Louisiana Software License Enforcement Act

The Louisiana Software License Enforcement Act refers to the Software License Enforcement Act (SLEA) adopted by the state of Louisiana. The bill was voted into law in September 1984 under Title 51 (Trade and Commerce) of the Louisiana Revised Statutes by the Louisiana State Legislature. Sponsored and mostly written by Vault Corporation, the SLEA defines the permissible terms and conditions of a software license agreement and the requirements for enforceability. The reverse engineering, decompiling or disassembling provision of the Louisiana SLEA was invalidated by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruling in Vault Corp. v. Quaid Software, Ltd., 847 F.2d 255 (5th Cir. 1988).

The Louisiana SLEA consists of sections 1961-1966 of Title 51 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes, which outlines and specifies: relevant definitions, requirements for enforceability, accepted licensing terms, proper display of licensing terms, and enforceability. Under section 1963, a software license agreement can only be enforced if the following conditions are met:

Under section 1964, the terms of a software license agreement can enable the licensor to retain ownership of a licensed software copy. If retained, the agreement may also include the following limitations of the end user’s ability:

In addition, the licensor may automatically terminate the software license agreement without notice if any provision of the agreement was breached by the licensee.

The Louisiana SLEA was first announced at Softcon in New Orleans by Louisiana Secretary of State James H. Brown during a press conference sponsored by Vault Corporation.

“This bill is intended to strengthen significantly the ability of software publishers and distributors to enforce their rights under trade secret and copyright laws. This bill strikes a balance between the legitimate interests of the software industry in preventing piracy and the legitimate interests of the customers who acquire copies of software pursuant to license agreements.” ~ Louisiana Secretary of State James H. Brown

Vault Corporation’s, a company that developed software protection systems (anti-piracy tools), Chairman Krag Brotby was attributed to saying, “[Vault] helped write most of the bill...and that the announcement was timed to coincide with Softcon coming to New Orleans.” Brotby predicted that the law would provide a model for the other 49 states; Vault Corp. had invested $50,000 in an effort to push the bill.

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