Software and computer companies in the United States are pushing hard to pass uniform state laws that would compel all computer users to license software rather than to buy it. This licensing scheme, which has already been passed in Virginia and Maryland, prohibits you from criticizing the software in print or on your Web site; selling it--or even giving it away--when you no longer need it; or reverse-engineering it to search for or repair defects or security holes. You may even be prohibited from using the software jointly with another person sitting with you at a single computer. Also, the terms of the license, including all those prohibitions, is typically not disclosed until after you buy the software and are installing it on your computer.
And the laws may affect more than companies. UCITA (Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act) also seems to apply to software that is embedded in computers and computer peripherals. It also covers software that is embedded in other machines if the machines' capabilities would be substantially unavailable without the computers and software. So, you could sell your car, perhaps, but not any of the software embedded in it. That software controls steering, braking, fuel injection, emissions, and many other attributes of the performance and comfort of the car. Presumably, no one would pay much for a modern car stripped of its software. Similar restrictions are possible for the many other devices--DVD players, microwave ovens, home heating systems--controlled by embedded software.
The laws were defeated in states other than Virginia and Maryland. Their backers, however, have revived them this summer and are expected to resubmit them to state legislatures this coming October.
The author, a lawyer, computer scientist, and key figure in the ongoing struggle against UCITA, reveals how the laws undermine ground rules that have governed commercial transactions for over a century. These include cornerstone doctrines that let you lend, resell or give away products that incorporate copyrighted materials or patented technology without having to get the original seller's permission. Although the legislative thrust is limited to the United States at the moment, the drafters' expectation has been that other countries will follow the American lead.
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