The Limits of Software Liability Essay -- Legal Business Technology

"Faulty software can cost lives, cause injury, or economic damage. Write an essay to investigate the question, under which circumstances a software company should be liable for the damage caused. Use an example where software failures are potentially dangerous, such as that of the Prius's brake software. Discuss the difference between strict and negligent liability and comment on the social and economic impact stricter liability practices for software could have." It is remarkable, that nowadays, we have complex software systems everywhere. We have them in our dishwashers, and in our wristwatches, though they are not quite so mission-critical. But sometimes, the human factor can be devastating, because of the negligence or the strict liability who dominates, and often devastating implications not only for the man himself, but can affect the whole economy of a country, succeeding or at least trying to succeed, ignoring the institutions, rules and contract. A highly representative example of the failure of human factors in an attempt to â€Å"progress† with the help of a software, is Ariane 5 explosion, that was the cause of a huge economic gap. It took the European Space Agency 10 years and $7 billion to produce Ariane 5, a giant rocket capable of hurling a pair of three-ton satellites into orbit with each launch. It intended to give Europe overwhelming supremacy in the commercial space business. There was no risk of lightning since the strength of the electric field in the spray was negligible. Perhaps, one problem, leading the explosion, was the visibility. The countdown, which also comprises the filling of the core stage, went smoothly until the first seven minutes when the launch was put on hold since the visibility criteria ... ... at what determines the law and contracts, addressing scientists. Lastly, let us continue our efforts to improve our world, even with technological wonders. Works Cited ARIANE 5 / Flight 501 Failure / Prof. J. L. LIONS / Paris, 19 July 1996 http://sspg1.bnsc.rl.ac.uk/Share/ISTP/ariane5r.htm A Bug and a Crash / by James Gleick http://www.around.com/ariane.html Hardware and Software Liability / by Tim Tompkins / 6 December 2000 http://www.cs.rpi.edu/academics/courses/fall00/ethics/papers/tompkt.html Software liability laws: a dangerous solution / Chase Venters / September 5, 2007 http://lwn.net/Articles/247933/ SOFTWARE LIABILITY / Cem Kaner, J.D., Ph.D. / 1997 http://www.badsoftware.com/theories.htm ARIANE 5 / Flight 501 Failure / Prof. J. L. LIONS / Paris, 19 July 1996 http://sunnyday.mit.edu/accidents/Ariane5accidentreport.html