Welcome to Mason Hayes & Curran LLP’s Product & Consumer Protection Mid-Year Review 2021.

In the six months since publication of our 2020 Annual Review, there has been continued growth in the consumer products industry. We review these key developments.

The EU product and consumer protection law landscape has evolved into what is now a highly regulated sector. Throughout the first half of 2021 in particular, the products industry has seen increased focus on the right to repair, the coming into force of the Market Surveillance Regulation (MSR) on 16 July 2021, a focus on strengthening consumer protection against practices like greenwashing and the proposed reform and replacement of the General Product Safety Directive. We consider these issues amongst others.

We will also deep dive into key issues such as:

• The regulatory issues associated with home fitness products

• Collective redress and the EU Directive on Representative Actions

• A recent judgment of the CJEU on the liability of online platforms for copyright-infringing user content

• Litigation privilege and the disclosure of internal reports in product liability claims, and

• The Consumer Rights Bill 2021 – a landmark reform for Irish Consumer Law