Protected Shops

What Protected Shops does

Protected Shops GmbH is a Munich-based private limited company founded in 2009 that provides automated legal text generation and compliance services for e-commerce merchants. The company serves over 9,000 online shops across Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, and the United Kingdom, helping them produce legally compliant terms and conditions (AGB), privacy policies, cancellation notices, and imprint pages through a Yes/No questionnaire that generates documents from over 300 billion possible text combinations in approximately 15 minutes. The platform addresses the high cost of German cease-and-desist letters (Abmahnungen) and the complexity of frequently changing consumer protection law for small and medium-sized merchants who lack specialized legal resources.

The core technology is a proprietary questionnaire-based configuration engine producing lawyer-reviewed legal documents with liability assumption coverage included in subscription packages. The AGB Connect interface system enables automated integration and continuous updates across more than 20 shop systems including Shopware, Gambio, JTL-Shop, PrestaShop, WooCommerce, xt:Commerce, and modified eCommerce. Adjacent offerings include a GDPR/DSGVO assistant generating processing activity registers, a free Impressum generator, marketplace-specific legal text packages (Amazon, eBay, Hood, Etsy), and an emergency consultation service for cease-and-desist letters through partner law firm Kanzlei Dr. Schenk. The company holds TÜV SÜD certification as a quality and compliance marker.

Revenue is generated through recurring subscription tiers: Standard packages at €9.90-€28.90 per month per shop and Premium packages at €29.90-€48.90 per month per shop, scaling by the number of shops/marketplaces covered. Distribution is primarily self-service through the company's website, supplemented by a partner network of over 50 e-commerce technology and service providers including Shopware (18,000+ customers), JTL-Software, Gambio, PrestaShop, Idealö, and Actindo. The company is led by Managing Director Markus Kluge and operates as a founder/management-owned private entity with no disclosed institutional investors or external funding.

Name

Protected Shops

Legal name

Protected Shops GmbH

Website

https://protectedshops.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Protected Shops GmbH is a Munich-based provider of automated legal text generation and compliance services for e-commerce merchants, serving over 9,000 online shops across five European countries with questionnaire-based AGB, privacy, and GDPR documents.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Munich

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Subscription-Based Protection Packages: Monthly or annual subscription tiers (Standard and Premium) providing legal documents, liability coverage, and automatic updates. Pricing scales by number of shops/marketplaces covered.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Protected Shops runs a self-service SaaS platform that turns a short Yes/No questionnaire about an online shop's business model into individually tailored, cease-and-desist-protected legal texts (AGB, Impressum, Widerrufsbelehrung, Datenschutzerklärung). Subscriptions include a liability assumption guarantee and a free update flat-rate that automatically refreshes the texts when German or European e-commerce law changes, with deep AGB Connect plugins integrating the documents directly into Shopware, Gambio, JTL-Shop, PrestaShop, WooCommerce and other shop systems.

Product overview

Protected Shops is a questionnaire-based legal text generator and compliance platform for online merchants. The core offering consists of two protection packages (Standard and Premium) that provide cease-and-desist protected legal documents (AGB, Impressum, Widerrufsbelehrung, Datenschutzerklärung) with liability coverage and automatic updates. The Standard Protection Package includes individual legal texts, liability assumption, and update flat rate. The Premium Protection Package adds a DSGVO Assistant and ARAG legal protection insurance. The AGB Connect interface system enables automated integration with over 20 shop systems including Shopware, Gambio, JTL-Shop, PrestaShop, and marketplaces like Amazon and eBay. The Impressum Assistant provides free imprint generation. The DSGVO Generator creates registers of processing activities with action guides. The platform supports online shops for Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, and UK, generating legal texts from over 300 billion combinations based on simple yes/no questionnaires.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• AGB Connect: Interface/plugin system for automatic integration and updating of legal texts in shop systems
• Schutzpakete
• Impressum Assistent

Products and services

• Standard Protection Package (Standard-Schutzpaket) Subscription protection package for online retailers that delivers cease-and-desist-protected legal texts (AGB, Impressum, Widerrufsbelehrung, Datenschutzerklärung) tailored to the shop's business model, including liability assumption guarantee and automatic free legal updates.
• Premium Protection Package (Premium-Schutzpaket) Premium subscription package containing everything in the Standard package plus a DSGVO Assistant for GDPR compliance and ARAG legal protection insurance for online retailers.
• AGB Connect Interface/Plugins Integration interface and plugins that automatically embed Protected Shops legal texts directly into shop software and keep them updated when legal regulations change, available for Shopware, Gambio, JTL-Shop, PrestaShop, WooCommerce/MarketPress, modified eCommerce, xt:Commerce, Magento and other shop systems.
• Impressum Assistant Free online tool for generating legally compliant imprint (Impressum) pages for online shops and seller accounts on eBay, Amazon, Yatego and other platforms, supporting different business forms such as GmbH and sole traders.
• DSGVO Assistant / Generator GDPR compliance tool included in the Premium package that generates registers of processing activities and provides action guides to help online retailers meet DSGVO data protection requirements.
• Marketplace Legal Text Packages Specialized legal text packages for sellers on marketplaces such as Amazon, eBay, Hood.de, Etsy, Dawanda, Allyouneed and Shopgate, providing compliant AGB and related documents for marketplace seller accounts.

Quantifiable outcome

• 9,000+ online shops protected
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration16 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

18 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• JTL-Software-GmbHcoreTechnology or IntegrationPlugin partnership for JTL Shop with full automated legal text integration. JTL-Software is a leading e-commerce software provider in German-speaking markets with growing customer base and numerous service partners.
• Shopware AGcoreTechnology or IntegrationIntegration partnership with Shopware, one of Germany's leading shop software providers. Shopware has over 18,000 customers and 600+ sales partners, serving businesses of all sizes.
• Gambio GmbHcoreTechnology or IntegrationPartnership with Gambio for automated legal text integration starting from version 2.0. Gambio is a popular complete online shop solution serving thousands of businesses.
• PrestaShopcoreTechnology or IntegrationIntegration partnership offering two months free protection package for PrestaShop users. PrestaShop is a global e-commerce platform.
• MarketPress GmbHcoreTechnology or IntegrationGerman market solution for WooCommerce with legal content integration, invoice creation, accounting connection, and merchandise management.
• Actindo AGcoreTechnology or IntegrationIntegration with Actindo's Enterprise Cloud ERP software serving 2,600+ customers. Actindo offers comprehensive product data integration and omni-channel commerce capabilities.
• plentymarkets GmbHcoreTechnology or IntegrationPartnership for e-commerce complete solution integration. PlentySystems offers unified shop (B2B/B2C) and multi-channel distribution, merchandise management, payment, invoicing, fulfillment, and CRM.
• PayPalminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPayPal is the leading online payment service with over 12 million active customers in Germany, trusted for secure internet payments.
• SendCloud GmbHminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorShipping optimization tool for online retailers with integrations to all common shop systems, Amazon, and eBay. No base fee or contract commitment required.
• idealo internet GmbHminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGermany's leading shopping and comparison portal with approximately 28 million monthly visitors comparing 340 million offers from 50,000 merchants.
• Kanzlei Dr. SchenkminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerLaw firm specializing in e-commerce law providing cease-and-desist emergency assistance, AGB reviews, data protection declarations, and withdrawal policy reviews for Protected Shops customers.
• mediafinanz AGminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorE-commerce partner for risk and receivables management. Serves over 25,000 customers with credit investigation services and online-based collection solutions.
• paymorrow GmbHminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorInvoice purchase with payment guarantee for online retailers, handling the complete risk of invoice payment. Over 1,700 merchants use the service.
• easybill GmbHminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorEasy invoice creation service with document generation for orders, invoices, and delivery notes. Browser-based software for creating business documents from anywhere.
• RyteminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorWebsite success tool for web analytics and website optimization.
• JTL-Software-GmbH (Extended)coreTechnology or IntegrationFounded 2008, JTL-Software offers free merchandise management system JTL-Wawi, affordable JTL Shop 3, and seamless eBay/Amazon integration. One of the most popular e-commerce software providers in German-speaking markets.
• Hood Media GmbHminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOne of Germany's largest online marketplaces with over 5 million daily offers and 7 million customers. No listing or basic fees required.
• estugo.netminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorShop hosting provider since 2009, serving 5,500+ customers with optimized hosting for Shopware, Gambio GX, and JTL shops.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Janolaw: German online legal services provider specializing in AGB generation, privacy policies and e-commerce legal compliance for SMB webshops — directly comparable service offering with subscription model and embedded shop-system integrations.
• Trusted Shops: German-based trust seal and certification provider for e-commerce shops, offering compliance-related products (certified legal texts, consumer protection) bundled with review and trust-mark services. Direct competitor in DACH for SMB e-commerce legal compliance and trust signals.
• Händlerbund: German legal services and protection association for online retailers offering AGB, legal consultation, and Abmahn-schutz packages — directly competes in the same niche (cease-and-desist-protected legal texts and legal protection insurance).
• IT-Recht Kanzlei München: Specialized law firm offering SaaS-style legal text services, cease-and-desist defense, and AGB review packages for DACH e-commerce merchants — closest legal-craft competitor with a similar subscription/packaging approach.
• E-Recht24: German legal-tech publisher offering AGB-generator tools, legal templates, and e-commerce compliance content/services targeted at German SMB webshops. Overlaps directly with Protected Shops' core text-generation offering.

Emerging players

• Lawlift: DACH-based legal-tech SaaS for automated contract and document drafting using questionnaire-based generation — overlapping technology approach but oriented toward broader enterprise legal contracts rather than e-commerce specialization.
• Trusted Shops (juristische Betreuung): Broader legal-craft adjacent: Trusted Shops' expanded Legal Services product line encroaches further into Protected Shops' specialty legal-text territory with continuous-update packages.

Broad incumbents

• Shopify (Legal/Policy features): Leading global e-commerce platform whose merchant-facing policies and built-in compliance tooling (privacy policy generators, terms templates) embed directly into merchant storefronts — represents platform-level competition to Protected Shops' integration-dependent distribution.
• LegalShield / Rocket Lawyer: Global online legal services platforms offering document generation, legal consultation, and protection packages for SMBs — broader scope than Protected Shops but overlapping on AGB generation and subscription legal protection.

Others

• Arvato (Bertelsmann) / Arvato Financial Solutions: Large-scale CRM and receivables management provider with e-commerce risk and compliance services; adjacent ecosystem participant serving similar merchants with complementary compliance-adjacent services (credit checks, collections).

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/protected-shops-gmbh

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Protected Shops