(2004/C 65 E/241)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2828/03

by Kathleen Van Brempt (PSE) to the Commission

(23 September 2003)

Subject:   Readability of rewritable CD ROMs

Valuable data on CD ROMs does not always last long in practice. A trial carried out by a Dutch computer magazine, PC-Active, has shown that data on a self-burned CD (CD-R/REW) can become unreadable in less than two years. PC-Active tested the quality of thirty brands of rewritable CD. The discs were stored for 20 months in their original packaging in a locked cupboard. Then the condition of the CDs was assessed by a professional CD analyser. The test showed that a number of CD-Rs had become totally unreadable, and others partly unreadable. Data that had been saved on the discs 20 months before had become unreadable. The manufacturers involved include both well-known and less well-known brands. CD-ROM manufacturers claim, however, that their products last at least ten years; some even claim they have a useful life of a hundred years.

Is the Commission aware of this research?

Does the Commission intend to take action in light of these findings? If so, what?

If not, why not? Does the Commission believe that the claims of readability of CD-ROMs are misleading?

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(28 October 2003)

The Commission has not been informed of this particular research into the durability of CD-ROMs and is not competent to intervene in concrete cases.

The Commission would like, however, to inform the Honourable Member that, in business-to-consumer relationships, public statements on the specific characteristics of goods made by a seller or a producer or a representative can determine whether goods are in conformity with the contract. Goods must, above all, conform with the contractual specifications (recital 7 of the Directive 1999/44/EC of the Parliament and of the Council of 25 May 1999, on certain aspects of the sale of consumer goods and associated guarantees (1)). Article 2(2)(d) of the Directive provides that goods are in conformity with the contract if they show the quality and performance which are normal in goods of the same type taking into account any public statement made on the specific characteristics of the goods, in particular in advertisements and labelling.

The life span of a CD-ROM and the durability of data saved on it can amount to specific characteristics. If these specific characteristics are not met, the consumer can ask to have the goods brought in conformity with the contract by repair or replacement, ask for a price reduction or have the contract of sale rescinded according to Article 3 of the Directive. The consumer disposes of this legal guarantee for a minimum period of two years from the delivery of the goods.

False claims about the quality features of goods could also be misleading under the terms of Council Directive 84/450/EEC of 10 September 1984 relating to the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States concerning misleading advertising (2) as amended by Directive 97/55/EC of Parliament and of the Council of 6 October 1997 (3) so as to include comparative advertising. It is up to the national authorities to decide whether the claims the Honourable Member refers to on readability of CD-ROMs are misleading under this Directive. More generally, it is up to the national authorities and not for the Commission to enforce Community and national law aimed at the protection of consumers.

(1)  OJ L 171, 7.7.1999.

(2)  OJ L 250, 19.9.1984.

(3)  OJ L 290, 23.10.1997.