Legal checklist for EU market entry for digital companies

Your legal checklist before selling in Europe

Expanding a digital company to the European market requires legal planning. We have compiled this checklist based on our experience advising US, LATAM, UK, and Israeli companies on their EU market entry. Not all points apply to every company, but this list will help you identify your specific obligations.

Intellectual property

• EU trademark prior art search — Verify your brand does not conflict with existing registered trademarks at EUIPO
• European trademark registration — EUIPO application covering all 27 member states
• Patentability assessment — Whether your core technology is patentable in Europe (technical effect criterion)
• Open source licence audit — Complete inventory of dependencies and licence compatibility
• IP assignment contracts — Verify all developers have assigned rights over the code
• Trade secret protection — NDAs, access controls, and documented policies

Data protection (GDPR)

• Data mapping — Identify what personal data of Europeans you process and for what purpose
• Legal basis — Determine the legal basis for each processing activity (consent, legitimate interest, contract)
• Art. 27 representative — Appoint EU representative if you have no EEA establishment
• Privacy policy — Adapt to GDPR with information on international transfers
• Standard DPA — Prepare Data Processing Agreement for European clients
• Transfer mechanism — Implement SCCs + TIA for transfers outside the EEA
• Rights procedure — Flow for responding to access, rectification, erasure requests
• Breach response plan — 72-hour notification procedure
• Processing record — Document all data processing activities

AI Act (if your product incorporates AI)

• Risk classification — Determine your AI system’s category (minimal, limited, high)
• Transparency obligations — Inform users when they interact with AI (limited risk)
• Technical documentation — Prepare documentation required by risk level
• Risk management system — Implement for high-risk systems
• Authorised representative — Appoint AI Act representative in the EU if you are a non-EU provider
• Copyright policy — Document copyright compliance for training data

Contracts and legal terms

• EU terms of service — Adapt to European consumer law and e-commerce contracting
• Withdrawal right — Implement 14-day period for B2C sales
• Pre-contractual information — Comply with E-Commerce Directive requirements
• Jurisdiction and applicable law — Define clauses compatible with European regulation
• Compliant SLAs — Service Level Agreements meeting European standards

Digital taxation

• VAT assessment — Determine whether you need to charge European VAT
• OSS registration — For B2C digital service sales in the EU
• Invoicing system — Adapt to issue invoices with European VAT
• Geolocation — Implement client location verification mechanism
• Double taxation treaties — Verify whether your country has DTTs with EU states

Legal structure

• Subsidiary need assessment — Determine whether remote operation is viable or you need a local entity
• EU legal representative — Appoint for proceedings before European authorities
• Liability insurance — Evaluate need for professional liability insurance for the EU
• Sectoral compliance — Verify whether your sector requires specific licences or authorisations

Recommended prioritisation

Before selling (critical):

1. EU trademark registration
2. GDPR privacy policy
3. Art. 27 representative
4. Adapted terms of service

First 3 months: 5. Standard DPA 6. AI Act assessment 7. OSS registration (if B2C) 8. Open source audit

First 6 months: 9. Patentability assessment 10. Breach response plan 11. AI Act technical documentation 12. Legal structure evaluation

This checklist is a starting point. Every company has particularities requiring specific analysis. At A2 we conduct personalised assessments for digital companies wanting to enter the European market. Request your assessment.