Your customer seems to want to gain all the kudos of
being the manufacturer without incuring any of the liabilities
that this involves. There are limits to which this can be done
I can give some guidance on UK law in this respect and I
suspect other EU countries will have similar requirements.
It is a requirement of the Electrical Equipment (Safety)
Regulations 1994 (SI 1994 No. 3260) that equipment must
be marked with the manufacturer's brand name or trade mark
where possible and on the packaging where not (Schedule 3. 1(b))
Thus if your customer is going to put their brand and not
yours on the equipment, they are declaring themselves to be
the manufacturers of the equipment and must bear the
liability that that entails. CE marking must be applied and the
declaration issued by the manufacturer or his authorised
representitive establised in the commuity in respect of the EMC
directive (SI 1992 No.2373 regulation 30(c) and 30(d) and from
next year for the Low Voltage Directive (SI 1994 No. 3260
regulation 9 and 10. This declaration must have the name and
address of the manufacturer and the identity of the person
signing the declaration as, or on behalf, of the manufacturer or
their authorised representitive in the community. This declaration
must be keep in the community at the disposal of the authorities.
The manufacturer as a body corporate and the signatory personally
are liable for the validity of the declaration. They can use third party
information (e.g yours) as the basis for this declaration but the
must take all reasonable steps to ensure this is valid. They cannot
just pass on your assurance, unchecked and evade responsibility.
Nick Rouse
