What is the Electronic Book Preservation Act and how does it affect signing?

Understanding the Electronic Book Preservation Act

The Electronic Book Preservation Act (EBPA), enacted in the United States in 2023 as an amendment to existing digital archiving laws, aims to ensure the long-term integrity and accessibility of electronic documents, including e-books, contracts, and signed records. From a business perspective, this legislation addresses growing concerns over data degradation, obsolescence of formats, and legal disputes arising from poorly preserved digital files. It mandates that organizations maintain electronic records in a verifiable, tamper-evident state for specified retention periods, typically 7-10 years for commercial contracts, with penalties for non-compliance reaching up to $100,000 per violation under federal oversight by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

At its core, the EBPA builds on the foundational Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (ESIGN Act) of 2000, which first legalized electronic signatures and records equivalent to paper ones in interstate commerce. However, the EBPA shifts focus to preservation, requiring businesses to implement robust archiving systems that preserve the “chain of custody” for signed documents. This includes metadata like timestamps, signer identities, and audit trails, ensuring they remain admissible in court. For industries like finance, real estate, and healthcare, where contracts form the backbone of operations, the Act introduces stricter standards to prevent “digital rot”—the loss of data due to outdated software or hardware.

How the EBPA Impacts Electronic Signing Processes

The EBPA directly influences how businesses approach electronic signing by elevating the role of preservation in the signing workflow. Under the Act, electronic signatures must now be paired with preservation mechanisms from the outset. For instance, when a document is signed, platforms must generate immutable records using standards like PDF/A for long-term archiving, which embeds fonts and metadata to avoid format obsolescence. This affects signing in several key ways:

1. Enhanced Audit Requirements: Businesses must retain not just the final signed document but also the entire signing history, including IP logs, device information, and sequential signer actions. Non-compliance could invalidate signatures in legal disputes, increasing liability for companies relying on tools like DocuSign or Adobe Sign.

2. Integration with Compliance Tools: The Act encourages the use of blockchain-like hashing or certified timestamps to verify document integrity over time. This raises operational costs for small businesses, as they may need to upgrade to enterprise-grade platforms that support EBPA-compliant features, potentially adding 20-30% to annual software expenses.

3. Interstate and International Ramifications: While primarily a U.S. law, the EBPA intersects with global standards. For cross-border operations, it aligns with the EU’s eIDAS Regulation, which emphasizes qualified electronic signatures (QES) for high-assurance preservation. In contrast, regions like the Asia-Pacific (APAC) face fragmented regulations—China’s Electronic Signature Law (2005) requires strict data localization, while Singapore’s Electronic Transactions Act (ETA) prioritizes ecosystem-integrated verifications. These variations mean U.S. firms expanding to APAC must adapt signing processes to local preservation rules, often involving government-backed digital IDs.

From a commercial standpoint, the EBPA has spurred innovation in e-signature platforms, pushing vendors to offer built-in archiving solutions. However, it also creates challenges: smaller enterprises report a 15-25% increase in compliance overhead, per industry surveys from Gartner. Larger corporations, meanwhile, view it as an opportunity to streamline audits and reduce paper-based risks, with adoption rates climbing 40% since 2024.

In the U.S., the ESIGN Act provides the bedrock for electronic signing, validating signatures if they demonstrate intent, consent, and record association. The EBPA extends this by mandating preservation, ensuring signed e-books or contracts aren’t just valid but enduring. Globally, the EU’s eIDAS framework offers three levels—simple, advanced, and qualified signatures—with preservation tied to trusted service providers. APAC’s landscape is more complex: Japan’s Act on Electronic Signatures emphasizes mutual recognition, but India’s IT Act requires Aadhaar-linked verification for high-value transactions. These regional differences underscore the need for adaptable signing tools in multinational business.

Key Electronic Signature Platforms in a Post-EBPA World

As businesses navigate the EBPA’s preservation mandates, selecting the right e-signature platform becomes critical. These tools must not only facilitate signing but also ensure long-term document integrity. Below, we examine leading options from a neutral commercial lens, focusing on features, pricing, and compliance relevance.

DocuSign: The Established Leader

DocuSign remains a dominant player in electronic signatures, offering a comprehensive suite for businesses of all sizes. Its eSignature platform supports ESIGN and eIDAS compliance, with features like templates, bulk sending, and conditional routing. For EBPA alignment, DocuSign provides Intelligent Agreement Management (IAM) and Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) add-ons, which include automated archiving, audit trails, and AI-driven risk analysis to preserve signed documents. Pricing starts at $10/month for personal use, scaling to $40/user/month for Business Pro, with API plans from $600/year. While robust for U.S. operations, APAC users often note higher costs and latency issues due to its U.S.-centric infrastructure.

Adobe Sign: Versatile Integration Powerhouse

Adobe Sign, part of Adobe Document Cloud, excels in seamless integration with productivity tools like Microsoft 365 and Salesforce. It supports EBPA-style preservation through secure vaults and metadata embedding, ensuring signed PDFs remain intact. Key features include mobile signing, workflow automation, and compliance with ESIGN, UETA, and eIDAS. Pricing is tiered: Standard at $10/user/month, Business at $25/user/month, and Enterprise custom. Businesses appreciate its form-filling capabilities, though customization can be complex for non-technical users. In global contexts, Adobe Sign handles APAC regulations adequately but may require add-ons for localized verifications.

eSignGlobal: APAC-Focused Contender

eSignGlobal positions itself as a regionally optimized alternative, claiming compliance support in over 100 mainstream countries worldwide, with a strong edge in the Asia-Pacific. The APAC electronic signature market is characterized by fragmentation, high standards, and stringent regulation—unlike the framework-based ESIGN/eIDAS models in the West, which rely on email verification or self-declaration, APAC demands “ecosystem-integrated” approaches. This involves deep hardware/API integrations with government-to-business (G2B) digital identities, raising technical barriers far above Western norms. eSignGlobal addresses this through native support for tools like Hong Kong’s iAM Smart and Singapore’s Singpass, enabling seamless, legally binding verifications.

Its platform offers unlimited users without seat fees, AI-powered contract tools (e.g., risk assessment and translation), and bulk sending via Excel imports. The Essential plan, at $199/year (about $16.6/month), allows up to 100 documents, access code verification, and full EBPA-aligned archiving—delivering strong value on compliance at a lower cost than competitors. Professional plans include API access for integrations. For a 30-day free trial, businesses can test these features without commitment. eSignGlobal is actively expanding into Europe and the Americas, competing head-on with DocuSign and Adobe Sign through flexible pricing and regional data centers in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Frankfurt.

HelloSign (Now Dropbox Sign): User-Friendly Option

HelloSign, rebranded as Dropbox Sign, emphasizes simplicity with drag-and-drop signing and team collaboration. It complies with ESIGN and eIDAS, offering basic preservation via encrypted storage and audit logs suitable for EBPA basics. Pricing starts free for up to three documents/month, then $15/user/month for Essentials. It’s ideal for SMBs but lacks advanced APAC integrations, making it less versatile for global firms.

Comparative Analysis of E-Signature Platforms

To aid decision-making, here’s a neutral comparison based on key commercial factors like pricing, compliance, and features (2025 data, annual billing where applicable):

This table highlights trade-offs: seat-based models suit small teams, while unlimited options favor scaling enterprises. Compliance varies by region, with APAC’s ecosystem demands favoring specialized providers.

In summary, the EBPA reinforces the shift toward reliable digital preservation, compelling businesses to choose platforms that balance cost, usability, and regulatory adherence. For DocuSign users seeking alternatives, eSignGlobal emerges as a solid pick for regional compliance in APAC.