Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act: Bringing Commercial Law into the 21st Century

The e-commerce revolution has redefined the way business is transacted everywhere. Meanwhile, the body of commercial law lags behind the fast pace of technological changes and has yet to effectively address the numerous issues presented by radical changes in the world of commerce such as electronic contracts, electronic signatures, shrinkwrap agreements, and click-wrap agreements. In an effort to establish the Commonwealth of Virginia as a national leader on this subject, in 2000 the Virginia General Assembly passed the Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act ("UCITA"). UCITA legislation has been introduced in a handful of other states but the only other state that has passed UCITA is Maryland.

By all accounts it is too early to tell whether these laws will meet the needs of the business community in this era of high technology and whether they will be effective if only passed by a limited number of states.