Based on experience
St Neots, Cambs
New proposal seeks to bring licensed software protection laws into line with those of physical products
The EU is considering implementing a radical new law that would make software developers responsible for bad or insecure code, much in the same way that physical products are covered under consumer laws.
Currently, the laws governing consumer protection for physical products, like PCs and television, do not cover licensed software. However, under changes proposed by EU commissioners Vivane Reding and Meglena Kuneva developers would be forced to guarantee the quality of their code for two a period of years.
"The current status quo, where licensed products are exempt from EU law, is unsatisfactory," said Helen Kearns, spokesperson for commissioner Kuneva.
Any extension to the EU Sales and Guarantee Directive would mean that consumers could, in theory, demand a refund on faulty software, or programs that don't run on their machine due to it not matching the required specification.
Kearns did accept that such a ruling would give consumers more opportunities to abuse the system. "On the one hand there is the risk of abuse,” she said, “but on the other it's not a good enough reason to say basic consumer protection should not apply."
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Some commentators have warned that this could lead to a radical shift in the way that the channel works, and causing more headaches for retailers and distributors already suffering problems with RMAs.
They have also mooted that it could lead to some retailers avoiding stocking software that is known to have issues; something that could drive up the cost of quality assurance.
The BSA was one of the first to voice its concerns about the proposals. "Digital content is not a tangible good and should not be subject to the same liability rules as toasters,” the BSA's director of public policy, Francisco Mingorance, told the BBC.
"It is contractually licensed to consumers and not sold," he continued.
"These contracts are governed by civil law that provide consumers with multitude of remedies for breach of contract. We are not aware of any shortcomings of the legal frameworks with respect to digital content."
The proposals would also look to remove regional licensing agreements for software sold within the EU, causing further headaches for some vendors and resellers.
This article has sparked a debate on the Brigantia Forum. Brigantia Members can see why this legislation could be a good idea but what worries them is that they see the retailer/reseller becoming responsible for refunds under existing UK consumer law. They can see a potential minefield here and are glad that we do not have retrospective legislation in the UK. The debate has shown a level of antipathy toward UK continued membership of the EEC and a level of support for fringe political parties that would have been unheard of amongst the generally conservative (I am using a small “c”) membership before recent political events around MPs expenses claims The debate continues and members I think will rise to this in the same way they rose previously to the debate around the WEEE directive.
This would get completely out of hand if complaints could be brought against the Operating System software supplier for bugs & security flaws. It wouldn't just destabiiise retail, it would undermine the entire computer industry.
This legislation would be enforced under the “Sale of Goods and Services Act”
That makes the retailer responsible for something they have no control over.
Let’s hope they listen to the retailers before they write the law. Not after when they see the mess.
Matthew Woolley
ITACS UK
Warranty on software is a bad idea.
No more local licensing is a very good idea!
The author of www.pcr-online.biz has written an excellent article. You have made your point and there is not much to argue about. It is like the following universal truth that you can not argue with: The best truths invariably come from the sides of mugs that you never remember purchasing. Thanks for the info.
