Since the early days of the COVID-19 crisis in the U.S., it has been a recurring theme to turn on the news and see that yet another big-name retailer is rumored to be on the brink of filing, or has already filed, for bankruptcy.

According to Michael E. Porter, “Every firm is a collection of activities that are performed to design, produce, market, deliver, and support its product” (value activities). These consume resources and are linked together in processes.

We observe a trend to extensive (over-)regulation of corporate activity, increased application and enforcement of legal provisions as well as fines for compliance violations, some of which threaten the very existence of companies. As a result of these trends, legal issues are becoming a key concern for the management of companies. Due to the ever-increasing regulatory reach, companies and their management are confronted with a creeping juridification of business decisions, organisation and processes. The associated problems for companies are multifaceted and complex.

In recent years, the number of hotels in Portugal that indicate on their websites, or on booking websites, that children are prohibited, is increasing. They promise little paradises to take a vacation, where you would not hear screaming children, whimpers and tantrums.

If you are not traveling with children, it looks perfect. If you are traveling with children, it is a reason to be jealous or mad because you can't stay in that hotel.

However, is it legal?

More and more companies use patents to keep a distance from competitors or to open up common markets by cross licensing. This raises both legal and practical questions, which patent law expert Christoph Jonas sheds light on exclusively for Digitorney.

Mr. Jonas, if we look around the “Light + Building” fair, we find LED again and again – a market, in which you have been working as a legal advisor for many years. What is the greatest future potential in this industry?