# Conformity — digital content, digital services and goods
Status as at 2026-08-05.
Two parallel directives, both applicable since 01.01.2022:
- **Directive (EU) 2019/770** — supply of digital content and digital services. **Unamended** as at 05.08.2026.
- **Directive (EU) 2019/771** — sale of goods. **Amended by Directive (EU) 2024/1799 (Repair Directive), applicable since 31.07.2026.** Anything written against the 2019 text is now stale.
Both are Directives. The liability period, the burden-of-proof period, the notification duty and the remedy sequence all reach the consumer through national law, and each carries member-state options that were exercised differently. **This is the area where citing the directive at a consumer is most obviously wrong** and where a single EU-wide statement of "two years" is most often false.
## Which directive applies
| Situation | Instrument |
|---|---|
| Streaming, SaaS, app, e-book, game, cloud storage, download | 2019/770 |
| Physical goods | 2019/771 |
| Goods with digital elements — smartwatch, connected appliance, car with software — where the digital element is incorporated or inter-connected and supplied under the sales contract | **2019/771** (Art 3(4) 2019/770 excludes these) |
| Free service where the consumer supplies personal data | 2019/770, unless the Art 3(1) exception applies |
**Art 3(1) second subparagraph of 2019/770**: the directive applies where the consumer provides personal data instead of paying, **except** where those data are processed exclusively for supplying the content or service, or for the trader's legal compliance, **and** the trader does not process them for any other purpose. Both limbs must hold. Ad-funded free products are inside.
Art 3(5)(f) 2019/770: free and open-source software supplied without payment is outside.
## Digital content and services — Directive (EU) 2019/770
### Conformity
- **Art 7** subjective requirements: description, quantity, quality, functionality, compatibility, interoperability and other features as required by the contract; fitness for the consumer's particular purpose made known and accepted; supplied with accessories, instructions and customer assistance as stipulated; **(d) updated as stipulated by the contract**.
- **Art 8** objective requirements: fit for the purposes for which digital content or services of the same type are normally used; of the quantity and possessing the qualities and performance features — including **functionality, compatibility, accessibility, continuity and security** — that are normal and that the consumer may reasonably expect, having regard to public statements; supplied with accessories and instructions; conform with any trial version or preview made available before conclusion.
### The update duty — Art 8(2)
Verbatim in substance: the trader must ensure the consumer is **informed of and supplied with updates, including security updates**, necessary to keep the digital content or service in conformity, for the period:
- **(a)** during which supply is to occur, for contracts providing for **continuous supply** over a period; or
- **(b)** that the consumer **may reasonably expect**, given the type and purpose of the content or service and the circumstances and nature of the contract, for a **single act of supply or a series of individual acts**.
**There is no fixed number of years for one-off supply.** Any statement of "you get updates for X years" is a contractual commitment, not a restatement of the directive.
Art 8(3): no liability where the consumer fails to install an update within a reasonable time, provided the trader informed the consumer of the availability and consequences and the failure was not due to shortcomings in the installation instructions.
Art 8(5): a deviation from the objective requirements is valid only if the consumer was **specifically informed** at the time of conclusion that a particular characteristic deviated, **and** expressly and separately accepted that deviation. Burying it in the terms does not work.
### Liability and burden of proof — mind the article numbers
- **Art 11 — liability.** For a single act of supply, liability for a lack of conformity existing at the time of supply; where national law makes liability conditional on the lack of conformity becoming apparent within a period, **that period must not be shorter than two years** from supply. For continuous supply, liability for a lack of conformity that occurs or becomes apparent **within the whole contractual supply period**.
- **Art 12 — burden of proof.** 12(2): for a single act of supply, on the **trader** for any lack of conformity becoming apparent **within one year** from supply. 12(3): for continuous supply, on the trader **for the whole supply period**. 12(4)–(5): the presumption does not apply where the trader shows the consumer's digital environment is incompatible and had informed the consumer of the technical requirements before conclusion; the consumer must cooperate in ascertaining this, by the least intrusive means available.
Art 10 is third-party rights, not liability. Getting these numbers wrong is the most common error in EU consumer-law summaries.
### Remedies — Art 14
Hierarchy: bring into conformity → proportionate price reduction or termination.
- 14(2): bringing into conformity has primacy **unless impossible or would impose disproportionate costs**.
- 14(3): within a reasonable time from being informed, **free of charge**, without significant inconvenience.
- 14(4): the consumer may step to price reduction — only where a price was paid — or termination where (a) bringing into conformity is impossible or disproportionate, (b) the trader failed to comply with 14(3), (c) a lack of conformity **reappears despite an attempt** to remedy it, (d) the lack of conformity is so serious as to justify an immediate remedy, or (e) the trader declared, or it is clear from the circumstances, that it will not bring the content into conformity.
- **No second-attempt requirement.** A trader may not insist on a second repair attempt as a matter of law.
- 14(6): termination is barred only where the lack of conformity is **minor**, and the **trader bears the burden** of proving that. This bar applies only where a price was paid — where the counter-performance is personal data, minor defects do not block termination.
Art 13: separate remedy for **failure to supply at all** — call upon the trader, then terminate; immediate termination where the trader declared or it is clear it will not supply, or where the time of supply was essential.
## Goods — Directive (EU) 2019/771
### Conformity
Arts 5–7. Art 6(d): supplied with updates as stipulated by the sales contract. **Art 7(1)(d)** objective requirements now list durability, functionality, compatibility, security and — **added by Directive (EU) 2024/1799 from 31.07.2026** — **reparability**.
### Updates for goods with digital elements — Art 7(3)
The seller must ensure the consumer is informed of and supplied with updates including security updates necessary to keep the goods in conformity, for the period:
- **(a)** the consumer **may reasonably expect**, where the digital element is supplied in a **single act**; or
- **(b)** indicated in **Art 10(2) or (5)**, where the contract provides for **continuous supply** over a period — i.e. two years, or the whole contractual supply period where that exceeds two years.
Art 7(4): no liability where the consumer fails to install, subject to information and correct instructions.
### Liability period — Art 10
- 10(1): **two years** from delivery.
- 10(2): goods with digital elements under continuous supply — two years, or the **whole contractual supply period** if longer.
- **10(3): member states may maintain or introduce longer time limits.** Several have.
- 10(4): limitation periods must not undermine Art 13 remedies.
- 10(5): member states may instead maintain or introduce only a **limitation period**.
- 10(6): second-hand goods — a shorter period may be agreed but **not below one year**.
- **New from 31.07.2026 (Directive (EU) 2024/1799):** **Art 10(2a)** — where **repair** is the remedy used to bring the goods into conformity, the liability period is **extended once by 12 months**. **Art 10(5a)** — member states using the 10(3)/10(5) models may derogate from 2a provided liability or the limitation period in the event of repair is **at least equivalent to three years**.
### Burden of proof — Art 11
- 11(1): **one year** from delivery, presumption in the consumer's favour.
- **11(2): member states may maintain or introduce a period of two years instead.** This is the option most often exercised, and the reason a pan-EU statement of "one year" is unsafe.
- 11(3): goods with digital elements under continuous supply — the whole Art 10(2) period.
Art 12: member states may require the consumer to notify the lack of conformity within a period of **at least two months** from detection. Another national option.
### Remedies — Art 13
- 13(2): the consumer **chooses between repair and replacement**, unless the chosen remedy is impossible or would impose disproportionate costs relative to the other, judged on the value of the goods, the significance of the defect and whether the alternative is available without significant inconvenience.
- 13(3): the seller may refuse to bring the goods into conformity where both remedies are impossible or would impose disproportionate costs.
- 13(4): second tier — price reduction (Art 15) or termination (Art 16).
- 13(5): **no termination where the lack of conformity is only minor**; the **seller** bears the burden of proof.
- 13(6): right to withhold payment of any outstanding part of the price.
- **New from 31.07.2026: Art 13(2a)** — before providing the remedy the seller must **inform the consumer of the right to choose between repair and replacement and of the possible 12-month extension of the liability period under Art 10(2a)**. This is a concrete UI and RMA-flow change, not a paperwork item.
- **Art 14(1) replaced from 31.07.2026**: during repair the seller **may** provide a free replacement item, including a refurbished one; and may provide a **refurbished** good to satisfy a replacement obligation **only at the consumer's explicit request**.
Art 16 is termination mechanics — statement to the seller, partial termination, return at the seller's expense, reimbursement on receipt or proof of dispatch. It is not the minor-defect bar; that is Art 13(5).
### Commercial guarantees — Art 17
- 17(1): a commercial guarantee is **binding on the guarantor under the conditions in the guarantee statement and the associated advertising**. Where a **producer** offers a commercial guarantee of **durability**, the producer is **directly liable to the consumer** for the whole guarantee period for repair or replacement under Art 14. Where the advertising is more advantageous than the statement, the **advertising prevails**, unless corrected before conclusion in the same or a comparable way.
- 17(2): the statement must be provided on a **durable medium** at the latest at the time of delivery, in plain intelligible language, and must contain a clear statement that the consumer's **statutory rights against the seller are free of charge and unaffected**, the guarantor's name and address, the procedure to follow, the goods covered and the guarantee terms.
- 17(3): failure to comply with 17(2) does not affect the guarantee's binding nature.
## Directive (EU) 2024/1799 — the repair layer
Directive (EU) 2024/1799 of 13.06.2024 on common rules promoting the repair of goods. **Fully harmonising** (Art 3). Transposition and application **31.07.2026**. Art 21: Art 16 does not apply to sales contracts concluded before 31.07.2026.
Scope (Art 1(2)): repair of defects occurring **outside** the Art 10 liability period of 2019/771 — the layer after the statutory guarantee runs out. Substance: Art 4 European Repair Information Form, with a 30-day price validity and mandatory content, free of charge except for diagnostics; Art 5 manufacturer repair obligation for the goods in Annex II; Art 7 European online repair platform. The amendments to 2019/771 described above are Art 16 of this directive.
## Template — conformity block
```html
Statutory guarantee of conformity
We are liable to consumers for any lack of conformity under
[[NATIONAL STATUTE AND SECTION]]. The liability period is
[[NATIONAL PERIOD]] from delivery. For the first
[[NATIONAL BURDEN-OF-PROOF PERIOD]] any lack of conformity that becomes
apparent is presumed to have existed at delivery.
You may choose between repair and replacement. If we repair the goods, the
liability period is extended once by 12 months.
[[Adjust where the member state derogated under Art 10(5a).]]
These rights are free of charge and are not affected by any commercial
guarantee.
Updates
We supply updates, including security updates, necessary to keep
[[PRODUCT]] in conformity until [[DATE OR PERIOD]].
```
Every period in this block is `[[MISSING: national period]]` until the national transposition is checked. A single hard-coded "2 years / 1 year" across the EU is wrong somewhere.
## Checkpoints
- [ ] Correct directive identified: 2019/770 vs 2019/771, and goods with digital elements routed to 2019/771
- [ ] Data-as-counter-performance analysed against Art 3(1) second subparagraph of 2019/770
- [ ] Liability period stated per member state, not as a flat EU figure — Art 10(3)/(5) options exercised differently
- [ ] Burden-of-proof period stated per member state — Art 11(2) two-year option exercised in several
- [ ] Notification duty checked per member state (Art 12, minimum two months)
- [ ] **Repair-extends-liability-by-12-months rule reflected since 31.07.2026 (Art 10(2a))**
- [ ] **Pre-remedy information duty implemented in the RMA flow (Art 13(2a))**
- [ ] Refurbished goods offered as replacement only on the consumer's explicit request (Art 14(1))
- [ ] Update period stated and honoured (Art 8(2) 2019/770 / Art 7(3) 2019/771)
- [ ] Any deviation from objective requirements specifically disclosed and separately accepted (Art 8(5) 2019/770)
- [ ] No "second repair attempt required" clause
- [ ] No shortening of the statutory period against a consumer for new goods
- [ ] Commercial guarantee statement on a durable medium at latest at delivery, with the express statement that statutory rights are unaffected (Art 17(2))
- [ ] Durability guarantee advertising matches the statement — advertising prevails (Art 17(1))
- [ ] Terms distinguish statutory conformity rights from the commercial guarantee in wording, not only in headings
- [ ] All `[[…]]` placeholders resolved or reported as open