New EU Product Liability Directive: effects on contracts, software and compliance

Short answer: The EU Product Liability Directive 2024 (Directive (EU) 2024/2853) applies to products placed on the market after 9 December 2026. It expressly covers software and AI systems, makes it easier for injured persons to prove their claims and bars contractual exclusions of liability towards them. Member states must transpose it by 9 December 2026; the German Bundestag passed its implementing act on 8 October 2026. Swiss manufacturers with EU customers are affected through their supply chain.

This article is for in-house legal, compliance and product teams at manufacturing, software and trading companies in Switzerland and Germany. It explains what the new directive changes, where implementation stands, which contracts need updating and which roles the work requires.

What does the new Product Liability Directive change?

The directive replaces the 1985 Product Liability Directive 85/374/EEC and governs strict liability for damage suffered by individuals because of defective products. The old directive is repealed with effect from 9 December 2026 but continues to apply to products placed on the market before that date (Article 21). The main changes:

• Software is a product: the definition of product now expressly includes software and digital manufacturing files (Article 4(1)). Free and open-source software developed or supplied outside a commercial activity is excluded (Article 2(2)).
• Related services and updates: digital services without which a product cannot perform a function count as components (Article 4(3) and (4)). Defects caused by software, updates or missing security updates within the manufacturer's control do not allow it to escape liability (Article 11(2)).
• More types of damage: compensation now also covers medically recognised damage to psychological health and the destruction or corruption of data not used for professional purposes (Article 6(1)).
• Easier proof: courts can order defendants to disclose evidence (Article 9). If they do not, the product is presumed defective (Article 10(2)).
• No exclusion of liability: liability towards injured persons may not be limited or excluded by contract or by national law (Article 15); the recitals rule out financial caps.

Who is affected?

Every "economic operator" in the supply chain can be liable (Article 8): manufacturers of products and components and, where the manufacturer is established outside the EU, also the importer, the authorised representative and, if neither exists, the fulfilment service provider.

Swiss companies: the directive does not apply in Switzerland, where the Product Liability Act (PrHG, SR 221.112.944) remains the relevant law. A Swiss company supplying the EU is a manufacturer established outside the EU. Its importer or authorised representative is therefore also liable in the EU and will want to pass that risk back to the Swiss manufacturer by contract.

Deadlines and status of implementation

The key date is 9 December 2026: from then on the new rules apply to products newly placed on the market. The table shows the position on 10 November 2026.

Whether and when the German act was promulgated in the Federal Law Gazette had not been checked at the time of writing. For planning purposes, the directive's deadline is what counts.

What companies need to do before December 2026

Companies should classify their products, update supply contracts and prepare their documentation for disclosure requests before 9 December 2026. A practical sequence:

1. Map products and roles: which products, software components and related services does the company place on the EU market, and in which role (manufacturer, component manufacturer, importer, distributor)?
2. Review supply contracts: agree indemnities and recourse between operators. Towards injured persons, several operators are jointly and severally liable (Article 12(1)); recourse follows national law (Article 14). Limitations of liability only work between contracting parties, never against injured persons (Article 15).
3. Treat software components separately: a manufacturer integrating software from a micro or small enterprise may waive its right of recourse by contract (Article 12(2)). That should be a conscious decision, not something buried in standard terms.
4. Organise updates: define responsibility, duration and process for security updates, internally and with suppliers. Missing security updates within the manufacturer's control rule out the defence (Article 11(2)).
5. Prepare evidence: keep technical documentation, risk assessments, test reports and update history so they can be produced quickly in response to a disclosure order (Article 9), with trade secrets protected.
6. Align insurance: clarify cover for software, data and related services with the insurer.
7. Swiss exporters: review contracts with EU importers, authorised representatives and fulfilment service providers for new recourse and cooperation clauses.

Which roles and how much capacity the work needs

Implementation is mainly contract work that needs technical understanding. The effort sits in the inventory, in reviewing large numbers of supply and licence agreements and in documentation.

Example (assumption): an engineering company with software-controlled machines has 200 supply and licence agreements. At two hours per agreement for review and a draft amendment, that is 400 hours. Two contract lawyers working at 60% each need about two months; an experienced lawyer sets the clause standards beforehand.

How interim support helps

Interim professionals add capacity for contract review and specialist knowledge on software and product questions for as long as the project runs, while the company stays in control. Alpinum Solutions provides contract lawyers, contract managers, IT and technology lawyers and compliance specialists through Personalverleih (Swiss staff leasing) or Arbeitnehmerüberlassung (German temporary agency work) and freelancing, part-time or full-time at 20 to 100%, as individuals or teams. In staff leasing, the client directs the work; freelancers work independently within the agreed mandate.

• Contract volume: teams for supply, licence and distribution agreements, see Commercial contracting and contract management: contract lawyers.
• Software and data: IT and technology lawyers for related services and updates, see IT, technology and data privacy law.
• Industry: typical tasks in manufacturing companies are covered in Interim legal in industry and engineering.
• Digital consumer services: accessibility duties are explained in German Accessibility Strengthening Act: duties for digital services and contracts.

Alpinum is not a law firm and does not give legal advice; how a product is classified for liability purposes is for the company to assess case by case.

Frequently asked questions about the EU Product Liability Directive

When does the new Product Liability Directive apply?

Directive (EU) 2024/2853 applies to products placed on the market or put into service after 9 December 2026 (Article 2(1)). Member states must transpose it by that date. Products placed on the market earlier remain subject to the old Directive 85/374/EEC and the national law based on it (Article 21), so companies will work with both regimes for years.

Are software providers now subject to product liability?

Yes, for software placed on the market after 9 December 2026. Software is expressly a product (Article 4(1)), whether supplied on its own or as a component. According to the German government, this also brings AI system providers within product liability. Only free and open-source software outside a commercial activity is excluded. Compensation covers damage to individuals, not pure economic loss suffered by businesses.

Can liability be excluded in a contract?

Not towards injured persons: Article 15 prohibits limiting or excluding liability by contract or national law. Between manufacturers, suppliers and distributors, indemnities and recourse arrangements remain possible, with recourse governed by national law (Article 14). A special case is the contractual waiver of recourse against small software suppliers under Article 12(2).

Does the directive apply to Swiss companies?

Not as Swiss law; in Switzerland the Product Liability Act remains the relevant law. Swiss manufacturers whose products are placed on the EU market are, however, within scope. For manufacturers outside the EU, the importer, authorised representative or fulfilment service provider is also liable in the EU (Article 8(1)(c)), and they will seek to pass that risk back to the Swiss manufacturer by contract.

How does the burden of proof change?

The claimant still has to prove the defect, the damage and causation. What is new: courts can order defendants to disclose evidence (Article 9), and if they do not, the product is presumed defective. Defectiveness is also presumed where safety rules were breached or the product obviously malfunctioned; in technically complex cases, showing likelihood may be enough (Article 10).

Next step

If the product inventory, contract review or documentation needs more capacity than your team has before 9 December 2026, talk to us about scope and profile. Alpinum Solutions is the leading provider of interim legal & compliance in the DACH region; your company directs the assignment. Selected profiles are usually available within 48 hours; companies and Alpinum agree the start date together.

• Commercial contracting and contract management: professionals and project teams
• Interim legal and compliance in Switzerland
• Interim legal and compliance in Germany
• Regulatory radar: all articles on regulatory change
• Discuss your needs

Last updated: 10 November 2026.