What is the difference between a qualified electronic seal and a qualified electronic signature?

A qualified electronic signature (eIDAS Art. 25 ) is issued to a natural person and proves that individual signed a document. A qualified electronic seal is issued to a legal entity and proves the document originated from that organisation with data integrity intact ( eIDAS Art. 35 ). For IP protection and batch document sealing, a qualified electronic seal is generally the appropriate trust service.

Which eIDAS trust service proves a document's creation date?

A qualified electronic timestamp ( eIDAS Art. 41 ) is the correct service for proving creation date. It carries legal presumption of accurate time, meaning in court, the timestamp is presumed accurate unless rebutted. A signature or seal alone does not prove when a document was created, only who created or authorised it.

Can a company get a qualified electronic signature under eIDAS?

No. A qualified electronic signature ( eIDAS Art. 26 ) can only be issued to a natural person after identity verification. Companies and organisations use qualified electronic seals ( eIDAS Art. 35 ) instead, which provide equivalent legal presumption for the organisation's documents without person-level identity verification.

Are all three eIDAS trust services court-admissible?

Yes. All three qualified trust services, QES (signature), qualified electronic seal, and qualified electronic timestamp, carry legal presumption under eIDAS Art. 25, 35, and 41 respectively. This presumption means courts in all 27 EU member states must accept them as authentic unless the opposing party provides evidence to the contrary, reversing the burden of proof.

Does Swiss Trust Layer provide a seal, a signature, or a timestamp?

Swiss Trust Layer issues qualified electronic seals ( eIDAS Art. 35 ) and qualified electronic timestamps ( eIDAS Art. 41 ) via Swisscom Trust Services, accredited under both EU eIDAS and Swiss ZertES (SR 943.03) . These are the appropriate services for IP ownership proof, document integrity, and creation date authentication. For qualified electronic signatures (personal contracts), contact your QTSP directly.

Legal Compliance

eIDAS信任服务比较：电子印章 vs 签名 vs 时间戳（2026年）

Dani Wattenhofer · Legal Technology Expert

2026年6月29日 7 分钟阅读最后更新 2026年9月8日

返回博客

In short

eIDAS规定了三种合格信任服务：电子签名（第25条）、印章（第35条）和时间戳（第41条）。每种服务具有不同的法律目的——了解您的企业需要哪一种。

2024年9月，一位苏黎世知识产权律师接受了一家瑞士软件公司的委托，该公司正就版权侵权问题起诉慕尼黑一家竞争对手。该公司在竞争对手的申请日期之前，已将其IT部门所称的"数字签名"应用于源代码存储库。当律师仔细审查该文件时，问题变得令人不安：这究竟是eIDAS第35条下的合格电子印章、第41条下的合格时间戳，还是不附带任何法律推定的基本电子签名？公司不清楚。他们的IT服务商也不清楚。法庭所需的法律推定效力不复存在。

eIDAS的三种合格信任服务是各自独立的工具，具有不同的法律效力、不同的合格持有人资格和不同的证据功能。选择错误类型的服务并非一个小小的行政失误，它可能意味着在所有27个欧盟成员国获得保护您知识产权的法律推定，与在跨境争议中提交一份毫无份量的文件之间的差异。

使用 Swiss Trust Layer AG 保护您的作品

使用由 Swisscom Trust Services 支持的司法认可 e-Seal 封存您的知识产权。

预约免费演示

相关文章