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The Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act (UCITA) is a proposed law to create a clear and uniform set of rules to govern such areas as software licensing, online access, and other transactions in computer information. It is intended is to bring the same uniformity and certainty to the rules that apply to information technology transactions that the Uniform Commercial Code does for the sale of goods. In particular, UCITA attempts to clarify and/or codify rules regarding fair use, reverse engineering, consumer protection and warranties, shrinkwrap licenses, and their duration as well as the transferability of licenses. The Uniform Commercial Code is one of the Uniform Acts that attempts to harmonise the law of the fifty U.S. states in the United States of America. ...
Although company logos such as these are often copyrighted and trademarked, the fair use doctrine permits their use in certain contexts without prior permission. ...
Reverse engineering (RE) is the process of taking something (a device, an electrical component, a software program, etc. ...
Consumer protection is government regulation to protect the interests of consumers, for example by requiring businesses to disclose detailed information about products, particularly in areas where safety or public health is an issue, such as food. ...
In business, a warranty is a guarantee of the reliability of a product. ...
The UCITA has been extremely controversial and has been opposed by a number of consumer groups and the attorneys general of many states because it is said to considerably weaken consumer protections, reinterpret contracts/licenses in such a way that is — in the opinion of these critics — to be unduly favorable to the software producers and disregarding the reasonable entitlements of consumers. While UCITA was submitted in 1999 as a proposed as a Uniform Act by the National Confrence of Commissioners on Uniform States Laws (NCCUSL) and the American Law Institute (ALI), it was withdrawn in 2002 as being too controversial. Questions have also been raised regarding the inability of existing laws to cover computer software licensing and sales transactions — most critics of this act believe there are adequate mechanisms to not only protect consumers, but software manufacturers as well. 1999 is a common year starting on Friday of the Common Era, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ...
2002 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
Because of opposition, UCITA has only been passed in two states — Virginia and Maryland — efforts to pass the law in other states have been defeated.
See also: List of Uniform Acts (United States) In the US, a Uniform Act is an act proposed by the Uniform Law Commissioners, more formally known as the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, a body of lawyers and other professionals who work for the standardisation of U.S. state laws in the United States of...
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