General Conditions of Purchase of Albert Rauch GmbH, Fleigro GmbH and Oberland GmbH
§ 1 Scope of application
(1) These General Terms and Conditions of Purchase (GTCP) shall apply to all business relations between Albert Rauch GmbH,
Fleigro GmbH and Oberland GmbH (the companies individually hereinafter referred to as: „the Purchaser“) and its business partners and suppliers (hereinafter also referred to as „the Seller“). The GTCP shall only apply if the Seller is an entrepreneur (§ 14 German Civil Code (BGB)), a legal entity under public law or a special fund under public law.
(2) The GTCP shall apply in particular to contracts on the sale and/or delivery of movable goods („Goods“), irrespective of whether the Seller manufactures the Goods itself or purchases them from suppliers (§§ 433, 650 German Civil Code (BGB)). Unless otherwise agreed on, the GTCP in the version valid at the time of the Purchaser’s order shall also apply as a framework agreement for similar future contracts without the Purchaser having to refer to them again in each individual case.
(3) These GTCP shall apply exclusively. Deviating, conflicting or supplementary General Terms and Conditions of the Seller shall only become part of the contract if and to the extent that the Purchaser has expressly agreed to in written or telecommunicated (fax or e-mail) form. This requirement of consent shall apply in any case, for example even if the Purchaser, being aware of the Seller’s General Terms and Conditions, accepts the Seller’s deliveries unconditionally.
(4) Individual agreements, such as framework agreements (including subsidiary agreements, supplements and amendments), shall in any case take precedence over these GTCP. Subject to proof to the contrary, a written agreement or the written confirmation of the Purchaser shall be authoritative for the content of such agreements.
(5) The contractual rights and obligations of the contracting parties are specified in the „Guidelines for Cooperation for R&S Suppliers“ (hereinafter: „Guidelines for Cooperation“), which are attached to these GTCP. These shall become an integral part of the contract. In the event of a conflict between the Guidelines for Cooperation and these GTCP, the GTCP shall prevail.
(6) References to the applicability of statutory provisions shall only have clarifying significance. Even without such clarification, the statutory provisions shall therefore apply unless they are directly amended or expressly excluded in these GTCP.
§ 2 Contract Conclusion
(1) The Purchaser’s order shall be deemed binding at the earliest upon written or telecommunicated (fax or e-mail) submission by the Purchaser. The Seller shall point out obvious errors (e.g. spelling and calculation errors) and incompleteness of the order including the order documents for the purpose of correction or completion before acceptance; otherwise, the contract shall be deemed not to have been concluded.
(2) The contract shall be concluded if the Seller confirms acceptance of the order within a period of 24 hours from receipt of the order in written or telecommunicated (fax or e-mail) form by returning the countersigned order of the Purchaser. A delayed acceptance shall be deemed to be a new offer and shall require written or telecommunicated acceptance by the Purchaser.
(3) The order confirmation must show the respective order number. The order number shall be indicated for the purpose of allocation in all correspondence relating to the relevant order, on the dispatch note, the waybills and the invoice. Delays on the part of the Purchaser due to incorrect or delayed assignment of the order due to the Seller’s failure to indicate the order number shall be borne by the Seller.
(4) An acceptance deviating in any form from the Purchaser’s order shall be deemed to be a new offer and shall require written or telecommunicated acceptance by the Purchaser. If the Seller submits a new offer to the Purchaser which deviates from the Purchaser’s order, this offer shall be submitted in written or telecommunicated form. Any deviations from the Purchaser’s order shall be highlighted in this offer in a clear and easily recognisable manner.
§ 3 Performance, Delivery, Transfer of risk
(1) The Seller shall work in accordance with the quality standards specified in Clause 4.1. of the Guidelines for Cooperation. The Seller shall not be entitled to have their performance rendered by third parties (e.g. subcontractors) without the prior written consent of the Purchaser. The Seller shall bear the procurement risk for their services unless otherwise agreed on in a particular case (e.g. limitation to stock).
(2) On the territory of Germany the delivery to the place specified in the order shall be „free of charge“ and shall take place during the goods receiving hours specified in Clause 10.1. of the Guidelines for Cooperation. If the place of destination is not specified and nothing else has been agreed on, the delivery shall be made to the ordering Purchaser’s place of business. The respective place of destination shall also be the place of performance for the delivery and for any subsequent performance (debt to be performed at the creditor’s residence (Bringschuld)).
(3) The Seller is obliged to enclose a delivery bill with each delivery of goods displaying the order identifier (date and order number), the supplier number and the type and number of contractual products delivered. Reference is made to Clause 10.5 of the Guidelines of Cooperation. The package with the delivery bill shall be labelled plainly. If these requirements are not met, the Purchaser shall not be obliged to accept the delivery and shall not be responsible for any delays that may occur. If, in the above case, the Purchaser accepts the delivery subject to reservation, the obligation to inspect and give notice of defects shall be extended by the period of the delays resulting from the absence of the delivery bill. A corresponding dispatch bill with the same content shall be sent to the Purchaser separately from the delivery bill.
(4) The delivery time agreed on in the order is binding. Unless otherwise agreed on, the agreed delivery date does not create an absolute fixed transaction (absolutes Fixgeschäft). If a delivery time has not been expressly agreed on between the Purchaser and the Seller, it shall be 7 days from the conclusion of the contract. If the delivery times – for whatever reason – can probably not be met, the Seller shall be obliged to inform the Purchaser immediately in written or telecommunicated form, stating the reason and the expected duration of the delay.
(5) If the Seller fails to perform, or fails to perform within the agreed delivery time or within the delivery time determined in accordance with para. 4 above, the Seller shall be in default, unless the Seller is not responsible for exceeding the delivery time. In the event of default, the rights of the Purchaser – in particular to revocation for nonperformance or for performance not in conformity with the contract as well as the right to claim damages – shall be determined in accordance with the statutory provisions. The damage caused by delay also includes, among other things, expenses which the Purchaser has to bear or incurs to avoid its own liability damage due to the delayed performance of the seller (e.g. making a covering purchase to avoid default towards own customers, additional transport costs, contractual penalties insofar as these additional costs have their reason in the delayed delivery of the Seller). The provisions in para. 6 shall remain unaffected.
(6) If the Seller is in default, the Purchaser shall be entitled – after fruitless expiry of an additional period for performance or cure – to claim liquidated damages in the amount of 5% of the order value (excluding VAT) of the shortfall per week, but not more than a total of 20% of the order value (excluding VAT) of the shortfall – plus VAT, if applicable. If the setting of an additional period for performance or cure is dispensable according to the statutory provisions (e.g. in the case of final refusal of performance, absolute fixed transaction), the agreed fixed delivery date or the date of the declaration of refusal of performance shall take the place of the expiry of the additional period for performance or cure. The Purchaser reserves the right to prove that a higher damage has occurred. The Seller reserves the right to prove that no damage or only a significantly lower damage has been incurred. The same shall apply if the delay in delivery is due to force majeure but the Seller has culpably failed to notify the Purchaser of the expected delay in delivery in accordance with paragraph 4.
(7) If the delivery is made before the due date, i.e. more than 2 days before the agreed delivery date, the Purchaser shall be free to accept or reject the delivery. If the Purchaser accepts the delivery, this shall not constitute an implied consent to the contractual modification of the delivery date. In the event of acceptance, the Purchaser reserves the right to claim damages from the Seller for all financial losses incurred by it due to the premature delivery (e.g. for additional storage costs or a loss in value of the goods due to the premature expiry of the best-before date).
(8) The risk of accidental loss and accidental deterioration of the goods shall pass to the Purchaser upon delivery of the goods sold at the place of performance. If the delivery is made prematurely, the Purchaser shall be entitled to the rights set forth in Para. 7. If the Purchaser accepts the goods despite premature delivery, the risk of accidental loss and accidental deterioration of the goods shall pass to the Purchaser upon delivery. In the event of rejection of the delivery due to premature delivery, the Seller shall bear the risk of accidental loss and accidental deterioration until the timely delivery to the Purchaser.
§ 4 Prices and Terms of Payment
(1) Prices, discounts granted and basic data of the products sold by the Seller shall be entered by the Seller completely and truthfully in the „R & S Price List“ format specified by the Purchaser and shall be transmitted to the Purchaser in in written or telecommunicated form. This list shall be kept up to date by the Seller at all times. This price list shall become the contractual basis for all further orders, even if the Seller and/or the Purchaser do not expressly refer to the price list in their declarations. In all other respects, Clause 6 and Clause 11 of the Cooperation Guidelines shall apply.
(2) The Seller shall notify the Purchaser of any changes in prices and basic data with a lead time of at least 6 weeks. The notification shall be made by sending the updated data in the format „R & S Price List“. All changes with respect to the previous list shall be highlighted and clearly marked. The notified changes shall only become the basis of the contract and the basis of further orders by the Purchaser if the Purchaser confirms the notified changes to the Seller in in written or telecommunicated form.
(3) The price stated in the order shall be binding and shall be understood as a fixed price. All prices shall be inclusive of statutory value-added tax if the tax is not stated separately. Unless otherwise agreed on in the individual case, the price includes all services and ancillary services of the Seller as well as all additional costs (e.g. proper packaging, labeling, transport costs including any transport and liability insurance).
(4) The terms of payment, cash discount agreements, regulations on the issuing of invoices and on the taking back of packaging are regulated in the annual conditions of the Purchaser, which were agreed on in advance between the Purchaser and the Seller. With regard to the minimum specifications of the invoice, Clause 10.7. of the Cooperation Guidelines shall also apply.
(5) Unless otherwise agreed on, the agreed price shall be due for payment within 30 calendar days from the date of complete delivery and performance and receipt of a proper and auditable invoice. In the case of payment by bank transfer, payment shall be deemed to have been made in due time if the Purchaser’s transfer order is received by the bank before expiry of the payment period. The Purchaser is not responsible for delays caused by the banks involved in the payment process.
If the goods are delivered by the Seller before the agreed delivery date and the Purchaser nevertheless accepts the goods, the due date of the purchase price shall not be calculated from the date of acceptance but from the date of the agreed delivery and receipt of a proper and auditable invoice.
(6) In the event of delivery not in conformity with the contract, the Purchaser may withhold payment to a reasonable extent until the delivery obligations have been duly fulfilled. Payments made shall not constitute recognition of the delivery as being in conformity with the contract.
(7) Insofar as costs and interest are incurred, payments shall first be credited against the main performance, then against interest, and finally against the costs.
(8) The Purchaser shall not owe any interest on arrears. The statutory provisions shall apply to default in payment.
(9) The Purchaser shall be entitled to set-off and retention rights as well as the defense of unperformed contract to the extent provided by law. In particular, the Purchaser shall be entitled to withhold payments as long as the Purchaser is still entitled to claims from incomplete or defective performance against the Seller.
§ 5 Assignment and Set-off
(1) The Seller shall not be entitled to assign its claims arising from the contractual relationship to third parties. This shall not apply insofar as monetary claims are concerned.
(2) The Seller shall have a right of set-off or retention only in respect of counterclaims which have become res judicata or are undisputed.
§ 6 Confidentiality
(1) The Seller is obliged to keep the terms and conditions of the order as well as all information and documents made available to the Seller for contractual purposes (with the exception of publicly accessible information) secret for a period of 2 years after conclusion of the contract and to use them only for the execution of the order. The Seller shall return all documents to the Purchaser immediately upon request after completion of inquiries or after processing of orders.
(2) The Seller is not allowed to refer to the business relationship with the Purchaser in advertising material, brochures, etc. without the Purchaser’s prior written consent.
(3) The Seller shall oblige its subcontractors in accordance with this § 6.
§ 7 Retention of title/Further processing
(1) The transfer of ownership of the goods to the Purchaser shall be unconditional and without regard to the payment of the price. However, if in individual cases the Purchaser accepts an offer of the Seller to transfer title conditional on payment of the purchase price, the Seller’s retention of title shall expire at the latest upon payment of the purchase price for the goods delivered. The Purchaser shall remain authorized to resell the goods in the ordinary course of business even prior to payment of the purchase price with advance assignment of the claim arising therefrom (alternatively, the simple reservation of title extended to the resale shall apply). This excludes all other forms of retention of title, in particular the extended retention of title, the passed-on retention of title and the retention of title extended to further processing.
(2) Any processing, mixing or combination (further processing) of provided goods by the Seller shall be carried out on behalf of the Purchaser. The same shall apply in the event of further processing of the goods supplied by the Purchaser, so that the Purchaser shall be deemed to be the manufacturer and shall acquire ownership of the product at the latest upon further processing in accordance with the statutory provisions.
§ 8 Defective Delivery and Liability
(1) The Seller shall be liable in particular for ensuring that the goods have the agreed quality at the time of transfer of risk to the Purchaser.
a) The Seller warrants that the delivered goods comply with the German and European provisions of food law (in particular LFGB, LMIV and RHmV) and bear the legally required labeling. The Seller assures that the contractual products are marketable in the Federal Republic of Germany as well as in the EU. Clauses 8 and 10.4. of the Guidelines for Cooperation apply.
b) The product descriptions, which are the subject of the respective contract – in particular by designation or reference in the Purchaser’s order – or which have been incorporated into the contract in the same way as these GTCP shall be deemed to be an agreement on the quality. It makes no difference whether the product description originates from the Purchaser, the Seller or the manufacturer.
c) Agreements between the Purchaser and the Seller on the packaging and labeling of the goods as well as Clauses 10.2.-10.3. and Clauses 8.1.-8.8. of the Guidelines for Cooperation (hereinafter: „Agreed Packaging and Labeling Properties“) shall also be deemed to be an agreement on the agreed quality. The goods shall be provided by the Seller with a logistics label prior to delivery, which for identification purposes shall show, inter alia, the global article number GTIN for the relevant product. In order to comply with the agreed packaging and label properties, the Seller shall closely coordinate with the Purchaser. The Purchaser shall provide the Seller with appropriate specifications regarding packaging and labeling in in written or telecommunicated form within a reasonable period of time prior to the order. Should changes to the agreed packaging and labeling characteristics become necessary, the Purchaser shall notify the Seller thereof within a reasonable period of time. As long as no changes have been notified, the packaging and label characteristics last agreed on between the parties shall continue to apply for each subsequent delivery, even if neither party refers to these agreements in the context of individual orders.
If the Supplier does not produce packaging and/or labels for goods purchased by the Purchaser itself, but procures them from third parties, the Supplier shall be obliged to inform the Purchaser of the planned order or reorder prior to each order or reorder of packaging and/or labels. The Purchaser shall then check and inform the Seller within a reasonable period of time whether changes to the packaging and/or label will be necessary in the future. The (Re)order of packaging and/or labels shall only be made by the Seller in consultation with the Purchaser with regard to the type and scope of the (re)order.
(2) The Purchaser shall not be liable to the Seller for any expenses or damages for surplus or unused packaging and/or labels, if the Seller, in the context of a (re-)order of packaging and/or labels, fails to consult with the Purchaser or fails to do so in a timely manner and/or deviates from the Purchaser’s specifications. This shall not apply if the Seller proves that the damage or expenses would also have occurred if the Seller had acted properly. The goods shall also be deemed to be defective if a public warning is issued prior to their purchase or use due to a risk to health or safety as a result of official complaints. In this case, the Purchaser shall be entitled to reject and return the delivered goods with reimbursement of any purchase price paid in advance.
(3) The delivered goods shall also be deemed defective if concrete facts of some weight give rise to the obvious suspicion that the delivered goods are not harmless to health and are therefore non-marketable. If there is a reasonable suspicion that there were violations of food regulations during production, packaging or labeling of the goods and that the goods should have been traded because of the resulting qualification as not intended for human consumption, the Purchaser shall be entitled to the full rights of buyer in case of defects under sales law, even if the suspicion of a health hazard with regard to the delivered goods has not been confirmed. This does not apply if the Seller proves that the goods were free of defects at the time of the passing of risk. The obligation to give notice of defects according to para. 9 shall apply accordingly after the Purchaser has become aware of the suspected defect.
(4) A not insignificant partial defective performance within a specific delivery of similar goods shall result in a defect of this entire delivery. If at least 20 percent of the goods of a single delivery prove to be defective, the Purchaser shall be free to assert its warranty rights within the meaning of these GTCP with respect to the entire delivery or to limit them to the defective part. In particular, the Purchaser shall be entitled to withdraw from the entire contract due to the not insignificant partial defective performance or to claim damages for the entire delivery instead of performance, provided that the other statutory requirements are met.
(5) In the event of defects, the Purchaser shall be entitled to the full statutory rights of buyer in the case of defect without limitation. In any case, the Purchaser shall be entitled to demand that the Seller, at its discretion, either rectifies the defect or delivers a new item. If the defect is remedied by the Seller or a third party commissioned by the Seller at the Purchaser’s premises, the Seller undertakes to comply with all statutory hygiene standards applicable to the Purchaser’s premises and also to oblige any third parties commissioned by the Seller for subsequent performance to comply with these standards. Furthermore, in the event of a material defect or legal defect, the Purchaser shall be entitled to reduce the purchase price or to revoke the contract in accordance with the statutory provisions. In addition, the Purchaser shall be entitled to claim damages and reimbursement of expenses in accordance with the statutory provisions.
(6) Without prejudice to the statutory rights, the following shall apply: If the Seller does not fulfill its obligation of subsequent performance – at the Purchaser’s choice by remedying the defect (subsequent improvement) or by delivering an item free of defects (replacement delivery) – within a reasonable period of time set by the Purchaser, if the subsequent improvement fails or if there is imminent danger or special urgency, the Purchaser may remedy the defect itself and demand reimbursement from the Seller in the amount of the expenses required for this purpose or may demand a corresponding advance payment.
The flat-rate costs of the Purchaser for correction or re-labeling of tags derive from Clause 8.9. of the Guidelines for Cooperation, unless the Seller proves that substantially lower or no costs were incurred as a result of the correction or the re-labeling.
(7) The Seller shall bear the expenses necessary for the purpose of remedying the defect or delivering a replacement. This shall also include the costs of examination necessary to determine the defect. In particular, this also includes the costs of goods analysis and laboratory tests or the costs of official sampling and tests at the Purchaser’s premises. Likewise, the Seller shall reimburse all return, recall and other disposal costs caused by defective goods delivered by the Seller. Any return of defective contractual products shall be at the expense of the Seller. With regard to the transfer of risk, § 447 German Civil Code (BGB) shall apply.
(8) The Purchaser does not waive any warranty claims by accepting or approving any samples or specimens submitted.
(9) The Purchaser is obliged to inspect the type and quantity of the contractual products delivered after receipt of the goods. In the event of an early delivery before the agreed delivery date, however, the inspection period for the Purchaser shall not commence until the agreed delivery date. An obviously defective delivery (obvious defects or insufficient deliveries) shall be notified by the Purchaser to the Seller without delay, at the latest, however, within a period of 3 days. If a defect, which could not be detected upon receipt of the goods (hidden defect), becomes apparent at a later date, the Purchaser shall notify the Seller of the hidden defect within a period of 2 weeks after becoming aware of it.
(10) If the Supplier is responsible for the defect, the Purchaser shall be entitled to claim a lump sum of 25% of the gross value (to be determined with VAT) of the defective delivered goods for loss of profit, the costs of taking back, recalling and disposing of the goods, unless the Seller proves that substantially less or no damage has occurred.
(11) The limitation period for defect rights is 36 months from the transfer of risk. In the event of a replacement delivery, the limitation period shall begin anew for the entire goods delivered as a replacement. In the event of rectification of defects, the limitation period shall recommence in any case with respect to the rectified part. This shall not apply in either of the aforementioned cases if the Purchaser had to assume, based on the Seller’s conduct that the Seller did not consider itself obligated to take the measure, but only undertook to remedy the defect as a gesture of goodwill or for similar reasons.
(12) The Purchaser shall be entitled to the statutory claims without limitation for any indirect damage, further consequential damage or other damage.
(13) Insofar as the liability of the Purchaser, one of its legal representatives or vicarious agents is excluded or limited within the scope of these GTCP, this shall not apply to damages resulting from injury to life, body or health or to damages resulting from the breach of an essential contractual obligation (the fulfilment of an obligation, which is a prerequisite for the proper performance of the agreement and on whose fulfilment the contracting party regularly relies and may rely). Liability for other damages is also not excluded or limited insofar as it is based on an intentional or grossly negligent breach of duty by the Purchaser, one of its legal representatives or vicarious agents.
§ 9 Supplier Recourse
(1) The Purchaser shall be entitled to the statutory rights of recourse within a supply chain (supplier’s recourse pursuant to Sections 445a, 445b, 478 of the German Civil Code (BGB)) without limitation in addition to the Purchaser’s statutory rights in case of defect. In particular, it shall be entitled to demand exactly the type of subsequent performance (repair or replacement) from the Seller which it owes to its customer in the individual case. Its statutory right of choice (Section 439 (1) German Civil Code (BGB)) shall not be restricted hereby.
(2) Before the Purchaser acknowledges or fulfills a claim for defects asserted by its customer (including reimbursement of expenses pursuant to Sections 445a (1), 439 (2) and (3) of the German Civil Code (BGB)), the Purchaser shall notify the Seller, summarise the facts briefly and request a written statement. If a substantiated statement is not made within a reasonable period of time and if no consensual solution is agreed upon, the claim for defects actually granted by the Purchaser shall be deemed to be owed to its customer. In this case, the Seller shall have the burden of proof to the contrary.
(3) The claims arising from supplier recourse shall also apply if the defective goods have been further processed by the Purchaser or another entrepreneur, e.g. by incorporation into another product.
§ 10 Producer Liability
(1) If the Seller is responsible for a product defect, he shall indemnify the Purchaser against claims of third parties upon first request to the extent that the cause lies within his sphere of control and organization and the Seller itself is liable in relation to third parties.
(2) Within the scope of its indemnification obligation, the Seller shall reimburse expenses pursuant to Sections 683, 670 of the German Civil Code (BGB) arising from or in connection with a claim by third parties including recall actions carried out by the Purchaser. The Purchaser shall – to the extent possible and reasonable – inform the Seller of the content and scope of any recall measures and give the Seller the opportunity to comment. Further legal claims shall remain unaffected.
(3) The Seller shall take out and maintain product liability insurance with a lump sum coverage of at least EUR 10 million per personal injury/property damage.
§ 11 Marketing
(1) The Seller undertakes to support the Purchaser with high-quality marketing materials (e.g. product photos, product details, videos, texts, illustrations, etc., hereinafter „Product Materials“).
(2) Product descriptions shall be provided by the Seller in accordance with the specifications in Section 7.3. of the Guidelines for Cooperation. The Purchaser shall be notified immediately of any updates. The rights to be granted to the Purchaser in relation to product descriptions shall correspond to the rights set out in Section 13 in relation to product photos.
(3) For product photos, the Photo Standards No. 7.1. and 7.2. of the Guidelines for Cooperation shall apply. The Purchaser shall be entitled, at the Seller’s discretion, either to acquire free of charge rights to existing product photos taken of the products which the Seller sells to the Purchaser in accordance with § 12-14 of these GTCP or to produce its own product photos of the products sold by the Seller to the Purchaser in accordance with § 15 of these GTCP.
§ 13 Provision of product photos
(1) The Seller shall provide the Purchaser with product photos of the products that the Seller sells to the Purchaser. The product photos shall be sent to
marketing@rs-europa.com and
quality@rs-europa.com.
(2) In the event of changes to the products, the Seller shall immediately inform the Purchaser of the changes at least by telecommunication and provide updated product photos within a reasonable time before the change takes effect.
(3) The Purchaser shall not be obliged to use the product photos and the rights of use granted.
§ 13 Granting of Rights of Use to the Product Materials
(1) The Seller hereby grants the Purchaser a non-exclusive, irrevocable, transferable and sub-licensable right to the Product Photos, unlimited in time and place, to use the Product Photos for the purposes of information on products, illustration and marketing. In particular, the Purchaser is entitled to make the Product Photos available to affiliated companies (Art. 15 et seq. AktG) and/or distribution partners (hereinafter: „Partners“). The right of use includes in particular the right to copy, distribute, make publicly available, exhibit, broadcast and reproduce.
To the extent necessary for the aforementioned purposes, the Purchaser and the Partners are also entitled to edit the materials. Editing of the product photos is not permitted if this leads to a change in the identity of the products depicted and advertised, the Seller’s brand, in particular logo changes and/or alienation of the image statements and/or if the image content is removed in a way that distorts the meaning.
(2) The Seller undertakes to grant the Purchaser and the Partners at least those rights of use that are required for the use of the Product Photos in accordance with the contractually stipulated use.
§ 14 Third party property rights to the product materials; Infringement of personal rights
(1) The Seller warrant that they are the sole owner of the copyrights to the Product Materials, that they have not granted any other rights of use to third parties so far that conflict with the contractual use of the Purchaser and/or the Partner and that it can unconditionally and freely dispose of the rights of use to the Product Materials.
(2) The Seller warrants that the Product Materials provided have not been unlawfully taken from protected works of others and that the Product Materials are free from third party rights that restrict or preclude the contractual use.
(3) The Seller warrants that all necessary declarations of consent of such persons depicted on the Product Materials are obtained for the use of the Product Materials in accordance with these GTCP and that no personal rights or other rights are infringed by the contractual use of the Product Materials. The Seller shall submit the respective declarations of consent to the Purchaser upon request.
(4) If the Seller has indications of a violation of the law or a violation of the rights of third parties, it shall inform the Purchaser of this at least by means of telecommunication and shall support the Purchaser in defending itself against the claims of third parties. The Seller shall indemnify the Purchaser and/or the Partners against any claims of third parties pursuant to this § 14 upon first request. Other rights and claims of the Purchaser shall remain unaffected.
§ 15 Production of product photos by the Purchaser
(1) If the Seller does not provide its own product photos in accordance with the aforementioned provisions, the Purchaser shall be entitled to produce product photos itself or to commission a selected third party to do so.
(2) For this purpose, the Seller shall provide the Purchaser with a sample of each product sold by the Seller to the Purchaser for which the Seller itself does not provide product photos free of charge. In the event of changes to the samples provided, the Seller shall inform the Purchaser of the change without undue delay, at least by telecommunication, and provide the updated samples within a reasonable period of time prior to the change.
(3) If the Purchaser produces product photos or has them produced by a third party, the Seller shall contribute a maximum of EUR 100.00 per product photo to the production costs, whereby the Purchaser shall be entitled to produce or have produced a maximum of 3 product photos per product sold.
(4) If the Purchaser produces the product photos itself, it shall be solely entitled to the copyrights and rights of use. If the Product Photos are produced by a third party on behalf of the Purchaser, the Purchaser shall be entitled in relation to the Seller to have the sole rights of use to the Product Photos granted to it by contract to the greatest extent legally possible.
Upon request, the Purchaser shall grant the Seller a non-exclusive right of use to the Product Photos produced by the Purchaser or on its behalf.
§ 16 Written Form, Choice of Law and Place of jurisdiction
(1) These GTCP and the contractual relationship between the Purchaser and the Seller shall be governed by the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany, excluding international uniform law, in particular the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods, and excluding private international law/conflict of laws.
(2) The exclusive – also international – place of jurisdiction for all disputes arising from the contractual relationship shall be the Purchaser’s place of business in Essen. However, the Purchaser shall in all cases also be entitled to bring an action at the place of performance of the delivery obligation pursuant to these GTCP or a prior individual agreement or at the general place of jurisdiction of the Seller. Overriding statutory provisions, in particular regarding exclusive jurisdiction, shall remain unaffected.
(3) Amendments and supplements to the contract and these GTCP must be made in writing. This shall also apply to the amendment of this written form requirement itself.
(4) Should individual parts of these Terms and Conditions of Purchase be invalid, this shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions.