§ 6602. — Definitions.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 15USC6602]
TITLE 15--COMMERCE AND TRADE
CHAPTER 92--YEAR 2000 COMPUTER DATE CHANGE
Sec. 6602. Definitions
In this chapter:
(1) Y2K action
The term ``Y2K action''--
(A) means a civil action commenced in any Federal or State
court, or an agency board of contract appeal proceeding, in
which the plaintiff's alleged harm or injury arises from or is
related to an actual or potential Y2K failure, or a claim or
defense arises from or is related to an actual or potential Y2K
failure;
(B) includes a civil action commenced in any Federal or
State court by a government entity when acting in a commercial
or contracting capacity; but
(C) does not include an action brought by a government
entity acting in a regulatory, supervisory, or enforcement
capacity.
(2) Y2K failure
The term ``Y2K failure'' means failure by any device or system
(including any computer system and any microchip or integrated
circuit embedded in another device or product), or any software,
firmware, or other set or collection of processing instructions to
process, to calculate, to compare, to sequence, to display, to
store, to transmit, or to receive year-2000 date-related data,
including failures--
(A) to deal with or account for transitions or comparisons
from, into, and between the years 1999 and 2000 accurately;
(B) to recognize or accurately to process any specific date
in 1999, 2000, or 2001; or
(C) accurately to account for the year 2000's status as a
leap year, including recognition and processing of the correct
date on February 29, 2000.
(3) Government entity
The term ``government entity'' means an agency, instrumentality,
or other entity of Federal, State, or local government (including
multijurisdictional agencies, instrumentalities, and entities).
(4) Material defect
The term ``material defect'' means a defect in any item, whether
tangible or intangible, or in the provision of a service, that
substantially prevents the item or service from operating or
functioning as designed or according to its specifications. The term
``material defect'' does not include a defect that--
(A) has an insignificant or de minimis effect on the
operation or functioning of an item or computer program;
(B) affects only a component of an item or program that, as
a whole, substantially operates or functions as designed; or
(C) has an insignificant or de minimis effect on the
efficacy of the service provided.
(5) Personal injury
The term ``personal injury'' means physical injury to a natural
person, including--
(A) death as a result of a physical injury; and
(B) mental suffering, emotional distress, or similar
injuries suffered by that person in connection with a physical
injury.
(6) State
The term ``State'' means any State of the United States, the
District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Northern
Mariana Islands, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American
Samoa, and any other territory or possession of the United States,
and any political subdivision thereof.
(7) Contract
The term ``contract'' means a contract, tariff, license, or
warranty.
(8) Alternative dispute resolution
The term ``alternative dispute resolution'' means any process or
proceeding, other than adjudication by a court or in an
administrative proceeding, to assist in the resolution of issues in
controversy, through processes such as early neutral evaluation,
mediation, minitrial, and arbitration.
(Pub. L. 106-37, Sec. 3, July 20, 1999, 113 Stat. 187.)
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in section 6003 of this title.
