UK Product Liability - Consumer Protection & the Legacy of EU Regulation

Introduction

This new virtual classroom seminar is likely to be of particular interest to manufacturers and legal advisers to manufacturers (litigators and compliance staff), as well as consumer lawyers, in addressing questions of compliance and third-party risk. The session focuses on the position in England and Wales.

It will bring you up to date with multiple recent developments in consumer protection and consumer rights within the UK, and developments in the EU in the consumer protection field.

It will also look at the residual influence of developments and reforms taking place within the EU on - and, conversely, the potential for regulatory divergence from - rules applicable to trade between the jurisdictions which collectively form the UK, and within England and Wales in particular.

The session will assist practitioners in understanding the shift in legislative focus to more modern products and their integration in an increasingly digitalised world. It will also consider developments within the EU and their potential influence on further evolution of the regulatory and private law sphere in the UK.

What You Will Learn

This live and interactive course will cover the following:

• UK:
• Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024
• Product Regulation and Metrology Act 2025
• Property (Digital Assets) Act 2025
• Consultation on updating the Consumer Protection Act 1987
• EU:
• The General Product Safety Regulation, adopted by the EU Parliament on 30 March 2023
• EU Product Liability Directive 2024 (2024/2853)
• Artificial Intelligence Liability Directive (Withdrawn)
• CJEU cases:
• VI v KRONE-Verlag Gesellschaft mbH and Co KG (limiting the definition of ‘product’)
• Keskinäinen Vakuutusyhtiö Fennia v Koninklijke Philips NV (concerning the definition of ‘producer’)
• Ford Italia SpA v ZP and Stracciari SpA (concerning the definition of ‘producer’ and supplier liability)
• LF v Sanofi Pasteur SA - compatibility with fault-based claims; long-stop principles (definition of start; and validity)

Recording of live sessions: Soon after the Learn Live session has taken place you will be able to go back and access the recording - should you wish to revisit the material discussed.