1. Purpose of the Terms

1.1. These General Terms and Conditions (hereinafter referred to as “Terms”) govern the legal relationship between the “Client” and 6am Design Studio, hereinafter referred to as “Contractor” (individually referred to as “Party”, collectively as “Parties”), when commissioning any services from the Contractor. These Terms are an integral part of the contract concluded based on the Client’s request (hereinafter referred to as “Contract”).

1.2. The Client’s request forms the basis for the conclusion of the contract, provided that the parties have reached an agreement on the terms of the contract as part of the negotiations and a written confirmation from the Contractor is available. The contract is deemed concluded when the Client has made an advance payment based on the invoice issued by the Contractor.

1.3. All rights and obligations arising from these Terms apply to all services ordered from the Contractor.

2. Intellectual Property

2.1. The rights to intellectual property arising from the execution of the order belong to the Contractor. The transfer of any information to third parties relating to the intellectual property of the Contractor, including the content created during the execution of the order, is prohibited. Changes to these Terms are only possible through a written agreement between the parties.

2.2. Information, works, ideas, drafts that the Client receives from the Contractor as options within the scope of the contract, but rejects, does not accept, or does not pay for, are the intellectual property of the Contractor and may not be used by the Client or passed on to third parties without the Contractor’s written consent. The Client does not acquire any copyright and/or related rights to this information, works, ideas, drafts and bears responsibility in the event of use or disclosure to third parties in accordance with the applicable copyright and related protection laws.

3. Terms of Payment

3.1. The Contractor is entitled to payment for services rendered. The Client is obliged to pay the agreed remuneration.

3.2. The calculation of the price and the payment methods for the service provided are carried out individually based on the concluded contract.

3.3. The invoice will be sent to the Client electronically to the email address specified in the contract.

3.4. If the Client has not received the invoice, they must inform the Contractor immediately. A non-delivered invoice does not entitle the Client to non-payment. The parties assume the payment schedule specified in the contract.

3.5. Payment is deemed received as soon as the full amount stated in the invoice has been received in the Contractor’s account.

3.6. In the event of late payment, default interest shall apply at a rate of 5 percentage points above the base interest rate pursuant to § 288 BGB, unless expressly agreed otherwise.

3.7. All additional services that are not specified in the contract will be paid for based on written agreements between the parties.

3.8. Upon receipt of payment, default interest will be settled first, and then the principal debt. Received amounts will be used primarily to settle originally incurred obligations.

3.9. Should the Client delay payment and no agreement on deferral of payment be reached, the Contractor has the right to suspend the performance of the contract until receipt of full payment and settlement of incurred liabilities.

3.10. The Contractor has the right to withdraw from the contract if the payment delay exceeds 20 days.

3.11. A withdrawal of the Contractor from the contract does not release the Client from the payment for services rendered and incurred liabilities.

3.12. If the Client does not fulfill their obligations, the Contractor has the right to initiate legal action and measures by third parties to collect the debt. All costs associated with the claim shall be borne by the Client.

4. Information Exchange

4.1. The parties acknowledge that the coordination of all ongoing work matters related to the performance of the contract, including the transmission of letters, requests, results, clarifications, reports, and other communications by email, is proper.

4.2. For the exchange of documents and communications by email and messenger, the addresses of the parties agreed in the contract are to be used.

4.3. The parties undertake to inform each other of any changes to their contact details within 3 (three) working days of such change occurring. Otherwise, communications sent to the address specified in the contract shall be deemed duly delivered.

5. Rights and Obligations of the Parties

5.1. Rights of the Contractor:

• To receive payment for the services provided within the period and amount specified in the contract;
• To receive instructions from the Client if the performance of the contract is not possible without them;
• To refuse the execution of work whose conditions are not specified in the contract or in a separate written agreement that can be proven;
• To reject the contract if the Client does not provide the information required for the fulfillment of the contract conditions within the period specified in the contract;
• To demand payment of contractual penalties provided for in the contract.

5.2. Obligations of the Contractor:

• To provide the service within its competence and in accordance with the terms of the concluded contract;
• To comply with the agreed deadlines, except in the case of violations on the part of the Client;
• To inform the Client immediately about problems occurring during the performance of the contract that could affect the contract conditions (deadline, scope, etc.);
• To maintain confidentiality and not disclose the contract conditions, unless otherwise provided.

5.3. Rights of the Client:

• To demand from the Contractor the fulfillment of the contract conditions and additional concluded agreements;
• To give advice and, if necessary, instructions for the fulfillment of the contract conditions;
• To inquire about the progress of the contract performance;
• In the event of breaches of contract, to demand that the Contractor remedy them.

5.4. Obligations of the Client:

• To provide immediately after signing the contract all information and materials required for the performance of the contract, in particular: all text and graphic materials required for filling the website that do not require further processing, texts in MS-Word format, tables in MS-Excel format, photos in JPEG format. The list of required materials will be additionally determined by the Contractor via email;
• To accept the work phases within the deadlines specified in the contract and to report defects no later than 3 working days after the transmission of the acceptance protocol by the Contractor;
• In the absence of defects, to return the signed protocol no later than 3 working days after transmission by the Contractor;
• To make the payment for services rendered no later than within the period specified in the invoice document;
• To give instructions to the Contractor, provided that these are necessary for the fulfillment of the contract conditions;
• To comply with the confidentiality stipulated in the contract and the terms;
• To place the name of the Contractor as the creator of the website at the bottom of the website pages.

6. Acceptance Procedure

6.1. After completion of individual intermediate stages, the Contractor informs the Client about their completion by sending performance records (hereinafter referred to as “Acceptance Protocol”) to the Client’s email address.

6.2. The Client is obliged to examine the materials created by the Contractor within 3 working days of receipt of the Acceptance Protocol and to release the corresponding intermediate results by confirming the protocol, which is transmitted to the Contractor by email, or to communicate written, justified objections within this period. If no objections are made within the stated period, the transmitted materials are deemed accepted.

6.3. Objections must be sufficiently specific and justified with reference to the annexes to this contract, the technical specifications, design questionnaires, or other documents provided by the Client.

6.4. The Contractor shall examine the objections within a maximum of 3 working days after receipt of the written, justified list of defects and inform the Client whether and under what conditions the rework will be carried out. The Contractor is entitled to determine the deadlines for carrying out the rework itself, depending on the nature and scope of the required changes. The duration of the rework is usually 3 to 7 working days, unless a longer period is required due to the complexity of the changes, about which the Client will be informed.

6.5. In the event that the Contractor does not receive signed Acceptance Protocols or written lists of defects within the period specified in point 6.2 of these Terms and Conditions, the intermediate stages presented by the Contractor shall be deemed approved by the Client and released for further processing of the website.

6.6. Only the representative of the Client named in the contract is entitled to accept and approve the intermediate stages, whose signature shall be deemed as consent to the completion of the respective intermediate stages. After each acceptance of an intermediate stage, the signed Acceptance Protocols are transmitted to the Contractor by email.

6.7. In the event of a change of the Client’s representative, the Client undertakes to inform the Contractor in writing within three (3) working days of the occurrence of the change and to submit a simple written power of attorney in favor of the new person. If no timely notification is given and/or no power of attorney is submitted for the new authorized representative, the Client is not entitled to invoke the change of representative as justification for rejecting the acceptance of intermediate stages provided by the Contractor.

6.8. The acceptance of all intermediate stages that form a main section shall be deemed as acceptance of the respective main section.

6.9. After completion of all main sections, the Contractor shall send the Client an Acceptance Protocol by email regarding the services provided. If no signature is received from the Client within seven (7) working days after receipt of this Acceptance Protocol and there is no justified written rejection, the services shall automatically be deemed to have been properly provided; this shall be equivalent to the signing of the Acceptance Protocol by the Client.

7. Liability

7.1. A contracting party is liable for the direct damage incurred by the other contracting party that is attributable to the non-fulfillment of obligations under the contract and these terms. A claim for compensation for lost profits is excluded.

7.2. The Contractor is not liable to the extent that the result of the contract performance depends on the behavior of third parties.

7.3. Furthermore, the Contractor is not liable if the performance of the contract is impossible due to actions or omissions of the Client.

7.4. The Client bears full responsibility for the materials provided by them, in particular for their compliance with the applicable legal provisions. If it turns out that the materials transmitted by the Client violate applicable law or the rights of third parties, the sole responsibility lies with the Client. The Contractor is not liable to third parties for the content of the content provided by the Client and used in the information materials, nor for material, immaterial, or other damages caused by the use of this content by third parties.

7.5. Each contracting party is liable for the violation of its contractual obligations, including for the behavior of the third parties that it has used to fulfill the contract conditions.

8. Force Majeure

8.1. The contracting parties are exempt from liability for the non-fulfillment or improper fulfillment of their contractual obligations, provided that the non-fulfillment or improper fulfillment is due to the occurrence of circumstances of force majeure. Force majeure shall be understood to mean extraordinary events that are unavoidable under the given circumstances and beyond the control of the contracting parties, which could neither be foreseen nor prevented by the parties. Such circumstances include in particular: fires, floods, earthquakes and other natural disasters, technological disasters, epidemics, acts of war, as well as other unforeseeable and unavoidable events of an extraordinary nature, insofar as these were not caused by culpable conduct of a party and have a direct influence on the fulfillment of the contract. The party affected by force majeure is obliged to inform the other party immediately – and, if necessary, by submitting corresponding evidence – about the existence of such circumstances.

8.2. If the notification is omitted or occurs late (i.e. later than ten (10) working days after the occurrence of the circumstances of force majeure), the affected party is not entitled to invoke force majeure as a reason for exemption from liability for non-fulfillment or improper fulfillment of its obligations.

8.3. If the circumstances of force majeure last longer than three (3) months, the parties shall regulate their further steps by mutual agreement or are entitled to terminate the contract. As a result of the continuation of force majeure over a period of more than three (3) months, each party may terminate the contract unilaterally and out of court by written notice to the other party. In this case, the contract shall be deemed terminated upon receipt of the notice of termination.

9. Deadline for Notification of Defects

9.1. After acceptance of the services rendered, the Client is entitled to assert justified complaints regarding the quality of the services within two (2) months.

9.2. If no claims are received by the Contractor within this period, the services shall be deemed to have been properly and contractually provided.

9.3. If the claims raised are justified, the Contractor is obliged to remedy the defects complained of within a reasonable period at its own expense.

10. Warranty

10.1. The warranty period of the Contractor is one (1) year and begins with the signing of the final Acceptance Protocol on the services rendered or with the acceptance of all intermediate stages.

10.2. The warranty period does not include services for updating, further developing, or redesigning the website, changes to the design, structure, software, or other activities that are not provided for in the contract’s specifications.

10.3. The warranty period also does not include the adaptation of the created website to new hardware and software environments, standards, or internet protocols that were first put into use after the start of the creation of the website.

10.4. The Contractor is entitled to refuse the warranty if the Client independently makes changes to the program code of the website or changes the operating conditions of the website.

10.5. The warranty does not extend to the elimination of malfunctions caused by faulty functioning of other software not developed by the Contractor under the contract, nor to errors caused by improper actions of users or administrators of the website.

10.6. In the event of a warranty claim by the Client after the expiry of two (2) months since the acceptance of the services, the Contractor is entitled to demand an advance payment for the error diagnosis of the website. The amount of the advance payment is determined by the Contractor.
If it turns out that the malfunction is due to actions of the Client or related third parties, the advance payment will not be refunded; in addition, the Contractor is entitled to demand additional compensation for the elimination of the malfunction.

10.7. If, on the other hand, the malfunction proves to have been caused by the Contractor, the advance payment will be refunded, and the malfunction will be remedied at the Contractor’s expense.

10.8. If the parties conclude a contract for technical support immediately after the installation of the website, all claims under this contract will be regulated without additional advance payments.

11. Dispute Resolution Procedure

11.1. In the event of disputes over the fulfillment of the contractual obligations, each party is entitled to involve an independent third expert person to assist in the dispute resolution. The opinion of this person is not binding on the parties, but each party is entitled to follow the recommendation of the third party at its own discretion.

11.2. If disputes arise between the parties in relation to the matters provided for in the contract or related thereto, the parties shall take all necessary measures to resolve these disputes through negotiations.

11.3. The negotiation procedure for dispute resolution is binding. The deadline for responding to a written complaint is five (5) working days from receipt.

11.4. If no amicable solution is reached within a reasonable period, all disputes arising out of or in connection with this contract shall be decided before the competent courts at the registered office of the contractor. All legal relationships between the parties shall be governed exclusively by the law of the Federal Republic of Germany, excluding the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG).

12. Confidentiality

12.1. Information that becomes known to the parties in the course of fulfilling the terms of the contract and is not publicly accessible shall be considered confidential and may not be disclosed to third parties, except in cases expressly provided for by law and/or with the prior written consent of the other party.

12.2. The provisions of the contract, its appendices and supplementary agreements are confidential and may not be disclosed during the entire term of the contract and for three (3) years after its termination.

12.3. The parties undertake not to disclose to third parties any information about the business activities of the other party and to maintain the confidentiality of all information and documents that come to their knowledge in connection with the execution of this contract.

12.4. If a party receives confidential information, including oral information, it is not entitled to disseminate it and undertakes to treat such information with the care and caution that it would apply to its own information of equal importance.

12.5. In the event of non-fulfillment or improper fulfillment of the obligations provided for in this section, the party concerned shall be liable in accordance with the applicable laws of the Federal Republic of Germany and shall be obliged to fully compensate the other party for all damages incurred as a result.

13. Data Protection

13.1. The contractor processes personal data transmitted by the client in the context of the provision of services and the fulfillment of the contractual conditions in accordance with the data protection policy and the applicable legal provisions for the protection of personal data. The processing takes place for the fulfillment of the contract and, if necessary, on the basis of consent in accordance with Art. 6 Para. 1 GDPR.

13.2. The contractor implements suitable technical and organizational measures in accordance with Art. 32 GDPR to ensure the secure processing of personal data.

13.3. All employees of the contractor as well as any specialists called in have signed confidentiality agreements. They are obliged to maintain the confidentiality of the transmitted or disclosed information, including personal data, and to process it in accordance with the applicable data protection regulations.

13.4. The contractor stores personal data in compliance with the principle of storage limitation in accordance with GDPR. As the commissioned data processor, the company is obliged to delete all personal data received or collected immediately after completion of the service provision, but no later than three years, unless otherwise provided by law.

13.5. The contractor shall inform the client immediately of any security incidents or breaches in connection with personal data, including data leaks.

14. Amendment of the Conditions

14.1. These conditions can be unilaterally changed by the contractor and published on the website www.6amdesign.de.

14.2. The contractor informs the client about changes to the conditions, provided that a contract exists between the parties.

14.3. If the client does not agree to the amended conditions, he has the right to withdraw from the contract and reimburse the contractor for the actual expenses incurred in fulfilling the contractual conditions.

15. Final Provisions

15.1. The place of jurisdiction is Hanover.

15.2. Unless otherwise regulated, the place of performance is the registered office of 6am Design Studio.

15.3. The law of the Federal Republic of Germany applies.

15.4. There are no verbal side agreements. Additions or amendments must be made in writing. This also applies to an amendment of the written form requirement.

15.5. Should a provision of these General Terms and Conditions be or become invalid or should the General Terms and Conditions be incomplete, the validity of the remaining content of the General Terms and Conditions shall not be affected thereby. The invalid provision shall be deemed to be replaced by such a provision that comes closest to the economic purpose of the invalid provision in a legally effective manner. The same applies to any contractual loopholes.

Valid from August 11, 2025.