General terms and conditions of business

General Terms and Conditions (GTC) of DuW family c/o Druck und Werte GmbH (hereinafter referred to as DuW family)

The DuW family is the sole contractual partner in the processing of orders.

§1 General – Scope

  1. DuW family provides all services based on these terms and conditions. These apply exclusively; any conflicting or deviating terms and conditions of the client are not recognized unless DuW family has expressly agreed to their validity in writing. These terms and conditions also apply even if DuW family does not expressly object to conflicting or deviating terms and conditions of the client.
  2. DuW family reserves the right to change these terms and conditions. Changes will take effect once they have been published on the website.

§2 Offer – Prices

  1. The prices quoted in the DuW family offer are subject to the condition that the order details on which the offer is based remain unchanged, but for no longer than 4 weeks after receipt of the offer by the client.
  2. In the case of orders with delivery to third parties, the ordering party is considered the client unless otherwise expressly agreed.
  3. Subsequent changes requested by the client will be charged to the client. This also includes repeat proofs requested by the client due to minor deviations from the original. Inquiries, consulting services, drafts, samples, proofs, changes to supplied and/or transmitted data, and similar preliminary work initiated by the client are to be paid for by the client, even if the underlying order is not placed.

§3 Delivery of the preliminary work

If the required materials are not delivered correctly and completely by the scheduled date, DuW family is not obligated to guarantee the confirmed delivery date or the agreed-upon price. Any additional costs or delays resulting from incorrect delivery of the materials will be borne by the client. The client will be informed of any such costs immediately.

§4 Termination of Contract

DuW family reserves the right to refuse orders due to their illegal content. This applies particularly if the content of the printed material violates legal or regulatory prohibitions or contravenes accepted standards of decency.

§5 Payment, down payment

  1. DuW family will issue an invoice to the client upon completion of the order. The invoice will be subject to the applicable value-added tax (VAT). It will be issued on the date of delivery, partial delivery, or notification of readiness for shipment.
  2. If, at the client's request, the invoice is to be issued to a third party, the client remains the contractual partner of DuW family and will be held liable if the third party defaults on payment.
  3. The payment term is 14 days, unless otherwise agreed.
  4. The client may only offset or exercise a right of retention against an undisputed or legally established claim.
  5. If, after conclusion of the contract, it becomes apparent that the fulfillment of the payment claim is jeopardized by the client's lack of financial capacity, DuW family may demand advance payment, withhold any undelivered results or goods, and cease further work. DuW family is also entitled to these rights if the client is in default of payment for deliveries based on the same legal relationship. Section 321 II of the German Civil Code (BGB) remains unaffected.
  6. If the client does not pay the price including incidental costs within the payment period, he is in default even without a reminder.

§6 Delivery of printed materials

  1. Printed materials are delivered to the client or to the delivery addresses specified in the order and provided by the client.
  2. The risk passes to the client as soon as the shipment has been handed over to the company carrying out the transport.
  3. Delivery dates are only valid if they are expressly confirmed by the DuW family.
  4. If DuW family delays performance, the client can only exercise the rights under § 323 of the German Civil Code (BGB) if the delay is attributable to DuW family. This provision does not entail any change in the burden of proof.
  5. Operational disruptions – both at DuW family and at a supplier – such as strikes, lockouts, and all other cases of force majeure, only entitle the customer to terminate the contract if further waiting is no longer reasonable. Otherwise, the agreed delivery period is extended by the duration of the delay. Termination is only possible at the earliest four weeks after the occurrence of the aforementioned operational disruption. DuW family accepts no liability in these cases.

§7 Retention of Title

Creations, ideas, etc., and also delivered goods remain the property of the DuW family until full payment of all claims existing on the invoice date between the DuW family and the client.

§8 Complaints – Warranties

  1. The client must inspect the goods and any preliminary and intermediate products sent for correction for conformity with the contract without delay. The risk of any errors passes to the client upon approval for printing/production, unless the errors only arose or could only be detected during the subsequent production process. The same applies to all other approvals issued by the client.
  2. Obvious defects must be reported in writing within 7 days of receipt of the sample copies, hidden defects within 7 days of discovery; otherwise, the assertion of warranty claims is excluded.
  3. In the event of justified complaints, DuW family is initially obligated and entitled, at its discretion, to remedy the defect and/or provide a replacement. If DuW family fails to fulfill this obligation within a reasonable period or if the remedy fails despite repeated attempts, the client may demand a reduction in the price or cancellation of the contract.
  4. Defects in part of the delivered goods do not entitle the customer to reject the entire delivery, unless the partial delivery is of no interest to the customer.
  5. Minor deviations from the original are inherent in color reproductions using any production method and cannot be considered grounds for complaint. The same applies to comparisons between other proofs (e.g., digital proofs, press proofs) and the final product. Furthermore, liability is excluded for defects that do not, or only insignificantly, affect the value or usability of the product.
  6. DuW family is only liable for deviations in the quality of the material used up to the value of the order.
  7. Over- or under-deliveries of up to 10 units (%) of the ordered quantity cannot be rejected. The quantity delivered will be invoiced. For deliveries of custom-made paper products weighing less than 1,000 kg, the percentage increases to 20 units (%), and for deliveries weighing less than 2,000 kg, it increases to 15 units (%).

§9 Liability

  1. Claims for damages and reimbursement of expenses by the client, regardless of the legal basis, are excluded.
  2. This disclaimer does not apply to damage caused intentionally or by gross negligence, to slightly negligent breaches of essential contractual obligations, including by legal representatives or vicarious agents of DuW family; in this respect, it is only liable for the foreseeable, typical, direct average damage according to the nature of the product, in the case of culpable injury to the life, body or health of the users, in the case of fraudulently concealed defects and assumed guarantees for the quality of the goods and in the case of claims under the Product Liability Act.
  3. In particular, DuW family accepts no liability for the continuous availability and error-free operation of the provided websites. This applies especially if access to DuW family's services is impaired or unavailable due to disruptions whose causes are beyond DuW family's control.

§10 Statute of Limitations

The customer's warranty and damage claims (§§ 8 and 9) expire after one year from the date of delivery of the goods, with the exception of the damage claims specified in § 9 para. 2. This does not apply if DuW family has acted fraudulently.

§11 Trade Usage

In commercial transactions, the trade customs of the printing industry apply (e.g., no obligation to release intermediate products such as data, lithographs or printing plates created for the production of the final product owed), unless a different order has been given.

§12 Archiving

Products belonging to the client, in particular data and data carriers, will only be archived by DuW family beyond the date of delivery of the final product to the client or their agents upon express agreement and for a separate fee. If the aforementioned items are to be insured, the client is responsible for arranging this themselves in the absence of an agreement.

§13 Industrial property rights - Copyright

The client is solely liable if the execution of their order infringes the rights of third parties, in particular copyrights. The client shall indemnify DuW family against all claims by third parties arising from such infringement.

§14 Choice of Law – Jurisdiction – Effectiveness

  1. The law of the Federal Republic of Germany applies, excluding the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods.
  2. The place of jurisdiction for all disputes arising from the contractual relationship, including actions relating to checks, bills of exchange and documentary proceedings, is the registered office of DuW family, Leipzig.
  3. The invalidity of one or more provisions shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions. In the event of an invalid provision, a provision that most closely approximates the economic intent and purpose of the invalid provision shall apply. The same applies to any gaps in the regulations.