Quick Comparison:  RPost is different than a “read” receipt

For example, Microsoft Outlook users can "request a read receipt" for each message sent; however, the receipt is only returned to the sender if the recipient also uses Outlook AND chooses to return a receipt by clicking on the appropriate button of a popup dialog box or setting their preferences to do so. Other services may return some information about delivery if the recipient is on-line when reading and their systems are set not to block web call-outs.

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The RPost Registered E-mail® service is an open system

With RPost® Registered E-mail® services, any e-mail message. The receiver does NOTHING extra and simply opens the e-mail as usual, like any other e-mail. The Registered E-mail® service is simple to use and provides enhanced accountability for electronic business communications by providing the sender with legal proof of delivery, receipt, content and time of important e-mails and attachments.

RPost is not a closed system

The vast majority of special e-mail services in the market are closed systems (i.e. store-and-forward, secure e-mail, encrypted file transfer) where users are required to sign-up to that system in order to participate or receive e-mail. Closed systems generally force a non-subscribing recipient to receive e-mail with a web-based link where he or she will need to log on and create a password associated with his or her address. Once logged on, the recipient will be directed to a web-based server where he or she can see the e-mail content. Closed systems dictate a cumbersome process where the recipient must have unrestricted web access when viewing as opposed to the simplicity, efficiency and cost-savings provided by RPost’s open system, which utilizes plain e-mail and does not require the recipient to be online to view Registered E-mail®. Closed systems are the norm among special e-mail services. Some examples are Tumbleweed, PostX, ZixMail, Omniva, Authentica and CertifiedMail.com.

The RPost® Registered Receipt™ e-mail is verifiable legal proof, NOT simple text that can be easily forged

RPost provides protection for any e-mail and legal defense against repudiation. RPost Registered Receipt™ e-mails are different from those text receipts sometimes generated from familiar e-mail systems basic notification services (i.e. Confimax, ReadNotify) can provide some information about e-mail delivery some of the time. However, these simple text receipts can be easily forged, providing little evidentiary value, and are generally returned to the sender only if the receiver sets their system to do so. Further, these simple text receipts tell the sender nothing about content transmitted, the time and data on the receipts can be easily altered, and there is no way to verify authenticity of the receipt.

Comparison between "certified mail" type services by companies such as Goodmail or ReturnPath:

(a) Goodmail and ReturnPath offer e-mail marketers a method of identifying to PARTICIPATING consumer-focused ISPs (i.e. AOL, Yahoo) that their marketing e-mail is legitimate and not SPAM. They tag the e-mail as from a "certified" or "bonded" sender so that the consumer recipient can determine whether or not that e-mail was a hoax, SPAM, or a legitimate marketing e-mail.
 
In summary, Goodmail and ReturnPath provide the RECIPIENT with a means of identifying legitimate marketing e-mail, and the ISP a means of reducing legitimate marketing e-mail being filtered incorrectly as SPAM.
 
(b) By contrast, RPost REGISTERED E-MAIL provides the SENDER of e-mail with LEGAL PROOF of sending, delivery and content for ANY recipient e-mail address -- evidence of the entire e-mail transaction.  Any sender can send REGISTERED E-MAIL to ANY recipient (not just those that participate in the RPost system), and the SENDER receives this proof and protection, in case of a future dispute about what was sent, to whom, and when it was received.
 
In summary, RPost Registered E-mail provides the SENDER with LEGAL PROOF for business e-mail that has consequence, as opposed to Goodmail and ReturnPath's service that provides the RECIPIENT a means to verify whether marketing e-mail they receive is legitimate, SPAM, or a hoax.

RPost is more reliable than “bounce” notices

Further, some e-mail senders rely on “bounce notices” to determine whether their e-mail was delivered – if they do not get a bounce notice, they assume delivery. Most e-mail administrators are turning off these bounce notice delivery status notifications because spammers are using them to detect live e-mail addresses using the same assumption. With all of these systems, if the sender does not get information about delivery, it raises questions as to whether, in fact, the e-mail was delivered or their system simply could not detect delivery or failure. In contrast, RPost will notify the sender and provide proof that the e-mail was not delivered if a failure occurs in all instances of delivery failure.

RPost is verifiable proof

The RPost Registered Receipt™ e-mail leaves nothing to question with respect to delivery status, and provides more information than a simple confirmation of delivery or notice of sending, as provided by other services discussed. In contrast, RPost Registered E-mail® services provide the sender with third party proof that the message was sent and legally delivered for ANY Internet address, whether or not the receiver responds. In sum, the RPost Registered Receipt™ e-mail provides legal and verifiable proof of delivery, time sent and delivered, and content delivered (including attachments).

Registered E-mail® services are more than an “Electronic Postmark. An Electronic Postmark serves only one function

Proof of the content of a static document at a point in time. Registered E-mail® services, however, provide proof of a transaction – sending, delivery, receipt, and time of transaction – in addition to proving the content of the e-mail body and all attached documents and data that were transmitted by e-mail. Those special e-mail services that offer an Electronic Postmark (Authentidate, USPS EPM, PostX, Adobe) do not provide proof of the overall transaction.

RPost does NOT store any e-mail that might become “discoverable” in a legal dispute

With most other receipt offerings that focus on content security or data control, the service provider stores e-mail information as a third party. This not only creates privacy and data ownership concerns, but these service providers retain client information that could become “discoverable” in a legal proceeding.

RPost offers security as proof and protection for the sender in case of a dispute. Security is protection for the sender

Security in e-mail is often associated with encryption in e-mail. While RPost uses cryptographic techniques to protect its receipts and seals, RPost does not encrypt the content of “Registered” messages themselves. RPost focuses on providing proof and protection in case of a dispute – accountability in a transaction.

Unencrypted e-mail is generally private

Given widespread worries about Internet security one might wonder whether confidential and sensitive information can be trusted to unencrypted e-mail. The American Bar Association has recently addressed this and has issued a Formal Ethics Opinion stating, “A lawyer may transmit information relating to the representation of a client by unencrypted e-mail sent over the Internet without violating the Model Rules of Professional Conduct (1998) because the mode of transmission affords a reasonable expectation of privacy from a technological and legal standpoint. The same privacy accorded U.S. and commercial mail, land-line telephonic transmissions and facsimiles applies to Internet e-mail” (ABP Formal OP 99-413). One should note that all e-mail systems at their most basic level require each receiver to have unique, private passwords and usernames to view e-mail. Further, most document software allows password encryption for privacy.

Understanding the limitations of encrypted e-mail

The only people who can readily access e-mail are those intended users who have the appropriate password and log-in information, or their IT administrator. These IT administrators who manage either the sender or receiver’s system have access to the desktop software and data. They therefore could review any e-mail sent or received, regardless of whether it is transmitted as plain e-mail or encrypted – typically, they have the capability to review any e-mail before the sender encrypts or after the receiver decrypts. In any case, the RPost system is compatible with methods of encryption that users may wish to utilize, such as public key encryption certificates for Outlook or other software encryption programs. This allows the sender to send encrypted e-mail where both parties deem confidentiality as critical.