General Terms and Conditions (GTC) – Baumvolk

These General Terms and Conditions (“GTC”) apply to the use of the digital platform “Baumvolk” offered at https://baumvolk.com as well as the functions and services provided through it (hereinafter collectively referred to as the “Platform”).

The operator of the Platform and contracting party of the users is:
Patric Gerö
c/o POSTFLEX PFX-055-293
Emsdettener Straße 10
48268 Greven
Germany
Email: info@baumvolk.com
– hereinafter referred to as the “Operator” –

These GTC apply to all registered users of the Platform. Users may be consumers within the meaning of Section 13 BGB as well as entrepreneurs within the meaning of Section 14 BGB, unless individual provisions of these GTC expressly provide otherwise.

Upon completion of registration, a user agreement for the use of the Platform is concluded between the user and the Operator. During the registration process, the user is informed of these GTC and is given the opportunity to take note of their contents. Agreement to these GTC is a prerequisite for completing registration.

Supplementary terms may apply to individual functions, services, or offers of the Platform. Users will be separately informed of such supplementary terms before using the respective service.

With Baumvolk, the Operator provides a digital platform relating to bonsai and the art of bonsai. Registered users can digitally record their own bonsai via the Platform and document their development, as well as view content made publicly available by other users.

The current scope of functions of the Platform includes in particular:

- the creation, editing, display, and deletion of users’ own bonsai profiles,
- the display of bonsai profiles of other users, insofar as these are made visible to other users,
- the creation, editing, display, and deletion of journal entries relating to users’ own bonsai for the purpose of documenting their development and history,
- the display of journal entries of other users, insofar as these are made visible to other users,
- the display of users and content creators as well as their publicly accessible content,
- the transfer of a bonsai profile to another registered user by means of the transfer function provided on the Platform.

Which bonsai profiles, journal entries, and other user-generated content are visible to other users depends on the functions and visibility settings available on the Platform.

The transfer function enables the transfer of a bonsai profile to another registered user. The details of the transfer, in particular with regard to the transferred content and the rights of the previous and new user after completion of the transfer, are regulated separately in these GTC.

The Operator provides the technical infrastructure for the aforementioned functions via the Platform. Bonsai data, descriptions, journal entries, images, and other content uploaded by users generally originate from the respective users unless expressly indicated otherwise.

The specific scope of functions of the Platform may be adjusted or expanded in the course of its technical and content-related development. There is no entitlement to the permanent provision of individual free functions or to a specific technical design unless expressly agreed otherwise. Statutory rights of users remain unaffected.

The use of certain functions of the Platform requires the creation of a user account. Registration is only possible by providing the mandatory information requested during the registration process.

The information required during registration must be provided completely and accurately. The stored email address must be updated in the event of changes.

The user is responsible for the use of their user account and for managing the associated access credentials. Insofar as the user permits other persons to use their user account, it is the user’s responsibility to ensure that those persons also comply with the provisions applicable to the use of the Platform.

Access credentials, in particular passwords, must be appropriately protected against unauthorized access. Actions carried out via a user account using the corresponding access credentials are generally attributed to the respective user account insofar as the user enabled such use or is responsible for the unauthorized access. If unauthorized use is suspected, the user should inform the Operator without undue delay and, where possible, change their access credentials.

The creation or use of additional user accounts for the purpose of circumventing suspensions, restrictions, or other measures taken by the Operator is prohibited.

Minors may create a user account and use the Platform insofar as they are legally entitled to conclude the user agreement or the required consent of their legal representatives has been obtained.

There is no entitlement to registration or the creation of a user account. The Operator may reject a registration if there is an objective reason for doing so, in particular where there are concrete indications of misuse of the Platform, false information, or the circumvention of an existing suspension or restriction.

Users may use the Platform only in accordance with these GTC and the applicable statutory provisions. Misuse of the Platform is prohibited.

In particular, users may not upload, publish, or otherwise make available via the Platform any content that

- violates applicable law,
- infringes the rights of third parties, in particular copyright, trademark, personality, or data protection rights,
- is insulting, threatening, defamatory, discriminatory, or constitutes incitement to hatred,
- contains pornographic, glorifying violence, or other unlawful content,
- contains malware, harmful program code, or comparable technical components.

Users may not upload or distribute content for which they are not entitled to use or publish. This applies in particular to texts, images, photographs, graphics, and other media belonging to third parties.

The Platform may not be used to

- circumvent technical protection measures or access restrictions,
- access the Platform or its content automatically or to an inappropriate extent,
- intentionally disrupt, impair, or damage the Platform, its infrastructure, or other users,
- obtain unauthorized access to user accounts, data, or non-public areas of the Platform,
- circumvent suspensions, restrictions, or other measures taken by the Operator.

Users may not impersonate another person, company, or organization when using the Platform insofar as this creates deception regarding their identity or their relationship with that person, company, or organization.

Commercial or business use of the Platform is permitted insofar as the respective functions provided are intended for this purpose and no deviating conditions apply. Use of the Platform for unsolicited advertising, spam, or comparable mass advertising measures is prohibited.

Users are generally responsible for the content they upload and for its lawfulness. The Operator is entitled to review content or user accounts within the framework of applicable law and these GTC and to take appropriate measures in the event of violations. Details regarding moderation, restrictions, suspensions, and deletions are regulated separately in these GTC.

The Operator shall be liable without limitation for damage caused by intent or gross negligence on the part of the Operator, its legal representatives, or vicarious agents.

The Operator shall be liable without limitation for damage resulting from injury to life, body, or health insofar as such damage is based on an intentional or negligent breach of duty by the Operator, its legal representatives, or vicarious agents.

In the event of a slightly negligent breach of an essential contractual obligation, the Operator shall only be liable for damage that is typical of the contract and foreseeable. Essential contractual obligations are those whose fulfillment is necessary for the proper performance of the user agreement and on whose compliance the user may regularly rely.

In all other respects, the Operator’s liability for damage caused by slight negligence is excluded to the extent permitted by law.

The Operator does not assume any guarantee for the accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of content uploaded or provided by users on the Platform. This applies in particular to information and experiences relating to bonsai, care, design, development, origin, or other bonsai-related topics.

Users decide on their own responsibility whether and to what extent they apply information, experiences, recommendations, or other content provided by other users. The Operator is not liable for damage arising solely because a user relies on such content or takes measures concerning bonsai, plants, or other objects on the basis of such content, insofar as no fault giving rise to liability on the part of the Operator exists.

The Operator shall be liable for the loss of data uploaded by the user in accordance with the foregoing provisions. Users are responsible for maintaining their own backup copies, to an appropriate extent, of content and data that are particularly important to them, insofar as this is technically possible and reasonable.

The foregoing limitations of liability shall not apply insofar as the Operator has expressly assumed a guarantee or liability exists under mandatory statutory provisions.

The rights to content uploaded by users to the Platform generally remain with the respective users or other rights holders. Uploading content to the Platform does not constitute a transfer of copyright to the Operator.

The user warrants that they hold the rights necessary for uploading and using the content they provide and that the provision of such content does not infringe any rights of third parties. This applies in particular to texts, images, photographs, graphics, and other media.

By uploading content, the user grants the Operator a simple, non-exclusive, geographically unrestricted right of use for the duration for which the respective content is made available on the Platform, insofar as this is necessary to store, technically process, display, make publicly accessible, and transmit the content to other users within the functions of the Platform.

The right of use granted under letter c) also includes technically necessary modifications, in particular the adjustment of file formats, image sizes, resolutions, or display formats, insofar as the essential content is not altered as a result.

If a user deletes content or terminates their user account, the right of use granted to the Operator generally ends as soon as the respective content has been removed from the active systems of the Platform. Statutory retention obligations, technically necessary backup copies, and content assigned to another user as a result of a valid transfer of a bonsai profile remain unaffected.

When a bonsai profile is transferred by means of the transfer function, existing copyrights in the transferred content remain unaffected. The rights of use required for the operation and display of the transferred bonsai profile continue to exist to the extent necessary. Details regarding the assignment, editing, and deletion of transferred content are set out in the provisions governing bonsai transfers.

Content on the Platform that has been created by the Operator itself or in respect of which the Operator holds corresponding rights may not be reproduced, distributed, made publicly accessible, or otherwise used beyond the intended use of the Platform without the Operator’s prior consent, unless such use is permitted by law.

Users and other persons may voluntarily submit photographs, images, and other media to the Operator via functions provided for this purpose for use by Baumvolk (“Media Contributions”). These Media Contributions are to be distinguished from content that is merely uploaded to the Platform within a user account, bonsai profile, or journal.

By submitting a Media Contribution, the submitting person grants the Operator a simple, non-exclusive, geographically unrestricted, and temporally unlimited right of use in the respective Media Contribution. The grant of rights is made free of charge unless expressly agreed otherwise in an individual case.

The right of use includes in particular the right to reproduce, distribute, make publicly accessible, publicly communicate, and use the Media Contribution in connection with Baumvolk for digital as well as printed publications. This includes in particular use on the Platform and Baumvolk websites, in apps, social media profiles, newsletters, editorial publications, presentations, press and public relations activities, as well as advertising and informational materials of Baumvolk.

The Operator is entitled to technically and creatively edit the Media Contributions for the aforementioned purposes. Permitted modifications include in particular changes to the file format, size, resolution, or compression, cropping, adjustments to brightness or colors, as well as integration into layouts and combination with texts, graphics, or other design elements. Distorting, degrading, or otherwise using the Media Contributions in a manner contrary to the legitimate interests of the author is not permitted.

The Operator is entitled to pass Media Contributions on to technical service providers, platform operators, printing companies, agencies, and other service providers acting on behalf of the Operator and to grant them the rights required for the respective use, insofar as this is necessary to exercise the rights of use granted under this section.

The submitting person warrants that they hold all rights and authorizations necessary for the submission and the intended uses. In particular, the submitting person warrants that the use of the Media Contributions does not infringe any copyrights, related rights, trademark rights, personality rights, data protection rights, or other rights of third parties.

If persons are recognizably depicted in a Media Contribution, the submitting person warrants that the consents required for the intended uses have been obtained from the depicted persons. This also includes use in the context of public relations and advertising for Baumvolk, insofar as corresponding consent is required. In the case of minors, the submitting person must ensure that the required consents of the legal representatives have been obtained.

If the submitting person provides an author or source attribution or a desired credit line upon submission, this may be used when the Media Contribution is published. Continuous attribution in every individual use cannot be guaranteed due to different forms of publication. The statutory rights of the author and any expressly agreed arrangements concerning attribution remain decisive.

The Operator is not obliged to publish submitted Media Contributions or to use them permanently. The Operator may discontinue their use at any time.

The submitting person may ask the Operator not to use a Media Contribution for future new publications. Publications already lawfully made, materials already produced, archive holdings, or publications already transmitted to third parties do not have to be removed or recalled retroactively as a result, unless there is a legal obligation to do so.

The processing of personal data transmitted in connection with a media submission is governed by the Privacy Policy.

The Operator processes users’ personal data in accordance with the applicable data protection provisions, in particular the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the German Federal Data Protection Act (BDSG).

Personal data is processed in particular insofar as this is necessary for the provision and use of the Platform, the administration of user accounts, the security of the Platform, and compliance with legal obligations.

Insofar as users publish content on the Platform or otherwise make it visible to other users, personal information contained therein may be accessible to other users in accordance with the selected or intended visibility.

Further information on the nature, scope, and purposes of the processing of personal data, the respective legal bases, recipients, storage periods, and the rights of data subjects can be found in the Privacy Policy.

Users may terminate the user agreement at any time and delete their user account using the functions provided for this purpose on the Platform, insofar as no statutory or contractual reasons prevent the immediate deletion of individual data.

Upon termination of the user account, the user’s ability to access or edit the functions and content associated with their user account generally ends. The processing or storage of individual data may continue insofar as this is permitted or required due to statutory obligations, legitimate interests, or technically necessary backup copies. Further details can be found in the Privacy Policy.

The Operator may restrict access to individual functions or content, remove content, or temporarily suspend a user account if there are concrete indications of a violation of these GTC, applicable law, or the rights of third parties, or if such a measure is necessary to protect the Platform, other users, or third parties.

When deciding on a restriction, removal, or suspension, the Operator shall take into account in particular the nature, severity, duration, and frequency of the violation as well as the interests of the affected user and other users. Where appropriate in the circumstances and required by law, the affected user will be informed of the measure and its essential reasons.

The Operator may terminate the user agreement extraordinarily for good cause. Good cause may exist in particular if a user seriously or repeatedly violates these GTC or applicable law, significantly infringes the rights of third parties, circumvents suspensions or restrictions, or endangers the security or functionality of the Platform.

Insofar as a violation can be remedied by its nature, an appropriate opportunity to remedy the violation or a prior warning should generally precede a permanent suspension or extraordinary termination. This does not apply if an immediate measure is necessary due to the severity of the violation, to protect other users or third parties, to avert legal or technical risks, or for other important reasons.

Termination or deletion of a user account does not affect content that was effectively assigned to another user as part of a bonsai transfer before termination. The separate provisions on bonsai transfers and the rights of use relating thereto apply to such content.

The right of both parties to extraordinary termination for good cause as well as other statutory rights remain unaffected.

The Operator may amend these GTC if there is an objective reason for doing so and the amendment is reasonable for users, taking into account the interests of both parties. An objective reason may exist in particular in the event of changes to statutory or regulatory requirements, case law, the scope of functions of the Platform, or the technical and organizational framework conditions.

Registered users will be informed of amendments to these GTC in good time before they enter into force in an appropriate manner, in particular by email or by a clearly visible notice on the Platform. The date on which the amended GTC are intended to apply will also be stated.

Insofar as an amendment requires the user’s consent, the Operator will expressly obtain such consent. Mere continued use of the Platform does not automatically constitute consent to an amendment requiring consent.

Amendments that are exclusively in favor of users, are merely editorial in nature, or are required due to mandatory statutory provisions may be made without express consent insofar as they do not materially adversely affect users’ rights.

If a user’s consent to an amendment is required and the user does not grant it, the previous terms generally continue to apply to the existing user relationship insofar as there are no statutory, technical, or economically unreasonable reasons preventing this. If continuation of the user relationship under the previous terms is not possible or reasonable, the statutory termination rights of both parties remain unaffected.

The contractual relationship between the Operator and the users is governed by the law of the Federal Republic of Germany, excluding the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods.

If the user is a consumer, the choice of law under letter a) applies only insofar as it does not deprive the user of the protection afforded by mandatory statutory provisions of the country in which the user has their habitual residence and whose law would apply in the absence of the choice of law.

For consumers, the applicable statutory provisions regarding jurisdiction shall apply. These GTC do not establish an exclusive place of jurisdiction insofar as such an agreement is not legally permissible in relation to the respective user.

With respect to entrepreneurs, legal entities under public law, or special funds under public law, the exclusive place of jurisdiction for all disputes arising out of or in connection with the user relationship shall, to the extent legally permissible, be the registered office of the Operator.

The Platform may also be used by users outside Germany. However, the international availability of the Platform does not mean that the Operator guarantees compliance with all foreign legal systems for the use of the Platform in every country. Users are responsible for complying with the mandatory statutory provisions applicable to them in their country of residence or use.

Mandatory statutory provisions, in particular consumer protection provisions as well as mandatory rules of private international law and procedural law, remain unaffected.