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The Louisiana Software License Enforcement Act (SLEA) is part of Louisiana code that was passed as a supplement to the Louisiana Uniform Trade Secrets Act by the Louisiana State Legislature in 1984. Its purpose was to define the conditions under which a software license could be considered legitimate. Parts of this act were invalidated by the US 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in Vault Corp. v. Quaid Software Ltd.
Summary of the Act
[edit]The SLEA addresses conditions for software license display and acceptance as well as terms that may be included in a software license. According to the SLEA, a software license can be enforced only if the following conditions for a software license notice are met:[1]
- The end user can clearly read a software license notice on the software packaging.
- The software license notice indicates that, by opening the package or using the software, the end user accepts the terms of the enclosed license agreement. (This is the origin of the term "shrink-wrap license.")
- The notice states that the software may be returned if the end user does not accept the license agreement.
Under the SLEA, the terms of a software license may include retention of the ownership the software copy by the licensor. In addition, if the ownership is retained, the terms may also include limitations on copying the software, limitations or prohibitions of "reverse engineering, decompiling, disassembling, and/or creating derivative works...", and limitations or prohibitions regarding disposal of the software by the licensee.[2]
Passage
[edit]Vault Corporation heavily backed the Louisiana SLEA, helping to draft a large portion of the bill,[3] and Vault founder and president W. Krag Brotby announced the bill's introduction jointly with Secretary of State James H. Brown and Assistant Secretary of State J. Robert Wooley at various technology conferences in Louisiana.[3][4]
The SLEA was introduced to the Louisiana legislature by Representative Al Ater and State Senator William Atkins.[3] Supporters of the bill hoped that it would encourage the growth of the software industry in Louisiana,[3][4] and it passed with minimal opposition[4] in September 1984.[5]
Role in Vault Corp. v. Quaid Software Ltd.
[edit]The Louisiana SLEA was first examined in court when Vault Corporation sued Quaid Software for copyright infringement, trade secret misappropriation, and patent infringement.[6] Vault argued that Quaid had violated the "no disassembly" clause of the license agreement for Vault's copy-protection software PROLOK when Quaid reverse-engineered it to develop software that enabled users to work around PROLOK. This action by Quaid would have violated the Louisiana SLEA.[7]
In Vault Corp. v. Quaid Software Ltd., the US District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana held that the SLEA was preempted by the Copyright Act, which allowed copying for the purpose of archives.[7] Upon appeal, the US 5th Circuit Court of Appeals invalidated only the clause of the Louisiana SLEA that allowed a software license to prohibit decompilation or disassembly, ruling that it was preempted by Section 117 of the Copyright Act.[8]
References
[edit]- ^ Software License Enforcement Act. Louisiana Revised Statutes. Title 51, Section 1963.
- ^ Software License Enforcement Act. Louisiana Revised Statutes. Title 51, Section 1964.
- ^ a b c d Bartimo, Jim (19 March 1984). "Louisiana legislation would punish software pirates". InfoWorld. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
- ^ a b c Bloombecker, Jay (4 August 1986). "Software laws: A brief history". Computerworld. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
- ^ Bloombecker, Jay (Spring 1986). "Lobbying for Computer Legislation" (PDF). ACM Special Interest Group Computers and Society. 16 (1): 2–6. doi:10.1145/20000/15692/p2-bloombecker (inactive 2023-08-02). Retrieved 17 October 2011.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of August 2023 (link) CS1 maint: date and year (link) - ^ Bates, James (24 June 1986). "High-Tech Piracy: Dispute Points Up Copying Controversy". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
- ^ a b Gilbert, Francoise (May 1987). "Louisiana Software License Enforcement Act Under Judicial Scrutiny: What Impact on Shrink-Wrap License Agreements?". Software Protection. 5 (12): 1–8.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) - ^ Vault Corp. v. Quaid Software Ltd., 847 F.2d 255 (United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit 20 June 1988).