Terms and Conditions, 2015-12-05

By using our services you agree to our general Terms and Conditions as outlined below:

The following General Terms of Use (“GTCs”) apply to any use of this website as well as to all services offered by archinoah and on www.archinoah.de, www.archinoah.com and any other domains which provide a link to archinoah’s websites. These GTCs shall apply exclusively. Deviating, opposing or supplementary general terms and conditions of the User and other deviating agreements are not applicable.

1.         Content of the Website

1.1       archinoah is a web portal for architecture (“Portal”). The portal provides current architecture information on events, job offers as well as a variety of downloads. Registered Users have the option of posting data and, by doing so, sharing it with other Users as well as the option of downloading the data of other Users.

1.2      Usage of the Portal is free of charge. The Users also have the option of acquiring “Premium Member” status subject to a charge. Premium Members will receive a variety of extended functions in comparison to the free usage version, which the User can view here. The provisions of Clause 4 of these GTCs also apply to Premium Members.

1.3       The usage options for the services offered are specified on the Portal according to the Credit Point System. Without Credit Points the User will only have restricted access to the Portal’s range of offers. The Credit Points System and the User’s options for buying Credit Points are described in Clause 6 of these GTCs.

2.         Scope of Application

These GTCs for using the features and services on the Portal govern the contractual relationship between the User and the Portal Operator, Florian Illenberger & Samsarah Lilja GbR (“archinoah”). As regards the use of individual features of the Portal as well as the rights to the contents, the license terms, which are also part of this contract, shall also apply in addition to these GTCs.

3.         Registration

3.1      It is basically possible to use the Portal without a user account. To gain access to the entire range of services, the User must create an account on archinoah, whereby he or she must be at least 15 years of age.

3.2       The User is under obligation when creating the account to provide information truthfully and to always keep his or her information up to date. Users may only register once. The User may not allow third parties to use his or her account. A User may create an account for a company provided that he or she has been authorized to do so by the company owner. The User or the company must provide evidence of this authorization at the request of archinoah.

3.3       Registered Users are under obligation to keep their log-in details for the Portal safe and to protect these from being discovered and used by third parties. This also applies to all those who have not been authorized to use the account by the company owner in the case of a company account. The User undertakes to change these log-in details immediately if he or she suspects that third parties have become aware of these details.

3.4       archinoah is not technically capable of determining with certainty whether a User registered on the Portal is actually the person they claim to be. As such, archinoah provides no guarantee for the actual identity of a User.

3.5       The contract between the User and archinoah for the use of the Portal shall not come into being until such time as archinoah has enabled access to the features on the Portal for the User following the creation of an account. Users have no entitlement to the conclusion of a contract or the creation of a user account. archinoah reserves the right to reject the User without stating the reasons for this. 

4.         Premium Members

4.1       The User may switch his or her free account to the fee-based status of “Premium Member” at any time. To do so, the User must submit an offer to conclude an agreement by confirming the switch in the section intended for this on the Portal. Once the indicated price has been paid in full, archinoah accepts this offer by enabling the Premium functions. archinoah will notify the User of this accordingly. The User has, however, no entitlement to the conclusion of a contract; if archinoah refuses to conclude an agreement, the User will be fully reimbursed for the already paid fee.

4.2       The User may select the status of Premium Members for various terms as per archinoah’s current offer which the User can view here.

The term of contract begins in each case once the User has been notified of the activation of the premium functions by archinoah. The contract shall end in each case once the selected term has expired, unless the Premium Member selects an option with an automatic contract extension and fails to terminate the agreement. 

4.3       The fees for the status of Premium Member shall be due for payment immediately upon the issue of an invoice by archinoah for the entire term of contract selected. The prices valid upon conclusion of the contract shall apply; the User can view these here. Premium Members may settle claims due to archinoah using the payment methods offered on the Portal (e.g. PayPal). Premium Members are under obligation to settle fees due for the status of Premium Member (including without limitation the costs for premium subscriptions) as well as all relevant taxes as soon as these are due, and to reimburse archinoah for all reasonable (collection) expenses, interest and other fees resulting from overdue charges.

4.4       Unless differing provisions have been expressly agreed for Premium Members in these GTCs or the license terms, the provisions of these GTCs and the license terms shall also apply to Premium Members.

6.         Credit Point System

6.1       archinoah uses an internal Credit Point System which serves as internal “virtual currency”. The User has symbolic Credit Points credited to his or her Credit Point account depending on a number of various factors, in particular the posting of content. With these Credit Points the User can, inter alia, download the content of other Users.

6.2       The User is shown in detail here how he or she can acquire Credit Points.

6.3       Users are awarded Credit Points on the basis of quality, volume and other criteria set by archinoah. You can access a list with examples of such ratings here. archinoah expressly reserves the right to award Credit Points to Users; the User has no entitlement to Credit Points, neither in general nor to a specific extent.

6.4       The User may use certain services, contents, etc., on the Portal for which he or she “pays” with these Credit Points. Before Credit Points are deducted from the User’s account for the use of a feature/service, the User shall be informed of this and of the number of Credit Points with a corresponding notice.

 6.5      archinoah counts the downloads, uploads, postings and other actions of the User. The current balance of the Credit Point account is calculated on the basis of the currently valid scoring system on the Portal, determined by archinoah, for the relevant areas and the information already used. The User may access his or her account balance at any time via his or her user account. The User may only use the Credit Points credited to his or her account.

6.6       Credited Credit Points are not paid out in cash nor as account credit. The Credit Point System serves solely as internal currency for services and content on the Portal; they do not constitute any grounds for claims against archinoah. Attention is drawn to the provisions in the case of a termination of the contract with the User under Clause 11.5.

6.7       Multiple registrations by one User and thus a conscious circumvention of the Credit Point System are prohibited. Attention is drawn to archinoah’s right to exclude the User in such a case under Clause 10.2. of these GTCs. archinoah expressly reserves the right to claim further damages.

7.         Security and Functionality

In order to guarantee the security and functionality of the Portal, the User undertakes to refrain from:

• configuring or planting malware on the Portal,
• accessing other User accounts, e.g. by obtaining log-in details,
• posting any illegal, defamatory, discriminatory or otherwise violating content on the Portal,
• posting non-approved advertising content,
• compromising the functionality and the appearance of the Portal, in particular carrying out hacker attacks, flooding, phishing, spreading viruses, worms or trojans, brute force attacks, DoS attacks on the server, exploiting any security gaps or other actions which may compromise the infrastructure of the Portal,
• using mechanisms, software or scripts in connection with the use of the Portal,
• violating third party rights, in particular copyrights or other commercial property rights and posting content which may infringe upon such rights.

8.         Availability of the Portal and the Services Offered

8.1.        The User accepts that 100% availability of the portal and the services offered is not technically possible. Maintenance, security or capacity issues as well as events which are beyond the control of archinoah (e.g. disruptions of public communication networks, power cuts) may in particular lead to disruptions or to a temporary stoppage of services on the Portal. archinoah shall not be liable for the limited availability of the Portal or services.

8.2       archinoah reserves the right to change the services offered on the Portal or to offer alternative services, unless this is unacceptable for the User. achinoah may make changes particularly in the following cases:

• A change of the applicable law,
• as a result of an administrative or court decision,
• to close any security gaps or if the change is of a purely technical nature without any significant consequences for the User,
• if the change is only beneficial to the User.

Changes which merely have an insignificant effect on the services offered on the Portal are not deemed to be such. This applies in particular to changes which are purely graphic in nature and mere changes to the layout of functions.

9.         Privacy

The privacy statement, which can be accessed at www.archinoah.de/datenschutz.html, applies to the collection, processing and/or use of the personal details of Users.

10.       Exclusion of Users

10.1     archinoah may take the following measures if there are specific indications of a User violating legal regulations, third-party rights, obligations arising from these GTCs and/or the license terms or if archinoah has another legitimate interest, in particular protecting Users from fraudulent activities:

• Delete content.
• Warn Users.
• Restrict the usage of the Portal.
• Block usage temporarily.
• Block usage permanently.

When choosing a measure, archinoah takes into account the legitimate interests of the affected User, particularly whether there are any indications that the User is not responsible for the violation.

10.2     archinoah may permanently exclude a User from using the Portal (permanent blocking), particularly in cases where the User

• registers several times,
• grants a third party access to his or her registration,
• causes significant damage to another User or archinoah, e.g. by installing malware,
• violates these GTCs or the license terms,
• or where there is another important reason.

11.       Termination of Contract

11.1     Unless any special provisions on the duration and termination of individual applications or contracts in these GTCs state otherwise, the contractual relationship between the User and archinoah may be terminated by either side at any time. This applies in particular to the free User account.

11.2     The Premium Member and archinoah may terminate the contract for the status of Premium Member without reason using the online form, by letter or by e-mail with a notice period of 2 (two) weeks before the booked contract term expires or thereafter 2 (two) weeks before the corresponding extension expires. Following termination, the User shall retain the free account on the Portal until it ends; the additional and extended functions of a Premium Member shall, however, cease to apply.

11.3     archinoah has the right to terminate the contract with the User (both for free use as well as for the Premium Member) without notice at any time if there is good cause. Such good cause shall be deemed to exist if the User carries out the violations of duty listed in Clause 10.2. of these GTCs.

11.4     The right of the User to claim the repayment of fees already paid in the event of a termination is excluded unless the User is terminating for good cause for which archinoah is responsible. If archinoah terminates the contract for good cause or blocks the User in accordance with Clause 10.2, the right of the user to the repayment of fees already paid is excluded in all cases.

11.5     archinoah is entitled to display and make available to other Users any content posted by the User on the Portal even after the term of contract has expired. Attention is drawn to the regulations on the rights to content in the license terms.

Otherwise the User shall no longer be entitled to use the Portal and the services offered on the same. Credited Credit Points shall be forfeited without compensation upon termination of the contract; the User shall not be entitled to the remuneration or reimbursement of Credit Points.

12.       Liability on the part of the User

The User shall hold archinoah harmless against all claims asserted against archinoah by other users or third-parties on account of the violation of their rights by content posted by the User or owing to the use of the Portal by the User in any other manner. In this connection the User shall assume all costs required for the legal defense of archinoah including all court and attorney expenses based at the statutory rate. This shall not apply if the User is not responsible for the violation. Further claims for damages by archinoah against the User shall remain unaffected. In the event of a claim asserted by a third party, the User is under obligation to immediately provide archinoah truthfully and in full with all the information necessary to examine the claims and to provide legal defense.

13.       Limitation  of Liability on the part of archinoah

13.1     archinoah is liable without limitation for damage arising from loss of life, physical injury or damage to health which are based on a breach of duty on the part of archinoah, its legal representatives or its vicarious agents, and for damage resulting from the absence of a product characteristic warranted by archinoah or in the case of malicious conduct on the part of archinoah. Furthermore, archinoah is liable without limitation for damage caused deliberately or through gross negligence by archinoah or one of their legal representatives or vicarious agents.

13.2     In the event of a slightly negligent breach of a material contractual duty, archinoah shall be liable up to the amount of the typically foreseeable damages except in the case of Clause 13.1. Material contractual obligations are those obligations, the fulfilment of which makes the due execution of the contract at all possible and upon the observance of which the contractual parties may regularly rely.

13.3     Liability on the part of archinoah is otherwise excluded. In particular, archinoah shall not be held liable for content uploaded by Users or third parties, of for the currency, quality or completeness of such. Nor is archinoah liable for any potential misuse of User-uploaded content by other Users or third parties.

14.       Changes to these GTCs and the License Terms

archinoah reserves the right to change these GTCs and/or the license terms without reason unless this is unacceptable for the User. archinoah shall notify the User of changes to the GTCs and/or license terms in good time. After receiving this notification, the User has option upon his or her next log-in

• to accept the changed GTCs and/or license terms;
• to consider the changes and to use the service for another 30 days without changes; 
• or to reject the changes.

If the User should reject the changes, in the case of b) after 30 days, or in the case of c) immediately, archinoah is entitled to terminate the contract with the User and to block or delete his or her access to the Portal. If, however, the User accepts the changed GTCs and/or license terms, the contractual relationship shall continue on the terms valid at the time.  

15.       Final Provisions

15.1     archinoah may transmit declarations to the User via e-mail or by regular mail unless agreed otherwise in these GTCs.

15.2     Agreements between the User and archinoah which deviate from these GTCs or the license terms require at least the written form (e-mail).

15.3     These GTCs and the license terms are subject to the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany to the exclusion of the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods.

15.4     Place of performance is Berlin. The court of jurisdiction for all disputes arising from the contract is also Berlin. For Users who are consumers residing in a member state of the European Union, a court of jurisdiction exists at his or her respective residence. For consumers residing in Germany, the additional court of jurisdiction for all disputes arising from these GTCs and/or the license terms is Berlin.

Last updated: September 2014

2015-12-05, archinoah.de