ABSTRACT
In the terminology of the automobile industry, Alpha Device Corporation is a “tier 1”tier 1 supplier to an original equipment manufacturer (OEM), OEM the company that actually makes the cars. Beta Component Incorporated (BCI) makes software components to be used by companies such as Alpha Device Corporation (ADC) in mission- and safety-critical applications. To make the discussion concrete, we will assume that BCI is to supply ADC with an operating system and is aware that the sale depends upon achieving an International Organization for Standards 26262 certification for it. By buying a certified component, ADC is not reducing its liability — the standards make it clear that the device manufacturer takes responsibility for all the components that make up the device, whether developed in-house or bought from a supplier.
