General Terms and Conditions

of the
International Federation of Small and Medium Enterprises (“IFoSME”) P.O. Box 762125, 22069 Hamburg, Germany

1. General

1.1 The general terms and conditions of IFoSME apply to all current and future legal relationships between IFoSME and all individuals as well as legal entities (“Users”) who use the services of IFoSME.
1.2 The users referred to in these terms and conditions include site visitors and both non-paying and paying members of the IFoSME International Business Directory.

2. Subject of the Contract and Description of Services

2.1 The IFoSME regards itself as a service provider with the goal of bringing small and medium enterprises together in order to build a strong community of such enterprises and promote their political and economic interests.
2.2 IFoSME offers all users through their website diverse and useful information required for management of small and medium enterprises. Every user also has access to the International Business Directory through a limited search function also available through the IFoSME website.
2.3 All members also have the option of registering their enterprise for free in the site’s Business Databank.
2.4 Paying members can also use the IFoSME Start-up Guide, a database containing readily accessible information including descriptions of various types of enterprises, the steps to enterprise formation, and assets necessary for enterprise formation both within one’s country of residence and abroad. Paying members also have access to IFoSME’s Legal Database, which contains clear explanations of as well as detailed articles pertaining to laws relevant to small and medium enterprises. Membership cards are also provided to paying members, which entitle the bearer to priority treatment and various discounts both on- and offline. Paying members also receive a bolded entry in the International Business Directory, an advanced search function, and access to direct means of communication with other members, as well as the option of creating their own individual website.

3. Initiation of the Contract

3.1 A visitor can become either a non-paying or paying member using the appropriate application form available on the IFoSME website.
3.2 By registering themselves as either a non-paying or paying member, the user accepts these terms and conditions as contractually binding. Solely these terms and conditions are contractually valid.
3.3 The contract between the member and IFoSME becomes valid with the activation of the member’s account. The automatically sent email stating that the application for membership was successfully completed does not imply that the recipient of such email has been granted membership in IFoSME.
3.4 There exists no legal right to membership in IFoSME. The IFoSME reserves the right to deny membership to any user even if no reasons for such denial are given.

4. Intellectual Property

4.1 The services provided by IFoSME available online, especially the appearance of IFoSME’s website and the International Business Directory are protected as personal intellectual property and are therefore protected by copyright law.
4.2 The copyright law provisions pertaining to the relationship of an author to his/her works are also held then to be agreed upon, if the legally required demands, especially those in §§ 1, 2, 11 UrhG (German intellectual property law), are not fulfilled.

5. User Rights

5.1 The member receives the right during the time the contract is in effect to usage of the services provided by IFoSME. This right is not transferable to a third party and does not include a purchase of the right to the contents of the IFoSME website.
5.2 In addition to the member his/herself, all employees of the member’s enterprise are allowed to use the online services of IFoSME according to the conditions specified in 5.1.
5.3 Membership card The availability of offline priority treatment and discounts are contingent upon the presentation of the paying member’s IFoSME membership card. The card is transferable to employees of the paying member’s enterprise, but cannot be used by more than one person at any one given time. The priority treatment and discounts granted by another firm originate from that particular firm and not from IFoSME. That particular firm also has authority over the content and extent of such priority treatment and discounts.
5.4 The use of the online services by any other person other than those named above is forbidden. It is especially forbidden for unauthorized persons to save or duplicate items from the databank, or copy or save such items into other data mediums or retrieval systems.

6. User Responsibilities

6.1 Paying members are obligated to pay the stipulated monetary fee.
6.2 The user is obligated to provide all technical essentials needed to access the services offered by IFoSME (i.e. installation and maintenance of hardware, operating systems, internet access, browser software, etc.).
6.3 Before accessing the online services of IFoSME, the member creates an individual account and password and acknowledges that he/she is responsible for the secrecy of his/her member account information and the prevention of its misuse. The member is therefore also obligated to make sure all employees of the member’s enterprise also fulfil this nondisclosure obligation. If the member receives knowledge of misuse of his/her account information, he/she is obligated to immediately inform IFoSME. If misuse occurs IFoSME has the right to block access to the affected account. If the user can be held accountable for such misuse, he/she is liable for any resulting damages.
6.4 A paying member’s access to priority treatment and discounts arranged by IFoSME available offline is contingent upon the presentation of that paying member’s membership card. The paying member is forbidden to pass this membership card on to any unauthorized person (see 5.3). The paying member is thus responsible for any such unauthorized transfer of his/her membership card and any damages resulting from such transfer.
6.5 The member acknowledges that when he/she becomes a member of IFoSME, he/she may receive information and/or inquiries from other members. The sending of such information or inquiries is only allowed in a personalized form. The sending of spam is specifically forbidden.

7. Duration, Termination, and Revocation

7.1 The contractually stipulated duration applies to the membership contract. In all other cases the contractual relationship will end at an unspecified time.
7.2 The membership contract is automatically extended for another year provided that the member has not properly cancelled it.
7.3 Both the membership and user contracts are cancellable by both contracting parties: the user contract at any time and the membership contract only after a notification period of 1 month or at the end of the stipulated contractual duration.
7.4 IFoSME has the right when a violation of these terms and conditions occurs to extraordinary cancellation of the contract and to block access to IFoSME online services. The right to extraordinary contract cancellation for other significant reasons remains unchanged. A significant reason worth mention is if a user abuses his status as a user by taking user information provided by other users with regard to the intended purpose of IFoSME and using this user information to send spam email to other users or to issue dissuasions based on minor mistakes to other users.
7.5 Provided that the member is a consumer and consequently the §§ 312 b ff. BGB (German Civil Code) applies, the member has the right to revoke the contract without specifying the reasons for such revocation within a period of 14 days. Notices of such revocation may be sent either by mail to IFoSME, Sierichstraße 18, 22301 Hamburg or by email to hamburg@IFoSME.org within this period. The postmarked date or date on which the email is sent determines if the revocation was sent during the 14-day period, which begins at the earliest with the signing of the relevant contract. If the revocation is sent within this 14-day period, the member is no longer bound by his/her agreement to the contract. The revocation right expires as soon as the member begins using the services of IFoSME. This use begins the first time the member logs in as a member on the IFoSME website.

8. Dissatisfaction and Liability

8.1 The rights of the member in case of dissatisfaction with the services of IFoSME are defined by law.
8.2 IFoSME reserves the right to discontinue or alter at any time the services provided by IFoSME free of charge or make such services only available with payment. Guarantee claims of any kind on freely provided IFoSME services are not allowed.
8.3 IFoSME takes no responsibility for the completeness or accuracy of provided information, or that such information is the most current available. Claims of compensation for errors of content are not acceptable.
8.4 IFoSME’s services are available 7 days per week and 24 hours per day through their website. Necessary interruptions in service for maintenance and repairs as well as interruptions due to malfunctions for which IFoSME is not responsible do not give rise to valid claims for compensation by users.
8.5 Liability for user dissatisfaction is also ruled out if the dissatisfaction depends on circumstances for which the user is accountable, especially in the cases of operating error or if the user violates his/her contractual obligations as specified under Nr. 6 of these terms and conditions.
8.6 Claims for damages that consist of simple negligent injury resulting from a nonessential obligation of IFoSME or its employees are hereby ruled out. Insofar a claim based on culpable injury resulting from an essential obligation of IFoSME is submitted, is the liability limited to foreseeable damages.
8.7 The previously stated disclaimers and limitations of liability are not valid in cases of liability regardless of negligence or fault as well as in cases of bodily injury, damage done to one’s health, or loss of life.

9. Miscellaneous Provisions

9.1 The laws of the Federal Republic of Germany apply. The provisions of the United Nations General Terms of Trade do not apply.
9.2 Hamburg, Germany is the only place of arbitration for the settlement of conflicts stemming from a contract or these terms and conditions, provided that such conflict concerns on the part of the user a merchant as defined in the German Commercial Code, a public-law entity, or a legal person of the public law.
9.3 IFoSME reserves the right to revise these terms and conditions at any time and without notification of grounds for such revision. The revised terms and conditions will be sent to the member by email at least two weeks before they come into effect. When the member does not object to the revised terms and conditions within the two-week period after the receipt of this email, they are assumed to have been approved by the member. The IFoSME will especially point out to the member the meaning of this two-week period in the email containing the revised terms and conditions.
9.4 Supplementary agreements, changes, or extensions of a contract must be in writing to be valid. The same also applies to the abolishment of the requirement that such alterations named above must be in writing.
9.5 Only the English and German versions of these terms and agreements are binding and to be legally interpreted.
9.6 Should individual provisions of these terms and conditions be or become completely or partially ineffective, the remaining provisions remain thereby unaffected.