As part of their protection packages the IT law firm offers legal texts for numerous applications in online trading. In addition to the classic sale of standard goods, other business models are increasingly playing a role, such as the sale of personalized products, the sale of goods as part of subscriptions, the sale of vouchers or the provision of digital products. We took this as an opportunity to expand our terms and conditions for our own online shops over time to include numerous practical applications, so that they now offer a considerable range of services.
Why do you actually need terms and conditions?
General terms and conditions are in accordance with § 305 Abs. 1 BGB all pre-formulated contract conditions for a large number of contracts that one contracting party (user) provides to the other contracting party when concluding a contract. It is irrelevant whether the provisions form an externally separate part of the contract or are included in the contract document itself, what scope they have, what font they are written in and what form the contract has.
The law does not stipulate that entrepreneurs must use general terms and conditions. However, the law provides for some special information obligations, especially for electronic commerce, which can also be partially fulfilled within the framework of general terms and conditions. In addition, the use of general terms and conditions can be useful, especially if you as an entrepreneur want to gain legal advantages compared to the legal situation, insofar as this is permissible. Finally, the use of professional terms and conditions can also increase the trust of the target audience, as they convey a professional impression.
What are the risks of using general terms and conditions?
On the one hand, general terms and conditions must match the entrepreneur’s concrete business model in terms of content and, on the other hand, they must be in line with the specific legal requirements, i.e. they must not deviate from the law to the detriment of the contractual partner to such an extent that they unreasonably disadvantage them. In the case of contracts with consumers, special regulations on consumer protection must also be observed, which under no circumstances may be circumvented by general terms and conditions.
If inadmissible or ineffective terms and conditions are used, there may be a risk of warnings from competitors or associations that are entitled to issue warnings under competition law, which are subject to a fee. In addition, as a user of the GTC, you cannot invoke invalid GTC clauses in the event of a legal dispute with the contractual partner. If necessary, these will be replaced by the valid legal situation.
Can you copy general terms and conditions from external sources?
General terms and conditions are protected by copyright as written works and may not be reproduced and/or made publicly accessible without the consent of the author/rights holder. Anyone who adopts terms and conditions from external sources without a corresponding license usually commits a copyright infringement, which can lead to a warning from the rights holder, which is subject to a fee. In addition, the terms and conditions adopted can be incorrect in terms of content, with the result that the user is also exposed to the risk of a warning from competitors or associations under competition law.
What are the general terms and conditions of the IT law firm?
The online shop terms and conditions of the IT law firm take into account the regulations relevant to online trading, such as the EU consumer rights directive and the relevant provisions of the German Civil Code and the EGBGB.
In addition, the GTC cover the following issues that are particularly relevant to the sale of goods:
- Deliveries made by forwarding agent “free curbside”
- Retention of title in the event of the seller’s obligation to perform in advance,
- Limitation of liability for defects – e.g. for used goods,
- Agreement of German sales law in contracts with foreign buyers,
- Exclusion of the right of withdrawal for consumers from non-EU member states,
- Release from liability in the event of infringement of third-party rights for customizable products,
- Delivery of goods under subscription contracts.
In addition, the General Terms and Conditions also take into account the following services that may be offered by the entrepreneur in addition to the sale of physical goods via their own online shop:
- sale of goods with digital elements,
- Sale of data carriers with digital content,
- sale of vouchers,
- sale of tickets,
- Provision of digital content (excluding software that is supplied in electronic form),
- Provision of license keys in physical or digital form,
- mediation of telecommunications contracts,
- assembly/installation of items at the customer’s premises, which were sold to him by the entrepreneur,
- Repair of the customer’s objects (which can be sent as parcels) at the entrepreneur’s (outside the warranty under commercial law).
We offer corresponding terms and conditions as part of our protection packages starting at a monthly price of EUR 9.90 plus VAT. In addition, our protection packages contain further legal texts such as a cancellation policy and a data protection declaration. The legal texts are flanked by numerous samples, instructions and other services for online trading.
Our protection package with terms and conditions for your own online shops can here be obtained.
Tipp: Do you have any questions about the contribution? Feel free to discuss this with us in the
Entrepreneur group of the IT law firm on Facebook.