The Swedish presidency of the EU Council has issued a third compromise on the Product Liability Directive, clarifying the circumstances under which software providers are held liable.
The proposal aims to bring the EU’s product liability system, which dates back to the mid-1980s, to the pace of technological development. The new regime targets digital products such as software, including artificial intelligence.
The Swedish President’s Office has so far circulated three compromise documents, which are intended to clarify rather than substantially amend the documents. The latest proposed settlement confirmed by EURACTIV will be discussed on Wednesday (19 April) at the Council’s technical arm, the Working Group on Civil Law Issues.
The Product Liability Directive (PLD) aims to provide a legal framework to sue manufacturers against people who have suffered serious injury, such as bodily injury or property damage, while using certain products. .
The Directive does not apply to other types of damages such as discrimination, invasion of privacy and economic loss. However, the latest text also makes it clear that this does not preclude seeking compensation for non-material damage on other legal grounds.
Liability affects all manufacturers involved in the manufacturing process, including those who provide defective components for larger products. Liability, in short, includes those who put their name or trademark on the product.
If the defect is caused by a significant modification of the product made independently of the original manufacturer, liability is transferred to the person who made the modification.
However, the manufacturer will still be liable if significant modifications were made by or under the control of the original manufacturer that render the product defective.
The same principles apply to software updates or upgrades, or significant changes made by machine learning techniques in AI models.
“Manufacturers who design products with the ability to develop unanticipated behavior remain liable for behavior that causes harm,” reads the compromise.
PLD exempts the manufacturer from liability if the defect causing the damage could not have been known due to the objective state of scientific and technical knowledge at the time the product was placed on the market. increase.
However, a provision has been added to allow Member States to adopt national rules that hold the manufacturer liable in these cases as well.
Indicates that the factor to be considered is a change in the original performance, purpose or type of the product, where EU or national regulations do not qualify the concept of a substantial change in a product placed on the market. Added wording. In particular, creating new hazards or increasing the level of risk was not initially foreseen by the manufacturer.
Additionally, manufacturers can only sue within 10 years of the product being placed on the market. For major changes, that count restarts again, but more limited software updates don’t change the timeframe.
However, if the signs of damage are delayed, a longer period is assumed, and the Council has extended that period from 15 to 20 years.
At the same time, the text stipulates that “the Directive itself does not impose any obligation to provide product updates or upgrades.”
The Directive also introduces harmonized rules for discovery of covered liability cases. This document specifies what this harmonization does not cover: pre-trial proceedings, how certain claims must be made, relationships with third parties, declaratory measures, and violations. Sanctions.
Furthermore, this article makes it clear that the operator bears strict liability for damages caused by the properties of organisms resulting from genetic manipulation. The Swedish President’s Office also sought to clarify the complementarity of the special liability regime for pharmaceuticals.
[Edited by Zoran Radosavljevic]
