Data & Privacy
- Data Act
- Data Governance Act
- ePrivacy Directive
- GDPR
AI & Trust
- Artificial Intelligence Act
- Product Liability Directive
Cybersecurity
- Cybersecurity Act
- DORA
- NIS2
Digital Services & Media
- Digital Markets Act
- Digital Services Act
- European Media Freedom Act
Product Liability Directive
- Recitals
CHAPTER I
GENERAL PROVISIONSArticles 1 — 4
CHAPTER II
SPECIFIC PROVISIONS ON LIABILITY FOR DEFECTIVE PRODUCTSArticles 5 — 11
CHAPTER III
GENERAL PROVISIONS ON LIABILITYArticles 12 — 17
CHAPTER IV
FINAL PROVISIONSArticles 18 — 24
ANNEXES
PLD Article 12. Liability of multiple economic operators
- 1.Without prejudice to national law concerning rights of contribution or recourse, Member States shall ensure that where two or more economic operators are liable for the same damage pursuant to this Directive, they can be held liable jointly and severally.
- 2.A manufacturer that integrates software as a component in a product shall not have a right of recourse against the manufacturer of a defective software component that causes damage where:
- (a)the manufacturer of the defective software component was, at the time of the placing on the market of that software component, a microenterprise or a small enterprise, meaning an enterprise that, when assessed together with all of its partner enterprises as defined in Article 3(2) of the Annex to Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC and linked enterprises as defined in Article 3(3) of that Annex, if any, is a microenterprise as defined in Article 2(3) of that Annex or a small enterprise as defined in Article 2(2) of that Annex; and
- (b)the manufacturer that integrated the defective software component in the product contractually agreed with the manufacturer of the defective software component to waive that right.
Relevant Recitals for this Article
Situations can arise in which two or more parties are liable for the same damage, in particular where a defective component is integrated into a product that causes damage. In such a case, the injured person should be able to seek compensation both from the manufacturer that integrated the defective component into its product and from the manufacturer of the defective component itself. In order to ensure the protection of natural persons, all parties should be held liable jointly and severally in such situations.
A high degree of innovation is particularly necessary in the software sector. With a view to supporting the innovative capacity of microenterprises and small enterprises that manufacture software, it should be possible for such enterprises to contractually agree with manufacturers that integrate their software into a product that the latter will not seek recourse from the software manufacturer in the event of a defective software component causing harm. Such contractual agreements, already used in some Member States, should be allowed, since the manufacturer of the product as a whole is in any event liable for any defectiveness in the product, including in components. However, liability towards an injured person should never be limited or excluded by such a contractual agreement.