Law of Germany

Module 6

Business, consumer, competition and employment law: merchants, companies, insolvency, consumers, cartels, intellectual property and the law of work

German business law is spread across the Commercial Code (HGB), the statutes on companies (GmbHG and AktG), the Insolvency Code, the competition and unfair-competition statutes, the intellectual property statutes and a body of **labour law** that is mostly written in specialised statutes and developed by the Federal Labour Court. A common feature is the **social market economy**: the law protects competition, but also protects employees, consumers and the weaker contracting party with mandatory rules, and builds employee participation into the structure of companies. This module follows a business from its formation to its possible failure, then its dealings with consumers, competitors, creators and employees.

General education on German law, using invented people and businesses. It states constitutional provisions, codes and landmark decisions in simplified form, and it is not legal advice. The law changes and every case turns on its facts. Consult a lawyer qualified in Germany for any real matter.