Terms and conditions

(This document has been translated from German into English using artificial intelligence and may contain inaccuracies. The authoritative original text in German is available at https://sinnwerkstatt.com/agb)

§ 1 – contracting parties; incorporation of the general terms and conditions

(1) The contracting party of the client (customer) is Sinnwerkstatt Medienagentur GmbH, Glogauerstr. 21, 10999 Berlin, Germany, Phone: +49 (0)30 5770 44770, Email: kontakt@sinnwerkstatt.com (hereinafter: "Sinnwerkstatt").

(2) These General Terms and Conditions shall form part of every agreement between Sinnwerkstatt and its customers. Sinnwerkstatt's customers are entrepreneurs. General terms and conditions of customers shall not apply. Sinnwerkstatt expressly objects to their incorporation, unless their inclusion is individually agreed in text form.

General provisions

§ 2 – offers, formation of contract, deadlines

(1) Information on Sinnwerkstatt's website, in emails, flyers, brochures or other advertising materials not addressed to a specific recipient does not constitute an offer, but merely an invitation to submit an offer on the part of the customer. The advertised services are subject to technical availability and to Sinnwerkstatt's receipt of supplies from third parties.

(2) The parties agree that any contract and any supplementary agreement shall require text form to be effective. This also applies to appointment confirmations, deadline notifications, notices of defects, and notices of termination. This does not exclude the binding effect of a commercial letter of confirmation (§ 346 HGB) following a verbal agreement.

(3) Sinnwerkstatt is bound by individual offers addressed to the customer for two weeks from the date of preparation of the offer, unless the offer specifies a different binding period.

(4) Dates and deadlines for the execution of orders are non-binding unless they are expressly confirmed as binding by Sinnwerkstatt.

§ 3 – recipient of services / customer

(1) Sinnwerkstatt provides its services exclusively to the customer; the customer shall not transfer these services to any third party, whether in whole, in part, or temporarily, unless this has been agreed with Sinnwerkstatt.

(2) The customer is obliged to notify Sinnwerkstatt immediately of any changes to contract-relevant data, in particular changes to address, company name, authorised representatives, telephone number, and email address. If the customer participates in direct debit for the payment of invoices, this also applies to bank account details.

(3) If several persons are contracting parties on the customer's side, they are joint creditors and joint debtors of all claims towards Sinnwerkstatt. For the purpose of making and receiving declarations of intent and other notifications, each of those persons shall be deemed authorised by the others to act on their behalf towards Sinnwerkstatt.

§ 4 – customer's cooperation and materials; third-party rights

(1) If the customer provides their own drafts or other documents for the order, or participates through their own contributions, these circumstances do not establish any copyright or co-authorship in Sinnwerkstatt's work product, nor do they reduce Sinnwerkstatt's entitlement to remuneration.

(2) Insofar as Sinnwerkstatt is to use materials provided by the customer, these must be made available in digital form where their nature permits. If materials are provided in another form, Sinnwerkstatt may charge an additional fee for digitalisation in accordance with the applicable price list.

(3) Sinnwerkstatt shall only be liable for the loss, deterioration, or damage of items provided by the customer as materials in cases of intent or gross negligence. Sinnwerkstatt may at any time demand the return of items within a reasonable period once they are no longer required for the order.

(4) If the customer requests the use of specific colours, colour specifications shall only be binding if provided – for print products – as CMYK data, Euroskala or HKS colour numbers, or – for screen colours – as RGB or HSV data.

(5) It is the customer's responsibility to provide materials that are free from errors, in particular spelling and image errors; Sinnwerkstatt has no obligation to review in this regard.

(6) If the customer provides drafts, logos, typefaces, texts, audiovisual or other data, it is the customer's responsibility to verify their rights of use in advance. The customer warrants that they hold all necessary rights. The customer shall indemnify Sinnwerkstatt against any claims asserted by third parties against Sinnwerkstatt; the indemnification obligation also covers the costs of any appropriate investigation of the facts, as well as pre-litigation and litigation legal review and defence.

(7) Sinnwerkstatt may withdraw from or terminate an order in whole or in part if infringements of rights become known or are asserted by a third party and the customer fails to remedy such infringements within a reasonable period.

(8) If Sinnwerkstatt depends on documents or data from the customer and does not receive these by an agreed binding deadline, Sinnwerkstatt may charge the customer for the resulting delay as working time in accordance with the price list, unless the customer can demonstrate that Sinnwerkstatt was able to earn equivalent remuneration during the waiting period by processing another order, or that the overall completion of the work was not delayed despite the waiting period. The same applies if Sinnwerkstatt depends on documents or data from third parties acting on behalf of the customer.

§ 5 – copyright and rights of use; reservation of rights and title; reference copies

(1) Upon placing an order, the customer undertakes to refrain from any use of Sinnwerkstatt's work product until it has been accepted and paid for; this applies in particular even where the work product does not qualify as a work in the copyright sense and/or no related protective right applies. For the purposes of this clause, "work product" includes every draft and every partial or intermediate result.

(2) Sinnwerkstatt grants the customer the rights of use necessary for the intended use of the work, in particular the right to publish, reproduce, distribute, and make publicly accessible. Rights of use are granted to the customer without territorial or temporal restrictions unless otherwise agreed. Rights are granted exclusively, subject to the reservation that Sinnwerkstatt retains the right to use the work or parts thereof for its own promotional purposes in printed or electronic form (internet, digital media) as a reference.

(3) Sinnwerkstatt grants the customer rights of use in the work solely in the delivered final version; no rights are granted in respect of rejected or superseded drafts, other intermediate results, or ancillary materials.

(4) The granting of rights applies only to the agreed type of use, for the agreed purpose, and to the agreed extent. Any further use requires a prior agreement with Sinnwerkstatt, in particular regarding corresponding remuneration.

(5) Any granting of rights of use and title is subject to the condition precedent of full payment of the remuneration due and full settlement of any expenses.

(6) Sinnwerkstatt reserves the right to affix a copyright notice; for logos and corporate designs, the copyright notice is affixed in a non-visible form.

(7) Any modification of the work by the customer requires the prior consent of Sinnwerkstatt.

(8) The fulfilment of a design order may require Sinnwerkstatt to incorporate third-party works – in particular typefaces, photographs or illustrations – that are subject to third-party licensing terms. Insofar as the customer consents to the incorporation of such works, Sinnwerkstatt is authorised, but not obliged, to acquire the relevant licences in the name of and on account of the customer; the customer may alternatively acquire these themselves. Insofar as Sinnwerkstatt pays licence fees to third parties on the customer's behalf, Sinnwerkstatt may claim reimbursement of these expenses from the customer.

(9) For all works reproduced in physical form, the customer shall provide Sinnwerkstatt, upon request, with five flawless, unfolded reference copies free of charge. For valuable items, a reasonably smaller number shall be provided. Sinnwerkstatt may use the reference copies for its own promotional purposes unless the customer has legitimate reasons to object.

(10) The customer undertakes to refrain from any exploitation of the work or parts thereof for which no right of use has been granted. Any breach of this obligation shall give rise to a contractual penalty payable by the customer to Sinnwerkstatt, unless the customer is not responsible for the breach. The contractual penalty shall amount to 2.5 times the agreed remuneration for the exploited service. Where no remuneration has been agreed, the penalty shall be calculated on the basis of the recommendations of the Berufsverband der Deutschen Kommunikationsdesigner e.V.

§ 6 – fees, invoicing, default in payment

(1) Unless the parties have agreed a flat-rate fee for individual orders, the applicable remuneration shall be €100 per hour / €800 per day. Services provided by Sinnwerkstatt for which neither this contract nor any other individual agreement in text form contains a deviating provision shall be remunerated on a time-and-materials basis.

(2) Otherwise, the price list in force at the time of conclusion of the contract shall apply to fees, unless individual agreements have been made.

(3) All fees are net plus applicable VAT unless expressly stated otherwise.

(4) Sinnwerkstatt may issue interim invoices during the fulfilment of orders corresponding to the respective progress of work on the service commissioned by the customer. Sinnwerkstatt may – without prejudice to other claims – make subsequent services conditional upon settlement of prior invoices. Final payments for services requiring acceptance by the customer shall be due upon acceptance or delivery. Acceptance shall be deemed declared if the customer does not object within 14 days of receipt of the work; Sinnwerkstatt will draw the customer's attention to this legal consequence upon delivery. The customer shall also tacitly declare acceptance before expiry of the deadline by making unconditional use of the work.

(5) Expenses shall be reimbursed by the customer separately in addition to the fee, in particular costs for agreed travel and courier services engaged on the customer's behalf.

(6) If the customer is an entrepreneur and engages Sinnwerkstatt on more than an occasional basis, the artists' social insurance fund (Künstlersozialkasse) is entitled to a levy pursuant to the German Artists' Social Insurance Act (Künstlersozialversicherungsgesetz), which is to be paid directly by the customer to the Künstlersozialkasse. Further information is available at www.kuenstlersozialkasse.de.

(7) The payment term for Sinnwerkstatt's invoices is two weeks from receipt of the invoice. Sinnwerkstatt may also send invoices electronically by email.

(8) Payments are to be made by bank transfer to Sinnwerkstatt's account. Transfers from abroad must be made in euros and must be free of charges for the recipient. Cheques, bills of exchange, or foreign currencies are not accepted.

(9) The customer is required to raise any objections to an invoice in text form within eight weeks of receipt; after expiry of this period, the content of the invoice shall be deemed correct, subject to the customer's right to prove otherwise. The customer will be expressly notified of this legal consequence when the invoice is sent.

(10) If the customer is in default of payment of an invoice, Sinnwerkstatt may charge a flat-rate processing fee of €5 per reminder, unless the customer can demonstrate that no costs or lower costs were incurred; further consequences of default remain unaffected.

(11) If the parties have agreed payment by direct debit, it is the customer's responsibility to ensure that the debit can be collected in time. Costs incurred by Sinnwerkstatt due to a failed debit for which the customer is responsible may be charged to the customer.

(12) The customer may only set off against undisputed or legally established claims; the assertion of claims by way of counterclaim remains unaffected.

§ 7 – contract duration; termination

(1) Where ongoing obligations are entered into between the parties for services, the contract duration, unless expressly agreed otherwise, shall initially be 12 months. The contractual relationship shall renew for further periods of 12 months each unless terminated by either party.

(2) Either party may terminate an ongoing obligation by giving three months' notice to the end of the respective contract period. The right of either party to terminate for good cause without notice remains unaffected. Good cause for termination by Sinnwerkstatt exists in particular where insolvency proceedings have been opened in respect of the customer's assets, or where the opening of such proceedings has been rejected for lack of assets.

(3) The right of extraordinary termination for good cause remains unaffected for either party. Good cause shall include in particular a customer's default in payment of a gross invoice amount of €300 or more, or – for lower amounts – over a period of two months or more. Good cause for Sinnwerkstatt may also arise where the customer breaches their obligations or these terms and conditions.

§ 8 – disruption of performance; liability

(1) The customer shall immediately notify Sinnwerkstatt of any service failures or other technical errors and unexpected software behaviour, in order to enable prompt remediation. The customer has a corresponding duty to cooperate and to mitigate damage.

(2) Sinnwerkstatt's liability for financial losses is limited to cases of intent and gross negligence. In cases of minor negligence, Sinnwerkstatt shall only be liable for financial losses arising from the breach of obligations whose fulfilment is essential to the proper performance of the contract and upon which the customer may regularly rely (cardinal obligations). In such cases, Sinnwerkstatt's liability is limited to foreseeable consequences of the type typically associated with such a breach.

(3) Sinnwerkstatt's liability for financial losses resulting from the damage or loss of data stored on a server managed by Sinnwerkstatt is limited to the consequences of a wilful or grossly negligent failure by Sinnwerkstatt to perform a data backup that it was contractually obliged to perform. The customer shall bear any loss themselves to the extent that it arises from the customer's own failure to fulfil their own data backup obligations.

(4) Liability for damages resulting from injury to life, body, or health, under the Product Liability Act, or arising from the assumption of a guarantee remains unaffected.

§ 9 – rights of retention; security rights

(1) Rights of retention may only be asserted on the basis of counterclaims arising from the respective contractual relationship.

(2) Sinnwerkstatt retains title to all delivered items until full payment by the customer. The same applies to rights of use in software or other intellectual property of Sinnwerkstatt.

(3) The customer grants Sinnwerkstatt a contractual lien over the customer's data and domains to the extent that outstanding claims of Sinnwerkstatt against the customer exist under the contractual relationship; in particular, the parties agree that Sinnwerkstatt may in such a case refuse any consent required for a domain transfer (KK process).

§ 10 – confidentiality

(1) Both parties undertake to maintain confidentiality regarding confidential information concerning the other party and to use such information solely for the performance of this contract and the purposes pursued thereby. This obligation shall continue for a period of 12 months after termination of the contract. Confidential information means all information and documents of the other party that are designated as confidential or that are to be regarded as confidential from the circumstances, in particular information about the products of the respective party, including source code, documentation and other materials, operational processes, business relationships, and know-how.

(2) Both parties undertake to impose the confidentiality obligation on all employees and/or third parties who have access to the aforementioned business matters. This obligation shall likewise continue for a period of 12 months after termination of the contract.

(3) The confidentiality obligation under paragraph 1 shall not apply to information that:

(a) was already known to the other party at the time of conclusion of the contract;
(b) was already publicly available at the time of disclosure, without this resulting from a breach of confidentiality by the other party;
(c) the other party has expressly authorised in writing for disclosure;
(d) the other party has lawfully received from other sources without restrictions as to confidentiality, provided that the disclosure and use of such confidential information does not violate any contractual agreements, statutory provisions, or official orders;
(e) the other party has independently developed without access to the confidential information;
(f) must be disclosed pursuant to statutory disclosure, notification and/or publication obligations or by order of a public authority. To the extent permitted, the party subject to such obligation shall inform the other party as early as possible and provide best-effort support in contesting the obligation to disclose.

§ 11 – amendments to the general terms and conditions

From time to time it may be necessary to amend these General Terms and Conditions. Sinnwerkstatt will notify the customer of any intended amendment no later than six weeks before the amendment takes effect. If the customer does not object within one month in text form, their consent shall be deemed given. The customer will be expressly notified of the right to object in the announcement.

§ 12 – consumer dispute resolution

Consumer dispute resolution is not provided for, as Sinnwerkstatt's contracts are directed exclusively at entrepreneurs.

§ 13 – place of performance; jurisdiction; applicable law; data protection

(1) The parties agree on the registered office of Sinnwerkstatt in Berlin as the place of performance for all contractual services and as the exclusive place of jurisdiction for all disputes arising from this contract, insofar as the matter constitutes a commercial transaction for both parties.

(2) The parties subject their agreements to the law of the Federal Republic of Germany, to the exclusion of the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) and to the exclusion of German conflict-of-law rules for private international law.

(3) The general privacy notice of Sinnwerkstatt applies, which can be accessed at https://sinnwerkstatt.com/en/privacy/

(4) Should any individual provisions of t

§ 14 – design services

(1) design drafts

(a) Where Sinnwerkstatt is commissioned to create a design, it will develop a number of different drafts on the basis of the client's specifications. Unless otherwise agreed, two drafts will be developed. Presentation of the drafts shall, in case of doubt, take place at Sinnwerkstatt's registered office.

(b) The client may select one of the drafts for further development in a revision round. In the revision round, Sinnwerkstatt will incorporate all change requests that the client communicates at one time in consolidated form. The revision round concludes with Sinnwerkstatt's presentation of the further developed design. Following the first revision round, a second revision round may follow for the same draft using the same process, if the client so wishes.

(c) With the presentation of the agreed number of drafts and the conclusion of the second revision round for one of the drafts, Sinnwerkstatt's contractual service is complete. Additional drafts and revision rounds beyond this scope must be separately agreed and remunerated.

(d) Sinnwerkstatt's service comprises the creative and artistic development work. No guarantee of satisfaction is owed.

(e) Presented drafts may be used by the client solely for the purpose of review and decision-making regarding further use. Without Sinnwerkstatt's express consent, drafts may neither be passed on to third parties nor retained by the client for purposes other than review. Rejected drafts must be destroyed by the client without delay; digitally transmitted drafts – including emails – must be deleted accordingly. Drafts transmitted by Sinnwerkstatt to the client for review purposes may contain technical restrictions, e.g. with regard to resolution or printability.

(f) Sinnwerkstatt does not provide legal review of the client's design requests. In particular, research into any name, trademark, copyright, competition, or other third-party rights is not part of the commission. It is the client's responsibility to seek advice from qualified legal counsel in these matters.

(2) delivery and rights of use

(a) Delivery of the designed work (hereinafter: "Work") in a version suitable for further use in accordance with the purpose envisaged by the parties, together with the granting of rights of use in that Work, constitutes a service to be separately agreed and remunerated, independently of the drafting service.

(b) Only the final version of the Work will be delivered. Delivery is made as a digital file in a closed format by electronic transmission to the client, insofar as the nature of the Work permits this. Otherwise, the Work will be handed over in physical form at Sinnwerkstatt's registered office.

(d) In all other respects, the scope of rights granted is governed by § 5.

(3) other services

(a) Other services provided by Sinnwerkstatt may include advisory, support, and representation services for the client beyond those set out in items (1) and (2) above, such as paper and material research for special print materials, manufacturer and service provider research for special production or processing methods, obtaining third-party quotes on behalf of the client, support during prepress and press approval, sampling, material deliveries and collections, and acceptance of third-party work results.

(b) Unless otherwise agreed, Sinnwerkstatt shall receive a time-based fee for these services in accordance with § 6(1).

(4) third-party services

(a) Unless expressly agreed otherwise, the client shall enter into contractual relationships with any external service providers – such as printers, processing companies, illustrators, and programmers – directly; these are third parties and are not vicarious agents or subcontractors of Sinnwerkstatt.

(b) The client may commission Sinnwerkstatt to coordinate and supervise third-party services. In such cases, Sinnwerkstatt shall place print and other orders as agent and on account of the client. Such coordination constitutes an independent, remunerated service of Sinnwerkstatt.

(c) Print services and other processing work shall only be commissioned on the basis of a proof approved by the client. By approving the proof, the client declares that it meets their requirements in every respect. The client waives any subsequent warranty or damages claims insofar as the print or processing work corresponds to the approved proof.

(5) deadlines and dates

Execution deadlines are non-binding and do not constitute fixed deadlines in the sense of a fixed-date transaction unless they are expressly confirmed as binding in text form.

(6) definition of "work"

For the purposes of these terms and conditions, the parties understand "Work" to mean any work result – including partial or intermediate results – of Sinnwerkstatt, even if it does not attain the level of creative originality required under copyright law, or for other reasons does not qualify as a work within the meaning of copyright law, or does not fall within the scope of copyright law.

(7) remuneration

Insofar as the amount of remuneration for a design service provided by Sinnwerkstatt has not been agreed, remuneration shall be calculated on the basis of the recommendations of the Berufsverband deutscher Kommunikationsdesigner e.V. (Association of German Communication Designers).

§ 15 – Conditions for software development

(1) Where Sinnwerkstatt is to be commissioned to develop software, it is the client's responsibility to set out their requirements regarding functionality, content, and design as comprehensively and in as much detail as possible in a requirements specification (Lastenheft) prior to conclusion of the contract. In particular, the client is responsible for communicating prior to conclusion of the contract the system configurations (hardware, operating systems, web browsers, and other software environments) on which the software to be developed is intended to be used.

(2) Software within the meaning of these terms and conditions means the entirety of the work result comprising programme code, graphics, texts and other audio-visual content, database structures and content, regardless of the number of files across which these components are distributed.

(3) For the creation of software, Sinnwerkstatt shall apply the state of the art at the time of Sinnwerkstatt's offer; where no separate offer exists, the time of conclusion of the contract shall apply.

(4) Changes in the state of the art occurring after conclusion of the contract that are indispensable for the secure and reliable functioning of the software to be created entitle the client to request adaptation of the order placed; this applies in particular to adaptations in response to newly published security vulnerabilities, operating system, or browser versions. Insofar as fulfilment of the adapted contract results in increased effort for Sinnwerkstatt, Sinnwerkstatt shall be entitled to a correspondingly increased fee.

(5) Sinnwerkstatt may provide software in compiled or encrypted form insofar as open source code is not technically indispensable for the intended purpose. No entitlement to the handover of source code arises from the first sentence unless handover has been expressly warranted by Sinnwerkstatt in the individual order. Where source code is provided, it does not contain comments.

(6) Insofar as Sinnwerkstatt is to create websites or programmes for publication on the internet on behalf of the client, Sinnwerkstatt does not undertake any legal review in this regard. In particular, it is the client's responsibility to provide legally relevant elements such as the legal notice (Impressum), general terms and conditions, and privacy notices.

§ 16 – Functionality of software

(1) The parties are aware that Sinnwerkstatt cannot guarantee that the software will operate without errors or interruptions under all conceivable system configurations – in particular across different web browsers on a wide variety of stationary and mobile devices and their settings – or that all errors will be remediable. Sinnwerkstatt shall develop the software such that it is fit for its intended purpose under the conditions set out in § 15(1) and taking into account any amendments, but cannot guarantee its functionality for deviating conditions, in particular not for future technical standards.

(2) Insofar as the client commissions the integration of functionality provided by a third party (e.g. embedding of social media content, access to third-party database sources), Sinnwerkstatt's service is limited to integrating these services into the software in accordance with the third party's specifications, insofar as this is technically possible.

(3) Sinnwerkstatt has no obligation to review the legal permissibility of integrating such functionality; this is solely the client's responsibility. Sinnwerkstatt provides no warranty that the third-party services requested by the client will be available or operational at the time of completion of the software, or will remain usable in the future, as this depends on the conduct of the third party. The third party is therefore not a vicarious agent of Sinnwerkstatt.

§ 17a – Use of free and open source software

(1) In the course of developing software, free and open source software will generally form part of Sinnwerkstatt's work product.

(2) The individual licences of the open source software used in each case are commented on or referenced in the code. The obligation to review and comply with these licence terms transfers to the client upon provision or handover of the work results.

§ 17b – Use of Sinnwerkstatt's source code

(1) Insofar as Sinnwerkstatt has created its own source code and is therefore the author of that code, it grants the client a non-exclusive, temporally unlimited right of use therein, subject to the provisions of these terms and conditions.

(2) The client may not publish this source code or pass it on to third parties. The right of use granted may only be transferred in its entirety to third parties or published with the consent of Sinnwerkstatt.

(3) Upon the client's request, a copy of the source code will be provided to the client.

(4) The client is entitled to further develop the software. Such further development may, however, only be carried out for the client's own purposes.

§ 18 – Maintenance services ("Security & Maintenance")

(1) Where Sinnwerkstatt is commissioned to maintain the client's software, Sinnwerkstatt will independently install, during the contract term, those software updates provided by the respective manufacturers of the WordPress software, WordPress plugins, and, where applicable, other third-party code components.

(2) Where a manufacturer provides upgrades, Sinnwerkstatt may inform the client accordingly, but may only install such an upgrade following a separate instruction from the client.

(3) Updates generally only improve existing functions, correct errors ("bug fixes"), and/or close security vulnerabilities within the existing scope of functions ("security updates"). Upgrades are more extensive changes compared to updates and are generally associated with the introduction of new functions and/or new behaviour.

(4) Where a manufacturer makes no clear distinction between updates and upgrades, or delivers both in an inseparable combination, it is at Sinnwerkstatt's dutiful discretion to decide on installation. The same applies to security updates where these are inseparably linked to other updates. In making its decision, Sinnwerkstatt shall have particular regard to the importance and urgency of the update for the stability and security of the client's infrastructure. In case of doubt, Sinnwerkstatt is entitled, but not obliged, to carry out the installation.

(5) Sinnwerkstatt provides no warranty for any specific outcome of an update or upgrade installation. In particular, Sinnwerkstatt cannot predict whether such an installation will be carried out without errors or whether it will result in an improvement for the client. Depending on the quality of the software provided by the respective manufacturer, functions may also be removed, change in a way that is disadvantageous to the client, or become error-prone. If the client wishes to exclude such risks, they must refrain from commissioning Sinnwerkstatt to provide the maintenance services described.

(6) The scope of the maintenance services assumed by Sinnwerkstatt is determined by the state of the software at the time the maintenance services are commissioned. Subsequent modifications to the software by the client – in particular plugins or other functions added by the client, or changes or updates carried out by the client, e.g. through updates or upgrades – do not alter Sinnwerkstatt's service obligations in relation to the original commission.

§ 19 – Domain registrations

(1) The following provisions apply to domain registrations insofar as these are commissioned by the client.

(2) If the client commissions Sinnwerkstatt to register an internet address (domain) on their behalf, Sinnwerkstatt shall carry out the registration not in its own name but as the client's representative.

(3) Sinnwerkstatt's service consists of applying for the allocation of the desired domain at the competent registration authority (e.g. Denic e.G.) and, upon successful application, communicating the necessary access credentials for use of the domain to the client. The success of the registration depends, among other things, on whether the domain has not already been registered by a third party; Sinnwerkstatt has no influence over this.

(4) Once the domain has been allocated to the client, Sinnwerkstatt shall ensure that the domain remains registered for the client at the registration authority for the duration of the contract between the client and Sinnwerkstatt. Sinnwerkstatt shall assume the fees charged by the registration authority on its own account; only Sinnwerkstatt's own fees shall apply as between Sinnwerkstatt and the client. If the domain cannot be allocated to the client, no fees shall be charged to the client.

(5) It is the client's responsibility to ensure that the desired domain does not give rise to any trademark, name, competition, or other legal conflicts. Sinnwerkstatt owes no review in this regard.

(6) The terms and conditions of the competent registration authority shall apply additionally.

(7) The fee for registered domains shall be invoiced once annually in advance for the current contract year.

§ 20 – Domain duration and termination

(1) Domain registrations have an initial term of 12 months; for the top-level domain .eu, an initial term of 24 months applies by way of exception. The term commences upon registration by the registration authority; Sinnwerkstatt will notify the client without delay of the successful registration and the commencement of the term.

(2) The term shall renew for further periods of 12 months each unless one party terminates the contract in writing (letter or fax) with six weeks' notice prior to the end of the term.

(3) In order for termination to be effective, it must include the documents required by the competent registration authority; this is generally a written closure request (Close-Antrag) signed by an authorised representative (domain holder or administrative contact [Admin-C]). If required documents are missing, the termination shall be deemed not to have been declared.

(4) Domains terminated by the client shall be returned by Sinnwerkstatt to the registration authority at the end of their term. It is the client's responsibility to submit a domain transfer request (KK request) in good time if they wish to continue using the terminated domain through a third party.

§ 21 – Web hosting

(1) Insofar as Sinnwerkstatt provides services for the storage and making accessible of content over the internet (web hosting), Sinnwerkstatt shall make resources on a web server available to the client. Sinnwerkstatt may draw on third parties as upstream suppliers, in particular data centre operators. The server location is in a member state of the EU.

(2) Sinnwerkstatt's services in relation to the transmission of data within the scope of web hosting are limited to communication between the web server and the nearest connection point to the internet. Sinnwerkstatt has no influence over the availability and reliability of internet data paths outside its own network. Successful onward transmission of data from the connection point to third parties is therefore not owed.

(3) Sinnwerkstatt will notify the client of planned maintenance work by email at least 48 hours before it commences.

(4) A web hosting services contract has a generally open-ended term. The client may terminate the contract at any time with 30 days' notice to the end of a calendar month without stating reasons. Sinnwerkstatt may terminate the contract at any time with 60 days' notice to the end of a calendar month without stating reasons.

§ 22 – Client obligations when using hosting and domain services

(1) The client warrants that it will not store any unlawful content in the storage space made available to it – whether on a server of Sinnwerkstatt or the client or in email accounts.

(2) The client is further obliged not to misuse the storage space and other system resources and infrastructure for purposes outside the scope of the contract. The following shall in particular constitute misuse between the parties:

(a) the sending of email advertising ("spam") unless the respective recipient has previously given their express consent to receive it;

(b) the sending of emails with forged or suppressed sender details;

(d) the storage or sending of viruses or similar malicious software ("malware"), as well as programmes whose distribution is prohibited under § 95a(3) of the German Copyright Act (software for circumventing copy protection);

(e) use for the purpose of computer sabotage or unauthorised access to other internet hosts (§§ 303a, 303b of the German Criminal Code), as well as comparable acts or preparations that are capable of being used for an unlawful act;

(f) the storage or sending of image, video, audio, text, or other files in breach of copyright, trademark, name, competition, or personal rights;

(g) the storage or sending of pornographic or youth-endangering content;

(h) the storage or sending of content for the purposes of nationalist ("right-wing") politics that contradict the principles of tolerance and international understanding.

(3) Misuse also occurs where the client makes IP addresses, domains, or email accounts that are the subject of the contract available as reply or destination addresses for impermissible advertising sent via third parties.

(4) The client is obliged to review the data stored in their storage space at appropriate intervals – at least weekly – on a precautionary basis, to ensure that no content that is impermissible under paragraphs (1) to (3) is present. This applies in particular where the client uses blogs, forums, mailing lists, newsgroups, or other content that can be influenced by third parties. If the client identifies content that is contractually or legally impermissible, the client shall delete such content without delay and intensify monitoring of their content.

(5) The client shall treat the access credentials provided by Sinnwerkstatt – in particular passwords – as confidential and not make them accessible to third parties. Changeable passwords must be changed by the client at regular intervals – at least every six months – and only secure passwords may be used, consisting of a combination of letters, numbers, and special characters of at least six characters that is not easy to guess.

(6) The client is obliged to back up all data stored in their storage space, including any email accounts and database contents, on a regular basis – at least weekly – to a medium independent of the server (backup). If the client commissions Sinnwerkstatt to carry out individual administrative interventions on their server, the client must perform a separate data backup immediately prior to the intervention.

§ 23 – Indemnification against third-party claims

The customer shall indemnify Sinnwerkstatt against all claims asserted by third parties against Sinnwerkstatt based on content stored on the customer’s server or content distributed from the customer’s server or via one of the customer’s email accounts, in particular claims alleging infringements of copyright, trademark, name, competition, or personality rights. The same applies to claims by third parties arising from a domain name registered for the customer. The indemnification obligation also covers Sinnwerkstatt’s expenses for a reasonable investigation of the facts and legal defense.

Berlin, March 16th 2026