Changes from plenary report to adopted text

RemovedArticle 9 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 1 – point b: (b) the claimant establishes, on the basis of relevant evidence, that it is possible that the product contributed to the damage, and it is possible that the product is defective or that its defectiveness is a possible cause of the damage, or both.

RemovedArticle 9 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 2: The defendant shall have the right to contest the existence of excessive difficulties or the possibility referred to in the first subparagraph.

RemovedArticle 10 – paragraph 1 – point a a (new): (aa) in the case of a manufacturer of software that, at the time of the placing on the market of that software, the manufacturer was a microenterprise or a small enterprise, meaning an enterprise that, when assessed together with all of its partner enterprises and linked enterprises within the meaning of Article 3 of the Annex to Recommendation 2003/361/EC, 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, provided that another economic operator is liable under this Directive for damage caused by that software;

RemovedArticle 10 – paragraph 1 – point b: (b) in the case of a distributor or an online platform acting as a distributor, that it did not make the product available on the market;

RemovedArticle 10 – paragraph 1 – point c: (c) that, having regard to the circumstances, it is probable that the defectiveness that caused the damage did not exist when the product was placed on the market, put into service or, in respect of a distributor, made available on the market, or that this defectiveness came into being after that moment, provided that that defectiveness did not result from any update or supply under the control of that economic operator and was not due to the failure of that economic operator to provide an update as required by Union or national law;

RemovedArticle 10 – paragraph 1 – point d: (d) that the defectiveness is due to compliance of the product with legal requirements and that the economic operator exercised all reasonable due care required in the circumstances;

RemovedArticle 10 – paragraph 1 – point e: (e) the objective state of scientific and technical knowledge at the time when the product was placed on the market, put into service or the last update supplied under the control of the manufacturer in the period in which the product was within the manufacturer’s control was not such that the defectiveness could be discovered;

RemovedArticle 10 – paragraph 2 – point b: (b) software, including software updates or upgrades for the reasonably expected lifespan of the product; or

RemovedArticle 10 – paragraph 2 – point c: (c) the lack of software updates or upgrades necessary to maintain safety for the reasonably expected lifespan of the product.

RemovedArticle 11 – paragraph 1: Without prejudice to national law concerning the right 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.

RemovedArticle 12 – paragraph 1: 1. Without prejudice to national law concerning the right of contribution or recourse, Member States shall ensure that the liability of an economic operator is not reduced, excluded or disallowed when the damage is caused both by the defectiveness of a product and by an event outside the control of the economic operator, such as one attributable to an act or omission of a third party.

RemovedArticle 12 – paragraph 2: 2. Without prejudice to the compensation mechanisms provided under this Directive, the liability of an economic operator may be reduced or disallowed when the damage is caused both by the defectiveness of the product and by the fault of the injured person or any person for whom the injured person is responsible, including when the injured person does not install updates or upgrades provided by the economic operator that would have mitigated the defect,

RemovedArticle 12 a (new): Article 12a / Right of recourse / 1. Where more than one economic operator is liable for the same damage, any economic operator that has compensated the injured person or was ordered to do so by an enforceable judgment shall have a right of recourse against any other jointly and severally liable economic operator. Member States shall lay down the conditions for exercising such right of recourse which shall not be less favourable to the claimant than in comparable national cases. / 2. National courts may, where appropriate, apply Article 9(2) to (5) in cases in which the right of recourse is exercised.

RemovedArticle 14 – paragraph 2: 2. Member States shall ensure that the rights conferred upon the injured person pursuant to this Directive are extinguished upon the expiry of a limitation period of 10 years from the date on which the actual defective product, or the last update or supply under the control of the manufacturer, which caused the damage was placed on the market, put into service or substantially modified as referred to in Article 7(4), or in case of an update or upgrade, should have been made available on the market in order to bring it into conformity with applicable product safety requirements under Union or national law, unless a claimant has, in the meantime, initiated proceedings before a national court against an economic operator that can be held liable pursuant to Article 7. A software update or upgrade and related services which do not amount to a substantial modification under Article 7(4) shall not trigger or restart the limitation period.

RemovedArticle 14 – paragraph 3: 3. By way of exception from paragraph 2, where an injured person, despite exercising all due care, has not been able to initiate proceedings within 10 years due to the latency of a personal injury, the rights conferred upon the injured person pursuant to this Directive shall be extinguished upon the expiry of a limitation period of 30 years.

RemovedArticle 15 – paragraph 2: 2. The Commission shall set up and maintain a an easily accessible and publicly available database containing the judgments referred to in paragraph 1. This database shall contain, in addition to the judgements referred to in paragraph 1, the judgments delivered by the Court of Justice of the European Union relating to proceedings launched pursuant to this Directive.

RemovedArticle 16 – paragraph 1: The Commission shall by [OP, please insert the date: 6 years after the date of entry into force of this Directive], and every 5 years thereafter, review the application of this Directive and submit a report to the European Parliament, to the Council and to the European Economic and Social Committee including information about:

RemovedArticle 16 – paragraph 1 – point a (new): (a) the costs entailed by this Directive for economic operators as a percentage of their operation costs;

RemovedArticle 16 – paragraph 1 – point b (new): (b) the net benefit of this Directive or its qualified estimation for consumers;

RemovedArticle 16 – paragraph 1 – point c (new): (c) a comparison of the protection provided by this Directive with the protection provided in relevant third countries belonging to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and world leading economies;

RemovedArticle 16 – paragraph 1 – point d (new): (d) the availability of insurance and other products to cover the risks of economic operators related to this Directive.

RemovedArticle 16 – paragraph 1 a (new): The Commission shall clearly specify the methodologies used for calculation of any qualified estimation contained in the report referred to in paragraph 1. The Commission shall gather information for that report without increasing the reporting obligations of economic operators, using information from all relevant and reliable sources, including Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies, national competent authorities and internationally recognised bodies and organisations.