October, 2003 – Consumer groups have successfully pulled the plug on legislation that sought to resolve conflicting state software licensing laws in order to protect software developers and their intellectual property. The Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act (UCITA), which was once thought of as a framework for fostering uniform software transactions, has been rejected in all but two states.
Originally intended as an amendment to the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), UCITA creates a uniform commercial contract law that makes terms commonly found in “click-wrap” contracts (that typically appear on your screen when you first install software) enforceable, binding contracts. Currently, courts are free to disregard such terms, and instead apply principles of common law, copyright law or other laws to govern software transactions, leaving software company executives and their attorneys to speculate about what law a particular court in a particular state will apply to the software transaction at issue.
UCITA has been supported by such pro-business organizations as the Business Software Alliance (BSA), The Dun & Bradstreet Corporation, Computer Software Industry Association, DaimlerChrysler Corporation, and the Silicon Valley Software Industry Coalition.