On 21.04.2021, the European Commission’s proposal for a Machinery Regulation (Machinery Regulation) was published, which was adopted by the Council of the European Union on 22.05.2023 and published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 29.06.223. The new Machinery Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 with its new regulatory régime has now been in force since 19.07.2023. The stricter legal regulations, which are found in more and more legal areas due to the increasing digitalisation and networking of products in the Internet of Things (IoT) or through smart applications, should not be a “stumbling block” for the European economy. The aim of European legislators is therefore to create competitive conditions that ensure international competitiveness and, at the same time, a high level of safety and protection for users of machinery and third parties, while promoting consumer and user confidence in digital innovative technologies. In addition, specific objectives of the revision are to address risks arising from the application of new technologies, AI in particular. Legal clarity is to be increased with regard to the scope of the Regulation, definitions and terminology through the long-overdue alignment with the NLF and the establishment of coherence with other legal acts. At the same time, the economic and business burdens on economic actors are to be cushioned by enabling digital documentation.
In this white paper, Saskia Wittbrodt and Karin Potel present the fundamental changes to the Machinery Regulation and outline their impact on the integration of software and AI systems in machinery as well as the legal framework for digital instructions for use.
You can download the full whitepaper here.
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