CNET NEWS.COM - Supporters back away from software bill. The key supporters of a software-licensing bill that critics say promotes corporate rights over those of consumers have, in the face of mounting opposition, decided to quit lobbying for its enactment.
The Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act (UCITA), drafted four years ago, is meant to protect software developers from intellectual property theft by resolving conflicting software licensing laws that vary from state to state.
But critics have complained that the proposed laws favor corporate interests over those of consumers. They say it grants software makers too much freedom in restricting the use of their products and in dictating settlement terms for conflicts.
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"The debate is not just 'politics,'" Braucher added. "There are fundamental policy problems with UCITA."
Yet UCITA is not completely dead and buried, legal experts say. Because it's on the books in two states, courts across the country could be influenced by it, according to Fred von Lohmann, a staff attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
"However, the prevailing wind right now is against UCITA," von Lohmann said. "We think that's a good thing."
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