[Am-info] Broad-based group forms to fight proposed UCITA

[Doug Masson]

Eric Lee Green wrote:

> On Sat, 08 Jan 2000, Steve Cohen wrote:
> > An alliance of businesses, trade coalitions, and other organizations
> > mobilized on Friday to fight the Uniform
> > Computer Information Transactions Act (UCITA), a proposed law that the
> > group says will give software
> > vendors many powerful -- and alarming -- licensing rights.
> >
> > The coalition -- dubbed "For a Competitive Information and Technology
> > Economy," or 4CITE, announced
> > its formation in Virginia, the first state to take up UCITA.
> >
> > http://www.infoworld.com/articles/ec/xml/00/01/07/000107ecucita.xml
>
> This fight is important, because UCITA would give monopolistic companies such
> as Microsoft yet another tool to use to abuse their customers.

It's also important that the fight be engaged in each state. One of the dangers of
UCITA is that it comes from the Uniform Law Commissioners. I can speak only as to
the Indiana legislature for whom I used to work, but my impression is that
legislators give deference to legislation originating from the Uniform Law
Commissioners. It's only a default sort of deference though. If they don't hear
anything in opposition, they will tend to think it's probably all right. But they
will be perfectly willing to throw it out the window if they think their
constituents are going to be harmed by it (except, of course, for the few who will
willingly harm their constituents to help a powerful lobbyist or two.)