General Terms and Conditions
Version: 29 July 2026 · Download the Terms and Conditions as PDF (German)
This English version is a convenience translation. Only the German version („Allgemeine Geschäftsbedingungen“) is legally binding.
Terms of Delivery and Payment of Altmann & Weiß GbR (SCHNEEWEISS Konzeptbüro)
– hereinafter also referred to as the Contractor –
1. Scope, Conclusion of Contract
1.1 Orders are carried out exclusively on the basis of the following terms and conditions, unless the Client objects. The objection must be identified as such and asserted separately to the Contractor. If no objection is made, the exclusive validity of these terms and conditions is acknowledged.
1.2 In commercial transactions, however, acknowledgement takes place at the latest upon acceptance of the offer or upon the Contractor’s first delivery or service.
1.3 Deviating provisions require text form (Section 126b of the German Civil Code, BGB). Individual agreements between the parties take precedence regardless of this.
1.4 These General Terms and Conditions apply exclusively to business transactions with entrepreneurs within the meaning of Section 14 BGB. No contracts are concluded with consumers within the meaning of Section 13 BGB. Should the Contractor nevertheless inadvertently contract with a person who is a consumer, the mandatory consumer protection provisions remain unaffected.
2. Prices
2.1 The prices stated in the Contractor’s offer apply subject to the condition that the order data on which the offer is based remain unchanged, but for no longer than two weeks after receipt of the offer by the Client. For orders with delivery to third parties, the ordering party is deemed to be the Client unless expressly agreed otherwise. The Contractor’s prices do not include value added tax and apply ex works. They do not include packaging, postage, freight, insurance or other shipping costs.
2.2 Subsequent changes at the Client’s request, including the additional costs incurred as a result, will be charged to the Client.
2.3 Material costs such as colour copies, computer printouts, remote data transmission or data storage on data carriers such as CD-ROM etc. that are requested by the Client will be charged.
3. Payment
3.1 Payment must be made within 14 days of the invoice date without any deduction. The invoice is issued as of the date of delivery, partial delivery or readiness for delivery (obligation to collect, default of acceptance).
3.2 In the case of exceptional advance services, a reasonable advance payment may be demanded.
3.3 The Client may only set off undisputed claims or claims that have been established by a final court decision. A Client who is a merchant (Vollkaufmann) within the meaning of the German Commercial Code (HGB) is not entitled to rights of retention. The rights under Section 320 BGB remain, however, as long as and to the extent that the Contractor has not fulfilled its obligations under Section VI. 3.
3.4 If the fulfilment of the payment claim is jeopardised by a deterioration in the Client’s financial circumstances that occurred or became known after conclusion of the contract, the Contractor may demand advance payment, retain goods not yet delivered and cease further work. The Contractor is also entitled to these rights if the Client is in default of payment for deliveries based on the same legal relationship.
3.5 In the event of late payment, the Client is obliged to pay default interest at a rate of 9 percentage points above the applicable base rate (Section 247 BGB), Section 288 (2) BGB. The assertion of further damages caused by default is not excluded hereby.
4. Delivery
4.1 If the Contractor has undertaken to ship the goods, it will do so for the Client with due care, but is only liable for intent and gross negligence. The risk passes to the Client as soon as the consignment has been handed over to the person carrying out the transport.
4.2 Delivery dates are only valid if they are expressly confirmed by the Contractor. If the contract is concluded in text form, confirmation of the delivery date also requires text form.
4.3 If the Contractor is in default, it must first be granted a reasonable grace period. After the grace period has expired without result, the Client may withdraw from the contract. Section 323 BGB and, in commercial transactions, Section 376 HGB remain unaffected.
4.4 Operational disruptions – both in the Contractor’s business and in that of a supplier, in particular strikes, lockouts and all other cases of force majeure – do not entitle the Client to terminate the contractual relationship. The principles regarding the frustration of contract remain unaffected.
4.5 The Contractor is entitled to a right of retention pursuant to Section 369 HGB on print templates, manuscripts, raw materials and other items supplied by the Client, as well as a contractual lien on items that have come into its possession on the basis of the order, until all due claims arising from the business relationship have been settled in full.
5. Retention of Title
5.1 The goods delivered or rights of use transferred by the Contractor, as well as layout or final artwork documents of any kind, remain the property of the Contractor until payment has been made in full.
5.2 The following provisions apply only in commercial transactions:
5.2.1 The delivered goods remain the property of the Contractor until all claims of the Contractor against the Client existing on the invoice date have been paid in full.
5.2.2 The Client is only entitled to resell the goods in the ordinary course of business. The Client hereby assigns its claims from the resale – where applicable in the amount of the Contractor’s co-ownership share (paragraph d) – to the Contractor. The Contractor accepts the assignment.
5.2.3 At the latest in the event of default, the Client is obliged to name the debtor of the assigned claim.
5.2.4 In the case of processing or treatment of goods owned by the Contractor, the Contractor is to be regarded as the manufacturer pursuant to Section 950 BGB and retains ownership of the products at every stage of processing. If third parties are involved in the processing or treatment, the Contractor is limited to a co-ownership share equal to the value of the goods subject to retention of title. The ownership acquired in this way is deemed to be retained ownership.
5.2.5 If the value of the securities existing for the Contractor exceeds its total claims by more than 20 %, the Contractor is obliged, at the request of the Client or a third party adversely affected by the Contractor’s over-collateralisation, to release securities of the Contractor’s choice to that extent.
6. Complaints, Warranty
6.1 The Client must in every case check that the delivered goods and the preliminary and intermediate products sent for correction conform to the contract. The risk of any errors passes to the Client upon approval of the final layout, unless these are errors that only arose or could only be identified in the production process following the final layout approval. The same applies to all other approval declarations by the Client.
6.2 Complaints are only admissible within one week of receipt of the goods. Hidden defects that cannot be found upon immediate inspection must be asserted within the statutory warranty period. For merchants within the meaning of the German Commercial Code (HGB), Section 377 HGB applies in addition.
6.3 In the case of justified complaints, the Contractor is obliged, at its discretion and to the exclusion of other claims, to rectify the defect and/or make a replacement delivery, up to the value of the order, unless a warranted characteristic is missing or the Client or its vicarious agent is guilty of intent or gross negligence. The same applies in the event of a justified complaint about the rectification or replacement delivery. In the event of delayed, omitted or failed rectification or replacement delivery, the Client may demand a reduction of the remuneration (reduction) or rescission of the contract (rescission). Defects in part of the delivered goods do not entitle the Client to complain about the entire delivery, unless the partial delivery is of no interest to the Client.
6.4 In the case of colour reproductions in all manufacturing processes, minor deviations from the original cannot be objected to. The same applies to the comparison between proofs, press proofs and the production run.
6.5 For deviations in the quality of the material used, the Contractor is only liable up to the amount of its own claims against the respective supplier. In such a case, the Contractor is released from its liability if it assigns its claims against the supplier to the Client. The Contractor is liable to the extent that claims against the supplier do not exist or are not enforceable due to the Contractor’s fault.
6.6 Deliveries (including data carriers) by the Client or by a third party engaged by the Client are not subject to any obligation of inspection on the part of the Contractor.
6.7 Over- or under-deliveries of up to 10 % of the ordered print run cannot be objected to. The quantity delivered will be invoiced. For deliveries from special paper productions under 1,000 kg, the percentage is 20 %, and under 2,000 kg it is 15 %.
7. Internet / Web-based Software Solutions
7.1 In the event of non-fulfilment of payment obligations, internet presentations / web-based software solutions will be removed from the internet after prior notice, and the costs for the working time spent on this will be charged additionally.
7.2 For the re-publication of presentations / web-based software solutions on the internet after prior removal due to non-fulfilment of payment obligations, the working time costs will be charged additionally.
7.3 Texts, images or content supplied by the contractual partner, as well as links to pages on the internet, must not infringe trademark, patent, copyright or other rights of third parties. The contractual partner is liable for damage caused by the supplied data.
7.4 Images, graphics, texts, films and other audiovisual works, including raw material and post-production files, as well as programming and web-based software solutions supplied by Altmann & Weiß GbR (SCHNEEWEISS Konzeptbüro) are protected by copyright and are made available to the contractual partner for the duration of the contract. Any further use, reproduction or modification is only permitted with the written consent of Altmann & Weiß GbR (SCHNEEWEISS Konzeptbüro).
7.5 Pages / web-based software solutions created by Altmann & Weiß GbR (SCHNEEWEISS Konzeptbüro) are protected by copyright and are marked as such.
7.6 For every presentation on the internet, as well as for the references linked to it, the name and address are stated; in the case of associations of persons and groups, also the name and address of the authorised representative.
7.7 The content of the presentations must be truthful. Altmann & Weiß GbR (SCHNEEWEISS Konzeptbüro) assumes no warranty or liability for the actual qualification of a contractual partner.
7.8 Altmann & Weiß GbR (SCHNEEWEISS Konzeptbüro) assumes no warranty or liability for the obligations to be fulfilled by a contractual partner towards a third party arising from offers and contracts that came about through contact via the presentation on the internet.
7.9 Altmann & Weiß GbR (SCHNEEWEISS Konzeptbüro) assumes no warranty or liability for claims by third parties against a contractual partner arising from offers and contracts that came about through contact via the presentation on the internet.
7.10 The internet presence or content on pages on the internet that are linked to it must not be used for the storage or distribution of gambling, obscene, pornographic, threatening or defamatory material. A violation leads to immediate termination of the contractual relationship for good cause without reimbursement of costs, provided the contractual partner is itself responsible for the violation.
8. Liability
8.1 The Contractor is liable without limitation for damage resulting from injury to life, body or health caused by an intentional or negligent breach of duty by the Contractor, its legal representatives or vicarious agents, as well as for damage caused by intent or gross negligence on the part of the Contractor, its legal representatives or vicarious agents.
8.2 For damage resulting from a slightly negligent breach of essential contractual obligations (cardinal obligations, i.e. obligations whose fulfilment is essential for the proper performance of the contract and on whose observance the Client may regularly rely), the Contractor’s liability is limited in amount to the foreseeable damage typical for the contract at the time of conclusion of the contract.
8.3 Otherwise, the Contractor’s liability for slightly negligent breaches of duty is excluded, in particular also for claims for damages arising from defects and consequential damage caused by defects, from breaches of duty during contract negotiations (Section 311 (2) BGB) and from tort, unless the requirements of clauses 8.1 or 8.2 are met. If the order concerns further processing, the Contractor is not liable for the resulting impairment of the product to be further processed, unless otherwise stipulated above.
8.4 Claims for damages due to impossibility and default are, unless they fall under clause 8.1, limited in amount to the foreseeable damage typical for the contract, but at most to the value of the respective order (own services, excluding advance services and material).
8.5 The above limitations of liability apply to the same extent to the legal representatives as well as the vicarious agents and assistants of the Contractor.
8.6 Liability under the German Product Liability Act as well as any further mandatory statutory liability remain unaffected by the above limitations.
9. Commissioning of Third Parties
9.1 Altmann & Weiß GbR (SCHNEEWEISS Konzeptbüro) is entitled to carry out the work entrusted to it itself or to commission third parties to do so.
9.2 This entitlement does not in any way release Altmann & Weiß GbR (SCHNEEWEISS Konzeptbüro) from its obligations under the respective order or these terms and conditions.
9.3 Insofar as the Contractor commissions services of third parties (e.g. technology, location, staffing or post-production service providers) for the Client in the course of executing the order, this is done – in the absence of an expressly deviating agreement in the respective offer or order – in the Contractor’s own name, but for the account of the Client.
9.4 If it is expressly agreed in the offer or order that the Contractor commissions a third-party service in the name and on behalf of the Client (disclosed agency), the Client must, upon request, grant the Contractor a power of attorney in text form for this purpose. In this case, the Client becomes the direct contractual partner of the third party; the Contractor is then liable only for the careful selection and commissioning of the third party, not for the third party’s performance itself.
9.5 Insofar as the Contractor enters into obligations towards third parties in its own name but for the account of the Client (clause 9.3), the Client must indemnify the Contractor against these obligations on first demand. This applies independently of and in addition to the Contractor’s claims under clause 14 in the event of cancellation of an event.
9.6 For third-party services of significant financial scope, the Contractor is entitled to demand a reasonable advance payment or security from the Client in accordance with clause 3.2 before the third party is bindingly commissioned.
9.7 Within the scope of the respective order, Altmann & Weiß GbR (SCHNEEWEISS Konzeptbüro) is obliged towards the Client to comply with all provisions of the German Minimum Wage Act (MiLoG). It must provide the Client with evidence of compliance upon request.
10. Cancellation or Postponement of Events; Cancellation Fee
10.1 If the order relates in whole or in part to the conceptual, creative, organisational or production-related preparation of an event, a production or any other time-bound measure (hereinafter “Event”), and this Event is cancelled or postponed by the Client or is not carried out for reasons outside the Contractor’s area of responsibility, the Contractor’s claim to remuneration remains in place in accordance with the following clauses 14.2 to 14.7. Section 648 BGB otherwise remains unaffected.
10.2 In every case – irrespective of the time of cancellation and irrespective of the lump sum under clause 14.3 – the Contractor is entitled to reimbursement of all costs actually incurred up to the time of cancellation, in particular for own services already rendered and for third-party services already commissioned or contractually entered into with third parties that can no longer be cancelled (e.g. printed matter, technology, staff, location, licences, travel costs). Insofar as the Contractor has entered into such obligations in its own name for the account of the Client, the indemnification is additionally governed by clause 9.5 and applies in full irrespective of the time of cancellation.
10.3 In addition to clause 14.2, in the event of cancellation of the Event the Contractor is entitled to a lump-sum cancellation fee for lost profit and committed resources, staggered according to the time between receipt of the cancellation and the originally planned date of the Event, as a percentage of the agreed net order value: more than 6 months before 20 %, 3 to 6 months before 40 %, 1 to 3 months before 70 %, less than 1 month before 100 %.
10.4 The Client remains free to prove that the Contractor has incurred no damage or expense, or a significantly lower amount; in that case only the proven lower amount is owed. The Contractor remains free to prove and claim a higher actual damage in the individual case.
10.5 Costs already reimbursed or owed under clause 14.2 will be credited against the cancellation fee under clause 14.3, unless they concern finally invoiced third-party costs that were in any case invoiced separately to the Client.
10.6 If the Event is merely postponed and takes place within 12 months of the original date, clause 14.3 does not apply. In this case, the additional costs actually incurred as a result of the postponement (e.g. renewed coordination, adaptation of documents and production planning, third-party costs incurred again where applicable) will be charged separately on a time basis.
10.7 If the Event cannot be carried out due to force majeure (e.g. official order, pandemic, natural disaster), clauses 14.2 to 14.6 apply accordingly; in this case the parties will seek a solution that is reasonable for both sides, in particular with regard to clause 10.3.
11. Copyright
11.1 The Client is solely liable if the execution of its order infringes rights, in particular copyrights of third parties. The Client must indemnify the Contractor against all claims by third parties arising from such an infringement.
11.2 Images, graphics, texts, films and other audiovisual works, including raw material and post-production files, as well as programming and web-based software solutions supplied by Altmann & Weiß GbR (SCHNEEWEISS Konzeptbüro) are protected by copyright and are made available to the contractual partner for the duration of the contract. Any further use, reproduction or modification is only permitted with the written consent of Altmann & Weiß GbR (SCHNEEWEISS Konzeptbüro).
11.3 Pages / web-based software solutions created by Altmann & Weiß GbR (SCHNEEWEISS Konzeptbüro) are protected by copyright and are marked as such.
11.4 With the Client’s consent, the Contractor may refer to its company in a suitable manner on the contractual products. The Client may only refuse consent if it has an overriding interest in doing so.
12. Secrecy, Confidentiality, Data Protection
12.1 The personal data of the Client and its contact persons collected in the course of initiating and performing the contract are processed by Altmann & Weiß GbR (SCHNEEWEISS Konzeptbüro) exclusively for the performance of the respective contract and for the fulfilment of legal obligations on the basis of Art. 6 (1) lit. b) and c) of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Further details on the processing of personal data can be found in the Contractor’s current privacy policy. Insofar as the Contractor processes personal data on behalf of and in accordance with the instructions of the Client in the course of executing the order, the parties will conclude a separate data processing agreement pursuant to Art. 28 GDPR upon request.
12.2 Altmann & Weiß GbR (SCHNEEWEISS Konzeptbüro) undertakes to keep secret all information and documents made accessible to it in connection with the conclusion of the contract that are designated as confidential or are clearly recognisable as business or trade secrets of the Client from other circumstances, and – unless necessary to achieve the purpose of the contract – neither to record, pass on nor exploit them.
12.3 Altmann & Weiß GbR (SCHNEEWEISS Konzeptbüro) has ensured by means of suitable contractual agreements with the employees and/or agents working for it that they too refrain from any exploitation, disclosure or unauthorised recording of such business and trade secrets.
12.4 Corresponding obligations apply to the Client with regard to business and trade secrets of Altmann & Weiß GbR (SCHNEEWEISS Konzeptbüro); this applies in particular to ideas and concepts disclosed during the development phase / collaboration.
13. Place of Performance, Jurisdiction
13.1 If the Client is a merchant (Vollkaufmann) within the meaning of the HGB or has no general place of jurisdiction in Germany, the place of performance and jurisdiction for all disputes arising from the contractual relationship, including proceedings concerning cheques, bills of exchange and documents, is the registered office of the Contractor. German law applies to the contractual relationship. The UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) is excluded.
14. Miscellaneous
14.1 Should any provision be or become invalid, the validity of the remaining provisions remains unaffected. The parties further undertake to replace the invalid provision with a valid provision that comes closest to the economic purpose of the invalid one.
14.2 E-mails are deemed to have been delivered once they have been accepted by the recipient’s mail server. Encryption or signing of messages and data only takes place upon express agreement in text form.
14.3 The transfer of rights and obligations under this contract is only permitted to the Client with the consent of Altmann & Weiß GbR (SCHNEEWEISS Konzeptbüro) in text form.
14.4 Within the scope of application of the German Telecommunications Customer Protection Ordinance, any mandatory law therein takes precedence over conflicting provisions of these terms and conditions. The German Product Liability Act also remains unaffected, as do manufacturers’ guarantees.