The most popular and comprehensive Open Source ECM platform
Let us know more
Technology: Software with a Warranty to Work?
THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED “AS IS AND WITH ALL FAULTS” TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, CAMSIGHT DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT WITH RESPECT TO THE SOFTWARE AND THE ACCOMPANYING DOCUMENTATION. YOU ASSUME RESPONSIBILITY FOR SELECTING THE SOFTWARE TO ACHIEVE YOUR INTENDED RESULTS, AND FOR THE INSTALLATION OF, USE OF, AND RESULTS OBTAINED FROM THE SOFTWARE. WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING PROVISIONS, NO WARRANTY IS MADE THAT THE SOFTWARE WILL BE ERROR-FREE OR FREE FROM INTERRUPTIONS OR OTHER FAILURES OR THAT THE SOFTWARE WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS.
That’s standard boilerplate that you’ll find with almost any piece of software you purchase or run on the Internet. It doesn’t instill a warm feeling of confidence that the software you bought is going to perform in the way that you expect. How can software companies get away with it? Almost any other industry is required by law to be liable for problems created by their products.
Now the EU is proposing legislation to change that. The EU consumer commissioner thinks that companies providing digital services should abide by rules similar to the rules that bind manufacturers of physical products. The Business Software Alliance (BSA), which represents software vendors like Apple, IBM and Microsoft, as you might expect, criticized the proposal.
The BSA said in their response that “Digital content is not a tangible good and should not be subject to the same liability rules as toasters. Unlike tangible goods, creators of digital content cannot predict with a high degree of certainty both the product’s anticipated uses and its potential performance.”
Undoubtedly there will be a lot of push back from vendors on this one. But if this becomes law in the EU, it seems like it will only be a matter of time before the discussion crosses the Atlantic.
