General Terms and Conditions for Use of contact contract

Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH (hereinafter called "Exhibition") is the operator of contact contract. These General Terms and Conditions (hereinafter called "contact contract GTC") govern the contractual relationship between Exhibition and the natural persons and legal bodies who use the contact contract teleservices (hereinafter called the "Users").

By registration, the User recognises the contact contract GTC, which relate to use of the "contact-contract.com" website and all sub-domains and sub-areas belonging to these domains (hereinafter called together the "contact contract Websites"). In addition, the contact contract Privacy Policy applies.

  1. General terms
    1. The contact contract Websites offer registered users a closed and free contact forum for brokering business contacts and for searching for companies/exhibitors at Heimtextil 2009. Use is at the responsibility of the User. Users have no legal claim against Exhibition for support or mediation services.
    2. The User has the right to use the services offered on the contact contract Websites. All use in excess thereof is subject to the prior written consent of Exhibition.
    3. The data and/or information provided by the User will only be made available on the contact contract Websites if this data and/or information does not contravene legal regulations or these contact contract GTC. Exhibition has the right to remove unlawful content from the contact contract Websites without prior notice.
    4. Exhibition assumes no responsibility for the technical availability of the services offered. Any warranty or damages claims of any kind in the event of a technical failure or other operational problems are ruled out. In particular, servicing, safety or capacity requirements, together with events beyond the control of Exhibition (such as disruptions to public communication networks, power failures, etc.), can lead to short-term disruptions or to temporary discontinuation of the services.
    5. The User is offered a contact platform with various applications. As far as content is concerned, Exhibition does not participate in communication and is not responsible for communication taking place. If contracts are made through the contact contract Websites, Exhibition is not involved in these contracts and thus does not become a contracting partner. Solely the User is responsible for handling and performing the contracts made. Neither is Exhibition liable for any breaches of obligations by the User under such contracts.
    6. Exhibition is free to change the services offered on the contact contract Websites or to offer differing services. An associated amendment of the contact contract GTC is possible as specified in Section 9.2.
  2. Terms of registration
    1. The User must register before using the services of the contact contract Websites. Registration is only permitted to legal bodies or natural persons having full contractual capacity and using the contact contract Websites exclusively in performance of their commercial or freelance occupation. By registering, the User gives assurance that all the data he gives is correct and complete. The User must not use pseudonyms or pen names. If the data entered changes after registration, the User himself has an obligation to amend it immediately.
    2. When the User registers, he will be assigned a password, which he must keep secret. Exhibition will not give the password to any third parties or ask the User for his password at any time.
    3. Each User may only register once and only enter one User profile.
    4. A User account is not assignable.
    5. Exhibition gives no warranty for the actual identity of a User. Each User must himself check the identity of other Users.
  3. User obligations
    1. When using the content and services on the contact contract Websites, the User must observe applicable laws and respect all third-party rights. In particular, the User is prohibited from doing the following:
      • using insulting or libellous content, irrespective of whether it relates to other Users or to other persons or enterprises;
      • using pornographic content or content that violates youth protection laws or advertising for, offering or selling pornographic products or products that violate youth protection laws;
      • using content that is legally protected (e.g. by copyright law, trademark law, patent or design patent or utility patent law) without being entitled to do so or advertising for, offering or selling legally protected goods or services and
      • taking or promoting anti-competitive action, including advertising on the basis of so-called geometric progression (such as pyramid selling or chain schemes).
    2. In addition, when using the communication facilities within contact contract, the User is not permitted to do the following:
      • to harass other Users in an unacceptable way as defined in Section 7 of the German Act against Unfair Competition (UWG);
      • to send chain letters (SPAM);
      • to perform, advertise for or promote structural marketing measures (such as multi-level marketing or multi-level network marketing);
      • to communicate in a salacious manner or with sexual emphasis (explicit or implicit)
      • to misuse the option of making appointments
    3. The User is prohibited from taking the following action:
      • employing mechanisms, software or scripts in connection with use of the contact contract Websites,
      • copying by means of "robot/crawler" search engine technology,
      • dissemination and public reproduction of content of contact contract Websites or of other Users,
      • any action which may impair the functioning of contact contract infrastructure, in particular by overloading it.
    4. The layout of the contact contract Websites and the contact contract GTC may only be duplicated and/or used on other websites subject to the prior written consent of Exhibition.
  4. Sanctions, cancellation and termination
    1. At its own discretion, Exhibition can take suitable action if there are concrete indications that a User is violating legal regulations, rights of third parties or the contact contract GTC or if Exhibition has some other justified interest, in particular protection of other Users from fraudulent activities.
    2. Without prior warning, Exhibition can delete content entered by the User, issue a caution or deny access to the services of the contact contract Websites if the following requirements are met:
      • non-compliance with legal regulations by the User;
      • incorrect contact data, in particular an incorrect or invalid email address;
      • violation by the User of his contractual obligations under the contact contract GTC, in particular violation of the terms specified under Section 3;
      • advertising for associations or communities which are being observed by security agencies or agencies for youth protection;
      • if the User is involved in criminal prosecution due to his business conduct and causes damage to one or more other Users.
    3. The user contract will be valid until June 30, 2009. Exhibition can terminate this contract at any time to take effect at the end of a month, provided that two (2) weeks’ notice is given. The right to deny access is not prejudiced thereby.
    4. Exhibition can also terminate the contract without notice at any time for good cause, especially if continuation of the contract cannot reasonably be expected of Exhibition.
    5. The User can terminate the user contract at any time with immediate effect. Notice of termination can be given in writing to Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH, Ludwig-Erhard-Anlage 1, D-60327 Frankfurt am Main, or by email to cc-support@messefrankfurt.com. The User’s registered email address must be included in the notice of termination.
  5. Responsibility and limitation of liability
    1. Exhibition assumes no responsibility for the content, data and information provided by the Users or for content on linked external websites and excludes all liability in this connection. In particular, Exhibition gives no warranty that such content is correct, fulfils a certain purpose or can serve such a purpose.
    2. Exhibition will only be liable for damages if and to the extent that Exhibition, its legal representatives or executives are guilty of intent or gross negligence. Exhibition is only liable for other vicarious agents in the event of intent and to the extent that they breach major contractual obligations through gross negligence. Exhibition is also liable for damages resulting from ordinary negligence if such negligence relates to a breach of contractual obligations of which observance is of particular importance for achieving the contractual purpose (material contractual obligations). In this case, damages claims are restricted to the amount of damage which was foreseeable and typical of the contract at the time when it was made. In this context, Exhibition is not liable for compensation for indirect/consequential damages, in particular loss of profits.
  6. Holding harmless
    1. The User shall hold Exhibition harmless in relation to all claims which other Users or other third parties may make against Exhibition for reason of violation of their rights or legal infringements by the content entered on the contact contract Websites by the User or for reason of said User’s other use of the contact contract Websites. In such cases, the User shall also pay the costs of the necessary legal defence of Exhibition, including all court costs and lawyers’ costs. Further comprehensive rights and damages claims of Exhibition are not prejudiced hereby. The above obligations of the User do not apply if the User is not responsible for the legal infringement concerned.
  7. Terms under Data Protection Law
    1. The User agrees to the storage, processing or forwarding of personal data by Exhibition in compliance with the German Data Protection Act - including use of automatic data processing -, this being to the extent that such action is performed for business purposes only within the scope of contact contract.
    2. The details of processing of User data are specified in the contact contract Privacy Policy.
  8. Take-over of contract by third parties
    1. Subject to a four(4)-week period of notice, Exhibition has the right to assign its rights and obligations under this contract to a third party, either in whole or in part. In such a case, the User has the right to terminate the user contract within two (2) weeks of receipt of notification of assignment, this to be in writing to Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH, Ludwig-Erhard-Anlage 1, D-60327 Frankfurt am Main, or by email to cc-support@messefrankfurt.com.The User’s registered email address must be included in the notice of termination.
  9. Final terms
    1. Any amendments or additions to the contact contract GTC must be made in writing. This also applies to cancellation of this written-form requirement. No ancillary agreements have been made.
    2. Exhibition reserves the right to amend the contact contract GTC at any time and without giving reasons. The amended terms will be sent to Users by email no later than two weeks before they take effect. If the User does not object to application of the new contact contract GTC within two (2) weeks of receiving the email, the amended contact contract GTC will be considered accepted. In the amendment notification, Exhibition will inform the User of his right of objection and the significance of the time limit for objection.
    3. If any provisions in these contact contract GTC are or become ineffective, the effectiveness of the other provisions will not be affected thereby. The ineffective provision will be deemed replaced by one that is legally effective and approaches as closely as possible the economic purpose and meaning of the ineffective provision. The same applies to any omissions in the GTC.
    4. The place of fulfilment is the seat of business of Exhibition.
    5. The legal venue is the seat of business of Exhibition as far as legally possible.
    6. German law shall apply, with exclusion of international private law and the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods incorporated into German law.