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Dear Sir/Madam I am a UK subsidiary of a German company which supplies design services - so in business-to-business (B2B) domain. Through our German parent, we have supplied design services to a private German company, and of course we have a contract in German that none of us in the UK can read -but I am told that there is NO WARRANTY mentioned in the contract. However my colleagues in Germany tell me however that there is a 2-year warranty mandated by German law that we must recognise. Does this really apply to B2B transactions? If so how can it be applied to the B2B market we are in?
Already Tried: Asking my German director colleagues what the legal position on warranty when it is not explicitly laid out in a contract - they say that we must fix any defect that the customer asks to get fixed - but in the UK this is not applicable to the B2B domain. In our case, the product belongs to our customer! We supplied design services - not a product.
Dear Customer, thank you for using Just Answer.
Your information is right. Also in the case of the B2B a 2-year warrentny exists. This can be shortened between enterprisers by contract on 1 year.
The demand for warrenty is entitled.
I hope I was able to help. If so please accept my answer.
Best regards,
Anja Merkel, LL.M.
Attorney
What happens in the case of no agreed specification?
You have give the legal 2-years warrenty for any lack or defect.
Defect in who's view? Surely there can only be a warranty against an agreed deliverable specification?
That one which has the lack.
Surely there can only be a warranty against an agreed deliverable specification?
The normal case is a faultless thing. It must not be specially regulated.
So are you saying that our German customer can claim that we must fix a 'lack' that is only a lack in their view but not in ours?
Yes. Your view plays no role, if the thing is not faultless.
So, a defect is given if the actual state of the product deviates from the state on which the parties have agreed by end of the bill of sale.
So the parties have to agree? meaning something describing the deliverable and its performance must be on 'paper'?
So the parties have to agree - but how? Surely then there must be an agreed 'state' described on 'paper'?
It must not be given in writing form, what the business partners agrees, how the product should be. A document serves the proof, which you must lead. This means, you have to prove that the product does not have a defect.
OK - now I understand completely - thank you very much!
Please accept my answer.
Experience: 1.+ 2. Staatsexamen; LL.M.(Master of Law)