The U.S. Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act (UCITA) is a:
A.
Model act that is intended to apply uniform legislation to electronic credit transactions
B.
Model act that is intended to apply uniform legislation to software licensing
C.
Model act that addresses electronic transactions conducted by financial institutions
D.
Model act that addresses digital signatures
Explanation:
The National Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCUSL) voted to approve the Uniform
Computers Information Transactions Act (UCITA) on July 29, 1999. This legislation, which will have to
be enacted state-by-state, will greatly affect libraries access to and use of software packages. It also
will keep in place the current licensing practices of software vendors. At the present time, shrinkwrap or click-wrap licenses limit rights that are normally granted under copyright law. Under Section
109 of the U.S. 1976 Copyright Act, the first sale provision permits the owner of a particular copy
without the authority of the copyright owner, to sell or otherwise dispose of the possession of that
copy. However, the software manufacturers use the term license in their transactions. As opposed to
the word sale, the term license denotes that the software manufacturers are permitting users to use
a copy of their softwarE . Thus, the software vendor still owns the softwarE . Until each state enacts
the legislation, it is not clear if shrink-wrap licenses that restrict users rights under copyright law are
legally enforceablE . For clarification, shrink-wrap licenses physically accompany a disk while click-on
and active clickwrap licenses are usually transmitted electronically. Sometimes, the term shrinkwrap is interpreted to mean both physical and electronic licenses to use softwarE . The focus of the
UCITA legislation is not on the physical media, but on the information contained on the media.