{"id":3113,"date":"2026-09-28T11:04:29","date_gmt":"2026-09-28T09:04:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bauer.legal\/doing-business-in-germany\/"},"modified":"2026-09-28T12:59:49","modified_gmt":"2026-09-28T10:59:49","slug":"doing-business-in-germany","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/bauer.legal\/en\/doing-business-in-germany\/","title":{"rendered":"Doing business in Germany"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Know the rules of the game.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify wp-block-paragraph\">Germany is one of the most attractive markets in Europe, and one of the most regulated. Some of its rules have no direct equivalent elsewhere and regularly catch foreign companies by surprise, often at the moment a first letter from a German lawyer arrives. This page gives an overview of the points I see most often in practice. You can write to me in English.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"font-size:1.5rem\">What regularly surprises foreign companies<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Competitors enforce the law themselves.<\/strong> In Germany, competitors and certain associations can send a formal cease-and-desist letter (Abmahnung) for breaches of consumer protection or advertising rules \u2013 for example a missing imprint, incorrect price information or misleading claims. The letter usually sets a short deadline, demands a declaration with a contractual penalty and asks you to pay the other side\u2019s legal fees. See <a href=\"https:\/\/bauer.legal\/en\/competition-law\/\">Unfair competition law<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n<li><strong>Websites need an imprint.<\/strong> Commercial websites and social media profiles aimed at Germany must name the provider with a full postal address, contact details, the commercial register and VAT number where applicable (Impressum). Missing or incomplete information is a classic reason for a cease-and-desist letter.<\/li>\n\n\n<li><strong>Standard terms are strictly reviewed.<\/strong> German courts review standard business terms (AGB) closely, and not only in consumer contracts: clauses that are common in other countries, such as broad limitations of liability, can also be invalid between businesses. Where both sides refer to their own terms, the result is often unclear.<\/li>\n\n\n<li><strong>Goods must be inspected at once.<\/strong> Between merchants, the buyer must inspect goods without undue delay and give notice of defects immediately. If the notice comes too late, warranty claims can be lost.<\/li>\n\n\n<li><strong>Dismissals follow strict rules.<\/strong> In businesses with more than ten employees, employees enjoy general protection against dismissal after six months. A dismissal must be in writing with a handwritten signature \u2013 e-mail is not enough \u2013 and a works council, if there is one, must be consulted beforehand.<\/li>\n\n\n<li><strong>Court payment orders move fast.<\/strong> A creditor can obtain a court payment order (Mahnbescheid) without the court examining the claim. You have two weeks to object; otherwise an enforceable title can follow quickly.<\/li>\n\n\n<li><strong>Data protection is enforced by authorities, competitors and individuals.<\/strong> Besides supervisory authorities, individuals claim access and damages under the GDPR, and in some cases competitors take action as well.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"font-size:1.5rem\">Glossary<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify wp-block-paragraph\">German legal terms you are likely to come across:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Abmahnung<\/strong> \u2013 formal cease-and-desist letter, usually with a deadline and a demand for costs; in employment law also a formal warning to an employee.<\/li>\n\n\n<li><strong>Unterlassungserkl\u00e4rung<\/strong> \u2013 declaration to cease and desist, usually combined with a promise to pay a contractual penalty (Vertragsstrafe) for each future infringement.<\/li>\n\n\n<li><strong>Einstweilige Verf\u00fcgung<\/strong> \u2013 preliminary injunction, often obtained within days.<\/li>\n\n\n<li><strong>Schutzschrift<\/strong> \u2013 protective letter filed in advance with a central register so that a court hears your side before issuing a preliminary injunction.<\/li>\n\n\n<li><strong>Mahnbescheid \/ Mahnverfahren<\/strong> \u2013 court payment order \/ summary debt collection procedure.<\/li>\n\n\n<li><strong>Impressum<\/strong> \u2013 mandatory provider information on websites.<\/li>\n\n\n<li><strong>AGB (Allgemeine Gesch\u00e4ftsbedingungen)<\/strong> \u2013 standard business terms.<\/li>\n\n\n<li><strong>Gew\u00e4hrleistung \/ Garantie<\/strong> \u2013 statutory warranty for defects \/ voluntary guarantee.<\/li>\n\n\n<li><strong>K\u00fcndigungsschutzklage<\/strong> \u2013 action against a dismissal, to be filed within three weeks.<\/li>\n\n\n<li><strong>Betriebsrat<\/strong> \u2013 works council with co-determination rights.<\/li>\n\n\n<li><strong>GmbH \/ UG (haftungsbeschr\u00e4nkt)<\/strong> \u2013 limited liability company \/ its low-capital variant.<\/li>\n\n\n<li><strong>Handelsregister<\/strong> \u2013 commercial register.<\/li>\n\n\n<li><strong>Rechtsanwalt<\/strong> \u2013 German lawyer, admitted to a regional bar.<\/li>\n\n\n<li><strong>Fachanwalt<\/strong> \u2013 officially certified specialist lawyer, a title granted by the bar after proof of special knowledge and practical experience.<\/li>\n\n\n<li><strong>RVG<\/strong> \u2013 the German statutory fee scale for lawyers, based on the value of the matter.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"font-size:1.5rem\">How I can help<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify wp-block-paragraph\">I advise and represent companies from abroad that sell to customers in Germany, work with German partners or employ staff here \u2013 in English or German, by phone or video conference. More on my work in <a href=\"https:\/\/bauer.legal\/en\/information-technology-law-it-law\/\">IT law<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/bauer.legal\/en\/intellectual-property\/\">intellectual property<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/bauer.legal\/en\/general-civil-and-commercial-law\/\">civil and commercial law<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/bauer.legal\/en\/company-law\/\">company law<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/bauer.legal\/en\/labor-law\/\">employment law<\/a>. If a deadline is running, please <a href=\"https:\/\/bauer.legal\/en\/contact\/\">get in touch<\/a> as early as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify has-extra-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">This page contains general information on German law and is not legal advice for an individual case.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Know the rules of the game. Germany is one of the most attractive markets in Europe, and one of the most regulated. Some of its rules have no direct equivalent elsewhere and regularly catch foreign companies by surprise, often at the moment a first letter from a German lawyer arrives. This page gives an overview&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/bauer.legal\/en\/doing-business-in-germany\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Doing business in Germany<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_editorskit_title_hidden":false,"_editorskit_reading_time":0,"_editorskit_is_block_options_detached":false,"_editorskit_block_options_position":"{}","footnotes":"","_genesis_title":"Doing Business in Germany: Legal Pitfalls and Glossary","_genesis_description":"What surprises foreign companies in Germany: cease-and-desist letters, imprint duty, strict review of T&Cs, dismissal rules, court payment orders \u2013 with a glossary of German legal terms.","_tsf_title_no_blogname":0,"_genesis_noindex":0},"class_list":["post-3113","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bauer.legal\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3113","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bauer.legal\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bauer.legal\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bauer.legal\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bauer.legal\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3113"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bauer.legal\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3113\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3215,"href":"https:\/\/bauer.legal\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3113\/revisions\/3215"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bauer.legal\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3113"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}