General Terms and Conditions

GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Bremen, 23.08.2022

I. APPLICATION

  1. The following General Terms and Conditions (GTC) shall apply exclusively to all orders, offers, deliveries and services carried out, as well as contracts between blondsign by Eike Schurr / Eike Schurr (hereinafter referred to as the Contractor) and the Client (Customer), provided that the latter is not a consumer within the meaning of § 14 of the German Civil Code (BGB), but an entrepreneur.
  2. They shall be deemed to be agreed upon acceptance of the delivery or service or the offer of the Contractor by the Customer, at the latest, however, upon acceptance of the photographic material for publication.
  3. By placing an order, the client accepts the following General Terms and Conditions. Deviations from the conditions listed here are only valid if the client expressly agrees to them in writing. 
  4. Within the scope of an ongoing business relationship, the GTC shall also apply to all future orders, offers, deliveries and services of the Contractor, even without express inclusion, unless expressly agreed otherwise.

II. COMMISSIONED PRODUCTIONS

  1. Insofar as the Contractor provides with cost estimates, these shall be non-binding. If cost increases occur during production, these shall only be notified by the Contractor if it becomes apparent that this is likely to cause the originally estimated total costs to be exceeded by more than 15%. If the scheduled production time is exceeded for reasons for which the Contractor is not responsible, additional remuneration shall be paid on the basis of the agreed time fee or in the form of an appropriate increase in the flat fee.
  2. The Contractor shall be entitled to commission services from third parties, which must be purchased in order to carry out the production, in the name of and with power of attorney and for the account of the Customer.
  3. Unless otherwise agreed, the recordings that will be submitted to the customer for acceptance after completion of the production will be selected by the contractor.
  4. If the Contractor has not received any written notice of defects within two weeks after delivery of the contractual components / agreed contents, the service shall be deemed to have been accepted in accordance with the contract and free of defects.

III. IMAGE MATERIAL PROVIDED (ANALOG AND DIGITAL)

  1. The GTC apply to all photographic material provided to the customer, irrespective of the creative stage or technical form in which they are available. They shall also apply in particular to electronic or digitally transmitted photographic material.
  2. The Customer acknowledges that the photographic material supplied by the Contractor is a copyrighted photographic work within the meaning of Section 2 (1) (5) of the German Copyright Act (Urheberrechtsgesetz).
  3. Design proposals or conceptions commissioned by the customer are independent services that are to be remunerated.
  4. The photographic material provided shall remain the property of the Contractor, even in the event that compensation is paid for it.
  5. The customer shall treat the photographic material with care and may only pass it on to third parties for internal business purposes of viewing, selection and technical processing.
  6. Complaints concerning the content of the delivered consignment or the content, quality or condition of the photographic material must be notified within two weeks of receipt. Otherwise, the photographic material shall be deemed to have been received properly, in accordance with the contract and as recorded.

IV. COPYRIGHT AND RIGHTS OF USE

  1. In principle, the customer acquires only a simple right of use for one-time use. Publications on the Internet or the placement in digital databases are, subject to other agreements, limited to the duration of the publication periods of the corresponding or a comparable print object.
  2. Exclusive rights of use, media-related or spatial exclusive rights or blocking periods must be agreed separately.
  3. With the delivery, only the right of use is transferred for the one-time use of the material for the purpose specified by the customer and in the publication and in the medium or data carrier which the customer has specified or which results from the circumstances of the placing of the order. In case of doubt, the purpose of use for which the material was made available as shown on the delivery bill or the shipping address shall be decisive.
  4. Any use, exploitation, duplication, dissemination or publication going beyond Item 3 shall be subject to a fee and shall require the prior express consent of the Contractor and shall be set out in writing in the offer. This shall apply in particular to: – a secondary utilization or secondary publication, in particular in anthologies, product-accompanying brochures, in advertising measures or in other reprints, any editing, modification or redesign of the material, – the digitization, storage or duplication of the material on data carriers of any kind (e.g. magnetic, optical, magneto-optical or electronic carrier media such as CD-ROM, DVD, hard disks, RAM, microfilm, etc.), insofar as this does not only serve the technical processing and administration of the material pursuant to Section III 5 GTC. Any duplication or use of the data on digital data carriers, any recording or reproduction of the data on the Internet or in online databases or in other electronic archives (also insofar as these are internal electronic archives of the customer), – The transfer of the digitized material by means of remote data transmission or on data carriers suitable for public reproduction on screens or for the production of hard copies.
  5. Changes to the material by composing, assembling or using electronic aids to create a new copyrighted work are only permitted with the prior written consent of the contractor and only if marked with [M]. The material may also not be copied, photographed after the fact or otherwise used as a motif.
  6. The Customer is not entitled to transfer the rights of use granted to it in whole or in part to third parties, including other group companies or subsidiaries. Any use, reproduction or transfer of the material is only permitted on condition that the copyright notice specified by the Contractor is affixed in unequivocal assignment to the respective image.
  7. The granting of the rights of use is subject to the condition precedent of full payment of all payment claims of the Contractor arising from the respective contractual relationship. 
  8. The Contractor shall remain entitled to use its data itself for self-promotion purposes even if the exclusive (exclusive) rights of use are transferred.
  9. Suggestions and instructions of the client or his employees and agents have no influence on the amount of the remuneration and do not establish any joint copyright.

V. COOPERATION OBLIGATIONS OF THE CUSTOMER

  1. The Client agrees that the Contractor may have individual parts of the service or the service as a whole performed by third parties for the purpose of fulfilling the order and that the Contractor may pass on the data required for this purpose to third parties.
  2. The client is obliged to check the material provided for any existing copyrights and to obtain any necessary permission for use. Any claims due to copyright and copyright infringements shall be borne by the client.
  3. With the release of drafts, image material and footage by the client, the client assumes responsibility for the correctness of the image and design.

VI. ACCEPTANCE

  1. Acceptance may not be refused on creative-artistic grounds. There is freedom of design within the scope of the order.

VII. LIABILITY

  1. The contractor assumes no liability for the infringement of rights of depicted marks (trademarks, company designs) persons or objects, unless a correspondingly signed release form is enclosed. The acquisition of rights of use beyond the photographic copyright, e.g. for depicted works of fine or applied art, as well as the obtaining of publication permits from collections, museums, etc. is the responsibility of the customer. The customer is responsible for the text and the meaning resulting from the specific publication.
  2. From the moment of proper delivery of the material, the customer is responsible for its proper use.
  3. The Contractor undertakes to execute the order with the greatest possible care, in particular also to treat any data, templates, documents, samples, etc. provided to it with care.
  4. In the event of a breach of material contractual obligations, the Contractor shall only be liable for intent and gross negligence. This limitation of liability shall also apply to its vicarious agents and assistants. Liability is excluded in the case of obligations that are not essential to the contract. This shall also apply to liability for indirect damage, consequential damage and loss of profit.

VIII. HONORARIES

  1. The agreed fee shall apply. If no fee has been agreed, it shall be determined in accordance with the respective current picture fee overview of the Mittelstandsgemeinschaft Foto-Marketing (MFM). The fee is subject to the applicable sales tax. The agreed hourly/daily rates shall be increased by 25% if the service takes place on weekends/holidays at the request of the client.
  2. The agreed fee compensates for the one-time use of the material for the agreed purpose according to item IV. 3, in accordance with the written agreements.
  3. Costs and expenses incurred as a result of the order (e.g. material and laboratory costs, model fees, costs for necessary props, travel costs, necessary expenses, etc.) are not included in the fee and shall be borne by the customer.
  4. The fee is due upon delivery of the recording. If a production is delivered in parts, the corresponding partial fee is due with the respective delivery. In the case of production orders, the Contractor shall be entitled to demand partial payments in accordance with the scope of services rendered in each case.
  5. The fee pursuant to VI. 1. GTC shall be paid in full even if the photographic material commissioned and supplied is not published. If the photographs are used as a working model for layout and presentation purposes, a fee of at least Euro 75.00 per photograph shall be due, subject to any agreement to the contrary.
  6. A set-off or the exercise of the right of retention is only permissible with undisputed or legally established claims of the customer. In addition, offsetting against disputed but ready-for-decision counterclaims is permissible.
  7. The Contractor shall also be entitled to demand reasonable advance payments prior to acceptance (see VI). 
  8. The Contractor is entitled to invoice the hours worked in the course of the consulting.

IX. TRAVEL EXPENSES

  1. All travel expenses, etc. incurred shall be charged to the client as follows in accordance with the currently valid price list: 
    1. For travel by car, a flat rate per kilometer will be reimbursed according to theoffer priceper kilometer traveled.
    2. For train travel, the cost of a first class ticket including seat reservation will be reimbursed
    1. For flights within Europe, the cost of an economy ticket is reimbursed; for intercontinental flights, the cost of a business class ticket is reimbursed.
    2. Expenses for meals and overnight stays will be reimbursed by the client upon presentation of an invoice. Minimum standard for hotel accommodation: 3/4 star hotel
    3. For travel times of up to 6 hours, the Contractor shall receive remuneration in the amount of 50% of its regular agreed daily rate. For travel times up to 12 hours, the Contractor shall receive the full daily rate.
  2. The client bears the costs for rebooking/cancellation of trips in case of changes of dates by the client. 

X. BOOKING OF FLIGHTS AND TICKETS

The flight times, rail connections must be booked bindingly no later than three weeks before the order. If the client fails to do so, the contractor is entitled to book the flights, train connections on his own authority. The costs incurred as a result will be reimbursed in accordance with the above. The contractor is obliged to book the flights/trains according to economic aspects. 

XI. RETURN OF THE VISUAL MATERIAL

  1. Analog photographic material shall be returned in the form supplied without request immediately after publication or the agreed use, but no later than three months after the date of delivery; two specimen copies shall be enclosed. An extension of the 3-month period shall require the written approval of the Contractor.
  2. Digital data must always be deleted or the data carriers destroyed after use. The Contractor shall not be liable for the existence and/or the possibility of a renewed delivery of the data.
  3. If the Contractor provides photographic material at the Customer’s request or with the Customer’s consent solely for the purpose of checking whether use or publication is possible, the Customer shall return analog photographic material within one month of receipt at the latest, unless a different deadline is noted on the delivery bill. Digital data shall be deleted or the data carriers shall be destroyed or returned. An extension of this deadline shall only be effective if it has been confirmed in writing by the Contractor.
  4. The photographic material shall be returned by the Customer at the Customer’s expense in packaging customary in the industry. The customer bears the risk of loss or damage during transport until receipt by the contractor.

XII. CONTRACTUAL PENALTY, DAMAGES

  1. In the event of any unauthorized use, utilization, reproduction or disclosure of the photographic material (without the consent of the Contractor), a contractual penalty in the amount of five times the utilization fee shall be payable for each individual case, subject to any further claims for damages.
  2. If the copyright notice is omitted, incomplete, incorrectly placed or not assignable, a surcharge of 100% of the agreed or customary usage fee shall be payable.
  3. In the absence of a voucher copy or in the event of settlement without a voucher copy or in the event of settlement without indication of which image has been used in which place in which publication, a contractual penalty in the amount of 50% of the usage fee shall be payable.
  4. The payments provided for in Section VII. shall not constitute any rights of use.

XIII. DATA PROTECTION

  1. The Client agrees that personal data may be stored in machine-readable form and processed by machine by the Contractor or a third party commissioned by the Contractor for the duration of the contractual relationship, insofar as this is necessary for the fulfillment of the purpose of the contract and for billing purposes.
  2. Beyond this, Contractor shall not disclose data unless Contractor is legally or judicially obligated to do so or it is necessary for the fulfillment of the order. Before passing on contact data, Contractor shall inform the Client in good time and give the Client the opportunity to contact the third party.

XIV. GENERAL

  1. The law of the Federal Republic of Germany shall be deemed agreed, even for deliveries abroad. The place of jurisdiction is Bremen.
  2. Ancillary agreements to the contract or to these GTC must be in writing to be effective.
  3. The possible invalidity or ineffectiveness of one or more provisions of these GTC shall not affect the effectiveness of the remaining provisions. The parties undertake to replace the invalid provision with a valid provision that comes closest in economic and legal terms to the intended provision.
  4. Unless otherwise stated in the order confirmation, the place of performance shall be Bremen.