Commentary on Sections Part 1: Consumer Contracts for Goods, Digital Content and Services What statutory rights are there under a digital content contract? Section 40: Quality, fitness and description of content supplied subject to modifications
196.This section reflects a unique issue for digital content in that manufacturers and traders are technically able to change or update digital content after the initial provision of the digital content. This may be set out in the terms and conditions of the licence. In the majority of cases, this is to the benefit of consumers and often includes important updates to the digital content. Requiring consent for every update would create problems for business, both due to the logistics of contacting every consumer and getting their consent and the problems that would arise when some consumers do not accept updates, thus resulting in many different versions of software in circulation and unnecessary disputes with consumers when digital content stops working due to lack of updates.
197.This section therefore does not prevent a trader or a third party (such as the digital content manufacturer) updating digital content, as long as the contract stated that such updates would be supplied. However, such contract terms could be assessable for fairness under Part 2 (Unfair Terms). Furthermore, following any updates, the digital content must still meet the quality rights, (i.e. it must still be of satisfactory quality, be fit for purpose and match the description given). This does not prevent new features from being added or existing features from being enhanced, as long as the digital content continues to match the description and conform to the pre-contractual information provided by the trader. Subsection (3) makes clear that the time period for bringing a claim begins when the digital content was first supplied notwithstanding the fact that the modification itself must have occurred some time after the original supply. This means that any claim for breach of this provision must be brought within 6 years of the date the digital content was first supplied.
198.It is for a consumer to prove that the digital content is faulty. Where a consumer has not identified a fault (and therefore not requested a repair or replacement), but a general update is sent in any case to the consumer, this does not necessarily mean that the quality rights were breached nor that the update constitutes a repair or replacement.