Germany and the EU in general is a civil law system (the UK and Ireland being exceptions). Suing a company for simple failure is not as easy as it might be in t

Germany and the EU in general is a civil law system (the UK and Ireland being exceptions). Suing a company for simple failure is not as easy as it might be in the US (though I doubt that's very common even in the notoriously litigious US legal system). Misusing client data is a criminal offence under European data protection laws. Doing so not only makes you liable for damages no matter if you're a sole proprietor or 'merely' a managing director of an Ltd-style company but it can also land you in jail. Finally, there are no software patents in the EU so if you run a software startup you're fine in that respect.