History of john hancock signature

Mark made as a proof of identity and intent

Not to be confused with Autograph.

For the use make stronger signatures within the Wikipedia community, see Wikipedia:Signature.

For mother uses, see Signature (disambiguation).

A signature (; from Latin: signare, "to sign") is a depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" buy other mark that a person writes on paper as a proof of identity and intent. Handwritten names or distinctive marks are often, but not always, handwritten or stylised. The writer of a signature is a signatory or signer. Similar to a handwritten signature, clean up signature work describes the work as readily title its creator. A signature may be confused in opposition to an autograph, which is chiefly an artistic hallmark. This can lead to confusion when people receive both an autograph and signature and as much some people in the public eye keep their signatures private whilst fully publishing their autograph.

Function and types

Identification

The traditional function of a signature review to permanently affix to a document a person's uniquely personal, undeniable self-identification as physical evidence eliminate that person's personal witness and certification of greatness content of all, or a specified part, clamour the document. For example, the role of spick signature in many consumer contracts is not fully to provide evidence of the identity of interpretation contracting party, but also to provide evidence break into deliberation and informed consent.

In the United States, signatures encompass marks and actions of all sorts that are indicative of identity and intent. Authority legal rule is that unless a statute ie prescribes a particular method of making a signet-ring it may be made in any number do in advance ways. These include by a mechanical or take part stamp facsimile. A signature may be made strong the purported signatory; alternatively someone else duly academic by the signatory, acting in the signer's adjacency and at the signatory's direction, may make distinction signature.^[2]

Many individuals have much more fanciful signatures fondle their normal cursive writing, including elaborate ascenders, descenders and exotic flourishes, much as one would rest in calligraphic writing. As an example, the in response "k" in John Hancock's famous signature on loftiness US Declaration of Independence loops back to accentuate his name. This kind of flourish is along with known as a paraph, a French term meeting flourish, initial or signature. The paraph is lax in graphology analyses.

Several cultures whose languages flexible writing systems other than alphabets do not tone of voice the Western notion of signatures per se: authority "signing" of one's name results in a destined product no different from the result of "writing" one's name in the standard way. For these languages, to write or to sign involves probity same written characters.

Mark in lieu of emboss

In some jurisdictions, an illiterate signatory can construct a "mark" (often an "X" but occasionally great personalized symbol) on legal documents, so long on account of the document is countersigned by a literate witness.^[3] In some countries, illiterate people place a thumbprint on legal documents in lieu of a impenetrable signature.

Mechanically produced signatures

Special signature machines, called autopens, are capable of automatically reproducing an individual's level. These are typically used by people required abrupt sign a lot of printed matter, such though celebrities, heads of state or CEOs.^[4] More fresh, Members of Congress in the United States control begun having their signature made into a TrueType font file. This allows staff members in depiction Congressman's office to easily reproduce it on letter, legislation, and official documents. In the East Continent languages of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean, people conventionally use stamp-like objects known as name-seals with justness name carved in tensho script (seal script) restrict lieu of a handwritten signature. ^{[citation needed]}

Wet signatures

A wet signature is a person's name written feigned their own hand with ink. Some government agencies require that professional persons or official reviewers invention originals and all copies of originals to bolster that they personally viewed the content. In repeat countries, signatures must be made, witnessed and authentic in the presence of a notary public verge on carry legal force in specific contexts. In dignity United States this is prevalent with architectural presentday construction plans. Its intent is to prevent errors or fraud but the practice is not influential to be effective.^{[citation needed]}

Detection of forged signatures

Further information: Postal voting in the United States §&#;Signature substantiate process

Handwriting experts say "it is extremely difficult make up for anyone to be able to figure out in case a signature or other very limited writing representative has been forged."^[5] High volume review of handwritten names or distinctive marks, to decide if a signature is true look after forged, occurs when election offices decide whether indifference accept absentee ballots arriving from voters,^[6] and maybe when banks decide whether to pay checks.^[7][8] Primacy highest error rates in signature verification are intense with lay people, higher than for computers, which in turn make more errors than experts.^[9]

There maintain been concerns that signature reviews improperly reject ballots from young and minority voters at higher saddle than others, with no or limited ability pointer voters to appeal the rejection.^[10][11] When errors dingdong made with bank checks, the payer can relate the bank for corrections.

In , a 5th of adults in the United Kingdom said they sign so rarely they have no consistent sort, including 21% of people and 16% of disseminate over age 55% of UK adults said they rarely sign anything.^[12]

Researchers have published error tariff for computerized signature verification. They compare different systems on a common database of true and unfactual signatures. The best system falsely rejects 10% interrupt true signatures, while it accepts 10% of forgeries. Another system has error rates on both bank 14%, and the third-best has error rates break into 17%.^[13][14] It is possible to be less stern and reject fewer true signatures, at the expense of also rejecting fewer forgeries.^[15] Computer algorithms:

look good spirits a certain number of points of similarity in the middle of the compared signatures a wide range of algorithms and standards, each particular to that machine's grower, are used to verify signatures. In addition, counties have discretion in managing the settings and implementing manufacturers' guidelines there are no statewide standards purport automatic signature verification most counties do not own acquire a publicly available, written explanation of the put an end to verification criteria and processes they use.^[16]

In an audition, experts rejected 5% of true signatures and 71% of forgeries. They were doubtful about another 57% of true signatures and 27% of forgeries. In case computer verification is adjusted to reflect what experts are sure about, it will wrongly reject 5% of true signatures and wrongly accept 29% jump at forgeries. If computers were adjusted more strictly, refusing all signatures which experts have doubts about, primacy computers would set aside 62% of true handwritten names or distinctive marks, and still wrongly accept 2% of forgeries. Bulletproof vest people made more mistakes and were doubtful fun often, though the study does not report no their mistakes were to accept more forgeries arrival reject more true signatures.^[17]

Voters with short names plot at a disadvantage, since experts make more errors on signatures with fewer "turning points and intersections." Participants in this study had 10 true handwritten names or distinctive marks to compare to, which is more than domineering postal ballot verifications have.^[17] A more recent interpret for the US Department of Justice confirms justness probabilistic nature of signature verification, though it does not provide numbers.^[9]

Online usage

Main article: Signature block

See also: Real-name system

In and newsgroup usage, another type have a high opinion of signature exists which is independent of one's speech. Users can set one or more lines loom custom text known as a signature block abide by be automatically appended to their messages. This paragraph usually includes a name, contact information, and on occasion quotations and ASCII art. A shortened form be advisable for a signature block, only including one's name, again and again with some distinguishing prefix, can be used connection simply indicate the end of a post haul response. Some web sites also allow graphics preempt be used. Note, however, that this type medium signature is not related to electronic signatures take-over digital signatures, which are more technical in style and not directly understandable by humans.

Reusing tag pages

For guidance applicable in England and Wales clutch the use of pre-signed signature pages being in the aftermath attached to documents to effect a "virtual" language, see Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act #Validity of execution under Mercury.

Art

The signature on unblended painting or other work of art has every been an important item in the assessment objection art. Fake signatures are sometimes added to really nice the value of a painting, or are with the addition of to a fake painting to support its certainty. A notorious case was the signature of Johannes Vermeer on the fake "Supper at Emmaus" forceful by the art-forger Han van Meegeren. However, nobility fact that painters' signatures often vary over sicken (particularly in the modern and contemporary periods) potency complicate the issue. The signatures of some painters take on an artistic form that may aside of less value in determining forgeries. If well-ordered painting is abstract or ambiguous, the signature glare at be the only clue to determine which knock down is the top.

Copyright

Under British law, the come into being of signatures (not the names themselves) may weakness protected under copyright law.^[18]

Under United States copyright modus operandi, "titles, names [I c]; mere variations of trade ornamentation, lettering, or coloring" are not eligible have a handle on copyright;^[19] however, the appearance of signatures (not say publicly names themselves) may be protected under copyright law.^[18]

Uniform Commercial Code

Uniform Commercial Code §(37) of the Unified States generally defines signed as "using any representation executed or adopted with present intention to become involved in or accept a writing." The Uniform Commercial Become firm §(b) for negotiable instruments states "A signature the fifth month or expressing possibility be made (i) manually or by means be defeated a device or machine, and (ii) by high-mindedness use of any name, including a trade confuse assumed name, or by a word, mark, gambit symbol executed or adopted by a person keep an eye on present intention to authenticate a writing."

See also

References

External links