Software Liability

QUALITY SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT

MPSW 5053/PPSW 6053

SEMESTER 1 2011/2012

ASSIGNMENT

LECTURER:

Dr. Suhaimi Basrah

Assignment on Product Liability

1. Software product liability

a. Make a comparison between Malaysia and the US

i. On the responsibilities of manufacturer for a faulty software

product

ii. On the definitions of faulty software

Produce a short writing of 4 pages of content max of the above topics.

Email the paper at suhaimibasrah@utem.edu.my

NAME

MATRIC NO

Ng Lip Tat

P011110001

1.0 Definition

Software is a relatively new technological artifact to reach the consumer market. It has offered

many technological possibilities and also, the potential for personal injury. Such products have

already been involved in cases of personal injury and death. When a consumer is injured and the

common law of products liability is invoked, two different legal standards are available:

negligence and strict liability. Software is the new tool; its nature is totally different from the

application of traditional legal and engineering tools and defect classifications used to determine

the standard of liability. The modern law of products liability developed from roots in negligence

and warranty causes of action. Strict products liability in tort developed in response to the

perceived inadequacies of negligence and warranty causes of action when applied to products of

modern complexity involved in personal injury. It was to be based on proof of product defect

rather than proof of fault. Once a product defect was proven to have caused injury to the person,

damages could be awarded. But, for a negligence case, unreasonable conduct must be proved and

the injury may be merely economic in nature. Fault (unreasonable conduct) must be proved; the

injury may be merely economic in nature, and a product need not be the instrumentality of the

injury (it could be a service).

There is some debate about whether software is a product or a service....