Bill: HR 4240 IH, Y2K Liability and Antitrust Reform Act.

HR 4240 IH.
Y2K Liability and Antitrust Reform Act.
Introduced July 16, 1998.
Source: Office of Rep. Dreier. This document was created by TLJ by scanning a hard copy, and converting it to HTML.

105TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Mr. DREIER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on ___________

A BILL

To provide that an action, including one to recover damages, resulting from a computer date failure shall be deemed to be based solely in contract when certain conditions have been met and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the "Y2K Liability and Antitrust Reform Act".

SEC. 2. LIABILITY FOR COMPUTER DATE FAILURE.

(a) GENERAL RULE.---

(1) DESIGNERS, DEVELOPERS, AND MANUFACTURERS.---An action which is brought in a Federal or State court against a person because of a computer date failure shall be deemed to be based solely in contract and shall only allow recovery for consequential business loss and costs of repairs or replacement resulting from the failure if the following conditions are met:

(A) The plaintiff in the action has not suffered any personal injury, excluding emotional harm, as a result of the computer date failure.

(B) The defendant in the action has---

(i) given notice, described in paragraph (2), by mail to all buyers known to the defendant of the computer system or any component of the system or computer program or software or hardware that experiences or may experience a computer date failure and with respect to buyers not known to the defendant given notice on the defendant's World Wide Web site on the Internet;

(ii) made available at no charge to the buyer a repair or replacement for a computer program or software or hardware which was first introduced for sale after December 31, 1994, and which was involved in the computer date failure; and

(iii) made available to the buyer a repair or replacement for a computer program or software or hardware which was first introduced for sale before January 1, 1995, and which was involved in a the computer date failure.

(2) NOTICE.---The notice specified in paragraph (1)(B)(i) shall specify the computer system or component of the system or computer program or software supplied by the defendant that experiences or may experience a computer date failure and shall explain the manner by which the buyer may obtain repair or replacement of the computer system or component of the system or computer program or software if repair or replacement is available or obtain additional information on such system, component, program, or software.

(3) APPLICATION.---This subsection shall not be construed to limit the ability of contracting parties to enter into agreements as they deem appropriate on the issues of liability and damages resulting from computer date failure.

(4) DEFINITION.---For purposes of this subsection the term "person" means a person who is engaged in commerce to design, develop, or manufacture a computer system, computer program or software, or component.

(b) SPECIAL RULE.---

(1) OTHER PERSONS.---An action which is brought in a Federal or State court against a person (other than a person described in subsection (a)) because of a computer date failure shall be deemed to be based solely in contract and shall only allow recovery for consequential business loss and costs of repairs or replacement resulting from the failure if the following conditions are met:

(A) The plaintiff in the action has not suffered any personal injury, excluding emotional harm, as a result of the computer date failure.

(B) The defendant in the action has---

(i) made all reasonable efforts to protect its system, program, or software from a computer date failure, including efforts to acquire hardware or software that will not experience a computer date failure;

(ii) not later than July 1, 1999, tested its systems, programs, or software by actually simulating the transition from December 31, 1999 to January 1, 2000 and made any other test that a reasonable person would believe necessary to prevent a computer date failure;

(iii) not later than August 1, 1999, provided notice to its customers and to the President's Council on the Year 2000 Conversion of efforts to avoid a computer date failure, including a general description of its compliance efforts, the results of the tests under clause (ii), and the likelihood that it will make transition to the Year 2000 without a computer date failure; and

(iv) not later than August 1, 1999, posted the notice it made under clause (iii) prominently in its place of business for public review.

The President's Council on the Year 2000 Conversion shall make available the notice it received under clause (iii) on the Council's homepage on the worldwide web.

(2) APPLICATION.---This subsection shall not be construed to limit the ability of contracting parties to enter into agreements as they deem appropriate on the issues of liability and damages resulting from computer date failure.

(1) ACTION.---The term "action" means an action to recover damages resulting directly or indirectly from a computer date failure, an action based on breach of contract, a shareholder or derivative action, and an action based on an alleged failure to properly, detect, disclose, prevent, report on, or remediate a computer date failure.

(2) COMPUTER DATE FAILURE.---The term "computer date failure" means---

(A) a present or future inability of the computer system or computer program or software to accurately store, process, provide, or receive data, from, into, and between the years 1999 and 2000 and beyond if all other technology used in combination with such system, program, or software properly exchanges data with it; or

(B) the possibility of the existence of any such inability or incompatibility.

(3) COMPUTER PROGRAM OR SOFTWARE.---The term "computer program or software" is a set of statements or instructions to be used directly, or in directly in a computer in order to bring about a certain result.

(4) COMPUTER SYSTEM.---The term "computer system" means any electronic device or collection of devices, including support devices, networks, and embedded chips and excluding calculators that are not programmable that contains computer programs or electronic instructions and that performs functions, including logic, arithmetic, data processing, data, storage and retrieval, communication, or control.

SEC. 3. TEMPORARY ANTITRUST EXEMPTION.

(a) EXEMPTION.---Except as provided in subsection (b), the antitrust laws shall not apply to conduct engaged in, including making and implementing an agreement, solely for the purpose of establishing responses designed to mitigate the impact of computer date failure in a computer system, in a component of a computer system, or in a computer program or software if such conduct occurs, or such agreement is made and implemented, only, in the period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act and ending December 31, 2001.

(b) EXCEPTION TO EXEMPTION.---Subsection (a) shall not apply with respect to conduct that results in a boycott of any person.

(1) has the meaning given it in subsection (a) of the first section or the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 12(a)), except that such term includes section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 45) to the extent such section 5 applies to unfair methods of competition, and

(2) includes any State law similar to the laws referred to in subparagraph (A).