(31) In principle, in the case of goods with digital elements whereby the digital_content or digital_service incorporated in or inter-connected with the goods is supplied through a single act of supply, the seller should only be liable for a lack of conformity that exists at the time of delivery.
However, the obligation to provide updates should reflect the fact that the digital environment of any such good constantly changes.
Therefore, updates are a necessary tool in order to ensure that the goods are able to function in the same way that they did at the time of delivery.
Furthermore, in contrast to traditional goods, goods with digital elements are not completely separate from the seller's sphere because the seller, or a third person supplying the digital_content or digital_service under the sales_contract, is able to update the goods from a distance, usually over the internet.
Therefore, if the digital_content or digital_service is supplied by a single act of supply, the seller should be liable to provide the updates necessary to keep the goods with digital elements in conformity for a period of time that the consumer can reasonably expect, even if the goods were in conformity at the time of delivery.
The period of time during which the consumer can reasonably expect to receive updates should be assessed based on the type and purpose of the goods and the digital elements, and taking into account the circumstances and nature of the sales_contract.
A consumer would normally expect to receive updates for at least as long as the period during which the seller is liable for a lack of conformity, while in some cases the consumer's reasonable expectation could extend beyond that period, as might be the case particularly with regard to security updates.
In other cases, for instance as regards goods with digital elements the purpose of which is limited in time, the seller's obligation to provide updates would normally be limited to that time.
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(42) For reasons of coherence with the existing national legal systems, Member States should be free to provide either that sellers are liable for a lack of conformity that becomes apparent within a specific period of time, possibly coupled with a limitation period, or that consumers' remedies are only subject to a limitation period.
In the former case, Member States should ensure that the period for the seller's liability is not circumvented by the limitation period for the consumer's remedies.
While this Directive should, therefore, not harmonise the starting point of national limitation periods, it should ensure that such limitation periods do not curtail the consumers' right to exercise their remedies for any lack of conformity which becomes apparent in the period during which the seller is liable for a lack of conformity.
In the latter case, Member States should be able to maintain or introduce only a limitation period for the consumer's remedies, without introducing a specific period within which the lack of conformity has to become apparent in order for the seller to be liable.
In order to ensure that consumers are equally protected also in such cases, Member States should ensure that where only a limitation period applies, it should still allow consumers to exercise the remedies for any lack of conformity that becomes apparent at least during the period of time provided for in this Directive as a liability period.
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