Which criteria should the manufacturer take into account when determining a product’s support period?

Manufacturers shall determine the support period so that it reflects the length of time during which the product is expected to be in use, taking into account, in particular, reasonable user expectations, the nature of the product, including its intended purpose, as well as relevant Union law determining the lifetime of products with digital elements. When determining the support period, manufacturers may also take into account the support periods of products with digital elements offering a similar functionality placed on the market by other manufacturers, the availability of the operating environment, the support periods of integrated components that provide core functions and are sourced from third parties as well as relevant guidance provided by the dedicated administrative cooperation group (ADCO) established pursuant to Article 52(15) and the Commission. The matters to be taken into account in order to determine the support period shall be considered in a manner that ensures proportionality (Article 13(8), second subparagraph).

Manufacturers are required to determine the support period so that it reflects the length of time during which it is expected to be in use, taking into account, in particular:

• reasonable user expectations;
• the nature of the product, including its intended purpose;
• other Union law determining the lifetime of products with digital elements.

Other relevant factors that manufacturers may take into account include:

• the support period of similar products placed on the market by other manufactures;
• the availability of the operating environment;
• the support period of third-party integrated components providing core functions;
• relevant guidance provided by the CRA ADCO.

All these factors should be taken into account in a manner that ensures proportionality in the determination of the support period.

Therefore, manufacturers are not expected to simply set support periods that correspond to the expected use time (unless the expected use time is less than five years, as discussed in entry 4.5.2 Is there a minimum support period?).

In accordance with Article 13(8), a manufacturer should include in its technical documentation the information that was taken into account to determine the support period of a product with digital elements.