Before the UCC and the UCITA the first, and most important, of the U.S. government’s attempts to promote uniformity in commercial laws from state to state, was the establishment of ‘The Commerce Clause’ of the U.S. Constitution which empowered the federal government and the Congress with the authority to control the commerce activities with not only the foreign countries but also between the states of America including the Indian tribes, thereby having a large influence on business and aiming to promote the progress of a nationalized market and enabling free inter-state trade.
According to this clause, it was not necessary for the regulated activity to be an interstate commerce activity per-se and could include any local, intrastate activity having an effect on interstate commerce. (Cheesman H R., Contemporary Business and Online Commerce Law 5th Edition).
Uniform Law for Computer Info Transactions is Offered National Law Journal and National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL)1999.
The Uniform Commercial Code (UCC or the Code) applies to sales of goods, and includes the sales law for all the states of America. (Cheesman H R., Contemporary Business and Online Commerce Law 5th Edition).
A sale of goods includes the transfer of title from a seller to a buyer for a pre-determined price (UCC 2-106-1). (Cheesman H R., Contemporary Business and Online Commerce Law 5th Edition)
Goods are therefore substantial objects that can be moved or exchanged when there is a contract involving their transfer from one party to another. (UCC 2-105-1).
The Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act (UCITA) on the other hand, comprises rules which are necessary for the licensing of computer-based information particularly computer software or any other computer information. Examples of these are databases of companies on computers and music software. The UCITA is also responsible for the supervision of the admission contracts, whether on the internet or offline to the numerous and additionally influences the information in the storage devices such as disks and CDs. This involves licensing and is absolutely different from selling a product which entails an exchange of goods or transferable property in return for money or another recompense.
Selling a product basically involves an exchange of goods or products in return for money or any other reward and ends the trade with this activity of exchange. (Cheesman H R., Contemporary Business and Online Commerce Law 5th Edition)
Licensing contracts on the other hand involve the safeguarding of computer information to avoid replication and the UCITA, therefore, functions to control this illegal replication thereby involving a transfer of a copy of protected and secure. A crucial aspect of a license is that it only offers the purchaser the right to use the item implying that the ‘title’ or information is still the property of the owner which is radically different from a sale where title or ownership is clearly transferred from the seller to the buyer.
The UCITA clearly functions to separate this transfer of a copy of information from the transfer of ownership.
The UCITA is necessary to grant licensing activity which is continuously growing with the increase in commercial activity in the computer business. This expansion is the most important source of economic development to America and has the potential to be a crucial financial base for the future. Since the rules of the UCITA clearly aid the economic activities and ratify the mode of contract, commerce in the computer information industry can proceed without apprehension. Article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code involves contracts for the sales of goods whereas the UCITA functions to safeguard the crucial computer information by licensing it, thereby ensuring that the sole rights remain with the creator and the owner who ultimately has the authority to license it at his will. The communication of computer information in the electronic form is faceless, which the UCITA governs.
References
Cheesman H R., Contemporary Business and Online Commerce Law 5th Edition National Law Journal. Web.