Contractual Liability of the Seller Due to Third Parties' Patents and Other IP Rights under German Law and the UN Convention on Sales Contracts

In Germany, sales contracts are generally regulated by Sections 433 through 479 of the German Civil Code (Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch, BGB). Complementary provisions in the German Commercial Code (Handelsgesetzbuch, HGB) (Sections 373 through 381) refer to commercial transactions. Furthermore, with respect to sales contracts connected with the law of a foreign state the conflict of laws provisions of Articles 27 through 37 of the German Introductory Act to the Civil Code (Ein-führungsgesetz zum BGB, EGBGB) have to be taken into account.

Recently the general German law on sales contracts was fundamentally revised by the Law on the Modernization of the Law of Obligations of November 26, 2001, resulting in the abovementioned provisions of the German Civil Code. The revision came into force on January 1, 2002. In principle, according to Article 229 Section 5 EGBGB, the new provisions only apply to sales contracts entered into since this date. The following statements refer to such contracts only.