Contract Law - Questions regarding the UCC and UCITA

Essay by golf_officerUniversity, Bachelor'sB, November 2006

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The Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act and the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act that govern electronic business arose out of concern the skyrocketing popularity of e-commerce and its processes put e-commerce outside the boundaries of traditional contract law (Cheeseman, 2006). UCITA is "intended to bring the same uniformity and certainty to the rules that apply to information technology transactions that the Uniform Commercial Code does for the sale of goods" (Wikipedia, 2006). Therefore, UCITA recognizes the validity and enforceability of electronic contracts.

1. 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 state?

Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution of the United States provides to the populace of this country the basis of our monetary and business system. Section 8 provides "The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States; but all duties, imposts and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States (Cheeseman, 2006 pg.

923).

2. Based on the information presented above, what do you see as the major differences between Article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code and UCITA?

The computer information transactions involve licenses, not sales. It also extends easily to sales of computers and computer peripherals. UCITA was initially proposed as an amendment to the Uniform Commercial Code. The UCC, article 2 involves sales among other issues. These rules are to govern commercial transactions. Article 2 is also applied by federal courts to sales contracts governed by federal law.

3. What is the legal distinction between selling a product and licensing it?

The difference between selling and licensing is significant. The sale of...