Acting together binds us. Law gives that bond a form everyone can rely on. In this sense, law is understood here as the constitution of cooperation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Law enables<\/strong> cooperation by providing contracts, legal forms and procedures for agreeing and organising joint work. It protects<\/strong> those involved: their trust, their contributions and their rights in what they create together. It resolves conflicts<\/strong>, first through the duty to talk to one another and, as a last resort, through the courts. And it limits<\/strong> cooperation where it harms third parties, for example through competition law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Behind this lies an idea that Hegel worked out: that law is not first of all a restriction on freedom but its existence in the world (Groundlines \u00a7 29<\/a>). One need not accept Hegel’s system to find this idea useful in practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cooperation takes many shapes. It may grow out of a lasting exchange or be conceived as a joint undertaking from the start, be more egalitarian or more hierarchical, focus on the process or on the result, pursue profit or non-commercial aims. It can even unite parties with opposing goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There is therefore no single statute on cooperation. The law of cooperation draws on parts of many fields: the law of obligations, company law, employment law, copyright and intellectual property, data protection, unfair competition and antitrust law, tax law and procedural law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The legal form of a cooperation is not fixed once and for all. A contract that fitted at the start may be too narrow two years later. A loose initiative may turn into a partnership without anyone noticing, and then everyone involved is personally liable for its debts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The pages in this section apply to every cooperation, on site and online. Each has an “Online” section showing what changes when the work moves wholly or partly online.<\/p>\n\n\n\nA cross-cutting field<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The form changes with the cooperation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The pages<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Foundations<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Contracts<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Legal forms<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Cooperation within a company<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Decisions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Across borders<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Data and rights<\/h3>\n\n\n\n