based document processing services throughout the United States.

Their e-signatures service is typical of competitors who make use of our patent's teachings:

1. Documents are stored online in a centralized server.
2. Documents are transferred between parties securely, typically over HTTPS, in order to effect secure document delivery that ensures the privacy of the business communications.  HTTPS makes use of a traditional PKI in which the browser uses the web server's SSL digital certificate to establish a secure link using the web server's asymmetric public key, and then generates a unique symmetric encryption key that's shared only between the user and the server for the purpose of encrypting the document and related data transferred over that link. But the key is that previously, end-users created and exchanged their own keys, as well as performed their own encryption and digital signatures.
3. The entire process makes use of a web application, giving them the ability to communicate and e-sign with a myriad of devices connected over the Internet, including PCs, start phones and tablets.
4. The e-signing ceremony typically involves typing their name, drawing their signature or clicking in the relevant areas to indicate their agreement.
5. Typical routing of documents is handled using the e-mail address of the parties involved, generally sending a unique ID that links the user to the correct document and party in the online process.  Some users, typically customers of the service, authenticate using traditional username and password, and can initiate transactions, track them, download completed agreements, etc.
6. Users can add their electronic signatures quickly and easily, without requiring special client-side software, digital certificates, and/or key management.
7. The server provide an audit trail including IP addresses and timestamps.

A quick overview of the general breadth of the Yozons '079 patent, which has been practiced by Yozons since 2001, can be found in its FIELD OF INVENTION:

In general, the present application relates to computer software, hardware and communication networks, and in particular, to a system and method for securely processing digital documents, including appending digital signatures, without requiring pre-established individual identity verification, digital certificates, end-user cryptography, key management or key exchange.