"Don't Fence Me In": UCITA, a Wakeup Call for Software Users

by William A. Zucker

There has been debate in our society between the view of poet Robert Frost -- "Good fences make good neighbors" ¹ -- and the view reflecting our expansionist, equalitarian past as in Cole Porter's song "Don't Fence Me In." This same debate is being repeated by the protagonists and antagonists to the Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act, commonly known as UCITA. In an excellent and informative Council Opinion (Vol. 3, No. 1) earlier this year, Cem Kaner details the very real negative impacts, implications, and pitfalls for software users if UCITA becomes the law of the land.