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July 13, 1999
Gene N. Lebrun
President
National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws
P.O. Box 8250
Rapid City, SD 57709
Dear Mr. Lebrun:
We are writing to inform you that after discussion within the Office of the President and the Software Division of the American Society for Quality (ASQ), we cannot support the proposed changes to article 2B as contained in the Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act (UCITA).
Our Software Division council and many members are concerned about the passage of commercial law that may cause negative effects in the entire software industry, and almost certainly in the area of software quality. UCITA defines the contractual agreement between software producers and consumers, but it ignores the reality that many problematic issues of software performance cannot be resolved within the framework of a contract.
The ASQ Software Division has drafted and approved the following position statement:
The Software Division of the American Society for Quality questions the suitability of the Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act (UCITA) as a software industry standard for handling all matters of software acquisition and support transactions. We strongly recommend the continuance of dialogue to preserve the consumer's need of, and right to, quality software products. Software producers of all sizes must not be discouraged from entering new markets by excessive costs or fear of legal actions. Contractual definitions, which do not sufficiently address software quality issues, will hinder resolution of these issues as the focus is shifted from product quality to product liability.
In light of this statement, we would ask that the proposed action on UCITA be tabled.
Sincerely,
Charles R. (Ron) Asbury Jayesh G. Dalal
President Chair, Software Division
