General Terms and Conditions

§ 1 General

Aviteo GmbH (hereinafter, “Provider”) provides its customers with access to the worldwide Usenet (hereinafter, the “Service”) exclusively on the basis of the general terms and conditions of this Agreement (hereinafter, “Agreement”). The applicability of any other terms or conditions or agreement is expressly excluded. Registration is available only to adults of legal age. Registration by minors is not permitted and is invalid.

§ 2 Purpose of the Agreement

1. The Provider facilitates the customer’s direct access to the Usenet through a third party’s news server. The customer pays a fee for this service to the Provider in accordance with the fees listed on the Provider’s website.

2. The Provider does not itself operate any news servers and does not publish or manage the content of any news server. The contents of the Usenet are entirely that of third parties, and the Provider assumes no liability for any such content.

3. In order to be able to use the Service, the customer must have an Internet-capable computer system with a suitable news reader program (hereinafter, “Client”).

4a. It is the responsibility of the customer to establish, configure and maintain, at his/her expense, Internet access suitable for use of this Service throughout the duration of the Agreement.

4b. Access to the Service may be temporarily impaired due to interference in communication networks or maintenance work by third parties. In those instances, the Provider cannot guarantee continuous access or continuous availability of the Service.

§ 3 Formation of the Contract, Revocation

1. By completing and transmitting the Registration Form, the customer is making a contractual offer to the Provider. Completing and transmitting the Registration Form involves the following steps:

1a. Entering the customer’s name and contact information

1b. Entering payment information and billing address

1c. Acceptance of the terms of purchase

1d. Reviewing the customer’s information and making any necessary corrections

2. A contract is not established simply by the customer completing and transmitting the Registration Form, however. The Provider has the right to reject new customer Registration Forms at any time and for any reason.

3a. A contract is established when the customer receives an e-mail from the Provider containing the customer’s access information and the terms of this Agreement.

3b. The access information comprises a user name and a password that enables the customer to enter the customer-only area of the Service website and access the Usenet.

3c. The Agreement is available via the customer-only area of the Service website after the Agreement has been entered into and can be accessed there directly at any time.

4. Right of cancelation

You have the right to cancel this Agreement within fourteen days without stating reasons.The cancelation notice period is fourteen days from the date the Agreement is signed. In order to exercise your right of cancelation you must inform us

Aviteo GmbH,Kundensupport Josephspitalstraße 15 D-80331 München Phone number: 089/20172017 E-Mail: [email protected]

by making a clear statement (e.g. by a mailed letter or email) of your decision to cancel this Agreement. You may use the enclosed sample cancelation form to do so although it is not mandatory to use it.

The cancelation notice period is deemed to be complied with if you dispatch the notice that you are exercising your right of cancelation prior to the expiry of the cancelation notice period.

Consequences of cancelation If you cancel this Agreement we must repay to you all payments we have received from you including delivery costs (with the exception of the additional costs arising from the fact that you have chosen a different type of delivery from the cheapest standard delivery offered by us) immediately and within no later than fourteen days after the date on which we have received the notice that you are canceling this Agreement. For this repayment we shall use the same payment method you used for the original transaction unless a different method has expressly been agreed with you; under no circumstances will you be charged fees for this repayment. If you have requested the services to begin during the cancelation notice period, you must pay us a reasonable amount corresponding to the proportion of services already provided up to the time at which you notify us of the exercise of the cancelation right relating to this Agreement compared with the total extent of the services provided for in the Agreement.

End of cancelation advice

Sample cancelation form

§ 4 Term, Trial Period, cancelling and changing packages

1. The customer may terminate the contract anytime during a running contract period. The termination shall then take into effect at the end of the current contract period.

1a. The Agreement is entered into for the agreed-upon term selected by the customer. If the customer selected a discounted or free trial period when registering, the contractual term includes the respective trial period with special right of termination, followed by the term of the product package selected.

1b. The client can also change from one product package to another before the end of the contract that is currently running. If this happens, then the contract term is extended to the length that is stipulated in the product description of the new package that has been chosen. If the customer has elected to take advance use of future months’ usage but has not in fact used the full data quota and then changes to another product package, the advanced data quota up to that date expire.

2a. If the customer chooses a trial period at the time of registration, the customer can determine the product package and corresponding contract term and data quota until the trial period expires. The customer may take advantage of the free trial period only once unless the Provider expressly grants the customer an additional free trial period.

2b. If the customer has already made use of the free trial period at an earlier time, the customer cannot make use of it again. The customer must therefore indicate his/her choice of product package at the time of his/her re-registration.

3. The contract period will be automatically extended by the amount of time specified in the product description of the package that is currently chosen unless the user cancels the contract before the current contract period runs out.

4a. For packages with a one-month term, the period of notice shall be 7 days to the end of the contract term.

4b. For packages with a longer term, the period of notice shall be one month to the end of the contract term.

4c. Special termination right for free test periods: Free test periods can be terminated without a specification of reasons before expiration of the last day of the test period.

4d. Termination takes effect only upon timely receipt by the Provider of the customer’s decision to terminate the Agreement. The provider ensures that, as a rule, order cancellations will be processed within 48 hours of their receipt.

5. After having given the customer a prior warning, the Provider may terminate this Agreement without further notice, when the customer misuses the Service (such as by violating §7 and/or §8) or otherwise violates any term of this Agreement. The Provider is entitled to immediately block the Service upon termination of this Agreement.

6. Central European Time (CET) is used to calculate contract periods and lengths as well as all contract based time indications.

§ 5 Data Quota

1. The data quota is the respective data volume that the customer is entitled to download from the news servers to his/her computer within a one month billing cycle (hereinafter, the “Billing Cycle”) based on the product package the customer has selected.

2a. The customer can check the data quota remaining for the term of the contract in the customer-only area of the website.

2b. When the customer has exhausted the data quota during one Billing Cycle, the customer can make advance use of the data quota for the following month’s Billing Cycle in the customer-only area of the website under "top up data volume."

2c. Nothing in paragraph 2 b) shall reduce the previously agreed-upon duration of the Agreement.

2d. The data quota of a specific Billing Cycle expires at the end of that Billing Cycle. There shall be no reimbursement for unused portions of the data quota agreed upon for a given Billing Cycle. For technical reasons, the data quota for the currently activated Billing Cycle expires when the customer makes advance use of the data quota for the following Billing Cycle.

2e. The customer has sole discretion to use the data quota of the currently activated Billing Cycle before making advance use of the data quota for the coming Billing Cycle or before it begins.

3. The Provider makes available the agreed-upon data quota for the current Billing Cycle subject to the Provider’s technical capacity and taking into account performance obligations to other customers. The customer has no contractual right to make advance use of the data quota of the following Billing Cycles.

§ 6 Consideration, Payment

1a. The applicable fee amounts due are those that are disclosed to the customer at the time the Agreement is entered into. Payment is due in advance for the contractual term selected at the time it begins, independent of usage. The customer may choose a payment procedure during the country-specific registration process. By registering and choosing the payment procedure direct debit (debit authorization), credit card or PayPal, the customer gives her/his consent to the Provider to debit the customer’s bank account, PayPal account or credit card in advance for the respective amounts. The customer will receive a receipt by e-mail.

1b. Payment resulting from the customer choosing to extend beyond a trial period pursuant to § 4 above shall be debited only after expiration of the trial period, when it is determined that the customer wants to continue to use the Service.

1c. When the Agreement begins, the Payment Service Provider (PSP) of the Provider has a right to reserve or deduct and reimburse a small amount of money (less than $5.00 US) from the credit card or PayPal account or iDeal account to verify the customer’s authentication. The customer will receive notification of this procedure as part of the registration process.

1d. Legitimate refund requests for overpayments or unauthorised withdrawals can be lodged by the customer through the supplier using any of the available contact avenues: specifically, by calling the number 0049 89 – 20 17 20 16, sending an email to [email protected], or by sending a letter to Aviteo GmbH customer support, addressed to the following address, Josephspitalstraße 15, D-80331, Munich.

2. The Provider is authorized to increase the payment for the contractually agreed-upon services at the end of the contract term and upon the start of the next contract term under the conditions set out in this §6. The customer will be informed of a price increase only by e-mail at least four weeks before it takes effect and such increase requires the customer’s consent. Consent is deemed to have been given if the customer does not object to the price increase within four weeks of receipt of notice by e-mail. Upon notification of the price increase, the customer will be given specific notice of the consequences of failure to object. The provider will exercise this right maximal one time per quarter to adjust fees and charges to changing market conditions, changes to the VAT rate, or significant changes in purchasing costs.

3. Any price reductions shall take effect on the announced date. A price reduction of payment applies for the next contract term unless otherwise announced.

4a. In the case of a legislatively-mandated change in sales tax, the Provider is authorized to adjust the payment accordingly.

4b. In the event that a debit is rejected (e.g. for insufficient funds in the account or the customer reverses the debit), the Provider is entitled to recover from the customer all costs incurred as a result, including, but not limited to, bank and processing fees.

4c. For the security of the customer and the Provider, the Provider stores the IP address of the Internet site from which the debit authorization was granted at the time of registration. Upon registration, the customer gives his/her assurance that he/she is the lawful owner of or is authorized to use the bank account, PayPal account, iDeal account or credit card the customer provided at the time of registration.

4d. If Provider determines, in its sole discretion, that the customer is in breach of this Agreement, the Provider may immediately block customer’s access to the Service. Access to the Service can also be blocked if payment information provided by customer is determined by Provider to be false or improper. Such blocking does not represent an exercise of its right of rescission by the Provider. The customer reserves the right, including during the blockage, to give regular notice of termination if the customer does not want to extend the contractual relationship. The Provider reserves its right to assert more extensive damage claims and to rescind the contract in the case of continuing default. If Provider determines, in its sole discretion, that the customer is in breach of this Agreement, Provider may immediately commence efforts to collect any and all amounts due and owing by customer pursuant to this Agreement, or Provider may place this Agreement with a collection agency or attorney for collection which may result in additional charges of up to US$ 40.00. The Provider shall be entitled to recover all damages, costs, fees, and expenses incurred for the collection of any and all amounts due and owing by customer purusant to this Agreement, including but not limited to fees and costs of any collection agency, attorneys fees, interest on unpaid amounts, court costs, and filing fees.

§ 7 Customer’s Duties

1. The customer agrees when completing the registration to enter his/her personal data (first and last name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, and bank or PayPal or iDeal or credit card information) completely and correctly.

2. The customer must always ensure that the data provided to the Provider is up to date, complete and correct. After registration, Customer agrees to provide any change in his/her personal data, in his/her profile online in the customer-only area of the website or with the Provider in written form via support form or letter (contact data, see § 3 (4)). Changes in bank or payment information cannot be made online in the customer-only area.

3. All usernames and passwords that the customer receives must be treated as confidential at all times. In order to prevent any misuse of these usernames and passwords, the customer agrees to keep them safe and prevent access to them by third parties. If the customer electronically stores his/her username and password in a program to avoid repeatedly typing them in when registering, the customer must also ensure that third parties do not have access to that program.

4. The customer may not give, transfer, lease or sell his/her rights and duties under this Agreement, regardless of the type of performance, to third parties, unless the customer has obtained the Provider's prior, written consent.

5. The Provider shall only be liable for damages incurred by the customer resulting from misuse or loss of a username or password if such damage was caused by the Provider’s gross negligence. The parties mutually agree to inform each other immediately about any misuse of username or password. In the event of misuse, the Provider is entitled to block all access data and to exclude the respective customer temporarily or even permanently from use of specific or all offers of Service.

6a. Upon registration for the Service, the customer can expressly choose to receive advertising from the Provider regarding its products and the products of partner companies. Provider does not sell or transmit customer data to others for advertising purposes. The customer can object at any time to the use of his/her data for advertising purposes.

6b. Statements of intent and information about the Service can be sent to the customer by e-mail without the customer’s specific consent to the extent this does not involve advertising. The customer is personally responsible to ensure that he/she can receive the Provider's e-mails to his/her e-mail account. The customer must ensure that s/he can receive the Provider’s e-mails (in particular from the @USENEXT.de and @USENEXT.com domain). If the customer uses anti-spam software or an e-mail service with spam filter, the customer is responsible to configure it accordingly so as to receive e-mails from the Provider. The customer authorizes the Provider to transmit news and information about the functionality of the Service to the customer by mail, e-mail or telephone.

§ 8 Use of the Service

1a. The Provider facilitates access to the Usenet for the customer pursuant to this Agreement. The customer is solely responsible for his/her use of the Usenet. The Provider disclaims all warranties and assumes no liability for any and all content accessed, regardless of the type. In particular, the Provider disclaims all warranties relating to, and assumes no liability for, the accuracy or completeness of said content or for its compatibility with local, national or international law.

1b. It is the nature of news groups that are freely accessible to anyone that, in addition to providing informative and entertaining content, they may contain offensive, harmful, imprecise or otherwise inappropriate material or content, that may be untrue or in some other way misleading. The customer agrees that, in using the Service, s/he will use care, common sense and good judgment and comply with netiquette and statutory provisions, in addition to the terms of this Agreement.

2. Without exception, minors are not allowed to register for or use the Service. If, in violation of the terms and conditions of this Agreement and/or his/her other duties under applicable law, the customer allows a minor to access the Usenet or the Internet through the Service or does not prevent such unauthorized access, the customer assumes sole responsibility for this act and all the consequences thereof.

3. The customer is personally responsible for all content the customer obtains through the Service and the consequences thereof. The customer agrees that he/she shall use the Usenet only to receive content if such content does not violate any laws or the rights of third parties. The customer agrees to indemnify the Provider from any and all liability to third parties and reimburse Provider for all costs of defending any third party claims relating to the customer, including, but not limited to, all attorneys’ fees incurred by Provider.

4. The customer agrees in particular when using the Service not to:

  • Threaten, insult, defame, deceive, harass or violate the rights of others in any way;
  • Transmit, publish, send, upload, distribute, disseminate or offer any type of illegal, immoral, inappropriate, defamatory, hurtful, or indecent information or material (including, but not limited to, representations of or instruction in committing crimes, glorification of violence, incitement to hatred of or violence against minorities, and pornography)
  • Transmit, post or access material that infringes patents, protected trademarks, design patents, other commercial samples, copyrights, trade secrets, business secrets or other rights of third parties unless the customer is the owner of such rights or has the permission of the owner to transmit, post or access such material;
  • Advertize or offer goods or services for any private or commercial purpose except in those areas of the Usenet designated for such purposes;
  • - Initiate or transmit surveys, competitions, snowball systems or chain letters, except in areas designated for such purposes;
  • Download material posted on the Usenet by third parties that the customer knows or should know may not be distributed in that form.

5. In the case that duties pursuant to Sec. 4 are violated, the customer is liable to the Provider for, and shall defend and indemnify the Provider from, all damages and expenses of every nature incurred or suffered by Provider arising from the actions or inaction of the customer, including but not limited to the claims of third parties arising from the actions or inaction of the customer.

6. If the customer becomes aware of the possibility that any of the aforementioned actions prohibited by this Agreement is occurring – irrespective of whether the act is complete – the customer agrees to immediately give notice of such possibility to [email protected].

§ 9 Limited Liability

1. The Provider’s liability to customer for damages is limited to only those damages that are caused by gross negligence of the Provider, its legal representative(s) or agent(s). The Provider is not liable for any consequential damages of any nature. The Provider is not liable for speed bottlenecks in connections to the Service.

2. Provider assumes no liability for data that are, or may be, accessible or transmitted to the customer through the Usenet or for any loss of customer data.

§ 10 Data Privacy

1. The Provider is entitled to investigate, collect, process and utilize personal identifying customer information to the extent that it is required to complete the Agreement. To the extent required to initiate and perform under the Agreement and to collect payments due, payment information may be transmitted to and processed by payment service providers and collection agencies in accordance with applicable data privacy laws. The Provider will not transmit the customer’s data to other third parties.

2. To use the access to the Service that the Provider arranges, it is necessary for the customer to establish direct data connections to third party providers over which the Provider has no ability to exercise any control. The Provider has contractually obligated these third party providers not to store any data on the content transmitted through these connections. The third party provider is allowed only to store the amount of data transmitted in kilobytes, together with the access data. The Provider assumes no liability for breaches of contractually agreed upon provisions by these third parties.

§ 11 Place of jurisdiction, choice of law and complicity in dispute resolution

1. The business relationship between the provider and the customer is subject to the law of the Federal Republic of Germany. For users this governing law applies only to the extent that the protection provided by mandatory provisions of the law of the country in which the user is normally domiciled, is not revoked. A user is any natural person who concludes a legal transaction for a purpose that cannot be attributed to their business or independent professional occupation. The application of the UN CISG is excluded.

2. The court of jurisdiction for any disputes arising directly or indirectly from the contract relationship, provided the customer is a registered merchant (Vollkaufmann), is Munich.

3. We are not taking part in a dispute settlement procedure before a consumer arbitration service.

§ 12 Concluding Provisions

1. Any and all amendments, changes, or revisions to this Agreement must be made in writing to be valid. Any documents, agreements, and invoices transmitted by e-mail are deemed to have been received one week after receipt in the customer’s e-mail account, including if such e-mail has not been downloaded/opened.

2. The Provider is entitled to amend or supplement this Agreement at any time with a six week notice period. The customer has the option of terminating the Agreement within six weeks after receipt of the revised Agreement. If the customer does not object within this period, the revised Agreement shall be in full effect.

3. The Provider is entitled to assign the Agreement with all rights and duties to a legal successor or other third party. Upon assignment to a legal successor or third party, the customer has a right of termination of this Agreement for cause at that time.

4. In the event that individual provisions of the Agreement are or become invalid in whole or in part, the validity of the remaining provisions or parts of such provisions of the Agreement remains unaffected.