Blog

A hidden shard of broken glass causes trouble rather than a caffeine buzz – yet the Frankenthal (Pfalz) Regional Court remains level-headed. What business owners really need to check – and where liability ends.

The scope of protection of a registered EU design may be extremely limited if the visual features of the protected product are largely dictated by its technical function. In a preliminary ruling on this matter, the Higher Regional Court of Nuremberg provides several practical indicators...

In a recent ruling on a reference for a preliminary ruling concerning the Portuguese football league, the ECJ has now, for the first time, set out fundamental guidelines for the assessment under competition law of non-solicitation agreements.

At the end of 2025, the legislature fundamentally reformed the Carbon Dioxide Storage Act and developed it into the Act on the Permanent Storage and Transport of Carbon Dioxide.

In practice, when shares in owner-managed limited liability companies (GmbHs) are sold, it is common for payments to be agreed in return for the selling shareholder continuing to act as managing director. This can make good business sense...

Within the space of a few weeks, two of the world’s leading AI companies have unveiled models specifically designed for use in cyber security: Anthropic, with its Claude Mythos Preview as part of Project Glasswing, and OpenAI, with GPT-5.5-Cyber.

With the entry into force of the Public Procurement Acceleration Act on 1 July 2026, competition law relating to public procurement will finally be amended once again after around 10 years – since the Public Procurement Modernisation Act 2016 came into force.

The world’s largest arbitral institution, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), has revised its Rules of Arbitration with effect from 1 June 2026.

In 2025 and 2026, the Federal Court of Justice and several Higher Regional Courts ruled on the limits of permissible gratuities and promotional gifts in the pharmaceutical sector. Three issues were central to these ruling.

On 15 June 2026, new sanctions against Russia were published, apparently as an anticipated part of the 21st sanctions package, and existing EU Regulations were amended accordingly.

Berlin has had a new qualified rent index since 28 May 2026. It significantly alters the legal and economic scope for rent increases and new tenancies

With the REACH restriction on intentionally added synthetic polymer microparticles (SPM), a new regulatory instrument has been in force since October 2023 that extends far beyond a mere prohibition on placing on the market.

The draft bill on the GModG provides for far-reaching changes to the property sector. Here is an overview of the key changes affecting existing and new-build properties.

The Federal Court of Justice has clarified the scope of the reversal of the burden of proof in a manner that is clearly favourable to consumers.

The EU Forced Labour Regulation is increasingly moving towards the practical implementation phase: the new Implementing Regulation clarifies technical and administrative questions.

In the early hours of 20 May 2026, representatives of the European Parliament and EU Member States reached agreement in Strasbourg on the implementation of the trade deal with the United States.

Die neue gesetzliche Regelung zum „Failure to Prevent Fraud“ im Vereinigten Königreich sorgt derzeit für viel Aufmerksamkeit. Sie geht auf den Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 zurück und trat am 1. September 2025 in Kraft.

The debate about a levy on sugar-sweetened beverages is not new, but it has gained considerable momentum in recent weeks. The Federal Government has now decided that it intends to introduce such a levy from 1 January 2028.

The regulatory process for the planned EU-wide restriction of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) has reached another important milestone.

On 1 May 2026, US President Trump announced on his Truth Social platform that he would be raising import tariffs on cars and lorries from the European Union from 15 to 25 per cent. The measure is set to come into force later this week.

On 13 April 2026, the German government announced its intention to temporarily ease the financial burden on petrol stations by temporarily reducing the energy tax on fuels.

The European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) has published a comprehensive methodology for determining the data requirements for the Digital Product Passport (DPP) under the Ecodesign Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 (Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation – ESPR).

An accommodation contract generally requires that the offer also includes details of the price of the accommodation, unless this was communicated to the enquirer in advance or was otherwise known to them.

In its judgment of 24 February 2026, the Federal Court of Justice clarified that the right of access under data protection law pursuant to Article 15 of the GDPR remains with the data subject in the event of the purchase of a claim and does not pass to the purchaser as a subsidiary right by analogy with Section 401 of the German Civil…

The Act implementing the EU Renewable Energy Directive in the areas of offshore wind energy and electricity grids marks the first time that a key mechanism for accelerating progress under the revised Renewable Energy Directive has been transposed into German law: the designation of infrastructure areas for grid projects.

With a package of regulations that has recently come into force, the European Commission has revised the EU legal framework for state aid in sustainable land transport.

The Federal Administrative Court has, for the first time, examined the requirements of Section 2(1) of the Animal Welfare Act (TierSchG) regarding the rearing of fattening turkeys.

Further sanctions against, amongst others, the shipping and energy sectors, expanded transaction bans and export bans, now also extending to the Kyrgyz Republic.

As a prerequisite for the recognition of a tax group for income tax purposes, Section 14(1), first sentence, No. 3, first sentence of the Corporation Tax Act (KStG) requires that the profit transfer agreement (GAV) be concluded for a period of at least five years and be (effectively) implemented throughout its entire term.

The Federal Court of Justice has relaxed the requirements for the validity of so-called exit clauses, thereby providing greater scope for the incentive structure based on equity participation that is popular with private equity investors.