Importance of start-up law for our legal systems

Abstract

This chapter seeks to define and delineate in functional terms the subject matter of this book: a start-up and start-up law. It aims to provide a workable concept of a ‘start-up’ that transcends national boundaries. A start-up as a term is a comparatively recent phenomenon that has emerged in the late twentieth century and has been used more frequently over the past number of years. Its rise is linked with the development of technology and globalization. Despite a growing interest in the subject of start-up law, most lawyers and scholars approach start-ups as any other early-stage company with preconceptions formed by their own domestic company law experience. This can be ambiguous as start-ups as such are very specific types of entities that are not only determined by the period of their existence, but also by their growth acceleration, need for capital and intellectual property (IP) protection as well as agile decision-making processes. Thus, start-ups represent a unique type of an entity that shall be considered in its complexity.