[Fwd: Re: Legal XML]

[Arshad Noor <arshad.noor@strongauth.com>]

In reviewing this e-mail, I realized that this could become
the beginning of a FAQ on the TC's site.  Is this something
we should pursue and add more questions & answers to it?

We would not be diminishing the value of any Notary-specific
sites that might publish similar FAQs on ENML, because we would
only focus on the ENML protocol and vendor-specific questions,
while other sites would focus on the implications of ENML to
Notaries within the purview of specific State law, procedures
and products.

Arshad Noor
StrongAuth, Inc.

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: Legal XML
Date: Thu, 6 Nov 2008 17:29:37 -0500 (EST)
From: Arshad Noor <arshad.noor@strongauth.com>
To: James R. Damp <jdamp@notary.org>
CC: rolly chambers <rolly.chambers@tprr.com>, Mark Ladd 
<mladd@pria.us>, 	"Marc L. Aronson" <maronson@notary.org>

Thank you for your e-mail, Jim.  Please find the answers to
your questions, embedded below.  If you have more questions,
please don't hesitate to call me, or send follow-up e-mail.

Regards,

Arshad Noor
StrongAuth, Inc.
(408) 331-2001 Direct

----- Original Message -----
From: "James R. Damp" <jdamp@notary.org>
To: "arshad noor" <arshad.noor@strongauth.com>
Sent: Thursday, November 6, 2008 11:10:59 AM (GMT-0800) America/Los_Angeles
Subject: Legal XML

Nov. 6, 2008

Dear Mr. Noor:

Good afternoon. My name is Jim Damp and I am a writer/editor in the 
communications department of the United States Notary Association. In a 
conversation with our president, Marc Aronson, I learned that the Legal 
XML eNotarization Technical Committee has issued the first draft of its 
report to OASIS.

I was hoping I could write a story on the subject for our national 
newsletter, Notary Review . Could you please answer the following 
questions at your earliest convenience? Thanks in advance for your help 
and cooperation.

   The LegalXML eNotarization Technical Committee has published
   the first DRAFT of a technical specification for how an
   electronically notarized (or witnessed) document must be
   structured.  The specification, called the "eNotarization
   Markup Language (ENML)", must go through many formal reviews
   and votes before it becomes an OASIS standard.  We are at the
   first stage of that standardization process today.

   The ENML provides a common "language" for communicating
   eNotarized documents with anyone that has software that knows
   this "language".  While ENML is designed to support the
   notarization requirements of all 50 US States, it also has
   the potential to become an international standard in time.

   The ENML DRAFT Specification is avaialbe at 
http://www.oasis-open.org/committees/download.php/29882/eNotary-DRAFT6.zip

     1. What will this mean to the average notary?

   ENML will allow the average notary to perform more notarizations
   per unit of time since everything is electronic: the document, the
   signatures of the document-signers, the notarial certificate and
   the notary's signature.  This has the potential to allow them to
   earn more money per unit of time as they spend less time handling
   paper documents.

     2. What will this mean to the real estate industry?

   Lower costs.  Paper-handling is an extremely expensive part
   of any process.  The less time and effort that can be spent
   in processing paper-documents, the more money that can be
   saved in the industry.  This has the potential to lower
   costs for buyers and sellers too if the RE industry shares
   the cost-savings with them through lower transaction fees.

     3. What will this mean to our membership?

   eNotarization is inevitable.  The technology to make it possible
   and to secure it has existed for some time.  What has been lacking
   are standards.  ENML elimintes this barrier.  To the extent that
   your members become aware of eNotarization and its ramifications,
   they stand a better chance of maintaining - perhaps even improving -
   their livelihood.

     4. Will this impact the international community? If so, how will it 
impact the international community?

   OASIS is an international standards organization.  While the LegalXML
   eNotarization Technical Committee does not have any international
   members on its roster, most of the standards created at OASIS serve
   the world.

   ENML is unusual from other technical standards in that it has legal
   implications.  As such, it must take international law into account
   if it is meant to be used outside the US.  The technical specification
   has taken that into account and has accommodated for some
   international participation.  To the extent that any country's
   notarization laws mimic those of US States, they will be able to take
   advantage of ENML as soon as it is standardized (perhaps by March
   2009).  If the laws are different and it requires adding new elements
   to ENML, this will be possible in version 2.0 of the "language".
   However, this will require participation from international
   representatives on the OASIS eNotarization Technical Committee.  I see
   this happening in 2009 and beyond, because OASIS is well-known around
   the world in the technical community - the community that would help
   define international eNotarization requirements just needs to become
   aware of this effort.

     5. How will this change electronic notarization? Will these 
standards make eNotarization easier for the notary? Will this make it 
easier for the vendor(s)? Will it make it easier for the customer?

   As I stated earlier, the technology to electronically notarize
   documents and to secure them has existed for some time.  What was
   lacking were the standards for sharing such eNotarized documents in
   a way that would allow everyone to understand them.  ENML now makes
   this possible.

   Depending on the knowledge and skill-level of a Notary, eNotarization
   will make some things easier.  For someone who is not used to
   computers and/or the internet, this may prove challenging.  For
   Notaries who are comfortable with computers, there will be a new
   software product to learn (I anticipate many such products in the
   market in 2009).  But once the Notary has learned the software, the
   task will become easier.

   Vendors will benefit significantly because there will be a single
   industry standard that allows all of them to "speak" to, and
   understand each other clearly.  This will allow them to create better
   products in every industry that relies on notarized documents and
   reduce costs for their customers.

   Customers will benefit because their transaction can be processed
   faster.  They may also save money if the supplier of the service
   reduces their transaction fee.

     6. Does the report address witnessed documents and how does it 
address such document?

   Yes, it does.  While ENML's original design goal was to address only
   notarizations, as the "language" evolved through discussions, it
   became possible to support eWitnessing too.  So, the current DRAFT
   (shown on the link at the top) does support eWitnessing too.

     7. Is there anything you would like to add?

   Yes.  Neither eNotarization nor the ENML specification eliminate the
   need for human Notaries.  Human Notaries are an essential part of the
   trust infrastructure for many legal transactions.  ENML only
   standardizes some of the tools that Notaries will use to do their
   jobs.  This is no different from advancement of tools in the building
   industry or the medical industry, etc.  Over time, this will result in
   better quality of transactions and lower costs (due to faster
   turnaround of transactions) for industries that use notarized
   documents.  It will also mean new opportunities for Notaries.

   As with all things electronic these days, it will require a higher
   level of capability on the part of Notaries: knowledge of how to
   interact with software on computers and the internet, and an increased
   awareness of security issues related to computers.  However, this is
   becoming a baseline requirement for almost anyone that interacts with
   computers and the internet in the 21st century, so I don't see this
   as being unusual for the Notary industry.

   I would encourage the Notary Review to plan a series of articles on
   ENML so that your members start the education process well before
   the standard and the tools arrive on the market.  Notaries who are
   prepared will have the first opportunity to participate in the
   eNotarization market that will get created.

   I hope this was helpful.

   Regards,

   Arshad Noor
   StrongAuth, Inc.


Regards,

Jim Damp
Writer/Editor
Communications Department

Pennsylvania Association of Notaries
United States Notary Association
One Gateway Center, Suite 401
420 Fort Duquesne Boulevard
Pittsburgh, PA 15222-1498