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[return to "Open source liability is coming"]
1. TheBig+Fd[view] [source] 2023-12-29 19:14:26
>>daniel+(OP)
This is great. Software is important, software has an impact, and so we need liability.

This regulation ensures that whoever sells the software to the consumer is responsible, and that's the way it should be. The creator of a library doesn't know how his library will be used in the wild, he can't anticipate all possible problems, the product maker can. It is the product maker's responsibility to integrate external components properly, having validated that they are up to standard.

If you're a manufacturer, you can't just pick components at random and then say it's not your fault if your product doesn't work. That's why manufacturers have whole teams of people working to ensure that what they receive from a supplier is up to spec.

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2. tesdin+td2[view] [source] 2023-12-30 16:58:25
>>TheBig+Fd
No, it is bad because it could also apply to open source software aimed at consumers, not only commercial vendors integrating OSS.

> whether “open source” is exempt from liability in a law designed to protect consumers. So far the answer is “probably not?” Exemption means consumers bear the cost – exactly what the law is trying to change. Perhaps if the open source in question remains an academic or research tool, versus reaching consumers, we’re okay? The proof may come when the first consumer demands compensation, and the courts step in.

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3. TheBig+iL3[view] [source] 2023-12-31 08:32:35
>>tesdin+td2
The directive has not finished the legislative process yet so it's difficult to be exact but according to the briefing on the New Product Liability Directive redacted by the European Parliamentary Research Service

> In the aim of not hampering innovation: (i) free and open-source software developed or supplied outside the course of commercial activity, as well as (ii) the source code of software, should be excluded from the definition of products covered under the proposal.

https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2023/7393...

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4. tesdin+Er4[view] [source] 2023-12-31 16:38:17
>>TheBig+iL3
That's interesting. Where does Java script fall in this context, does it qualify as source code? I'm asking the EU lawmakers not you. I'm wondering how they would distinguish Java script source code and Java script product.
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