Product Liability Directive (PLD)

(39) In the transition from a linear to a circular economy, products are designed to be more durable, reusable, repairable and upgradable. The Union is also promoting innovative and sustainable forms of production and consumption that prolong the functionality of products and components, such as remanufacturing, refurbishment and repair, as set out in the communication of the Commission of 11 March 2020 entitled ‘A new Circular Economy Action Plan – For a cleaner and more competitive Europe’. When a product is substantially modified and is thereafter made available on the market or put into service, it is considered to be a new product. Where the modification is made outside the control of the original manufacturer, it should be possible to hold the person that made the substantial modification liable as a manufacturer of the modified product, since under relevant Union law that person is responsible for the product’s compliance with safety requirements. Whether a modification is substantial should be determined on the basis of criteria laid down in relevant Union and national product safety law, including General Product Safety Regulation. Where no such criteria are laid down in respect of the product in question, modifications that change the original intended functions of the product or affect its compliance with applicable safety requirements or change its risk profile should be considered to be substantial modifications. Where a substantial modification is carried out by the original manufacturer, or within its control, and where such a substantial modification makes the product defective, that manufacturer should not be able to avoid liability by arguing that the defectiveness came into being after it placed the product on the market or put it into service. In the interests of a fair apportionment of risk in the circular economy, an economic operator that makes a substantial modification, other than the original manufacturer, should be exempted from liability if that economic operator can prove that the damage is related to a part of the product not affected by the modification. Economic operators that carry out repairs or other operations that do not involve substantial modifications should not be subject to liability under this Directive.