Warranty

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In law, a warranty is an expressed or implied promise or assurance of some kind. The term's meaning varies across legal subjects.^[1] In property law, it refers to a covenant by the grantor of a deed.^[2] In insurance law, it refers to a promise by the purchaser of an insurance about the thing or person to be insured.^[3]

In contract law, a warranty is a contractual assurance given, typically, by a seller to a buyer,^[4] for example confirming that the seller is the owner of the property being sold.^[5] A warranty is a term of a contract, but not usually a condition of the contract or an innominate term, meaning that it is a term "not going to the root of the contract",^[6] and therefore only entitles the innocent party to damages if it is breached,^[6] i.e. if the warranty is not true or the defaulting party does not perform the contract in accordance with the terms of the warranty. A warranty is not a guarantee: it is a mere promise. It may be enforced if it is breached by an award for the legal remedy of damages.

Depending on the terms of the contract, a product warranty may cover a product such that a manufacturer provides a warranty to a consumer with whom the manufacturer has no direct contractual relationship because it is purchased via an intermediary.

A warranty may be express or implied. An express warranty is expressly stated (typically, written); whether or not a term will be implied into a contract depends on the particular contract law of the country in question. Warranties may also state that a particular fact is true at a point in time, or that the fact will continue into the future (a "continuing warranty").