Will Click-On Licenses Become Enforceable Contracts? - Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act - Brief Article

Information Outlook, March, 2000 by John Crosby

They will in the United States, if the Uniform computer Information Transactions Act (UCITA) is passed by the fifty state legislatures. This legislation came into being due to the inability of the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL) to approve its revisions to article 2B of the Uniform Commercial Code, which harmonizes state commercial laws. Having failed in that effort, NCCUSL has convinced many state legislatures, including Virginia, Oklahoma, New Jersey, and Maryland, to consider the measure as a proposed law rather than an amendment to commercial code.

The proposal will, in effect, make shrink-wrap (software) and click-on licenses fully enforceable contracts under the law. Currently, such licenses are considered unenforceable contracts of adhesion (they throw it at you and hope it sticks), except in the Seventh Federal Court Circuit, which includes Chicago, Illinois. This legislation is questionable to the point that, in the State of Washington--which is, shall we say, very supportive of software and content licensors--the state's attorney general opposes the bill. It's going to get interesting.

What can you do? Contact your state legislators and let them know your thoughts on this matter. Stay tuned to the government relations section of the SLA website for detailed analysis of UCITA and updates on what's happening. SLA is participating in a national coalition of business, academic, and library interests to seek improvements to the legislation or defeat it altogether.