General terms and conditions WIN publishing company

Updated: 01 JAN 2024


1. Within the meaning of the following general terms and conditions, an “advertising order” is the contract for the publication of one or more advertisements by an advertiser or other advertisers in a printed publication for the purpose of distribution; advertising orders by an agency are accepted in their name and their account.

2. If in doubt, advertisements must be called for publication within one year of conclusion of the contract. If the right to call individual advertisements has been granted within the framework of a contract, the order must be completed within one year of the first advertisement being published, provided that the first advertisement is called and published within the period specified in number 1.

3. For contracts, the client is entitled to call further advertisements within the agreed period, or the period specified in number 2, even exceeding the quantity of advertisements specified in the order.

4. If an order is not fulfilled due to circumstances for which the publisher is not responsible, the client shall, notwithstanding any further legal obligations, reimburse the publisher for the difference between the discount granted and the discount corresponding to the actual purchase. No reimbursement is possible in cases where non-fulfillment results from force majeure within the publisher’s area of risk.

5. Orders for advertisements and third-party inserts which are explicitly to be published exclusively in specific numbers, specific issues, or in specific places in the publication must be received by the publisher in due time so that the client can be informed before the advertisement deadline if the specific order cannot be executed.

6. The publisher reserves the right to reject legally binding confirmed orders and individual calls within the scope of a contract based on the content, origin, or technical form in accordance with uniform, objectively justified principles of the publisher if, in the publisher’s due discretion, their content violates laws, official regulations or morality, or their publication is unreasonable for the publisher. This also applies to orders placed with subsidiaries or proxies. Orders for inserts are only binding for the publisher given a sample insert has been provided and approved. Inserts that give readers the impression to be part of the magazine due to their format or layout, or that contain third-party advertisements will not be accepted. The client will be informed immediately if an order is rejected.

7. The publisher will clearly label advertisements that are not recognizable as advertisements due to their editorial design as advertisements by adding the word “advertisement”.

8. The client shall be responsible for the timely delivery of the advertising text, the proper printing material, or inserts. The publisher shall immediately ask for replacement of any obviously ineligible or damaged printing material. The publisher guarantees standard print quality for the enclosed title within the limits of the print material.

9. If the printed advertisement is completely or partially illegible, inaccurate, or incomplete, the client shall be entitled to a payment reduction or a proper replacement advertisement, but only to the extent that the purpose of the advertisement had been impaired. If the publisher fails to meet a reasonable deadline set for this purpose or if the replacement advertisement is again faulty, the client shall be entitled to a payment reduction or cancellation of the order. Claims for damages arising from positive breach of contract, fault upon conclusion of the contract, and tort are excluded – even if the order was placed via telephone.

Claims for damages arising from impossibilities of performance and delay shall be limited to the remuneration for the respective advertisement or insert. For commercial business transactions, the publisher’s liability, even in cases of gross negligence, is limited to the amount of the respective advertisement fee. Complaints must be made within four weeks of having received invoice and receipt.

10. Test prints are only delivered if explicitly requested. The client shall be responsible for the accuracy of the returned proofs. The publisher shall incorporate any fault correction they are notified of within the deadline set when the test prints are sent.

11. If no special size specifications are provided, the calculation shall be based on the actual print height common for this type of advertisement.

12. If the client does not pay up-front, the invoice shall be sent immediately, or within 14 days of publication of the advertisement. Once the invoice is received, it is to be paid strictly net immediately within the period specified in the price list unless, in individual cases, a different payment period or advance payment with a 2% discount has been agreed to.

13. In the event of delayed or deferred payment, interest and collection costs shall be charged according to the price list. For delayed payment, the publisher may defer execution of the current order until payment has been made and demand up-front payment for the remaining advertisements. If there are reasonable doubts about the client’s solvency, even during the term of an advertising contract, the publisher shall be entitled to make the publication of further advertisements dependent on the up-front payment of the amount and on the settlement of outstanding invoice amounts, regardless of any originally agreed period of payment.

14. The publisher shall provide a proof of advertisement. If a proof can no longer be obtained, it shall be replaced by a legally binding certificate from the publisher confirming the publication and distribution of the advertisement.

15. The client shall carry the costs for the production of ordered print documents and for significant changes to originally agreed designs that the client requested or is responsible for.

16. For contracts of multiple advertisements, a reduction in circulation may result in a price reduction claim if the total average circulation for the insertion year beginning with the first advertisement falls short of the average circulation stated in the price list or elsewhere, or – if no circulation is stated – the average circulation sales (in the case of trade journals, the average actual circulation) for the previous calendar year. The client is only entitled to a price reduction if the reduction in circulation is

40 percent for a circulation of up to 50,000 copies,

25 percent for a circulation of up to 100,000 copies,

15 percent for a circulation of up to 200,000 copies.

Additionally, claims for price reductions are excluded in the case of contracts if the publisher informs the client of the reduction in circulation in such timely manner for the client to withdraw from the contract before publication of the advertisement.

17. Print documents shall only be returned to the client on special request. The storage obligation shall end three months after order expiration.

18. The place of performance shall be the publisher’s headquarters. The place of jurisdiction for legal action shall be the publisher’s headquarters for business transactions with merchants, legal entities or special funds under public law. If claims of the publisher are not asserted in collection proceedings, the place of jurisdiction for non-merchants shall be their place of residence. If the residence or habitual abode of the client, including non-merchants, is unknown at the time the action is filed, or if the client has moved their residence or habitual abode outside the area of application of the law after conclusion of the contract, the place of jurisdiction shall be the publisher’s headquarters.

ADDITIONAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THE PUBLISHER

a) Advertising brokers and agencies are obliged to adhere to the publisher’s price list in their offers, contracts, and invoices with advertisers. The broker remuneration granted by the publisher may not be passed on to the client in whole or in part.

b) The general and additional terms and conditions of the publisher shall also apply analogously to orders for glued inserts, pull-out supplements, inserts or technical custom solutions. Each order shall only become legally binding given the publisher’s written confirmation.

c) A change to the advertising price list shall also apply to ongoing orders from the time it takes effect.

d) The client bears sole responsibility for the content and legal admissibility of the text and image material provided for the insertion. The client is responsible to indemnify the publisher against any claims by third parties arising from the execution of the order, even if it was canceled. The publisher is not obliged to check orders and advertisements for infringement of third-party rights. The client shall not be entitled to any claims against the publisher if canceled advertisements are published.

e) Discounts no longer apply in the event of bankruptcy and compulsory settlements.

f) Force majeure, operational disruptions, strikes, etc. shall release the publisher from the obligations entered into.

g) The publisher accepts no liability for the loss of individual inserts during distribution.

h) For orders transmitted via telephone, the publisher shall only be liable for any errors stemming from intent or gross negligence.

i) Placement instructions shall only be valid given prior written confirmation by the publisher.

j) Orders for advertisements and inserts must be canceled by the advertising deadline. The publisher may charge the client for any typesetting or production costs incurred.

k) Cancellation of advertising or online orders is also possible after the advertising or entry deadline, for print products up until the print deadline. However, cancellation after advertising or entry deadlines is no longer free, since order placement leads to the publisher incurring costs for placement, layout, and administration. In such cases, the publisher shall charge a cancellation fee of 50% of the net list price. The cancellation fee will be charged by the publisher immediately upon cancellation of the order. Generally, in the event of cancellation, an agency commission is not paid.

Editorial contributions from external authors

Submissions: The editorial team welcomes editorial contributions including images. Consent for printing and reproduction is required. At the same time, the author assures that the submissions are free of third-party rights and have not already been offered to another party for publication or commercial use. Fees by agreement. Fulfilling the fee agreement covers the entire technically possible exploitation of the comprehensive usage rights by the publisher – also repeatedly and in summaries.

Online offers

General terms of use for registered users

1. Scope of application, change of terms of use

1.1. WIN-Verlag GmbH & Co KG (hereinafter “WIN”), Balanstraße 73, Building No. 21A, ground floor, 81541 Munich, represented by the general partner WIN-Verlag Verwaltungs GmbH, represented by the managing directors Matthias Bauer and Günter Schürger, offers various online services that require registration by the user (e.g. downloads or streaming offers). The following terms of use apply to these services. Additionally, the user may expressly be notified of additional conditions for certain services before the user registers for said services.

1.2. WIN reserves the right to change the terms of use given a appropriate notification period. The user is notified of changes via e-mail or upon log-in. Said changes are deemed agreed upon if the user does not object within four weeks. WIN will inform the user of this once more in the notification.

2. Registration; revocation

2.1. The user is obliged to truthfully provide information during the registration and to update this information as needed. The user themselves may update their information in their user account. It is brought to the user’s attention that legal declarations regarding this usage contract may be sent via e-mail (cf. e.g. Number 7), resulting in a special need for the user to keep their e-mail address updated.

2.2. WIN shall send a registration confirmation to the e-mail address provided by the user, thereby concluding the usage contract. The user may revoke this usage contract within two weeks of receiving the confirmation e-mail without giving reasons by sending an e-mail to https://kontakt.vogel.de/de. Sending the e-mail in due time suffices to meet the deadline. The right of revocation expires in accordance with § 312d, (3), BGB (German Civil Code) if WIN begins provision of the service with the express consent of the user before the revocation period expires. This applies if the user activates their account using the link provided in the confirmation e-mail before the two-week revocation period expires. In any case, the user is entitled to terminate the usage contract at any time (for this, cf. number 7). [Apart from that, services are free.]

If WIN receives a revocation, no further action is required by the user; WIN will confirm the revocation via e-mail, lock the corresponding user account and lock or delete the data provided by the user.

3. Object of performance

3.1. Upon registration, a so-called user account is created for the user, that the user can activate using the username and password provided in the confirmation e-mail (so-called login). In the user account, the user can view and change their registration data. They can also see which services they have registered for and can view, print, or download the terms and conditions they have accepted or the declarations of consent they have submitted.

3.2. By activating the user account, the user is also activated for the services they ordered during registration. The user can then use their login details to register for other WIN services offered online. If the registration is subject to additional conditions, the user will be expressly informed of this before registration. The user can then decide against registering for this service. Registered users receive the editorial newsletter as a service in addition to their registration – they can unsubscribe at any time via hilfe@win-verlag.de or via hotline 089/350-101.

3.3. A login does not entitle the user to specific services, but only provides the user with the option to register for the services offered. Additionally, WIN has the right to change services the user is signed-up for within reasonable limits, and if the changes serve the development of the respective service, or are technically (e.g. to increase availability of the service) or legally required.

The user is aware that content featuring a third–party company name or logo originate from this company and therefore not from WIN; WIN merely grants access to said content. The same applies to contributions that clearly originate from another user (e.g. a user’s chat messages). WIN is not responsible for this content and does not claim to own this content. If the user believes their rights to be infringed by such content, they have the option to inform WIN via hilfe@win-verlag.de. Given reasonable suspicion of an infringement, WIN shall block the content and ask the author for a statement. The user shall not abuse this right.

3.5. WIN guarantees availability of websites and therefore services of 95% per month. This time does not include reasonable downtime attributed to mandatory maintenance, or downtime caused by force majeure, or unavoidable causes. Availability is defined as the ratio of actual time (IZ) to desired time (SZ). The availability (in %) is calculated as follows: IZ/SZ * 100.

4. User duties; usage rights

4.1. The user shall not share their password or account with third parties and shall protect this password and account from third-party access. The user is liable for improper use of their accounts for which they are responsible.

4.2. The user may only use the services provided for their own information purposes. For this, information made available to the user may be printed out and – if WIN allows for the option to save – saved once on the user’s computer. Beyond this, any reproduction, publication, or use of the information is not permitted. The user is explicitly prohibited from passing on content to third parties or using it for purposes other than information, e.g. for an offer of their own. Additionally, the provided content may not be edited, altered, translated, or, for example, have copyright information removed by the user. WIN or the respective authors explicitly reserve all rights.

4.3. Users agree to respect the rights of third parties, including the rights of WIN. Therefore, they are particularly prohibited from:

a) using information contained in the services (e.g. contact data), or the provided communication services (e.g. chat) for promotional purposes.

b) transmitting or posting data that are of the type, nature, size, or number that allows them to damage or block WIN’s data center or data network, or computers of other third parties, or to spy on or damage data contained therein (e.g. via viruses, Trojan horses, spam mail);

c) taking actions or distributing content connected to the use of the services that infringe on the rights of third parties (e.g. copyrights, trademark rights, personal rights) or violate applicable legal provisions, in particular those of criminal law, youth protection regulation, or competition regulation. In particular, they are prohibited from distribution of racist, violence-glorifying, offensive, damaging to credit, or obscene content. “Distribution” also applies to linking said content;

4.4. If the user themselves uploads content, they grant WIN the revocable, unlimited right in terms of space and time to make this content accessible on WIN’s websites. WIN is not obliged to store or keep this content ready for the user. Thus, for their own purposes, the user is obliged to save or store the data themselves.

5. Blocking/deletion of content; release from liability by the user

5.1. If a third party alerts WIN of content infringing the rights of third parties or being otherwise unlawful, WIN is entitled to block said content. If this is content posted by the user, WIN shall immediately notify the user of the blocking, and give the user the opportunity to refute the allegations.

Should WIN be held liable by a third party, a court, or an authority due to the user’s culpable behavior, in particular culpable breach of obligations listed under number 4, the client shall indemnify WIN from any claims and shall bear the costs of legal defense. WIN will inform the user immediately of the assertion of such claims. The user shall provide WIN optimal support to defend said claims. If the user does not comply with this obligation within a reasonable period of time to be set by WIN, WIN is entitled to settle the third-party’s claim at their own appropriate discretion, taking into account the factual and legal situation as it presents itself to WIN. The costs of this settlement shall be borne by the user, also in the event that the settlement subsequently proves to be disadvantageous due to the user withholding information.

6. Liability of WIN

6.1. WIN shall only be liable for intent, gross negligence, and breach of an essential contractual obligation (cardinal duty). In the event of a slightly negligent breach of a cardinal duty, WIN’s liability shall be limited to damage typical for the contract and foreseeable at the time of conclusion of the contract. WIN is not liable for slightly negligent breach of collateral duties that are not cardinal duties. In cases of initial impossibility, WIN shall only be liable if they had known of the impediment to performance, or the lack of knowledge resulted from gross negligence, unless a cardinal duty is concerned.

6.2. The exclusions of liability mentioned above shall not apply in the event of fraudulent concealment of defects or the assumption of a guarantee of quality, to liability for claims based on the product liability act and for bodily injury (life, body, health). This does not entail a change in the burden of proof to the user’s detriment.

6.3. If the liability of WIN is excluded or limited, the same shall apply to the personal liability of their employees, workers, co-workers, representatives, and proxies.

6.4. With the exception of claims resulting from tort, claims for damages where liability is limited in accordance with this number become time-barred one year after the commencement of the statutory limitation period.

7. Contract term

7.1. The contract term of this user agreement is indefinite. It can be terminated by the user at any time without notice via e-mail, and by WIN with a notice period of two weeks. Partial termination is possible for certain services used by the user. In case of doubt, the user agreement as a whole is not terminated, but only the service mentioned in the termination notice. The user shall always keep their e-mail address up to date for this purpose. The user themselves can send a notice of termination to: hilfe@win-verlag.de

7.2. Additionally, the user may end individual partial services (e.g. e-mail) at any time by removing them via their user account.

8. Data protection

8.1. WIN has the right to store and process the user’s personal data for the purposes of the usage contract.

8.2. Some of the services require the user to consent to the promotional usage of his data. The user is not required to give this consent. Once the user has provided consent, they can then revoke it at any time for the future without the need to provide specific reasons. In this case, the user may no longer use the services.

8.3 For the rest, WIN refers to their privacy policy.

9. Applicable law

The law of the Federal Republic of Germany shall apply.

Clients have the option of using alternative dispute resolution. The following link from the EU Commission (also known as the ODR platform) contains information about online dispute resolution and serves as a central point of contact for the out-of-court settlement of disputes arising from online sales contracts: http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr.

Obligation to provide information according to § 36 VSBG (Act on Alternative Dispute Resolution in Consumer Matters): The SELLER is neither willing nor obliged to partake in arbitration proceedings of a dispute resolution authority.

We are neither willing nor obliged to partake in arbitration proceedings of a dispute resolution authority.

WIN-Verlag GmbH & Co. KG expressly reserves the right to use its content for commercial text and data mining within the meaning of section 44b UrhG (Act on Copyright). For the acquisition of a corresponding right of use, please contact datenschutz@vogel.de