AALL ACTION ALERT: Urge ABA House of Delegates to Oppose Resolution 113G
January 16, 2003
BACKGROUND:
Since 1999, the American Association of Law Libraries has worked closely
with the American Library Association and others in opposing efforts to
adopt the Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act (UCITA) as a
state uniform law. UCITA would enforce the broad use of shrink-wrap and
click-on licenses, allowing vendors to control the downstream uses of
their products.
Libraries have opposed UCITA because it represents a fundamental shift
in power between copyright law and contract law that threatens the
balanced set of copyright law principles and privileges under which the
library community currently operates--such as fair use, preservation,
and the unhindered use of works in the public domain.
Thus far, UCITA has been enacted only in two states, Maryland and
Virginia. The AALL community has worked closely with other members of
the Americans for Fair Electronic Commerce Transactions (AFFECT)
coalition, both at the national and state levels. As a result, we have
successfully opposed UCITA in about twenty states during the past three
years.
CURRENT CRISIS:
The National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL)
approved a series of amendments to UCITA in 2002 that do not
substantively improve the Act or address our concerns about its impact
on libraries and educational institutions. These changes do not
ameliorate our fundamental concern that UCITA will allow licensors to
circumvent the provisions of federal copyright law and thereby threaten
the core services we are committed to provide and that our respective
communities need.
During the Midyear meeting of the American Bar Association that begins
in Seattle on February 5th, members of the House of Delegates will
deliberate the merits of Resolution 113G proposed by NCCUSL that,
Approves the Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act (2002)
promulgated by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State
Laws as an appropriate Act for those States desiring to adopt the
specific substantive law suggested therein.
We must speak out now to ensure that Resolution 113G is not passed by
the House of Delegates.
ACTION NEEDED:
It is crucial that members of the ABA House of Delegates hear from law
librarians in their state. Please contact your states members of the
House of Delegates immediately to urge them to oppose Resolution 113G,
using the talking points below.
In addition, please redistribute this message broadly to others within
your law school, your law library or your firm.
" Law librarians have followed the progress of UCITA with great concern
since it was conceived as Article UCC 2B and have been involved in
legislative discussions concerning it in over twenty states since 1999.
AALL was a founding member of Americans for Fair Electronic Commerce
Transactions (AFFECT), the national coalition opposing UCITA.
" Libraries and educational institutions are important stakeholders
because we are among the largest consumers of software and fee-based
electronic services in the country, licensing over a billion dollars a
year in computer information products including databases, online
journals, CD-ROMs, e-books, and business software.
" UCITA has been controversial since its inception and the recent
amendments adopted by NCCUSL are inadequate in addressing the
substantial concerns we and other opponents have been articulating for
years.
" The library community did not propose and does not endorse NCCUSL
Amendment #12 regarding the transferability of computer software to
public libraries and elementary and secondary schools. The exemption
does not extend to the full library community and more importantly,
provides much less transferability than the first sale doctrine of
federal copyright law allows.
" The recent changes to UCITA adopted by NCCUSL do not alter our
fundamental concern that UCITA will allow licensors to circumvent the
provisions of federal copyright law and thereby threaten the core
information services we are committed to provide and that our respective
legal communities need. We continue to believe that UCITA is a highly
flawed piece of legislation that is still not an appropriate Act for
referral to state legislatures.
Thank you,
Mary Alice Baish
Associate Washington Affairs Representative
American Association of Law Libraries
********************
Mary Alice Baish
Associate Washington Affairs Representative
American Association of Law Libraries
Georgetown University Law Center
E.B. Williams Library
111 G Street NW
Washington, DC 20001-1417
PH: 202-662-9200
FAX: 202-662-9202
E-MAIL: baish@law.georgetown.edu
WWW: www.ll.georgetown.edu/aallwash
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