New contract law 2022 and current legislative proposals
A new contract law will apply from January 2022. To this end, the German Civil Code (BGB) will initially be supplemented by a new section entitled "Contracts for digital products". To a certain extent, this is a new type of contract, which now contains requirements for the drafting of GTCs for SaaS and internet platforms, for example. Existing GTCs may therefore need to be updated. Unlike in the past, there will be special legal requirements for such digital contracts for the first time from 2022.
At the same time, sales law will be reformed. There are now special legal requirements for the sale of hardware if it contains "digital goods". To this end, the concept of material defects will be amended and a subjective component added. Furthermore, the previous limitation periods have been reformed so that the manufacturer and intermediaries in a contractual chain can be held liable for recourse even after the - previous - limitation period has expired.
One aspect of the reform is, for example, an update obligation. According to this, a manufacturer must also provide security updates after the handover. The exact length of this period is unregulated, as are other key questions, such as How can a manufacturer of non-networked, digital consumer products notify buyers of the availability of new updates if the products are sold en masse via electrical wholesalers and electrical retailers to unnamed buyers? Do buyer lists now have to be kept or, alternatively, do the notifications have to be publicly distributed?
Some of the new legal regulations can be contractually modified in favor of manufacturers and dealers. You should make use of these options for adapting your own contracts and general terms and conditions at an early stage.
There will also be a brief overview of current legislative projects in the areas of digital, technology and machinery.
In the online event, the new regulations will be presented in a relaxed format of lecture and discussion. There will be an opportunity for questions.
An excerpt from the topics
New type of contract for digital content
New legal basis for SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) and internet platforms
Obligation to provide security updates: duration, notification obligation, necessity of a security update
New sales law
Changed definition of material defects in the BGB
Changed limitation periods and chains of recourse
Extended reversal of the burden of proof
Current legislative proposals (overview)
Draft of the EU AI Regulation - 2021/0106 (COD)
Draft of the EU Machinery Regulation - COM(2021) 202
Telecommunications Telemedia Data Protection Act (TTDSG)
IT Security Act 2.0
Discussion among the speakers
Afterwards: opportunity for questions
Date
The event will take place on Thursday, 02.12.2021 (16:30 - 18:30).
Participation in the event is free of charge. Please register as soon as possible.
Registrations for the previous event are no longer possible. We will be happy to inform you about future events in this series via our newsletter.