What is the Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act (UCITA)?
The Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act (UCITA) makes software developers and distributors liable for defects. However, it provides the ability for a well worded license agreement to avoid the liability. The amateur developers and small companies will be most affected by this act because they do not possess the resources to provide the type of license that will relieve them of liability. Developers of free-ware are now forbidden from using reverse engineering techniques to discover formats and protocols used in big companies. For example, open office would no longer be able to reverse engineer Microsoft products to match the format and provide free alternatives to consumers (Stallman, 2000).
Research shows that many states are waiting to see long term data on the two states that enacted the legislation prior to them adopting UCITA. They believe the act provides contractual uncertainty for both consumers and businesses. Under current law, software and information can be recovered by electronic self-help practices of recovery. UCITA, however, does not permit electronic self-help in the Virginia and Maryland enactments (Ring Jr., 2005).
Perhaps freeware companies under certain conditions should not be held liable with cleanly documented warnings on the product that they are not providing any cybersecurity type measures or guarantees. This will allow consumers to choose whether to risk a less secure freeware like open office or to pay for MS Office, for example.
One other issue research discovered with the UCITA is the way it assumes consumers agree with shrink wrap licensing. The problem with this is that there is no way of knowing or proving who opened the wrapper and therefore accepted the agreement especially in a library setting. In one case a 7-year-old child opened a product located in the children’s section which under UCITA means they “clicked I agree”. In most courts a 7-year-old is not capable of making legal decisions (Gregory, 2001).
References
Gregory, V. L. (2001). UCITA - what does it mean for libraries? Retrieved from http://ezproxy.umuc.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.umuc.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edswss&AN=000166174700004&site=eds-live&scope=site
Ring Jr., C. C. (2005). Virginia and maryland UCITAs filling a legislative void. Journal of Internet Law, 8(7), 24-31. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.umuc.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.umuc.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=15672268&site=eds-live&scope=site
Stallman, R. (2000). Why we must fight UCITA. Communications of the ACM, 43(6), 27-28. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.umuc.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.umuc.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=11950594&site=eds-live&scope=site