A new warranty law for digital content ante portas

Abstract

Today, digital content is used by everyone. Regulation of the underlying contracts poses a challenge for law-makers around the world. In its Proposal for a Directive on certain aspects concerning contracts for the supply of digital content, the EU commission undertakes an effort to meet these challenges. This new instrument follows a very broad approach, addressing issues such as digital content provided not against money but against data (both personal and other data) and modifications to digital content for the duration of a contract. The main focus of the Proposal, however, lies on issues of warranty, such as conformity of digital content, burden of proof and remedies for non-conformity of digital content including specific rules for digital content supplied not indefinitely but over a period of time. This article provides an in-depth analysis of the Proposal discussing the most notable points and elaborating on the numerous aspects that are not yet clear. It concludes with a short description of the most recent documents relating to the Proposal from May 2018.