General terms and conditions for business transactions with business costumers

I. Scope of application

1. Our terms and conditions of business shall apply exclusively; we do not recognize any terms and conditions of the customer which conflict with or deviate from our terms and conditions of business unless we have expressly agreed to their validity in writing. Our terms and conditions of business shall also apply if we carry out the delivery to the customer without reservation in the knowledge of the customer's terms and conditions of business which conflict with or deviate from our terms and conditions of business.
2. All agreements made between us and the customer for the purpose of executing a contract are set out in writing in this contract.
3. Our Terms and Conditions of Business shall only apply to companies within the meaning of § 310 para. 1 BGB (German Civil Code), i.e. to a natural or legal person or a partnership with legal capacity which, when concluding a legal transaction, acts in the exercise of its commercial or independent professional activity.
4. Our terms and conditions of business shall also apply to all future transactions with the buyers.
5. In addition, the Incoterms shall apply in the form valid at the time of the conclusion of a transaction, insofar as they do not contradict our terms and conditions of business or other agreements made between us and the customer.

II Offer, offer documents and conclusion of contract

1. Our offers are subject to change without notice, unless otherwise stated in the order confirmation.
2. We reserve the right of ownership and copyright to illustrations, drawings, calculations and other documents. This also applies to such written documents that are designated as "confidential". The customer requires our express written consent before passing them on to third parties.

III Prices and terms of payment

1. Unless otherwise stated in the order confirmation, our prices are ex warehouse. Packaging materials can be invoiced separately.
2. The prices agreed upon are always those valid on the day the order is received by mode...information GmbH. mode...information GmbH reserves the right to increase or decrease prices if the publishers make price changes or if exchange rate fluctuations between the Euro and the currency of the country of origin of the title occur.
3. If a subscription price increases by more than 30%, the buyer shall have a special right of termination, which must be exercised by the buyer immediately after receipt of the invoice for the new subscription period.
4. Our prices do not include the statutory value added tax. In accordance with the E-Commerce Directive regarding the levying of VAT on online services (Council Directive 2002/38/EC), the current German VAT rate applies to all subscription renewals in countries of the European Union (EU), as mode...information GmbH is based in Germany. EU companies are exempt from sales tax if they provide their EU sales tax ID. Companies and individuals from countries outside the EU are also exempt from sales tax.
5. The deduction of a discount requires a special written agreement.
6. The purchase price is due for payment without deduction within 14 days of the invoice date, unless otherwise stated in the order confirmation.
7. The customer shall only be entitled to offsetting if the customer's claims have been legally established, are undisputed or have been recognized by us.
8. The customer is only entitled to the right of retention if the customer's claims have been legally established, are undisputed or have been recognized by us.

IV. Default of payment

If the customer is in default of payment with the settlement of issued invoices, we are entitled to retain goods even if the delivery of goods is based on another legal transaction/contractual relationship.

V. Delivery

1. If the ordered goods are in stock, mode...information GmbH will endeavour to dispatch the products ordered by the customer within a short time after sending the order confirmation, usually within 48 hours.
2. All information regarding the delivery period is non-binding. The delivery period shall always be subject to correct and timely delivery by our own suppliers, subject to free operational resources and subject to timely receipt of payment by the ordering party in the cases provided for.
3. If the delivery is unreasonably complicated due to circumstances for which neither mode...information GmbH nor the customer is responsible, or due to circumstances for which the customer is solely or predominantly responsible, the delivery period shall be extended by a period of time corresponding to the duration of the existence of the respective circumstance
4. We shall be liable in accordance with the statutory provisions insofar as the underlying purchase contract is a transaction for delivery by a fixed date within the meaning of § 286 (2) No. 4 BGB or § 376 HGB. Furthermore, we shall be liable in accordance with the statutory provisions if, as a consequence of a delay in delivery for which we are responsible, the customer is entitled to claim that his interest in the further performance of the contract has ceased.
5. We shall also be liable in accordance with the statutory provisions if the delay in delivery is due to an intentional or grossly negligent breach of contract for which we are responsible; any fault on the part of our representatives or vicarious agents shall be attributed to us. If the delay in delivery is not due to an intentional breach of contract for which we are responsible, our liability for damages shall be limited to the foreseeable, typically occurring damage.
6. In addition, we shall also be liable in accordance with the statutory provisions if the delay in delivery for which we are responsible is based on the culpable breach of a material contractual obligation; in this case, however, our liability for damages shall be limited to the foreseeable, typically occurring damage.
7. Otherwise, in the event of a delay in delivery, we shall be liable for each completed week of delay within the scope of a lump-sum compensation for delay in the amount of 3% of the delivery value, but not more than 15% of the delivery value.
8. Further legal claims and rights of the customer are reserved.
9. We are not liable for a delay in delivery for which the manufacturer of a product or the publisher is responsible.
10. Compliance with our delivery obligation requires the timely and proper fulfilment of the customer's obligations. We reserve the right to raise the defense of non-performance of the contract.
11. If the customer is in default of acceptance or if he culpably violates other obligations to cooperate, we are entitled to demand compensation for the damage incurred by us in this respect, including any additional expenses. We reserve the right to make further claims.

VI. Unauthorized returns

1. We shall keep unauthorized returns for four weeks and then destroy them. If the goods are to be delivered again, the customer bears the shipping costs.
2. Goods that have been made up at the customer's request are generally excluded from return and exchange.

VII. Product settings

1. If a publisher discontinues a product without mode...information GmbH being responsible for this, the customer of a subscription who has made an advance payment shall only be entitled to a pro-rata refund in the amount of the amount attributable to the products not yet delivered. A claim for damages against mode...information GmbH is excluded in this case.
2. In the event of a product discontinuation, mode...information GmbH has the right to deliver a replacement product with similar content to the ordering party. The ordering party has the right to return the replacement product if it is not to his liking.

VIII. Single copy orders

If a single copy is ordered, mode...information GmbH shall deliver the current or next available edition of the ordered title.

IX. Term of Contract

1. A subscription begins with the next available issue.
2. A subscription is automatically renewed for its first term if it is not cancelled in due time before the end of the contract. A subscription is considered to be terminated in due time if it is terminated with a minimum notice period of 25% of the contract term (for example, at least 3 months for a contract term of 12 months).

X. Transfer of Risk

1. The risk shall pass to the customer upon delivery of the goods from our warehouse. Unless otherwise stated in the order confirmation, delivery "ex warehouse" is agreed.
2. At the request of the customer, the delivery will be covered by transport insurance; the costs incurred in this respect will be borne by the customer.

XI. Obligations of the customer to examine and give notice of defects

Damage, as well as other complaints due to defective or incomplete deliveries must be reported immediately after receipt of the goods. If this notification is omitted, our delivery shall be deemed to have been approved, unless it is a defect that could not be detected during the inspection. If such a defect is discovered later, notification must be made immediately after discovery; otherwise the goods shall be deemed to have been approved even in view of this defect.

XII. Claims and liability for defects

1. Defect rights of the customer presuppose that the customer has properly fulfilled his obligations to examine and notify defects.
2. In the event of a defect, the customer shall be limited, at our discretion, to the right of subsequent performance, i.e. to rectification of the defect or delivery of a defect-free item. In the event of rectification of defects, we shall be obliged to bear all expenses necessary for the purpose of rectifying the defect, in particular transport, travel, labour and material costs, provided that these are not increased by the fact that the object of sale was taken to a place other than the place of performance. The claim for reimbursement of expenses is limited to the amount of the purchase price.
3. If the subsequent performance fails, the purchaser may, at his discretion, reduce the purchase price or withdraw from the contract.
4. Liability shall be in accordance with the statutory provisions insofar as the purchaser asserts claims for damages based on intent or gross negligence, including intent or gross negligence on the part of our representatives or vicarious agents. As far as we are not accused of intentional breach of contract, the liability for damages is limited to the foreseeable, typically occurring damage.
5. Liability shall also be governed by the statutory provisions if we culpably breach a material contractual obligation; in this case, however, liability for damages shall be limited to the foreseeable, typically occurring damage.
6. Insofar as the customer is entitled to compensation for damages instead of performance, our liability is also limited within the scope of paragraph (3) to compensation for foreseeable, typically occurring damages.
7. Unless otherwise regulated above, liability is excluded.
8. Claims for defects shall become statute-barred within 12 months, calculated from the time of the transfer of risk.
9. In the event of a delivery recourse, the limitation period according to §§ 478, 479 BGB remains unaffected.

XIII. Total liability

1. Any further liability for damages other than that provided for in Section XI. is excluded, irrespective of the legal nature of the claim asserted. This applies in particular to claims for damages arising from culpa in contrahendo, other breaches of duty or claims in tort for compensation for property damage in accordance with § 823 BGB.
2. The limitation according to paragraph (1) shall also apply if the customer demands compensation for useless expenses instead of a claim for compensation for the damage.
3. Insofar as liability for damages against us is excluded or limited, this shall also apply with regard to the personal liability for damages of our employees, workers, staff, representatives and vicarious agents.
4. The publisher shall be exclusively liable for the form and content of the publishing house products as well as for possible trademark protection and copyright infringements. mode...information GmbH cannot assume liability for possible trademark protection and copyright infringements.

XIV Privacy Policy

You can find our privacy policy here

XV. Reservation of title

1. mode...information GmbH reserves the right of ownership of all items delivered by mode...information GmbH until the ordering party has settled all claims arising from the business relationship with mode...information GmbH. The retention of title also applies until the settlement of any recognized current account balance.
2. In the event of breach of contract by the ordering party, in particular in the event of default in payment, mode...information GmbH shall be entitled to take back the purchased goods. The repossession of the object of purchase shall constitute a withdrawal from the contract. mode...information GmbH is authorized to sell the object of purchase after repossession; the proceeds from the sale shall be offset against the liabilities of the ordering party - less reasonable sales costs.
3. The buyer is obligated to treat the object of purchase with care; in particular, he is obligated to insure it sufficiently at his own expense against fire, water and theft damage at replacement value.
4. In the event of seizure or other interventions by third parties, the customer must inform us immediately in writing so that we can take legal action in accordance with § 771 ZPO (German Code of Civil Procedure). Insofar as the third party is not in a position to reimburse us for the court and out-of-court costs of an action pursuant to § 771 ZPO, the customer shall be liable for the loss incurred by us.

XVI Termination

The periods of notice result from the product-specific publication dates for the respective product and from the agreed term for a subscription.

XVII Copyright

Copyright as well as all publishing rights and copyrights to the delivered products belong to the publisher of the respective product. The commercial use and reproduction of the texts, photos and other product content is prohibited. This applies to all products and the entire internet offer of mode...information GmbH.

XVIII Place of performance, place of jurisdiction, applicable law, final provisions

1. The place of jurisdiction for all disputes arising from the business relationship shall be our place of business; however, we shall also be entitled to sue the customer at the court of his place of residence.
2. The law of the Federal Republic of Germany applies; the validity of the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods is excluded.
3. Should individual parts of these General Terms and Conditions be legally ineffective, the effectiveness of the remaining provisions shall not be affected.
4. Only the German language version of the above conditions is legally binding. All translations into languages other than German are for information purposes only.