05. May 2021
1. GTC scope of application
1.1. These general terms and conditions (GTC) shall apply to all declarations of intent, contracts, and legal or legal-like transactions of Vogel Communications Group GmbH & Co. KG, Max-Planck-Straße 7/9, 97082 Würzburg, and of PLC2 Programmable Logic Competence Center GmbH, Hugstmattweg 30, 79112 Freiburg (hereinafter jointly “organizer(s)”) in regard to the event FPGA-Conference (“FPGA”) towards participants (hereinafter “participant(s)”).
1.2 .Contrasting or deviating conditions to these GTC are not accepted unless an express written agreement with the event organizer is made. These GTC shall also apply if the organizer unconditionally provides services in knowledge of contrasting conditions or participant conditions deviating from these conditions.
1.3. The organizer reserves the right to unilaterally alter the GTC at any point. Changes to the GTC shall be disclosed to the participant in writing or electronically (e.g. via email). The participant may object to the updated version of the GTC within 2 weeks after said disclosure. Without objection, changes shall be deemed accepted. If the participant objects to changes to the GTC, the organizer shall have the right to terminate the contractual relationship with immediate effect.
1.4 These GTC are valid in their most recent updated form at the respective point in time of the legal transaction being concluded or the contractual-like relationship being entered. Unless agreed otherwise, they shall also apply to any future legal transactions or contractual-like relationships, even if not expressly agreed upon again. The currently valid version of these GTC can be found at GTC participants.
2. Conclusion of contract and registration
2.1 All events by the organizer (meaning digital, in-person, or hybrid events) require an advance online registration via the booking portal with mandatory consent to these GTC. The participant must submit their registration for an event to the organizer in the form provided for this purpose and this registration is a binding offer to conclude a contract regarding the respective event chosen by the participant. When prompted to provide information during the registration process, participants are to do so truthfully.
2.2. The contract is concluded for the event chosen by the participant by the organizer sending the participant the booking confirmation. Any admission confirmed by the organizer is binding. The participant has no claim to admission.
2.3. If a legal entity registers for an event, a colleague of the legal entity may participate in the event.
2.4. Offers from the organizer constitute a request to the participant to themselves make an offer for the conclusion of a contract.
3. Contractual relationships and contents
3.1. The participant can book services or contents of the respective event at the organizer. The scope and content of the services owed by the organizer shall be determined in the registration confirmation.
3.2. The services owed by the organizer according to section 3.1 are hereinafter also uniformly referred to as the “subject of performance”. The organizer does not guarantee any commercial success.
3.3. The organizer is entitled, at its own discretion, to perform the services itself, to use competent third parties as proxies for the performance of services under the contract, and/or to substitute such services.
3.4. The contractual agreements between the parties correlate as follows:
- Registration confirmation including potential attachments,
- these GTC, respective up to date version,
- legal provisions.
In the event of any contradictions, the contractual bases shall apply in the order listed.
4. Participation
4.1 The admission of the participant to an event confirmed by the organizer only applies to the registered participant. When personally unavailable, the participant may designate a replacement participant who, given the organizer’s consent, may replace the original participant at the event.
4.2 The approval may be revoked by the organizer if it was granted on the basis of false or incomplete information, or if the requirements for approval subsequently cease to apply.
4.3. The contractual basis for the participation in events is comprised of the house rules of the event venue’s operator in addition to these GTC.
5. Online services for hybrid and digital events
Access to the online event platform, system requirements
5.1. Generally the provision of access to the event platform, and the use of the functionalities of the event platform, and, if applicable, the provision of storage space for the data made accessible by the participant on the event platform to the agreed extent is the subject of booking services in connection with digital events or the digitally conducted part of hybrid events.
5.2. The organizer does not provide the participant with an access software. Generally, access is granted via a browser supported by the event platform and meeting the system requirements of the organizer or via download-able software. Unless noted otherwise in the specification of services of the respective event service package, these system requirements are:
- A standard broadband Internet connection;
- An up-to-date Internet browser;
- For active participation: Headphones, microphone, and webcam/cam;
- For passive participation: Speakers and headphone.
Details regarding system requirements can be found at System requirements – Legal Cockpit (vogel.de).
5.3 The system requirements are part of the contract provisions. The participant must check in due time before their participation in the digital or hybrid event whether the connection to the event platform can be established, and, if applicable, quickly solve any technical malfunctions for which they are responsible. If a technical connection to the event platform cannot be established, the organizer shall be informed in due time.
5.4. The organizer does not owe the participant the provision and/or functionality of the browser.
5.5. The participant shall take the necessary precautions to prevent access to the event platform by unauthorized parties.
Availability of the event platform, additional service levels
5.6. The organizer guarantees the participant availability of the event platform including accessibility and reachability necessary for a successful participation in the respective event.
5.7. The organizer shall not be liable for any malfunctions, interruptions, or failures on the event platform that the organizer is not responsible for, in particular impairments resulting from failures and/or malfunctions of technical systems and/or network components outside the area of responsibility of the organizer; this includes.
- failures caused by incoming cyber attacks. This does not apply if the organizer is obligated to use virus protection programs, and these were not up-to-date at the time of the cyber attack;
- Failures caused by incorrect use of software or hardware on the part of the participant;
Duties of the participant, liability for illegal content, compliance with legal frameworks
5.8. The participant shall be liable for ensuring that, within the scope of the functions and digital presentation options available to them on the event platform, no racist, discriminatory, pornographic, youth-protection-endangering, politically extreme, or any other unlawful incident, or incidents violating official provisions or requirements occur, or that corresponding data are created by them and/or stored on the server of the operator of the event platform. In particular, the following actions on the event platform are forbidden for the participant:
- Posting, distribution, offering, and advertising of pornographic content, services and/or products that violate the Youth Protection Act, data protection laws, and/or other laws and/or are fraudulent;
- Use of content that may insult or defame the organizer or third parties or may damage the organizer’s reputation;
- Use, provision and distribution of content, services and/or products that are protected by law or protected by third-party rights (e.g. copyrights) without being expressly authorized to do so.
5.9. Furthermore, the following activities are prohibited for the participant irrespective of any possible violation of the law, when posting their own content via the features of the event platform, and when communicating with other participants and/or moderators (e.g. by sending personal messages, by participating in forum discussion, or by writing guestbook entries):
- Distribution of viruses, Trojans, and other malicious data;
- Sending junk or spam e-mails and chain letters;
- Spreading lewd, offensive, sexually oriented, obscene, or defamatory content or communication, and content or communication that is/are likely to promote or support racism, bigotry, hatred, physical violence, or illegal acts (both explicitly or implicitly);
- Harassing other participants, and/or moderators, e.g. by repeatedly contacting them personally without permission or contrary to the reaction of the person contacted, and encouraging or supporting such harassment;
- Soliciting other participants, and/or moderators to disclose passwords or personal data for commercial or unlawful purposes;
- Distribution and/or public reproduction of content available on the event platform, unless the participant is expressly permitted to do so by the respective author.
5.10. The participant assures to own all rights, in particular all copyrights, rights of use, and ancillary copyrights to the contents posted by them. If the participant is not the author of the content posted by them, they assure the ownership of the unrestricted right of use to said content. The participant assures the ownership of unrestricted exploitation rights, the non-existence of third party rights for the submitted content, and that no personal rights have been violated in the representation of people.
5.11. The participant adheres to applicable data protection provisions. In accordance with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the participant is the controller of any personal data processed by them, e.g. additional event participants added by them (if agreed). If the participant stores or processes personal data on the systems of the event platform, this shall be secured by concluding a corresponding data protection agreement on commissioned processing in addition to the existing contractual agreements.
6.Payment maturity
6.1. The agreed participation fee is due in advance upon receipt of the invoice.
6.2. If the participant fails to meet the payment deadline, the organizer may exclude them from participation in the event. The obligation to pay the agreed fees remains unaffected by this.
6.3. If the participant fails to meet the payment deadline, the organizer may exclude them from participation in the event. The obligation to pay the agreed fees remains unaffected by this.
7. Cancellation, changes
7.1 Unless otherwise stated in the registration confirmation or otherwise agreed, the participant has the right to cancel their participation in the event in writing. A lump-sum compensation shall be paid by the participant to the organizer in case of cancellation according to the following gradients:
- Cancellation up to 3 months prior to the event: 79.00€ plus VAT or, alternatively 100% of the participation fee if the fee is less than 79.00€ plus VAT.
- Cancellation less than 3 months prior to the event: 50% of the participation fee
- Cancellation less than 2 days prior to the event or no-show on the day of the event: 100% of the participation fee.
7.2. Furthermore, the organizer has the right to change the event for important reasons (e.g. changes to the program, the format (in-person, hybrid, or digital), timing, schedule, location, venue, or lecturer). The organizer shall notify the participant separately in text form of any substantial changes. Any changes shall also be published on the website. Thus, the participant must inform themselves in good time about such changes.
8. Termination
In the event of significant violations of the contractual provisions, the organizer may terminate the contractual relationship without notice after issuing a warning in writing. Termination without notice may also be affected verbally during an event given significant disruption of public safety and order. In this case, the participant shall be obliged to immediately vacate. If the participant fails to comply with this request, the organizer shall be entitled to carry out the evacuation at the expense and the risk of the participant.
9. RIGHT OF REVOCATION for CONSUMERS
The following right of revocation applies to consumer participants:
A consumer is any natural person who enters into a legal transaction for purposes that can predominantly be attributed neither to their commercial nor to their self-employed professional activity. We are required by law to provide consumers with the following note:
Revocation policy
Right of revocation
You have the right to revoke this contract within fourteen days without giving reasons. The revocation period is fourteen days from the day of entering into the agreement.
In order to exercise your right of revocation, participants must inform us – Vogel Communications Group GmbH & Co. KG, Max-Planck-Straße 7/9, 97082 Würzburg – fax: +49 931 418-2900 E-Mail: elisabeth.dietz@vogel.de by means of an explicit declaration (e.g. a letter sent by mail, fax, or e-mail) of your decision to revoke this contract. You can use our sample revocation form for this (Contact), however, using said form is not mandatory. In order to comply with the revocation period, it is sufficient to send the notification of the exercise of the right of revocation before the end of the revocation period.
Consequences of revocation
If you revoke this agreement, we shall, refund all payments we have received from you immediately and at the latest within fourteen days of the day on which we receive notification of your revocation of this agreement. For this refund, we will use the same means of payment that you used for the original transaction, unless expressly agreed otherwise with you; in no event will you be charged any fees for this refund.
Expiration of the right of revocation
The right to revocation expires ahead of time if the organizer has initiated the execution of services (e.g. start of the seminar) with the express consent, at the participant’s express request, or if the participant has arranged for this themselves before the end of the revocation period.
End of revocation policy
10. Liability limitation
The organizer is fully liable for damages in the event of intent and gross negligence. Liability for ordinary negligence only exists for damage to life, body, or health and in case of a breach of an essential contractual obligation, the fulfillment of which constituting the prerequisite for the proper execution of the contract or the breach of which jeopardizes the contract purpose and on the adherence to which the participant regularly relies (cardinal obligation). In the event of negligent breach of cardinal obligations, liability shall be limited to damages foreseeable at the time of conclusion of the contract and typical for the contract. Liability resulting from the potential assumption of a warranty or from statutory fault-based liability (e.g. according to product liability act).
11. Confidentiality and data protection
11.1 The parties shall treat as confidential all documents, information, and data they receive for the realization of the contractual relationship, and which are designated to them as confidential and shall use them only for the realization of the respective commission. In particular, commissions concluded between the parties shall also be deemed confidential. The parties shall impose a corresponding obligation on their employees and third parties involved in the commission, in particular subcontractors. Independent of the reason for a potential termination, these obligations shall remain in effect even after the termination of the respective commission for two years from the end of the contract.
11.2. The participant authorizes the organizer to process the data received in connection with the business relationship in accordance with applicable data protection laws. The organizer declares that its employees and proxies are bound by strict confidentiality and compliance with data protection, and that the organizer has taken all necessary technical and organizational measures to ensure the execution of the provisions of applicable data protection laws.
11.3. With their registration to an event of the organizer, the participant consents to their address information (title, first name, last name) be included in a list of participants that may be given out during the event. The list of participants shall solely be provided to event participants for the purpose of networking. The participant can revoke their consent at will.
12. Cession and offset
The participant may only transfer the rights and obligations arising from this contract given express written consent of the organizer. The participant may only offset claims of the organizer against undisputed or legally established claims.
13. Force majeure
Force majeure or other unforeseeable events for which the organizer is not responsible, and which make it substantially more difficult or temporarily impossible to provide the contractual services, including pandemic, strike, lockout, and regulatory actions, shall allow the organizer to postpone the performance of its services for the duration of the hindrance plus a reasonable start-up period. The organizer will immediately inform the participant of the occurrence of such hindrances to performance. If the delays resulting from an event in accordance with sentence 1 above exceed the period of six weeks, and if an adjustment of the contract is not possible or not reasonable for either party, both parties are released from their performance obligations agreed upon in the commission. Services delivered by the organizer are to be remunerated by the participant according to their share. Damage claims are excluded in such a case.
14. Consumer arbitration process
The organizer is neither willing nor obliged to partake in arbitration proceedings of a dispute resolution authority.
15. Place of execution, place of jurisdiction, and severability clause
15.1. Place of execution is Würzburg.
15.2. Place of jurisdiction for any potential legal disputes between the organizer and the participant shall be Würzburg, given the participant be merchant, legal entity / special fund under public law.
15.3. Solely the law of the Federal Republic of Germany shall apply, excluding the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods.
15.4. Changes and additions, and termination of the contractual relationship with the organizer must be in writing to be effective. This also applies to any alteration of this written form provision.
15.5. Should one or more provisions of these GTC be or become invalid or void, the validity of the remaining provisions of these GTC shall remain unaffected. This applies accordingly to the filling of a gap in the contract.
15.6. The invalidity of individual provisions of these GTC shall not affect the validity of the remainder of the commission.