Terms and Conditions
I. Application
1. The following Standard Terms and Conditions of Delivery and Business (hereinafter referred to as the Standard Terms and Conditions) shall apply to all of orders, offers, deliveries and services executed by the photographer.
2. They shall be deemed to be binding on both parties upon acceptance of the photographer's delivery, service or offer by the customer, however no later than upon the photographic material being accepted for publication.
3. If the customer does not accept these Standard Terms and Conditions, it shall lodge written notification to this effect within three work days. Any alternative Standard Terms and Conditions on the part of the customer are hereby rejected. Alternative Standard Terms and Conditions on the part of the customer shall be deemed to be void unless the photographer agrees in writing to be bound by them.
4. In the absence of any express reference to the contrary, these Standard Terms and Conditions shall also apply to all of the photographer's future orders, offers, deliveries and services under the ongoing business relationship notwithstanding the absence of any express reference to them.
II. Commission products
1. Any cost estimates provided by the photographer shall be given without engagement. If any increase in costs occurs during production, the photographer shall only report such increase when it becomes evident that the original estimate of the total costs is likely to be exceeded by more than 15%. If the planned production period is exceeded for reasons beyond the photographer's control, additional remuneration shall be paid on the basis of the agreed time-based fee or in the form of a reasonable increase in the flat-rate fee agreed upon.
2. The photographer may commission third party services which are required for the execution of the production on behalf and for the account of the customer and with the customer's authorization.
3. Subject to any other provisions, the photographer shall be responsible for selecting the photographs to be presented to the customer for approval at the conclusion of production.
4. The photographs shall be deemed to have been duly accepted in accordance with the terms of the contract and be free of any faults unless notification to the contrary is served upon the photographer within two weeks of submission of the photographs.
III. Provision of photographic material
1. These Standard Terms and Conditions shall apply to all photographic material submitted to the customer regardless of its degree of completion or technical form. They shall expressly also apply to photographic material transmitted electronically or digitally.
2. The customer acknowledges that the photographic material provided by the photographer constitutes copyright material as defined in Section 2 (1) No. 5 of the German Copyright Act.
3. Any suggestions submitted by the customer concerning modifications or adjustments shall be deemed to constitute individual services which shall be subject to separate remuneration.
4. The photographic material provided shall remain the photographer's property notwithstanding the fact that consideration may have been received for it.
5. The customer shall treat the photographic material carefully and may only make it available to third parties for internal business purposes, i.e. for viewing, selection purposes and technical editing.
6. Any complaints concerning the content of the delivery or the content, quality or state of the photographic material shall be lodged within 48 hours of receipt. Failing this, the photographic material shall be deemed to have been received in proper condition, in conformance with the contract and as described.
IV. Utilization rights
3. Upon the photographic material being delivered, only the utilization rights shall be granted for one-time use of the photographic material for the purpose specified by the customer and in the publication, medium or data vehicle which has been stated by the customer or can be reasonably assumed in the light of the circumstances surrounding the placing of the order. In the case of any doubt, the purpose for which the photographic material has been supplied as evidenced by the delivery note or the recipient address shall be decisive.
4. Any use, exploitation, dissemination, copying or publication going beyond the scope provided for in Section 3 above shall be subject to separate remuneration and require the photographer's prior approval.
6. The customer may not transfer the rights of utilization or any part thereof granted to it to any third parties unless these are members of its group or subsidiaries.
7. The grant of the rights of utilization shall be subject to the condition precedent of full settlement of all of the photographer's claims for payment under the applicable contractual relationship.
V. Liability
1. The photographer shall not be held liable for the breach of any rights held by persons or objects depicted in the photographic material unless a duly signed release is enclosed. The customer shall be responsible for acquiring the rights of utilization over and above the copyright to the photograph in question and for obtaining releases from collections, museums etc., e.g. for images showing works of applied or plastic arts. The customer shall be responsible for the legend as well as the context in which the photograph is used.
2. The customer shall assume responsibility for the due and proper utilization of the photographic material as of the date of delivery.
VI. Fees
1. The fee shall be deemed to constitute good consideration for the one-time utilization of the photographic material for the agreed purpose in accordance with Section IV.3 herein. The fee shall be subject to value added tax at the applicable rate.
2. The fee shall not include any costs and expenses arising in connection with the order (e.g. cost of materials, laboratory, models, props, travel, other necessary expenses), which shall be borne by the customer.
3. The fee shall be payable upon delivery of the photographs. If the results of the production are supplied in parts, the corresponding part payment shall fall due upon receipt of the corresponding delivery. In the case of commission productions, the photographer may request advance payments matching the percentage of completion of the production.
4. The fee provided for in Section VI. 1 herein shall be payable in full notwithstanding the fact that the photographic material ordered and supplied is not published.
5. Only counter-receivables which are not disputed or have been upheld in a court of law may be netted or shall be subject to a right of retention. Moreover, counter receivables which are disputed but on which a decision is soon to be made may also be netted.
VII. Return of photographic material
1. Digital data shall be deleted and/or the data media destroyed upon completion of utilization. The photographer shall be under no duty to ensure the continued existence and/or possibility of renewed delivery of the data.
2. If at the customer's request or with its approval the photographer supplies photographic material solely for the purpose of determining whether it is suitable for use or publication, the customer shall return analog photographic material no later than one month of receipt in the absence of any other period stated on the consignment note. Digital data shall be deleted and/or the data media destroyed or returned. This period may only be extended with the photographer's consent.
VIII. Penalties, damages
1. In the event of any unauthorized utilization, use, reproduction or disclosure of the photographic material (i.e. without the photographer’s consent), the customer shall be liable to pay a penalty equaling five times the applicable fee for each individual instance, it being understood that this shall not operate to restrict any other remedies available to the photographer.
IX. General provisions
1. The contractual relationship anticipated by these Standard Terms and Conditions shall be subject to German law including in the case of deliveries to foreign destinations.
2. Any additions or modifications to these Standard Terms and Conditions shall be in writing only.
3. If any of the provisions contained herein are void, this shall not prejudice the validity of the remaining provisions. In such a case, the Parties undertake to replace the void provision with a valid one coming as commercially and economically close as possible to what they intended with the void provision.
4. The place of fulfillment and the legal venue shall be the photographer's domicile in cases in which the customer is a full merchant as defined by German commercial law.