Commercial Transactions and International Law - Essay Example

Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act Before the UCC and the UCITA, what was one of the first, and most significant, of the U.S. government's attempts to promote uniformity in commercial laws from state to stateThe first and most significant attempt to promote uniformity in commercial laws within the United States was derived from the "commerce clause" in the US Constitution. Article 1, section 8 of the U.S. Constitution states that the US Congress shall have the power "To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes".

Based on the information presented above, what do you see as the major differences between Article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code and UCITAArticle 2 of the UCC governs the sale of hard goods. The product that the UCITA deals with is strictly computer information and does not meet the definition of a "good." Information is not a hard good but merely intellectual property, even though it is stored on a material medium. UCITA applies to computer information and further defines computer information as "information in electronic form that is obtained from or through the use of a computer" (Grier, Keane, & Gilbert, 2001).

When both hard goods and computer information is involved in the transaction, the Acts may overlap. According to Grier et al. (21001), "Many commentators suggest that only after years of litigation will we be able to say definitively which law governs which type of transaction".What is the legal distinction between selling a product and licensing itA license is a permission to use. In the context of computer information, the user is granted permission to use the software or the process of a computer program for a set period of time.

They have no ownership of the property and as such they may not be able to review it, divulge it, or modify it. The term of the license is set at a predetermined length of time. If the product is sold, it becomes the property of the purchaser. In most cases, this gives the owner the right to act in several ways that are prohibited by a license. The owner may modify, sell, or discard the product.Many of the provisions in the UCITA were first proposed as a modification to Article 2 of the UCC. Why do you think the drafters decided to propose it as a separate and distinct uniform actThe definition of computer information is so vastly different from a "hard good", that it does not fit well into article 2.

It required a redefinition and a new set of rules to regulate it. Modifying Article 2 would have left the computer information subject to previous laws on "goods" and would have confused the issue. The drafters felt there was a necessity to keep the issues separate and deal with the areas that overlap in separate litigation. The provisions of what is now UCITA were originally meant to be "Article 2B" within a revised Article 2 on Sales. However, attempts at amending Article 2 "ended when the American Law Institute (ALI) walked out, after repeatedly calling for fundamental revisions over a three year period" (Kamer, 2000).

ReferencesGrier, R. L., Keane, N., & Gilbert, P. A. (2001). Uniform computer information transactions act: Bringing commercial law into the 21st century. The Richmond Journal of Law and Technology, 8(1). Retrieved December 8, 2006, from http://law.richmond.edu/jolt/v8i1/article9.htmlKamer, C. (2000, September 16). Uniform Computer information transactions act (UCITA). Retrieved December 8, 2006, from http://www.badsoftware.com/uccindex.htmUS Constitution (n.d.).

Retrieved December 8, 2006, from http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.articlei.html