Brenda Sandburg: UCC2B Is Dead -- Long Live UCITA

[James Love <love@cptech.org>]

This is a pretty important issue. Jamie


http://www.lawnewsnet.com/stories/A1807-1999May26.html


UCC2B Is Dead -- Long Live UCITA

Supporters face a big battle to pass a
uniform information licensing law for the
Internet

By Brenda Sandburg
The Recorder/Cal Law
May 27, 1999


An intergalactic war has broken out in
cyberspace over extremely earthbound
rules governing licensing of information
over the Internet. And don't expect peace
anytime soon.

The fight pits several industries against
each other in drafting the Computer
Information Transaction Act, or UCITA,
and will be played out before the 50
state legislatures in the fall. At stake
is whether laws for Internet transactions
will be uniform in all states or will
become a hodgepodge of regulations that
differ depending on the jurisdiction.

An initial effort to reconcile state
digital commerce laws fell apart last
month, when a commission charged with
overhauling the Uniform Commercial Code
failed to win consensus on a sweeping
amendment, known as Article 2B.

While supporters of uniform digital
commerce laws are pushing ahead, they now
face an even tougher campaign to convince
every state legislature to back their
plan. An array of opponents -- most
notably the motion picture industry --
say the current proposal is too broad and
conflicts with current laws. And onetime
backers have now turned on the
legislation, saying it's too inflexible.


   [snip]



-- 
James Love, Director, Consumer Project on Technology
I can be reached at love@cptech.org, by telephone 202.387.8030,
by fax at 202.234.5176. CPT web page is http://www.cptech.org