Köprättsligt felansvar när datorprogram innehåller immaterialrättsliga fel

Sammanfattning: Today's societal developments and increased digitalisation have led to an increase in the purchase of digital content and services. Due to the changing consumer habits regarding the purchase of digital products, a consumer law reform has been implemented. On 1 May 2022 a new Consumer Sales Act entered into force. In the implementation of the reform the new forms of purchase were of interest, such as purchases where a buyer can only access a digital content online for a certain period of time. Purchases of digital content where a consumer supplied personal data instead of a purchase price, such as when a consumer must create a social media account, were also of interest. This raises the question of how well the sales laws are adapted to these new innovative ways of purchasing computer software. The question of the seller's liability for intellectual property defects in computer programs has also become increasingly relevant as a result of the aforementioned digitalisation. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the liability for intellectual property defects in computer programs. To achieve this purpose, the paper first examines the extent to which purchases of computer software are covered by the Sale of Goods Act and the Consumer Sales Act. The investigation shows that the Consumer Sales Act can be directly applied to all purchases of computer programs. However, the Sale of Goods Act only applies directly to the purchase of physical carriers containing computer programs, such as integrated digital content. In the case of contracts for the supply of computer programs online, the Sale of Goods Act can only be applied by analogy. The paper then also outlines what constitutes an intellectual property defect under the Sale of Goods Act and the Consumer Sales Act. It also examines the extent to which a seller is liable for an intellectual property defect in computer programs under those laws. It then describes the applicable penalties for intellectual property defects under the Sale of Goods Act and the Consumer Sales Act. The paper concludes that intellectual property defects in computer programs are to a greater extent covered by the Consumer Sales Act than the Sale of Goods Act. The reason is that in all cases the law is directly applicable to the purchase of computer programs, unlike the Sale of Goods Act. In addition, the reduced burden of proof under the Consumer Sales Act means that penalties and fault-based liability are more often relevant. In conclusion, the liability for intellec-tual property defects under the Consumer Sales Act is considered more extensive than the liability for intellectual property defects under the Sale of Goods Act.