The Court of Justice of the EU concluded in a judgment (case C157/23), on Thursday 19 December, that liability for defective products may include a supplier as a “producer”, if its name or a distinguishing feature is the same as the trade mark put on by the manufacturer, even if the supplier has not itself put its name.
In 2001, an accident involving a faulty airbag on a Ford car manufactured by Ford WAG led to a claim against the dealer Stracciari and the supplier Ford Italia, which distributes Ford vehicles in Italy, even though Ford Italia did not manufacture the vehicle.
The Italian Court of Cassation referred a question to the Court of Justice on the interpretation of the concept of “producer” in the directive on liability for defective products. It asked whether a supplier of a defective product should be considered as “a person who presents him[- or her]self as a producer”, even if they did not actually put their name on the product.
The Court concluded that this definition does include the supplier if their name or distinguishing feature is the same as the name of the manufacturer and the name, trade mark or other distinctive sign present on the product, because they benefit from the confidence of the consumer as if the product came directly from them.
According to the Court, this interpretation is intended to provide effective consumer protection by making suppliers and producers jointly and severally liable for defects.
To see the judgment: https://aeur.eu/f/ewb (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)