UCITA is nothing new to consider for a lot of Linux and Open
Source activists, who have been almost uniformly opposed to it
since its initial conception (and defeat) at the national level,
and into its second life as state-sponsored law. This article
reveals that those activists aren’t laboring alone: state attorneys
general, IT professionals, and even the FTC are raising their
voices in opposition. Even if you’re not troubled by the thought of
unfair licensing in some shrinkwrap software from Redmond you’ll
never buy, consider the implications for embedded systems: like the
anti-lock brake system on your car.
“META Group’s research indicates that more than 30% of the IT
application portfolio consists of packaged applications — up from
25% in 1999 and likely to exceed 40% by 2004. More than 75% of
commercial software packages are purchased with the vendor’s
original licensing agreement — representing considerable exposure
to UCITA impacts. META Group believes loopholes that UCITA provides
to publishers will manifest in decreasing software quality —
lowering customer satisfaction and productivity for application
groups. During 2002/03, defects delivered by software publishers
will rise by at least 3%. By 2004/05, more than 15% of states will
adopt some variant of UCITA, not only making them attractive homes
for software companies, but also increasing defects by at least
10%, dropping customer satisfaction, and reducing packaged
application productivity. Poor software licensing policy could
significantly diminish the value gains from packaged applications
(see Figure 1 in Addendum).”
“UCITA could extend readily to many types of embedded software
(e.g., antilock braking systems in cars) and even to computers and
computer peripheral sales. If UCITA were consumer friendly, this
would reduce risks and increase value for IT consumers. However,
because of considerable vendor influence in the drafting of UCITA,
questionable terms contained therein, and its journey into state
law, IT value is diminished for consumers as UCITA expands to more
states.”