Terms and Conditions
Tweeterate refers to the service provided subject to these General Terms and Conditions.
1. Preamble
By logging on to Tweeterate, users accept the following General Terms and Conditions (hereinafter the "GTC") for using Tweeterate.
active value GmbH operates Tweeterate services under various top-level domains (Tweeterate.com, Tweeterate.de etc.), as well as various sub-domains and aliases of these domains. All Web sites on which Tweeterate provides Tweeterate services are hereinafter referred to as "Tweeterate Web sites."
These GTC shall govern the contract relationship between the User and Tweeterate, irrespective of which Tweeterate site the User is registered with or logged on to.
The User enters into this agreement on the use of Tweeterate services with active value GmbH, Grafenberger Allee 363, 40235 Duesseldorf, Germany. Additional contact information, commercial registry data, as well as the name of the authorized representative of active value GmbH can be found under "Imprint".
The services provided by Tweeterate are intended exclusively for persons of legal age.
The User can call up, print out, download and or save these General Terms and Conditions at any time, even after the agreement has been closed, under the "Terms & Conditions" link that appears on all Tweeterate Web sites.
2. Subject Matter
The Tweeterate Web sites offer registered users a free membership.
Any use of the services and contents offered on the Tweeterate Web sites beyond the scope of options provided by Tweeterate requires the prior written consent of Tweeterate.
Tweeterate shall only make data and/or information provided by the User available for other uses provided that this data and/or information does not violate any laws or these GTC. Tweeterate is entitled to remove any illegal or prohibited data and/or information from Tweeterate Web sites without prior notice to the User.
The User acknowledges and agrees that it is technically impossible to achieve 100% availability of the Tweeterate Web sites. Tweeterate shall nonetheless endeavor to keep Tweeterate Web sites available without interruption. Events related to maintenance, security or capacity requirements, and/or events beyond Tweeterate's control (e.g. disruptions in public communication networks, power failures etc.), may result in brief malfunctions or temporary interruptions of the services provided on Tweeterate Web sites.
3. Registration, and Representations and Warranties upon Registration
Users log in with their twitter credentials. Tweeterate does not store these credentials on it's servers.
4. Right of cancellation for consumers
If a user is registered at Tweeterate for a purpose that is not related to either his or her commercial or freelance activity, the following provisions apply to him or her as a consumer under the law (§13 German Civil Code):
Right of cancellation
The User may cancel registration for the Membership in writing (e.g. by letter, fax or email) within two (2) weeks without stating a reason. The two-week period begins when membership is activated by Tweeterate, but not before the receipt of these instructions.
For meeting the cancellation deadline in each of the aforementioned cases, the date of dispatch of the cancellation notice is decisive. In each of the aforementioned cases, the cancellation notice should be sent by post to active value GmbH, Grafenberger Allee 363, 40235 Duesseldorf, Germany. The User may deliver notice of termination by sending an email to tweeterate (at) active-value (dot) de, a fax or letter to active value. The fax number and email address of Tweeterate are sent to the User upon registration.
The User's right of termination under section "Termination of Membership, Reimbursement of Advance Payments" shall not be affected by the User's cancellation right under this section.
Premature lapse of the right of cancellation
In accordance with §312d Par. 3 BGB (German Civil Code), the User's right of cancellation lapses before the end of the right of cancellation period cited in the previous section, in the following cases.
If Tweeterate has begun performing the Tweeterate services for which the User is registered with the express consent of the User, or
If the User has initiated the Tweeterate services for which the User is registered (e.g. in which the User has accessed the Tweeterate services that Tweeterate has made available to the User in accordance with the type of Membership chosen by the User at registration).
Consequences of cancellation
In the event of a valid cancellation, both parties shall be obliged to restore any benefits already received in accordance with legal provisions, and issue any gains (e.g. interest). If the User is unable or partially unable to restore the benefits, or only able to restore them in poor condition, to Tweeterate, then the User must reimburse Tweeterate for the corresponding value. The User must fulfill obligations for reimbursement within 30 days after dispatch of the cancellation notice.
5. Obligations of the User
To comply with all applicable legislation, and respect all third-party rights. In Particular, the User shall not
- Use any insulting or defamatory contents, regardless of whether said contents are directed at another user or Tweeterate personnel or other companies
- Use any pornographic materials or any contents that violate any applicable legislation for the protection of minors; or advertise or promote, offer or distribute any pornographic product or products which do not comply with any applicable legislation for the protection of minors
- Unreasonably annoy (particularly with spam) any other user (cf. §7 of the German Unfair Competition Act)
- Use without authorization any contents protected by law (e.g. by copyright, trademark, patent, utility patent, or design patent laws), or advertise, promote, offer or distribute any goods or services protected by law.
- Use or promote any commercial practices considered unfair competition, including progressive customer acquisition practices (such as chain distribution systems, multilevel selling or pyramid sales).
The User is prohibited from the following:
- Employing any mechanisms, software or scripts when using Tweeterate Web sites. However, the User may use the interfaces or software provided by Tweeterate within the scope of the services available on the Tweeterate Web sites.
- Blocking, overwriting, modifying and copying of any contents of the Tweeterate Web sites, unless said actions are necessary for the proper use of the services on the Tweeterate Web sites. For example, the use of the "Robot/Crawler" search engine technology is not required for proper use of the services, and is therefore prohibited.
- Distributing or publicly disclosing the contents of any of the Web sites of Tweeterate or any other user
- Performing any actions which may impair the operability of Tweeterate's infrastructure, particularly actions which may overload said infrastructure.
6. Changes to the Services on Tweeterate Web sites
Tweeterate reserves the right to modify the services offered on the Tweeterate Web sites and/or to offer services different from those offered at the time of the User's registration at any time, unless this is unreasonable for the User.
7. Termination of Membership
The User may terminate the Membership at any time without cause. The User may deliver notice of termination using email address tweeterate (at) active-value (dot) de at any time. The termination notice shall include the User's registered name and an email address of the User registered on one of the Tweeterate Web sites.
A good cause is defined as an event which makes it unacceptable for Tweeterate to continue the agreement to the end of the termination period, taking into account all circumstances of the individual case and weighing the interests of Tweeterate against the User's. A good cause includes any the following events:
- If the User fails to comply with any applicable legal provisions
- If the User breaches a contractual obligation, in particular an obligation set forth in sections 2 and 4 of these GTC
- If the reputation of the services offered on the Tweeterate Web sites is substantially impaired by the online-presence of the User (if, for example, it is discovered after registration that the User has been convicted of a criminal offence, and if said conviction is known to other users);
- If the User promotes any communities or associations (or any of their methods or activities) which are under surveillance by authorities responsible for public safety or the protection of minors, or;
- If the User causes harm to any other user(s)
- If the User is a member of a religious sect or a denomination that is controversial in Germany.
In the event of a good cause in accordance with this section and notwithstanding Tweeterate's right to terminate the contract in accordance with this section, Tweeterate is entitled to:
- Delete the contents posted by the User
- Issue a warning, or
- Block the User's access to the services on the Tweeterate Web sites.
In the following cases, the User shall not be entitled to claim reimbursement of any advance payments: - If Tweeterate has terminated the contract for good cause pursuant to section 7,
- If Tweeterate has blocked the User's access in accordance with section 4
8. Responsibility for the User's Content, Data or other Information
Tweeterate does not make any warranties or representations regarding any data and/or information provided or made available by any user on any of the Tweeterate Web sites or on any external websites linked to them. In particular, Tweeterate does not warrant or represent that said data and/or information is true or accurate, or that it fulfils or serves any particular purpose.
The User may report any activities of any other user which violate applicable laws adn/or any of the terms and conditions of these GTC (including the use of pseudonyms or false identities) using the contact form available at all Tweeterate Web sites.
9. Customer Service/Support
Queries regarding agreement with Tweeterate or regarding Tweeterate services can be sent by the customer to Tweeterate using the email address tweeterate (at) active-value (dot) de, or by sending a fax or letter.
10. Liability of Tweeterate
Whatever the legal grounds, liability for damage claims based only on ordinary negligence against Tweeterate (including its vicarious agents) shall exist only if Tweeterate breaches a basic/cardinal obligation under this agreement. In this event, the amount of claims are limited to typical and foreseeable damages.
Limits shall not apply to the extent damages are covered by Tweeterate's business liability insurance, provided the insurance company has effected payment to Tweeterate. Tweeterate undertakes to maintain the insurance coverage existing at the time this agreement is concluded.
This shall not affect personal injury and property damage claims based on the German Product Liability Act.
11. Indemnity
The User shall indemnify and exempt Tweeterate from all actions, including damage claims, asserted by other users or third parties against Tweeterate resulting from an infringement of their rights by the contents posted by the User on Tweeterate Web sites. Furthermore, the User shall indemnify and exempt Tweeterate from all actions, including damage claims, asserted by other users or third parties against Tweeterate resulting from an infringement of their rights regarding the use of the services on Tweeterate Web sites by the User. The User assumes all reasonable costs Tweeterate incurs due to an infringement of third party rights, including all reasonable legal-defense costs. All other rights, including damage claims by Tweeterate, are hereby unaffected.
The aforementioned obligations shall not apply to the extent the User is not responsible for the infringement.
In the event the contents posted by the User infringes any rights of any third party, the User shall, at its own expense and at Tweeterate's discretion, either obtain the right to use said contents or render said contents free of any infringement. In the event the User infringes third-party rights when using the services of Tweeterate Web sites, the User shall discontinue such use that violates these General Terms and Conditions and the law, if so requested by Tweeterate.
12. Data Protection
Tweeterate recognizes that any data provided by the User to Tweeterate is extremely important to the User, and Tweeterate shall therefore be particularly sensitive in handling such data. Tweeterate shall comply with all applicable legal provisions regarding data protection (German Data Protection Laws, European Data Protection Directives and any other applicable data protection legislation). In particular, Tweeterate shall not provide or otherwise disclose any personal data of the User to any third party without authorization. Details on Tweeterate's treatment of the User's data are set forth in the Privacy Statement of Tweeterate accessible from each of the Tweeterate Web sites.
13. Right to Contents
When the User posts his or her contribution to a forum, the User grants Tweeterate an unlimited, irrevocable and assignable right of use for the respective contribution, which Tweeterate is entitled to utilize for any purpose. In particular, Tweeterate is entitled to keep said contribution on the forum, and on its Web sites and the Web sites of its partners, or use it for marketing the forum in any other way.
Consequently, Tweeterate has a right of use over all contributions to discussion forums it operates. Duplication or the use of these contributions or their contents in other electronic or printed publications is prohibited without the express written consent of Tweeterate. Copying, downloading, dissemination, distribution and storing of the contents of Tweeterate and/or third parties, with the exception of the cache memory when searching for forum pages, is prohibited without its express consent.
Any other content belong to the user and Tweeterate fully recognizes this rights.
14. Final Provisions
These GTC and any amendments thereto must be in writing to be valid. No secondary agreements exist.
Tweeterate reserves the right to amend these GTC at any time, without giving reasons, unless an amendment is unreasonable to the User. Tweeterate shall give due notice of any amendments of these GTC to the User. If the User does not object to the applicability of the revised GTC within two (2) weeks after receipt of said notice, the amended GTC shall be deemed to be accepted by the User. Tweeterate shall inform the User about the User's right to object and of the relevance of the objection deadline in said notice.
Unless otherwise stated in these GTC, the User may submit all notices to Tweeterate using the contact form provided on each of the Tweeterate Web sites, or by letter or fax. Tweeterate may send notices to the User by email, fax or post to the addresses given in the User's current contact data in his or her user account.
If any provision of these GTC is, for any reason, invalid and/or unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall continue to be valid and enforceable to the fullest extent permitted by law. The parties agree to replace an invalid and/or unenforceable provision with a valid and/or enforceable provision which most closely approximates the intent and economic effect of the invalid and/or unenforceable provision. This also applies to contractual loopholes.
The place of performance under these GTC shall be Tweeterate's main place of business.
Place of jurisdiction, insofar as legally admissible, shall be the main place of business of Tweeterate.
These GTC and the contractual relationship shall be governed by German Law, excluding international private law and the provisions of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods that have been adopted by German Law.