Christiane Wendehorst will speak on this topic at the evening lecture of the Leopold Franzens University Innsbruck on Tuesday, 9 May 2023 starting at 6:30 PM. 

In the run-up to the Austrian implementation of the Sale of Goods Directive, Wendehorst had argued for introducing a direct claim against the producer of goods that are not in conformity with the contract. Consumers would have this right on top of their claim against the seller. In 2020, Wendehorst also published a feasibility study on how such a direct claim could be implemented in Austria. Part I of the study is available via https://rdb.manz.at/document/rdb.tso.LIvbr20200305; Part II is available via https://rdb.manz.at/document/rdb.tso.LIvbr20200406.

While most of the proposals developed by Wendehorst in her research, such as the Five-Factor-Model of an IoT product and the consumer’s right to receive updates, finally made it into EU legislation, the EU legislator decided against including also the direct claim against the producer, and rather left this decision to Member States. The Austrian legislator finally refused to introduce such a claim.

If you are interested in attending the evening lecture, get more information here.