UCITA: General Concerns that May Affect Libraries
ßUCITA binds companies to license terms in software acquired by employees (or library users?) without prior authorization.
ßUCITA allows software vendors to prohibit contractually public criticism of their product.
ßUCITA allows software vendors to shut down software remotely without court approval and without incurring liability for the foreseeable harm caused.
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1. There is a problem in that there is typically no way of knowing who broke the shrink-wrap or clicked the “Agree” button.  For example, is a corporation or library bound by a license if the custodian broke the shrink-wrap, or a 5-year old clicked the “Agree” button?
2.  A major criticism of UCITA is that the proposal would allow software companies to restrict information about the product.  Several companies do this currently as part of their licensing agreements, but UCITA would give this practice a legal grounding.  For example, UCITA would let companies prohibit publication of criticism of their product.  They could insert a clause such as “The customer will not publish reviews of the product without prior consent from XYZ Software Company.”  Many writers and librarians are rankled by the thought that they might not be able to write product reviews because of these kinds of restrictions.
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