ECJ: Content does not make a newspaper a defective product

Jun 23, 2021 Benn-Ibler Rechtsanwälte

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that a printed copy of a newspaper whose content contains incorrect health tips is not a "defective product" within the meaning of the Product Liability Directive (85/374/EC).

In the main proceedings, a reader sued the "Kronen Zeitung" for damages. A column in a print edition of the newspaper recommended applying fresh coarsely-grated horseradish on the affected area to relieve rheumatic pain. However, the duration of this treatment was erroneously stated to be two to five “hours“ instead of “minutes“. The plaintiff removed the layer only after three hours, by which time a toxic skin reaction had already occurred.

The issue before the ECJ was whether the publisher could be held liable for the incorrect information under the Product Liability Directive. 

The ECJ decided this was not possible: According to the wording of the Product Liability Directive, services (in principle, the health tip is to be classified as a service) do not fall within its scope. In addition, the defectiveness of a product is determined on the basis of certain characteristics inherent to the product itself and relate in particular to its presentation, use and the time at which it was placed on the market.

In the present case, the service in question (the incorrect health tip) does not relate to the printed newspaper as it concerns neither the presentation nor the use of the newspaper. The service is therefore not a characteristic inherent to a printed newspaper which would be used to determine whether or not the product is defective.

Moreover, the Product Liability Directive does not contain any provisions for liability when the product is only the physical medium for a service that causes damage. This reveals the Union legislator’s intention on this issue. 

Consequently, incorrect information in a newspaper does not render the printed edition itself as being defective.

ECJ C-65/20 (10 June 2021)