Software, including AI systems, is to become a “product”: a Czech Civil Code amendment heads to parliament
On 17 August 2026 the Czech government approved an amendment to the Civil Code, which it submitted to the Chamber of Deputies on 3 September 2026 as parliamentary print 295/0. The amendment implements Directive (EU) 2024/2853 on liability for defective products, which replaces the 1985 regime, and reshapes producer liability for damage from the ground up. It is to take effect on 9 December 2026.
The key change is the new definition of a product in Section 2940: alongside movable things, raw materials and electricity, a product now also means software and the digital version or template of a movable thing. The Act itself does not mention artificial intelligence, but AI systems fall within the definition as software – and the amendment reckons with their nature in several places. In assessing whether a product is defective, Section 2941(2)(c) requires account to be taken of “the effect of any ability to continue to learn, or to acquire new features, on the product after it has been placed on the market or put into service”; under letter (f), cybersecurity requirements are also considered.
The amendment also extends liability beyond the moment of placing on the market. Under Section 2940a(2), a producer's control includes being able to carry out software updates or upgrades itself or through a third party. Under Section 2942(4), a producer may then not escape liability by arguing that the defect did not exist when the product was placed on the market, where it was caused by a related service, by software including its update, by an inadequate security update, or by a substantial modification of the product.
Injured parties are to be relieved of part of the burden of proof. Under the new Section 2941a(3), a product is presumed defective, or the defect is presumed to have caused the damage, where the injured party faces “excessive difficulties” in proving it, “in particular because of technical or scientific complexity”, and demonstrates that it is likely. A defect is also presumed where the liable person unlawfully fails to disclose evidence. Liability newly extends to importers, authorised representatives, distributors and, under the conditions of the Digital Services Act, to providers of online platforms; it does not apply to free and open-source software developed or supplied outside the course of a commercial activity.