§ 1 Scope and Authorisation to Amend

(1) For every user and every kind of use of the MendelOnline portal, including the use of free contents or the free use of contents or modules in the frame of access under a promotion code, a corporate licence or a geographical licence for defined countries, the terms of use written in red apply as part of these Terms and Conditions. If a user furthermore acquires payable contents, the stipulations written in black additionally apply.

(2) These Terms and Conditions apply to all contracts between Mendel Verlag GmbH & Co. KG and its customers concerning the use of the MendelOnline portal. Any conflicting or deviating conditions or agreements shall be valid only if there is written confirmation from Mendel Verlag GmbH & Co. KG.

(3) Mendel Verlag GmbH & Co. KG provides its customers foreign trade information contained in databases which the customers can retrieve by taking out subscriptions. The prerequisite for the use of the portal is the online registration of the user. Registered users can access some of the content provided by Mendel Verlag GmbH & Co. KG free of charge and take out subscriptions for the chargeable content. The customer confirms that the registration details provided to Mendel Verlag GmbH & Co. KG are correct and true.

(4) The content of the contract and the following provisions can be altered with the approval of the customer provided that the changes are reasonable. The notification of change will be sent to the customer in text form. The customer will be deemed to have agreed to the change if he does not object to it within four weeks. Mendel Verlag GmbH & Co. KG undertakes to clearly point out the legal consequences of the notification of change. In case the customer objects to the change, the provider has the right to terminate the contract after a notice period of one month.

(5) Mendel Verlag GmbH & Co. KG reserves the right to make price changes.

§ 2 Conditions for the use of the MendelOnline Portal

(1) Performance Obligation of Mendel Verlag GmbH & Co. KG and Conclusion of Contract

1.
Mendel Verlag GmbH & Co. KG shall provide the customer access to the MendelOnline portal upon registration. In case the customer enters into a contract for the use of the chargeable content provided by Mendel Verlag GmbH & Co. KG, the existing provisions shall apply.

2.
The customer shall order the desired product(s) from the MendelOnline-Shop. The customer may order a complete module or a single product from a module or even several individual products. Additionally, the customer may order several licences for one module or for individual or several products.

3.
In case the customer has not entered his billing address, he should do so while placing the order in order to finalise the order correctly. The details of the customer’s order shall be displayed under the billing address. An order number shall be assigned to the order. The customer shall simultaneously get information about the mode of payment, duration of the subscription and the date of the order. The ordered products, especially with regard to the number of the desired licences, a product description, the unit and total price shall also be indicated.

4.
Mendel Verlag GmbH & Co. KG shall immediately confirm receipt of the order to the customer electronically. Confirmation of receipt of the order is not a legally binding acceptance of the order.

5.
The contract enters into force only when Mendel Verlag GmbH & Co. KG issues a separate declaration of acceptance to the customer in which the conclusion of the contract is explicitly confirmed. This confirmation of contract shall be sent electronically. With this confirmation, the customer shall also receive activation codes which are necessary for the use of the products.

6.
In case a contract is concluded between Mendel Verlag GmbH & Co. KG and a customer who is classified as a consumer in accordance with § 13 BGB, the customer has the right to revoke his order within 14 days of receipt of the confirmation of contract from Mendel Verlag GmbH & Co. KG. Timely dispatch of the revocation is sufficient for purposes of the time limit. The revocation must be in written form. The revocation is not valid in accordance with § 312d Abs.3 Nr.2 BGB if the customer uses the activation codes and thus activates the ordered product.

7.
In case Mendel Verlag GmbH & Co. KG uses services of third parties in order to provide access to the customer, its performance obligations are limited to carefully selecting the third parties with due regard to the contractual interests of the customer and to ensure that the services obtained from third parties are performed as required. Upon request, Mendel Verlag GmbH & Co. KG shall inform the customer about the name, address and nature of the contractual services of the third party.

8.
Mendel Verlag GmbH & Co. KG shall utilise the technical resources at its disposal as required to ensure uninterrupted access to the portal. For purposes of maintenance and to correct malfunctions, Mendel Verlag GmbH & Co. KG can interrupt the operation of the portal, but the interruptions shall be kept to a minimum. If extensive maintenance which is likely to cause a lengthy interruption is necessary, Mendel Verlag GmbH & Co. KG shall promptly and at the latest two days in advance, inform the customers electronically about this.

9.
Mendel Verlag GmbH & Co. KG does not assume any liability for the correctness of the displayed content. In particular, Mendel Verlag GmbH & Co. KG does not assume any liability if the displayed content does not correspond to the tariff and non-tariff measures actually applied or other regulations and their legal consequences.

10.
Mendel Verlag GmbH & Co. KG reserves the right to determine the content of the modules and to make necessary changes to reflect the actual circumstances without obtaining prior approval from the customers. The changes made to the content do not give the customers the right to reduce due payments or to cancel the contract.

(2) Rights and Obligations of the Customer

1.
The subscription gives the customer the non-transferable right to use the services of MendelOnline portal for the period of the contract in accordance with the Terms and Conditions. The customer does not acquire any rights to the content, commercial terms or copyright.

2.
The customer is not permitted to grant third parties direct or indirect access to services of Mendel Verlag GmbH & Co. KG without prior approval. Reselling services of Mendel Verlag GmbH & Co. KG to third parties is, save as may otherwise be stipulated in a different agreement, not allowed.

3.
The customer undertakes to observe the recognised principles of data security and in particular to keep his passwords and network IDs safe and secret and to make changes in case the customer suspects that third parties may have knowledge of these. The customer also confirms that the details of the customer provided to Mendel Verlag GmbH & Co. KG are correct and true and that the customer would of his own volition update these details in case of any changes.

4.
Noticeable disruptions relating to the contractual services should be communicated promptly to Mendel Verlag GmbH & Co. KG with a precise description of the fault in written form (email, fax, letter). The customer should take all reasonable steps to make an identification of the cause of the disruption possible and to keep the extent of the disruption to a minimum.

§ 3 Service Disruptions

(1) The customer should promptly inform Mendel Verlag GmbH & Co. KG of any disruptions relating to the contractual services by providing a precise description of the problem in written form (email, fax, letter). This communication should include the following information: name of the customer, date, time of the communication, responsible contact person of the customer, description of the fault, verbatim system error message. The customer should take all reasonable steps to make an identification of the cause of the disruption possible and to keep the extent of the disruption to a minimum. In case the customer reports a disruption of the service which occurred due to erroneous administration on his part, and the cause of this disruption was readily identifiable by the customer, he is liable to reimburse Mendel Verlag GmbH & Co. KG the costs incurred in establishing the problem according to the usual hourly rates.

(2) The customer is not released from his obligation to pay remuneration for the duration of a disruption in Internet data traffic due to force majeure or circumstances beyond the control of Mendel Verlag GmbH & Co. KG, in particular due to a disruption in telecommunication services from other providers. Cancellation in accordance with legal regulations remains unaffected.

(3) In case of a disruption involving a technical service which Mendel Verlag GmbH & Co. KG has sourced from a third-party communications provider (e.g. xDSL, carrier services), and the third-party provider is responsible for this disruption, the customer is authorised to lodge a claim on behalf of Mendel Verlag GmbH & Co. KG in addition to his own claim against the third party. The customer is entitled to lodge a claim against Mendel Verlag GmbH & Co. KG only after making an out-of-court demand for compensation to the responsible third party within reasonable time and by indicating the reason for liability. Mendel Verlag GmbH & Co. KG shall in this case provide the customer with all the necessary information and data. If the out-of-court demand for compensation made to the third party is not successful, the customer authorises Mendel Verlag GmbH & Co. KG to pursue the claim against the third party on its own behalf.

§ 4 Blocking of Access

(1) Mendel Verlag GmbH & Co. KG has the right to block a customer’s access to services if the customer is in default of payment.

(2) The blocking of access does not release the customer from his obligation to make the agreed contractual payments.

§ 5 Liability

(1) No liability shall attach due to slight negligence provided that it does not relate to any substantial breach of duty, claims arising out of death, harm to the body or health or any guarantees. Liability arising out of mandatory legal regulations, in particular the liability clause § 44a TKG, remains unaffected. The same applies to breaches of duty on the part of agents of Mendel Verlag GmbH & Co. KG. Liability in case of slight negligence is restricted to a sum of 12,500.00 €.

(2) Mendel Verlag GmbH & Co. KG is not liable for loss of data arising out of the customer’s failure to save data and to ensure that any lost data can be recovered through reasonable efforts.

(3) Mendel Verlag GmbH & Co. KG is not liable for any disruptions or interruptions due to force majeure or due to third-party actions beyond its control. In particular, these include the failure of communication networks and gateways of other providers and disruptions in the risk area of the network operators.

§ 6 Payment and Accounting for Services

(1) The customer shall pay for the services in accordance with the contract. Unless otherwise agreed, accounting for the services begins on the date that access to the services is enabled by Mendel Verlag GmbH & Co. KG and the customer has been duly informed.

(2) Mendel Verlag GmbH & Co. KG reserves the right to accept or reject payment made by a customer by credit card within five days if Mendel Verlag GmbH & Co. KG has reasonable doubts as to the accuracy of the order or the payment. In this case, Mendel Verlag GmbH & Co. KG also reserves the right to ask for a different mode of payment, in particular advance payment.

(3) The customer will be liable for any costs incurred if Mendel Verlag GmbH & Co. KG agrees to a refund of the credit card payment.

(4) Invoice amounts are to be paid within 14 days of receipt of the invoice. Receipt of the invoice takes place when confirmation of the order or extension of the subscription is received containing a reference to the corresponding invoice under My Account. The customer shall be in default of payment upon the lapse of this period.

(5) The customer should carefully review the invoice and inform Mendel Verlag GmbH & Co. KG of any inaccuracies in writing within eight weeks. The customer shall be deemed to have acknowledged the invoice amount upon the lapse of this period.

§ 7 Cancellation Period

(1) Each subscription has a validity period of one year. The subscription is automatically extended by one year at the end of each period if neither of the parties to the contract cancels the contract one month before its lapse either online as provided for in the portal, or alternatively by registered mail.

(2) Mendel Verlag GmbH & Co. KG has the right to cancel the contract without notice in case the customer is in default of payment or is in gross violation of the contract.

(3) In case the contract is cancelled without notice, Mendel Verlag GmbH & Co. KG is entitled to demand 75% of the agreed payment for the period that the contract would have been valid if the cancellation had been done as provided for in the contract, unless the customer can prove that Mendel Verlag GmbH & Co. KG has suffered no damage or that the damage actually suffered is less.

§ 8 Final Provisions

(1) Oral agreements in addition to the contract are not valid. In case any provisions of these Terms and Conditions become invalid, the rest of the provisions shall remain unaffected.

(2) The laws of the Federal Republic of Germany are solely applicable to the exclusion of private international law. This English version of the Terms and Conditions is only meant for exemplification purposes and is not legally binding. Only the German version is legally binding and this can be found in the German section of MendelOnline.

(3) In case the customer is a merchant, a legal person under public law or a special fund under public law, or if the customer has no place of general jurisdiction in the Federal Republic of Germany, then Witten shall be the exclusive place of jurisdiction. Mendel Verlag GmbH & Co. KG can also sue the customer at his place of general jurisdiction.