§ 1 Scope
These General Terms and Conditions apply to all contracts for web design, publishing, rental, hosting and maintenance services between Dr. Jonas Heimicke (hereinafter "Provider") and commercial clients (hereinafter "Client"). The services are aimed exclusively at entrepreneurs within the meaning of Section 14 of the German Civil Code (BGB).
Any terms and conditions of the Client that deviate from, conflict with, or supplement these Terms shall only become part of the contract if the Provider has expressly agreed to their applicability in text form (e.g. email).
Individual agreements set out in the quote or in a separate contract (e.g. a maintenance agreement) take precedence over these Terms.
§ 2 Conclusion of Contract, Contract Models and Scope of Services
The contract is concluded when the Client accepts an individual quote, e.g. by email confirmation. The specific scope of services (number of pages, functions, design, deadlines, fees) is defined in the respective quote or project briefing.
The Provider offers its services under the following models:
- a) Purchase model: one-off conception, design and technical implementation of a website for a one-time fee, including support with publishing if requested.
- b) Rental model: provision of an individually designed website for a monthly fee for the duration of the contract, including the ongoing services set out in § 8.
- c) Maintenance: ongoing support of an existing website for a monthly or annual flat fee, with or without hosting, domain and SSL certificate as agreed.
The Provider is entitled to use supporting AI tools during implementation (see § 4). This does not change the contractually agreed description of services.
The Provider does not provide legal advice. A legal review of the website or its content is not part of the services.
§ 3 Client's Duties to Cooperate, Content Provided
The Client shall provide the content required for implementation (texts, images, logos, access credentials, and the like) in good time. Where the Client provides its own image or text material, it warrants that it holds the necessary usage and copyright rights to that material and shall indemnify the Provider against third-party claims arising from a breach of this warranty.
If the provision of necessary content or feedback by the Client is delayed, agreed deadlines shall be postponed accordingly.
The Client is responsible for the content it provides and for the legally required information on its website (in particular the legal notice and the privacy policy) and supplies that content. The Provider integrates this information technically but does not review it for legal accuracy or completeness.
§ 4 Use of AI-Assisted Tools
In providing its services, the Provider uses AI-assisted tools in a supporting capacity, for example to revise text, to create illustrations and graphic elements, and in creating and optimizing code. Creative and design conception remains with the Provider; AI tools are used as an aid, not as the sole source of content.
Should AI-generated image content depicting real persons or appearing deceptively realistic be used in an individual case, deviating from the regular scope of services, the Provider will notify the Client of this separately. In this case, it will be agreed in writing before publication which party is responsible for labeling the content as AI-generated within the meaning of the applicable statutory requirements (in particular Art. 50 of the EU AI Act).
Since purely AI-generated content without a sufficient own human creative contribution is regularly not eligible for copyright protection under German law, the Provider does not transfer any exclusive usage rights in this respect, but grants the Client an unrestricted right of use pursuant to § 5 and does not itself assert any claims to such content.
§ 5 Usage Rights
Purchase model: Upon full payment of the agreed fee, the Client receives a simple, temporally and geographically unrestricted right of use to the content created within the project (design, layout, individually created texts, illustrations, code), insofar as this content is eligible for copyright protection and nothing to the contrary has been agreed. The right of use includes the right to modify and extend the website and to have it maintained further, either by the Client or by third parties. The Client receives the files of the finished website.
Rental model: For the term of the rental contract, the Client receives a simple, non-transferable right to use the website publicly under its domain. All rights to design, layout and code remain with the Provider. There is no entitlement to the release of the website files. The right of use expires when the contract ends. Content provided by the Client (texts, images, logos) always remains with the Client.
The Provider is entitled to name the completed project for reference and acquisition purposes (e.g. portfolio, references, social media) and to display it in non-confidential excerpts, unless the Client expressly objects.
Components licensed from third-party providers (e.g. fonts, stock material, frameworks) are subject to the respective third-party provider's license terms.
§ 6 Fees and Payment Terms
The fee agreed in the respective quote applies. All prices are net and subject to statutory value added tax. Unless otherwise agreed, invoices are due for payment in full within 14 days of the invoice date.
Recurring fees (rental, maintenance, hosting) are invoiced monthly in advance unless annual billing has been agreed.
If the Client defaults on a recurring fee, the Provider may, after a reminder in text form setting a payment deadline of 14 days, temporarily suspend the website and the other ongoing services until the outstanding amounts have been settled. The obligation to pay continues during the suspension. In the case of one-off project services, the Provider is entitled to withhold further services in the event of default until payment has been made.
§ 7 Maintenance Services
Where maintenance has been agreed, it covers the services specified in the quote or maintenance agreement, such as minor content adjustments, technical updates and help in the event of malfunctions. Hosting, domain and SSL certificate are only included if expressly agreed. More extensive changes (e.g. new functions, new pages, structural redesigns) are quoted and billed separately.
§ 8 Special Conditions for the Rental Model
(1) Scope of services: The rental covers the design and provision of the website in the agreed scope, hosting, an SSL certificate, administration of one domain, one email address, and ongoing maintenance including minor content changes. Rebuilds that go beyond minor changes are quoted separately.
(2) Start: The rental period and the obligation to pay begin when the website is published. If publication is delayed for reasons for which the Client is responsible (in particular missing content or feedback), they begin no later than four weeks after the first draft has been provided.
(3) Domain: The domain is registered in the Client's name and administered by the Provider for the term of the contract. When the contract ends, the Provider will cooperate in transferring the domain to a provider named by the Client. Any costs incurred with the new provider are borne by the Client.
(4) Email: The Client is responsible for backing up its own emails. After the contract ends, the mailbox remains accessible for retrieval and backup for a further 30 days and is deleted thereafter.
(5) End of contract: When the contract ends, the website is taken offline. Content provided by the Client will be released by the Provider on request.
(6) Switching to purchase: Switching from the rental model to the purchase model is possible by individual agreement. There is no entitlement to have rental payments already made credited against the purchase price unless otherwise agreed.
§ 9 Hosting, Availability and Data Protection
Where the Provider renders hosting services, it uses external hosting service providers for this purpose. The Provider endeavours to keep the website accessible with as little interruption as possible but does not owe any specific level of availability. Outages caused by maintenance, faults at the hosting service provider, or circumstances outside the Provider's control do not give rise to claims by the Client, unless the Provider is at fault.
Insofar as the Provider processes personal data on behalf of the Client in the context of hosting, email or maintenance, the parties shall conclude a data processing agreement pursuant to Art. 28 GDPR.
§ 10 Warranty
The Provider renders its services in accordance with the current state of the art and with the care customary in web design. In the event of justified complaints of defects, the Provider shall first be given the opportunity to remedy the defect within a reasonable period.
Under the rental model, the Provider maintains the website in a condition suitable for contractual use for the term of the contract and remedies defects within a reasonable period. The Provider's strict liability for defects existing at the time the contract was concluded pursuant to Section 536a (1) alt. 1 of the German Civil Code (BGB) is excluded.
The warranty does not cover content that the Client has provided itself or independently modified after handover, nor malfunctions caused by third-party interference or by hosting environments that deviate from the Provider's recommendation.
§ 11 Liability
The Provider is liable without limitation for damages resulting from injury to life, body, or health, and in cases of intent or gross negligence.
For breaches of duty caused by ordinary negligence, the Provider is only liable insofar as a material contractual obligation (cardinal obligation) is affected, the fulfillment of which is essential to the proper performance of the contract in the first place and on whose observance the Client was entitled to rely; in such cases, liability is limited to the foreseeable damage typical for this type of contract.
Any further liability is excluded. Liability under the German Product Liability Act (Produkthaftungsgesetz) remains unaffected.
§ 12 Contract Term and Termination
One-off project services (e.g. creation of a website under the purchase model) end upon acceptance or handover of the finished project.
Rental contracts have a minimum term of six months from the start of the rental period, unless otherwise agreed in the quote. Thereafter they continue for an indefinite period and may be terminated by either party with four weeks' notice to the end of a calendar month. There is no automatic renewal for fixed longer periods.
For maintenance agreements, the term and notice period set out in the quote or maintenance agreement apply. If nothing is stipulated there, they run for an indefinite period and may be terminated with four weeks' notice to the end of a calendar month.
Termination must be given in text form (e.g. email).
The right to extraordinary termination for good cause remains unaffected. For the Provider, good cause exists in particular if the Client is in default with two monthly fees or uses the website for unlawful content. If the Provider terminates for good cause attributable to the Client within the minimum term, the claim to the fees outstanding until the end of the minimum term remains in place; saved expenses are credited.
§ 13 Price Adjustment
The Provider may adjust recurring fees by giving six weeks' notice in text form, at the earliest with effect from the end of the minimum term. In this case, the Client may terminate the contract with effect from the date the adjustment takes effect. The Provider will point this out in the announcement.
§ 14 Consumer Dispute Resolution
The Provider is not willing and not obligated to participate in dispute resolution proceedings before a consumer arbitration board.
§ 15 Final Provisions
The law of the Federal Republic of Germany applies. To the extent legally permissible, the place of jurisdiction for all disputes arising from or in connection with this contract is the Provider's place of business.
Should any provision of these Terms be or become invalid, the validity of the remaining provisions shall remain unaffected.
This English version is a convenience translation. In the event of any discrepancy, the German version shall prevail.