Re: Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act (UCITA)

On Fri, 28 May 1999, John R. Allison <allisonj[_at_]mail.utexas.edu> wrote:
>
> On 5/27/99, Vance Koven <vrkoven[_at_]world.std.com> wrote:
> >
> > On Wed, 26 May 1999, Mark Lemley <mlemley[_at_]mail.law.utexas.edu> wrote:
> > >
> > > It was "downgraded" from a part of the UCC to a "Uniform Law" in April.
> > > It's now called UCITA -- The Uniform Computer Information Transactions
> > > Act. The practical effect is that ALI (which was skeptical of the
> > > project) no longer gets a vote on whether to approve it.
> >
> > As a practical matter, does that make it more or less likely to be
> > enacted by enough states to make it normative?
>
> What I wonder is whether the UCITA could become the de facto uniform law
> throughout the country if it is enacted in a few states where the largest
> software companies are based (e.g., CA, Wash., Mass.) through those
> companies' use of choice-of-law provisons in their licenses? It is in
> those states, of course, where these companies have the greatest lobbying
> influence on state legislatures.

John Allison's point is well taken except that it does not depend on enactment in a state such as CA, MA or WA in which software publishers are a strong economic presence. Any one state will do, and the ability of a state's Uniform Law Commissioners to obtain enactment in her or his state is far more important that industry prominence. If having a presence is of importance to other states' courts in deciding whether to give effect to a choice of law clause, a major player will simply move a substantial busines unit to the enacting jurisdiction.

So ... given that MA and, I believe, CA are not likely to be first-enacters, look for emphasis on enactment in WA, perhaps others that want to be better recognized as information industry states (e.g., VA), and perhaps various heartland states in which individual Commissioners have had a strong history of success in obtaining early enactment of new uniform laws.

David A. Rice
Professor of Law
Roger Williams University School of Law
Ten Metacom Avenue
Bristol, RI 02809
PH (401) 254-4623
FAX (401) 254-4640
drice[_at_]world.std.com Received on Tue Jun 01 1999 - 13:54:24 GMT