AGB's Advertisement Clients

  1. Scope of application:

These General Terms and Conditions of Business (“T&Cs”) apply to all advertising orders, advertorials and other advertising material (also online) of Meininger Verlag GmbH, Maximilianstrasse 7-15, 67433 Neustadt/Weinstrasse (hereinafter referred to as “Publisher”) targeted at customers (hereinafter referred to as “Customer”).

Any conflicting General Terms and Conditions of Business of the Customer will not be acknowledged, unless the Publisher explicitly consents to their inclusion.

  1. Conclusion of the agreement

An “advertising order”, within the meaning of these General Terms and Conditions of Business, is an agreement on the publication of one or more advertisements or advertorials, or any other advertising material (also online) (such as supplements) of an advertiser or any other buyer of advertising space in a publication or on a website for the purpose of dissemination.

Unless anything else to the contrary has been agreed, an advertising order shall materialize through the advertisement being printed or through a written confirmation of the Publisher. Upon placing the advertising order, the respective Customer acknowledges the application of these General Terms and Conditions of Business and the respective applicable price list, as well as the media data applicable to the respective year of publication.

A “deal” is an agreement on the publication of multiple advertisements, in regard to which the publications are made by the Customer on a “call-off” basis. The same shall also apply analogously to any deal concluded by a group of companies (“Consolidated Deals”). Should the right to call off individual advertisements be granted within the scope of such a deal, unless anything to the contrary has been agreed in the individual case the publication date of the most recent advertisement should fall within the period of one year of the first advertisement being published.

Should the advertising order be placed by an agency, the respective contract shall materialize, subject to any other arrangements, with the agency.

Any amendments and additions to an advertising order, as well as any deviations from these General Terms and Conditions of Business, shall require to be laid down in writing. That also applies to the revocation of this clause requiring the written form.

  1. Placing advertisements

The Publisher shall be entitled to undertake the placing of the advertisements and/or online advertising material at its sole discretion. Fixed advertisements and special forms of advertising can be booked individually. Subject to any other, individualized, agreement, the Customer shall otherwise have no claim to the advertisement being placed in a particular position in the respective advertising area, or to a certain access time in the respective advertising space being complied with. It is possible to relocate the advertising space within the agreed setting if said relocation does not materially affect the appeal of the advertisement. The bookable forms of advertising and placements in the online area do not include a warranty in regard to being displayed in a directly visible area (on a “first screen”). The Customer shall, upon request, after conducting an online campaign, be given information on the standard values achieved.

Advertisements and other forms of advertising which, due to their design, are not immediately recognisable as advertisements, are clearly marked by the Publisher with the word “Advertisement”.

  1. Advertorials

Advertorials are content produced by a third party that needs to differ, in form and design, from the editorial parts of the respective magazine. They contain texts and advertising of third parties. They shall essentially be endorsed with a separate legal notice. The advertorial may be marked, by the Publisher, with the word “Advertisement”, or an alternative word to a similar effect. Advertorials are usually produced by the Publisher in consultation with the Customer, and published. An advertorial is to be made available to the Publisher, for inspection and approval, at least ten working days prior to the print copy deadline. The Customer has a one-off right to require corrections. Any further sets of corrections are to be remunerated in addition. Acceptance may only be refused for technical reasons.

The Customer shall be obliged to deliver the necessary visual material, as well as any other information individually agreed, in good time. The Customer shall be responsible for providing the necessary rights for this. Should the Customer infringe the obligations to co-operate incumbent upon it, and delays be caused as a result, the Customer shall be held liable for it. Should an advertorial not be published, because the Customer has not fulfilled the obligations to co-operate incumbent upon it in good time, the Publisher shall be entitled to nonetheless require the gross remuneration agreed in full.

  1. Printing materials

The Customer shall be responsible for delivering flawless printing materials or print templates of any other advertising material by the print copy deadline. In the case of digital printing documents, the customer is obliged to deliver templates for advertisements in accordance with the contract, in particular in line with the format or the technical specifications of the Publisher, in good time prior to the respective start of publication. The Publisher’s costs for any amendments to the print templates desired or caused by the respective Customer are to be borne by the Customer.

The obligation to store printing materials shall end three months after the advertisement has been published for the first-time.

Any liability for colour accuracy and correct reproduction of the colouring will only be accepted by the Publisher if the Customer has transmitted a proof that makes the colouring and size binding, for colour matching in good time.

  1. Deficiencies

Should the publication of the advertisement not be in line with the quality or service contractually due, the Customer shall have a claim to reduce the payment or be given a flawless replacement advertisement. Should the Customer make use of its right to reduce the price, the amount of the reduction shall be aligned to the degree of deficiency shown by the advertisement. As an alternative, the Customer may require the publication of a replacement advertisement to the extent to which the purpose of the advertisement has been compromised by the deficiency. Minor deviations in tonal value or colour are substantiated in the tolerance range of the offset printing process, and do not constitute a deficiency.

The Customer is required to complain to the Publisher about any obvious deficiencies in an advertisement in writing within a week, counting from the day of publication. Any hidden deficiencies are to be complained about in writing within six months, counting from the day of publication of the advertisement.

The Publisher has the right to refuse to publish a replacement advertisement if, in good faith, it seems inappropriate to it, taking into account the content of the advertising order, in particular if a disproportionate amount of costs is incurred. Should the Publisher make use of this right, the Customer shall be entitled to withdraw from the contract, as long as it is not only insignificant deficiencies that exist. A reduction in price based on reduced circulation may only be asserted if the reduction in circulation is at least 20%, in the event of a certain circulation having been assured.

  1. Liability on the part of the Publisher

The Publisher shall only be liable for wilful intent and gross negligence. Vis-à-vis traders, the liability for gross negligence is limited to the damage to be expected up to the amount of the remuneration agreed for the advertisement.

For slight negligence, the Publisher shall only be liable, if there is no case of injury to life, the body or the health, unless cardinal obligations of the advertising order have been infringed. The Publisher’s liability shall, in any case, be limited to compensating the foreseeable damage, limited by the fee to be paid for the advertisement.

 

  1. Specimen copy

The publisher shall, upon request, deliver a specimen advertisement. Depending upon the nature and scope of the advertising order, clippings, specimen pages or full samples will be delivered.

  1. Prices, invoices

The fixed or special prices agreed as at the date of the order being placed shall apply, and otherwise the published price list. The Publisher reserves the right to amend the charges. This does not apply to consumers. For any orders confirmed by the Publisher, price changes shall, however, only be valid if they were notified by the Publisher at least one month prior to the advertisement/the advertising material being published. In the event of a price increase, the customer shall be entitled to assert a right to withdraw from the contract. The right to withdraw from the contract must be exercised within 14 days of receipt of the notification on the price increase.

Any reductions shall be established in line with the respective applicable price list or the individual arrangements made. Should the Customer not have implemented the advertising volume forming the basis for the reduction in full within the agreed period of time, the Publisher shall have the right to charge the amount of the reduction given. Advertising agencies and any other advertising intermediaries shall be obliged to adhere to the Publisher’s price lists in their offers, contracts and invoices sent to the advertiser. Discount credits and subsequent discount adjustment charges will essentially only be made at the end of the advertising year.

Invoices of the Publisher are to paid within the payment deadline, counting from receipt of the invoice, which can be seen from the price list, unless any other payment deadline or advance payment has been agreed in the individual case.

In the event of arrears of payment, interest will be charged in accordance with the statutory provisions.

Should there be justified doubt about the Customer’s ability to pay, the Publisher shall be entitled to make the publication of one or more advertisements dependent upon advance payment of the amount as at the final deadline for advertisements, as well as upon any outstanding amounts invoiced being settled.

  1.  Turning down orders

The Publisher reserves the right to turn down advertisements – including individual call-offs within the scope of a deal– and orders for supplements, if

- the content of them violates any laws or official provisions; or

- the content of them has been objected to by the German Advertising Council in opposition proceedings: or

- the publication of them is unacceptable to the Publisher because of the content, design, origin or technical form;

- advertisements contain advertising of third parties or on behalf of third parties. Orders for any other advertising material shall only be binding upon the Publisher after a sample has been submitted and approved. Any advertisements containing advertising by third parties or on behalf of third parties (joint advertising) shall, in each individual case, require the prior written declaration of acceptance of the Publisher. This will entitle the Publisher to levy a joint advertising surcharge. Any supplements which, due to their format or presentation, arouse the impression, with the reader, of being a component of the newspaper or magazine or contain third-party advertisements may be turned down by the Publisher on these grounds. The Customer will be informed about the rejection of an advertisement or any other advertising material without delay.

  1. Cancellation of orders

Essentially, it is possible to cancel orders. The cancellation needs to be received by the Publisher in writing or by e-mail. In the case of cancellation up to five working days prior to the closing date for advertisements (10 days in the case of advertisements placed on the website and fixed placements), no costs will be incurred to the advertising customer. By way of derogation herefrom, any cancellation of special forms of advertising (including title pages booked, events, tastings) and advertorials, is only possible for up to two weeks after placing an order. Should a cancellation be made after the deadlines regulated in Sentence 1, the flat-rate amount of compensation for expenditure shall amount to 100% of the gross order volume cancelled.

  1. Intellectual Property rights

The Customer shall grant the Publisher any rights of use, ancillary copyrights and other rights necessary for the use of the print templates provided. Included in the latter is, in particular, the right of duplication, publication, dissemination, making the materials publicly available, and also the editing and design rights in the scope necessary for implementing the order.

The Customer guarantees to the Publisher that it has all rights necessary for publication and dissemination of the advertisement. The Publisher shall not be obliged to check any impairments of rights of third parties. The Customer shall be solely responsible for the content and design of the advertisement. The Customer hereby frees and relieves the Publisher from all claims by third parties which the latter may assert against the Publisher in connection with the publication of the advertisement.

13. Acts of God

In the event of Acts of God, the Publisher shall be entitled to postpone the publication of an advertisement until such time as the event has ended. The term “Acts of God” is understood to mean any circumstances that are not the Publisher’s fault, and which make the publication impossible or unacceptable, in particular strikes, legitimate lock-outs, war, acts of terror, civil unrest, natural disasters, pandemics and a general shortage of raw materials or energy.

14. Data Protection:

The Publisher gathers, processes and stores personal data of the Customer in accordance with the applicable data protection provisions. Further information on the processing of personal data can be found in our Data Privacy Policy.

15. Final provisions

This contractual relationship, as well as these General Terms and Conditions of Business, are subject to the Law of the Federal Republic of Germany, subject to exclusion of the UN Convention on the International Sale of Goods (CISG). The place of fulfilment shall be the Publisher’s registered office. In business transactions with traders, legal persons governed by public law or special funds governed by public law, the Publisher’s registered office is agreed upon as the exclusive place of jurisdiction. In the case of non-traders, the place of jurisdiction shall be determined by their domicile.

The Publisher does not take part in dispute resolution procedures before consumer arbitration boards.

Any amendments and additions to these General Terms and Conditions of Business, as well as any subsidiary agreements, shall require to be laid down in writing. That also applies to the revocation of the written form.

Should any of the foregoing provisions be or become invalid, the validity of the remaining provisions shall not be affected thereby. In lieu of the invalid provision, the parties shall agree upon a valid provision which comes as close as possible, in its entirety, to what is laid down in the General Terms and Conditions of Business, as well as the contractual arrangements from a factual, legal and economic perspective. The same procedure shall apply if the General Terms and Conditions of Business should contain a loophole.