“Virginia appears to be headed toward becoming the first state
in the United States to adopt regulations that proponents say will
bring a much needed common understanding of software licenses and a
uniformity to software licensing contracts across states.”
“Skip Lockwood, director at For a Competitive Information and
Technology Economy (4Cite), called the bill “dysfunctional”. He
said it runs roughshod over the rights of consumers and is
unnecessary because software companies’ products already are
protected under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.”
“Under UCITA, licensing terms will have teeth, so a clause
that bars a buyer from writing a review of the software product
without the company’s approval, for example, would have legal
force, Lockwood said. It is especially troubling to 4Cite that
buyers do not get to review licensing contracts before they
purchase shrink-wrapped software.”