Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act (UCITA) was an attempt to introduce a Uniform Act

Uniform Act

In the United States, a Uniform Act is a proposed state law drafted by the U.S. Uniform Law Commission and approved by its sponsor, the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws ....

 for US States to follow. As a model law, it only specifies a set of guidelines, and each of the States should decide if to pass it or not, separately. UCITA has been drafted by National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws

National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws

The National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws is a non-profit, unincorporated association commonly referred to as the U.S. Uniform Law Commission. It consists of commissioners appointed by each state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the United States...

 (NCCUSL).

UCITA has been designed to clarify issues which were not addressed by existing Uniform Commercial Code. "Few disagree that the current Uniform Commercial Code is ill-suited for use with licensing and other intangible transactions," said practicing attorney Alan Fisch.

UCITA has faced severe opposition from various groups.

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UCITA has only been passed in two states, Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

 and Maryland

Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

. The law did not pass in other states. Nevertheless, legal scholars, such as noted commercial law professor Jean Braucher, believe that the UCITA offers academic value.

A resolution recommending approval of UCITA by the American Bar Association

American Bar Association

The American Bar Association , founded August 21, 1878, is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. The ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of academic standards for law schools, and the formulation...

 (ABA) has been withdrawn by the NCCUSL in 2003, indicating that UCITA lacks the consensus which is necessary for it to become an uniform law.

History

UCITA has started as an attempt to modify Uniform Commercial Code

Uniform Commercial Code

The Uniform Commercial Code , first published in 1952, is one of a number of uniform acts that have been promulgated in conjunction with efforts to harmonize the law of sales and other commercial transactions in all 50 states within the United States of America.The goal of harmonizing state law is...

, by introducing new article (Article 2B), also known as UCC2B. .
Committee for drafting UCC2B consisted of both members from NCCUSL and members of American Law Institute

American Law Institute

The American Law Institute was established in 1923 to promote the clarification and simplification of American common law and its adaptation to changing social needs. The ALI drafts, approves, and publishes Restatements of the Law, Principles of the Law, model codes, and other proposals for law...

(ALI). At certain stage of the process, ALI has withdrawn from the drafting process, effectively killing UCC2B. Afterwards, NCCUSL has renamed UCC2B into UCITA and proceeded on its own. .

Passage Record

Before ratification, each state may amend its practices, thus specific effects may be somewhat different in each state. This means that the final "as read" UCITA document is what is actually passed and signed into law by each state governor. The passage record typically indicates each version of UCITA submitted for ratification.

• Maryland (passed April 2000): http://mlis.state.md.us/2000rs/billfile/hb0019.htm
• Virginia (passed 2000) : http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?001+ful+SB372ER