International Product Law Manual 2012

This is the first and only ‘one-stop shop’ for lawyers that offers the necessary practical information relating to liabilities in connection with products in the major jurisdictions where the law of product liability is most fully developed and therefore influential worldwide.

Thirty-three expert authors with wide-ranging knowledge of product liability law –¬ including litigation experience in a variety of jurisdictions – clearly define the law in relation to liabilities and responsibilities arising in connection with a potentially ‘defective’ product, and describe what steps to take when handling such a case.

To the three jurisdictions universally recognized as the ‘trendsetters’ in the area of product liability – the European Union, the United States, and Australia – is added China, as its emerging industrial influence on the rest of the trading world and its nascent product liability laws make it essential to consider. Opening with summaries of the law in each of these four jurisdictions (plus Canada), the work proceeds to examine such aspects of product liability law as the following:-

• differences in each jurisdiction among the key practice areas of contract, tort, statute, and regulation;
• the leading case law underpinning the principles in play in each jurisdiction;
• the legal implications and demands of product recalls;
• product liability insurance from legal and industry perspectives;
• forum shopping; and
• product risk management.

Topics demonstrating the application of the law in practice provide an understanding of how the product liability systems of the jurisdictions covered actually work.

In sum, this is an incomparable practitioner’s guide to essential elements of the laws of product liability, primarily in Europe, North America, and China, but which will be useful virtually anywhere in the world. For product liability specialists this book will occupy an essential place among their resources. For most lawyers, who will be involved in product liability issues of one type or another at some stage in their career, this book will provide the essential quick groundwork whenever occasion arises. Among the many sophisticated academic works, comparative analyses across jurisdictions, and countless commentaries on the law of individual jurisdictions, this book is unique in its direct practical usefulness.

The book will be revised annually.