2021 TSMA

39 The above represents only a facet of the corona-related topics I have been and am still con- fronted with right now. Yet, it is also very encouraging and promising to observe that other cli- ents of mine continue to pursue long-term distribution projects in spite of the current crisis, or have given green light to improve the quality of their contractual arrangements with suppliers and wholesale/retail customers. Another preliminary lesson I have learned is that commercial operators all over the world - regardless of whether they are suppliers, manufacturers (brands) or retailers - are dependent upon each other, and this is even true for end consumers. Without their willingness – or in many cases just their continuing financial ability - to spend money on pur- chases of sporting goods, the corresponding substantial lack of demand cannot be overcome by the commercial operators involved. May we all hopefully see pretty soon light at the end of the tunnel in terms of the availability of a vaccine, which provenly works, is free of major side effects and will then bring us back to the real normal, whereas the times of the ‘new normal’ will then become history. May you all stay in good health and safe in these quite turbulent times. About the author: Dr. Jochen M. Schaefer is a German practicing attorney based in the Munich area. Since nu- merous years he represents both the World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry (WFSGI) and the European Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry (FESI) as their Legal Counsel while he is also chairing the WFSGI’s Legal Committee and co-chairing FESI’S digital working group. At individual client level he represents brands within and beyond the sporting goods sector, in- cluding e.g. a well-known Taiwanese bicycle brand. He is a specialist in national and internation- al distribution topics, intellectual property (IP) and risk management issues and in the drafting and negotiation of comprehensive contracts at operational level. In case of any questions about this article (and in general) he can be reached at sj@sjlegal.de and on his cell phone at +49-151- (0)16407932.