On February 2, Senator Glenn Coffee introduced bill SB 1337,
the Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act. The UCITA
was originally introduced at the federal level as a revision
to the Uniform Commercial Code, the purpose of which is to
regulate contract law between the states. The UCITA failed
at the federal level based on opposition from organizations
like the Software Engineering Institute and the Federal 
Trade Commission.

Anyone who purchases software, databases or other computer
based information has much to fear. The UCITA strips most
of the rights consumers have with regards to computer 
software and information. For instance, it allows software
manufacturers to disable mission critical software without
court approval and without liability. It would prevent
the resale or transfer of software licenses, including in
the case of a merger. It prevents you from suing the
manufacturer in the case of a destructive defect, even
if it was put there purposely. If employees install
software on the computers at work, even without permission,
the company is bound by the terms of the license. Public
criticism of software, even by independent newspapers and 
magazines, could be prohibited. Possibly, the most 
dangerous effect is that it would allow software vendors
t collect confidential information about a business, it's
clients and their licenses. 

How is all of this possible? It makes the terms of licenses
which aren't disclosed until after the purchase of the
software or computer based information legally binding.
Further, it would allow a software vendor to change the
terms of the license at any point in the future and they
need only send an email, which you may or may not get,
to do so.

It doesn't just hurt consumers, it also hurts small developers.
Because the terms of the license are legally binding, it
would be illegal to reverse engineer data to make it so
a new product, developed by a different company, could 
work with the existing data. Even if it is your own data
stored in a proprietary format, it would be illegal for you
to figure out how the data is stored, thus thwarting your
ability to create new programs to use your own data and 
holding that information hostage.

The UCITA helps large software companies and other companies
specializing in computer information. To do so, it tramples 
all over the rights of consumers, small developers and
media outlets. Currently, only two states have passed it,
Maryland and Virginia. It is currently being considered
in several other states, including Oklahoma. However, it is 
possible to stop it's passage if everyone contacts their
state level representative to voice their concerns. For 
more information about the UCITA and how to help stop it,
visit http://www.4cite.org

				Ken Witherow

This article is Copyright 2000, Ken Witherow. All rights reserved.
For questions or comments, email phantoml@rochester.rr.com