13In that respect it should be borne in mind, first, that the Directive is designed to protect commercial agents, within the meaning of the Directive. According to Article 1(2), a commercial agent is ‘a self-employed intermediary who has continuing authority to negotiate the sale or the purchase of goods on behalf of another person ... or to negotiate and conclude such transactions on behalf of and in the name of that principal’. Since entry in a register is not referred to as a condition for protection under the Directive, it follows that protection under the Directive is not conditional upon entry in a register.