Comment Americans, HELLO! We're here, too! (Score 3, Interesting) 393
Something that really bugs me is the comment that this lemon law could kill "OpenSource and Free Software" alltogether. In the case you guys from the US haven't noticed: There are other countries with other laws.
Of course here in Germany a vendor or producer is liable for what he sells, too. But this liability has limitations! In Germany you CANNOT sue McDonald's because you failed to notice that coffee may be hot and McDonald's hasn't provided you with that information! You CANNOT sue a toy company for selling Superman capes without providing a warning that those capes won't give you the ability to fly! And even if you can sue a company for liability (i.e. because they failed to give notice about poisons or side-effects in their products), you won't be rich!
German jurisdiction mostly follows the customs and the common sense. That means: if you pay 1000 Euro for product A it is NOT regarded in the same way as product B which you got for free.
Besides: do you really think that OpenSource and Free Software are dead the same moment the US leaves the building?
