Nikolayhg at 18:02, 17 January 2012

2012-01-17T18:02:36Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:02, 17 January 2012
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	[[OSE Europe]] is looking for Engineers who can certify the OSE machines within Europe. Please connect with us: http://oseeurope.org/contact/		[[OSE Europe]] is looking for Engineers who can certify the OSE machines within Europe. Please connect with us: http://oseeurope.org/contact/


			==Comments==
			===Comment 1===

			As far as I see it, there are at least three legal issues to be considered:
			Insurance, Certification and Product Liability

			'''Insurance'''

			OSE Italy wants to be insured so that their own members can claim with their
			own health insurance when injured by improper use of the power cube or as a
			result of a defective power cube. I am not an expert in Italian law, but
			this mainly seems to be a contractual matter between OSE Italy -or its
			individual members-, and the insurance company or companies involved. This
			is, of course, to be resolved by negotiation with the insurance company in
			question.

			'''Certification'''

			You also have to consider the fact that you will probably need some kind of
			certification for the power cube in each of the different countries you want
			to export the design to. It may also well be that the insurance companies
			will only insure people using a certified design though I'm pretty sure
			there will be insurance companies out there insuring R&D activities. This is
			a matter that has to be resolved separately for each country in which the
			power cube is used. Certification is usually an expensive, long and tedious
			path to follow, especially when it concerns potentially dangerous machinery.
			It is certainly wise to contact the certifying institutions in an early
			stage so they can guide you through the process. Sometimes you can find an
			enthusiast within such an institution who can help you navigate the maze of
			rules and regulations. Also, sometimes, it is possible to work with
			uncertified designs. In the Netherlands, for instance, it is legal to build
			and fly homebuilt airplanes that are not certified for commercial use as
			long as they have been approved by the Dutch aviation authorities. It may pay off to check if
			"uncertified" homebuilding is possible for the power cube and other
			machinery. In the Netherlands for instance we have a long tradition of
			gliding (soaring) clubs building their own gliding winches
			http://www.hydrostart.nl/ which are very powerful, complex and potentially
			dangerous machines.

			'''Product liability'''

			Product liability is a complex legal field that is regulated via the
			national laws of the EU countries but is indirectly governed by the European
			Product Liability Directive
			http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Product_Liability_Directive , at least for
			those countries that have implemented this directive. (I cannot tell you
			anything about the national laws of countries that have not implemented the
			directive in their national laws.) Countries that have implemented may still
			have differing regulations but the "backbone" of the directive will be in
			place.

			In the countries that have implemented the directive, there is an unlimited
			liability for the producer of a product. There also is a (very) broad scope
			as to who is considered to be a producer meaning you are deemed to be a
			producer pretty soon. If you want to distribute the design as an open source
			product it is very important to have the builder and the end user sign a
			legally binding agreement exonerating the designers of the open source
			system for any product liability. However, this still leaves open the issue
			of third party injury that cannot be exonerated contractually between the
			(open source) designer, the producer and the end user. The question of
			whether the open source designer is considered to be a producer remains open
			to debate. I am willing to look into that if you wish.

			Please note that these are general remarks about insurance, certification
			and product liability and that they are not detailed enough to go on. Once
			OSE Italy has a clearer question that concerns not only Italy but other
			European countries as well I may be of assistance to you.

			Finally a word of caution:
			Using open source, uncertified and/or uninsured machinery makes it necessary
			that every single user of this machinery will sign a document waiving all
			rights to damage from product liability. Even if such a waiver is signed
			however, this remains a legal field with all kinds of nooks and crannies and
			the consequences of injury may differ from case to case and from country to
			country. The easiest way to avoid these issues is to make sure the machines
			are only operated by the people who actually built them... The operator
			should also make sure that all other people - "third parties" - stay well
			away from the machinery in order to avoid injury. Confining the use of the
			tools to the builders only is, unfortunately, very impractical given the
			goals and ideals of OSE so you will have to research and develop the legal
			tools necessary in each separate country.

Nikolayhg: Created page with "Machinery Directive are safety guidelines for machines. They are especially important for the countries in the European union. More info: * [http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richtl..."

2012-01-16T20:06:05Z

Created page with "Machinery Directive are safety guidelines for machines. They are especially important for the countries in the European union. More info: * [http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richtl..."

New page

Machinery Directive are safety guidelines for machines.

They are especially important for the countries in the European union.

More info:
* [http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richtlinie_2006/42/EG_%28Maschinenrichtlinie%29 German Wikipedia Richtlinie 2006/42/EG (Maschinenrichtlinie)] , [http://www.safetyreport.tv/ videos].
* [http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direttiva_Macchine Italian Wikipedia - Direttiva Macchine]

[[OSE Europe]] is looking for Engineers who can certify the OSE machines within Europe. Please connect with us: http://oseeurope.org/contact/

Machinery Directive - Revision history

Nikolayhg at 18:02, 17 January 2012

Nikolayhg: Created page with "Machinery Directive are safety guidelines for machines. They are especially important for the countries in the European union. More info: * [http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richtl..."