Limitation of liability in Boost License
Hi all IANAL but AFAIK the Boost License's disclaimer of warranty and liability is invalid under German law (irrespective whether the licensee is a consumer or not). I'd guess that similar can be said about some other jurisdictions in Europe or elsewhere. I'm curious, is this a matter of concern for anyone, in particular for corporate contributors? Best regards, Stephan
Stephan Tolksdorf wrote:
IANAL but AFAIK the Boost License's disclaimer of warranty and liability is invalid under German law (irrespective whether the licensee is a consumer or not). I'd guess that similar can be said about some other jurisdictions in Europe or elsewhere.
I'm curious, is this a matter of concern for anyone, in particular for corporate contributors?
IANAL too, but you're right, under German law it's not possible to disclaim warranty and liability. But AFAIK, as long as you're giving your software away for free, you're only liable for deceit and fraudulent concealment of defects and grossly negligent behavior. (I have no idea if the English terms are correct, in German that would be "arglistiges Verschweigen von Mängeln bzw. grob fahrlässiges Handeln".) For example, if you write a program that formats the user's disc on purpose, you are liable for this. If you write a program that formats the user's disc by accident and you know that this will happen, you are probably liable for this. But you might get better answers by searching for "open source gewährleistungsausschluss" with your favorite search engine. This turn up for example: http://www.brennecke-partner.de/default.php?ID=13829&Navtyp=0&Open-Source-Einfuehrung---Teil-3-Haftungsrisiken-und-Lizenzmodelle HTH, Markus
Markus Schöpflin wrote:
Stephan Tolksdorf wrote:
IANAL but AFAIK the Boost License's disclaimer of warranty and liability is invalid under German law (irrespective whether the licensee is a consumer or not). (...)
IANAL too, but you're right, under German law it's not possible to disclaim warranty and liability. But AFAIK, as long as you're giving your software away for free, you're only liable for deceit and fraudulent concealment of defects and grossly negligent behavior. )
AFAIK this interpretation hinges on the law related to gifts "Schenkungsrecht" being applicable, which might not be true in every case, in particular if your company in some way profits from your contributions or provides related consulting services. Furthermore, due to the special protections of consumers in international contracts under German law (Art. 29 EGBGB) one might think of a situation where an invalid disclaimer has the consequence that the consumer's home country's default warranty/liability provisions become applicable. These default provisions might include liability for more than fraudulent concealment or gross negligence. Best regards, Stephan
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Stephan Tolksdorf