The American Law Institute and the Uniform Law Commission recently formed a joint study committee to examine whether there is a need to further amend the current Revised Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) in light of emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, distributed-ledger technology (e.g., blockchain) and virtual currency (e.g., Bitcoin). The UCC is a comprehensive set of laws governing commercial transactions in the United States, including sales, leases, negotiable instruments, bank deposits and collections, funds transfers, letters of credit, documents of title, investment securities, and secured transactions.
The committee is interested in receiving input from business and consumer groups, governmental agencies, academics, and others concerning all articles of the UCC (except Article 6). For example, should Article 4 be amended to account for remote deposit capture and other advances due to use of check images? Should the UCC provide rules for electronic payments that do not involve “items” or “banks?” Similarly, should Article 4A address funds transfers other than through banks? Do the loss-allocation rules of Article 4A adequately address the risks of fund transfers under “smart contracts?”
The committee has published a questionnaire, available here, with responses sought by June 28, 2019.