Breach of a contract entered into before 1 October 2015 Breach of a contract entered into on or after 1 October 2015 Negligence Consumer Protection Act 1987 Relevant legislation All contracts entered into prior to 1 October 2015 (whether in a business or consumer context):—Sale of Goods Act 1979 (SGA 1979)—Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 (SGSA 1982) Consumer contracts entered into from 1 October 2015:—Consumer Rights Act 2015 (CRA 2015) Not applicable Consumer Protection Act 1987 Who can bring a claim —Parties to the contract (purchaser/consumer)—Third parties specifically referred to in the contract (Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999) Parties to the contract (purchaser/consumer)—Third parties specifically referred to in the contract (Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999) Users of a product or any person provided that the defendant owed them a duty of care, eg bystanders struck by a defective product Person who suffered damage Potential defendants —Parties to the contract (retailer) —Parties to the contract (retailer) Includes but is not limited to:—manufacturer—repairer—assemblers

Key legislation A defective product claim based on a breach of contract can be more straightforward than a claim brought in negligence. This is because the claimant will just need to prove that the product is not of a satisfactory quality or fit for its purpose. It is unnecessary for the claimant to prove fault on behalf of the seller or anyone else. However, generally speaking, a claimant will need to be a party to the contract to sue for a breach of an express or implied term of the contract. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 (CRA 2015) came into force on 1 October 2015. CRA 2015 sets out consumer rights and remedies for the sale of goods and supply of digital goods and services on or after 1 October 2015. For personal injury practitioners, the important provisions relate to contracts for the sale of goods and those for the provision of services. For contracts entered into before 1 October 2015, there were separate Acts covering contracts for the sale of goods and those for the

The duty of care In Donoghue v Stevenson, a lady became unwell after drinking a bottle of ginger beer purchased by a friend which contained a dead snail. In a landmark ruling, the House of Lords held that a manufacturer of products owes a duty to the consumer to take reasonable care that they not be harmed. It is clear that the principle in Donoghue is not limited to consumers of products. The general principles of negligence apply. The claimant must also prove that the breach of the duty of care caused the claimant damage. When deciding whether or not a defendant has exercised reasonable care, the court will consider the circumstances of the case, including: • the likelihood of the injury happening • the extent of the injury • was the danger concealed or obvious • relevant safety standards • the benefits of the product • the cost of reducing or eliminating risk The court must balance the various factors and decide what is reasonable care in the particular circumstances

This checklist sets out the key issues for consideration when drafting contractual provisions for business to business contracts concerning product safety and liability. See Practice Note: Product liability risk management for producers for further information on how businesses can manage risk before making new supply arrangements including undertaking appropriate due diligence on other relevant businesses in the supply chain. • Identify all relevant laws (eg Sale of Goods Act 1979, Sale and Supply of Goods Act 1994, Consumer Protection Act 1987, General Product Safety Regulations 2005, SI 2005/1803, Consumer Rights Act 2015 and Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024), standards, codes of practice (etc) that apply to the products. Consider specific laws that apply to the manufacturing, import and sale of certain products such as fireworks, cosmetics, toys, pharmaceuticals and medical devices, personal protective equipment (PPE), gas appliances, food and animal feed, and automotive. See Practice Notes: Consumer protection for defective or dangerous products—legal bases, Product liability

This Checklist sets out the key issues when dealing with a product liability or consumer safety matter which requires a corrective action, such as a product recall. When considering corrective action relating to a product liability or safety issue, it is advisable to have reference to the government-backed BSI standards—PAS 7050:2022, Bringing safe products to the market—Code of practice and PAS 7100:2022, Product recall and other corrective actions—Code of practice. While the guidance contained in the Codes is not legally binding, the Codes are supported by the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS)—OPSS/market surveillance authorities are likely to refer to the recommendations in the Codes when addressing product safety issues. • Identify the specific products affected (and if possible, whether only certain batches or date codes are affected) and to which jurisdictions the affected products were shipped • Initiate the implementation of the company's Product Safety Incident Plan (PSIP), if one exists. See Precedent: Product safety incident plan (PSIP) • identify all relevant laws (eg Sale of Goods Act 1979,

This Checklist sets out the key issues for consideration by a business when dealing with a product safety matter in Great Britain. It sets out what a business should consider when designing systems to manage product liability risk in this area, including with reference to the Code of Practice on Product recalls and other corrective actions (PAS 7100:2022). • Identify all relevant laws (eg Sale of Goods Act 1979, Sale and Supply of Goods Act 1994, Consumer Protection Act 1987, General Product Safety Regulations 2005 (GPSR 2005), SI 2005/1803, Consumer Rights Act 2015, Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024), standards, codes of practice (eg Code of Practice on Product recalls and other corrective actions (PAS 7100:2022) and Code of Practice on Bringing Safe Products to the Market (PAS 7050:2022)) that apply to the products. See Practice Notes: Consumer protection for defective or dangerous products—legal bases, Product liability and defective products and General Product

This Practice Note is intended for reference when considering the inclusion of a product or service in a television or radio programme in return for consideration. It discusses the Ofcom Broadcasting Code (the Code), which sets out the rules that govern which types of products can be placed, which genres of programmes are permitted and how the products can be placed. The rules relating to product placement in television broadcasts are contained in Section 9 of the Code. Ofcom has also produced guidance on the rules relating to product placement; however, this should be treated with caution because it does not reflect updates to the rules since the guidance was produced. Product placement is one form of commercial advertising within television and radio content governed by Ofcom. For advertising outside of television or radio content, see Practice Note: Advertising law and regulation. What is product placement? ’Product placement’ is the inclusion in a programme of, or a reference to, a product, service or trade mark, where the inclusion: • is for a commercial purpose • is in return for the

Product placement is the inclusion in a programme of, or a reference to, a product, service or trade mark where the inclusion is for a commercial purpose, and is in return for the making of any payment, or the giving of other valuable consideration, to any relevant provider or any person connected with a relevant provider, and is not prop placement.

1 Product recall clause—pro-supplier 1.1 The Customer shall immediately notify the Supplier if it becomes aware of any complaint or claim which indicates that a product supplied by the Supplier may be defective, faulty or unsafe in any way. The Customer must send to the Supplier: 1.1.1 a copy of the complaint or claim, and any correspondence exchanged with the complainant or third party; and 1.1.2 details of the product supplied, the batch and serial number of the product (or other marking to aid traceability), the date on which the product was supplied by the Supplier to the Customer, and the date on which the Customer supplied it to the complainant (or other third party). 1.2 The Customer is required to keep and maintain, for at least ten years following last supply of the product, appropriate records to enable all products supplied by the Supplier to be traced. These records shall include serial and batch numbers (or other marking to aid traceability), delivery dates and details of the party who

IMPORTANT SAFETY WARNING—PRODUCT [ RECALL OR [ insert details of alternate corrective action (eg replacement or repair)]] [Insert product name] [Insert photographs of product] We have become aware that[ a limited quantity of] the [insert product name] might have a defect. The defect is [include a clear description of the hazard, avoiding the use of words which downplay the risk (eg voluntary, precautionary, possible)] and could cause

This Practice Note provides a high-level summary of key themes of divergence between the UK and EU in relation to product regulation that have arisen since the UK exited the EU on 31 December 2020 (IP Completion Day). Specifically, this Practice Note considers areas of divergence in relation to product liability, product safety, corrective actions (including product recall), standards and conformity marking for general consumer products. Background Prior to the end of the Brexit transition period, the UK’s product regulation laws were largely harmonised with the EU as key UK laws regarding product liability and product safety derive from EU law, including: • the Consumer Protection Act 1987 (CPA 1987) which transposed Directive 85/374/EEC on liability for defective products (EU Product Liability Directive or EU PLD) into UK law • the General Product Safety Regulations 2005 (GPSR 2005), SI 2005/1803 which transposed Directive 2001/95/EC on general product safety (EU General Product Safety Directive) into UK law Since IP Completion Day there has been increased divergence in the area of product regulation as the EU has developed new legislation.

This Practice Note is a combined horizon scanner and tracker covering key future developments in the field of product regulation in the UK, as well as developments since the Product Regulation and Metrology Act 2025 (PRMA 2025) received Royal Assent. It provides details of key dates for your diary (including forecasted dates where the actual date is unknown) and relevant commentary in relation to: • Legislation • Consultations and calls for evidence • Government guidance • Other key developments For a summary of key product regulation legislation, see Practice Note: Key product regulation legislation and resources—summary. This horizon scanner and tracker does not cover developments outside of the UK. For more information on developments in the EU, see Practice Notes: EU commercial law—horizon scanner and EU commercial law—key developments tracker. Legislation Horizon scanner What’s happening? When? What’s the impact? Find out more Regulations anticipated under PRMA 2025 Unknown PRMA 2025 makes provision about the marketing or use of products in the UK, about units of measurement and the quantities in which goods are marketed