General Terms and Conditions (GTC) of InterNations GmbH (InterNations)

Welcome to InterNations! Below you will find the GTC governing the use of www.internations.org and all of its sub-domains and aliases of these domains (InterNations Website(s) or Website(s)). When using the InterNations Websites please bear in mind that www.internations.org is a genuine online community, and any information you disclose about yourself and everything you upload can generally be freely viewed, copied, used, and passed on by others. By registering to use the InterNations Websites you consent to the following GTC.

If you use InterNations as a consumer i.e. for a purpose that is not related to commercial or freelance activity (consumer according to Section 13 German Civil Code), please also see the provisions set forth in Section 15 of these GTC (Consumer’s Right to Cancellation):

1. Scope

   1. The provisions of these GTC govern the entire legal relationship between the validly registered user (user) and InterNations and are applicable to all services provided to the user or offered on the InterNations Websites (InterNations Service(s) or service(s)) and also to all of the user’s actions, contents, or other material relating to the InterNations Websites. No conflicting terms of use or conditions of the user shall be applicable and are hereby rejected. The complete and valid GTC are available in a printable and storable form on each InterNations Website under Terms & Conditions.

   2. The user enters into this agreement on the use of services with InterNations GmbH, Karlsplatz 3, 80335 Munich, Germany. In so far as these GTC mention other users of the InterNations Websites, these GTC shall also govern the interaction between users. However, no user shall claim rights under this agreement against other users without prior consent of InterNations.

   3. InterNations reserves the right to amend these GTC at any time insofar as these amendments are based on legitimate interests (e.g., to comply with changes in the law, changes in case law or governmental decisions, to convert changes in economic or technical circumstances) and not unreasonable for the user. InterNations shall give due notice of any amendments of these GTC to the user via the user’s email address and/or by placing a notice in the user’s personal inbox in their Membership Section on the InterNations Website. The amendments to the GTC shall be effective from that point in time unless the user objects within four (4) weeks after receipt of the said notice by communicating their objection through the contact form as available on each InterNations Website under Contact, provided that InterNations has explicitly informed the user about the consequences of user’s non-objection. The user shall not have a right to object where the amendments are only to the benefit of the user.

2. Services

   1. InterNations provides the user with an internet platform which incorporates technical applications that allow the user to establish contact and share information with other users. This service as being made available via the InterNations Websites includes upload, download, and posting options regarding materials and information which InterNations, the user, or other users want to share on the InterNations Websites (content(s)). The services are described in detail on the InterNations Website.

   2. To provide its users with content most relevant to them and their personal situation, InterNations recommends and prioritizes content on the InterNations Websites and in emails based on a variety of factors.

      1. Member recommendations match users based on their selected location, interests, and shared demographic similarities. This includes but is not limited to having selected the same InterNations Community, having the same city of residence, having the same country of origin, or having mutual contacts. Active members who are newly registered (within 30 days) may also be recommended to long-term members in the same InterNations Community to foster a warm welcome for newcomers.

      2. Profile visitors show users an overview of other users who’ve viewed their member profile, ordered by the date of the visit in descending order. If a visitor has turned on the function to hide their profile views, they will not be listed.

      3. Member search allows users to search for other users based on a range of parameters (e.g., name, InterNations Community, interests, company). Results are shown in order of relevance based on the provided search terms.

      4. InterNations Official Events and Activities are recommended to users based on their selected InterNations Community, the event’s timing and guest list capacity, and whether contacts have signed up for an event.

      5. Newcomers’ Events are recommended to users within their first 4 months of registration on InterNations and/or upon selecting a different InterNations Community for their profile.

      6. InterNations Groups are recommended to users based on their chosen interests, if it is a new group in the community, and the prevalence of upcoming activities in the group with guest list availability.

   3. InterNations does not take part in any communication between users and is not responsible for or party to any agreements that users make by communicating over InterNations Websites.

      The principles set forth in this Section 2.3 shall also apply to any agreements between users and third-party service providers providing supplemental services embedded in or linked to the InterNations Websites. Such third-party service providers are acting independently from InterNations, and InterNations does not accept any liability for third parties’ acts or omissions.

   4. For users who want to take advantage of the services provided on the InterNations Websites, InterNations offers certain membership types to the users, currently a free membership (Basic Membership) as well as a paid membership in a premium community forum (Premium Membership or Albatross Membership). InterNations reserves the right to finally decide in its sole reasonable discretion what type of membership is offered to the (specific) users and which subscription periods are available. It also reserves the right to upgrade registrants from the Basic Membership to a temporary Albatross Membership free of charge during the beta period of InterNations Websites or for general promotional purposes at any time thereafter. The terms of such upgrade shall be determined at the sole discretion of InterNations.

   5. From time to time, InterNations in its sole reasonable discretion may allow the user a certain “free trial” period free of charge during which the user may extensively test the benefits of the Albatross Membership. If the experience with our Albatross Membership during this period is not to the users' satisfaction, users may terminate their subscribed Albatross Membership within the free trial period in accordance with Section 9.8 free of charge and downgrade to the Basic Membership.

   6. The services include offers to join certain groups or subgroups and other forums on the InterNations Websites (groups). The user acknowledges that these groups may be established by other users of the services and accordingly, the user moderating the respective group is free to choose whether the user may join or remain in the group. InterNations is not responsible or liable for the participation or any action of the user or any other users, including the group moderator, in the group.

   7. InterNations reserves the right to modify the services or to offer services different from those offered at the time of the user’s registration at any time. However, if the changes exceed the extent necessary to maintain the contractual conformity of the Services, InterNations shall only be entitled to make such changes provided that

      1. InterNations has good reason for the modification

      2. such modification is made without additional cost to the user and

      3. InterNations informs the user about the modification in a clear and comprehensible manner.

   8. However, any change to the Services in accordance with Section 2.7 that negatively affects the user's ability to access or use the Services may only be implemented by InterNations if InterNations notifies the user in writing within a reasonable period prior to the date of the change. This written notification shall be permanently storable and shall contain the following information:

      1. Characteristics and date of the modification and
      2. The right to terminate the Membership within 30 days after receipt of the written notification with immediate effect and free of charge. However, with regard to the period of 30 days, the time of the modification shall replace the time of the receipt of the information if such modification is implemented only after the receipt of the information.

      However, the right of termination pursuant to Section 2.8.1 shall not apply if the impact on the accessibility or usability of the Services is only insignificant or if the user has the possibility to access the unchanged Services at no additional cost.

   9. The user understands that it is technically impossible to offer or guarantee a 100% availability of the InterNations Websites. InterNations will make reasonable efforts to keep the InterNations Websites available without unplanned interruption. However, maintenance, security or other planned actions, and/or events beyond InterNations’ reasonable control (e.g. disruptions in public communication networks, power failures), may cause temporary interruptions or other failures of the services.

3. Registration

   1. To sign up for a Basic or Albatross Membership users must apply for membership by completing the registration procedure on the InterNations Website. By completing the registration procedure, the user consents to enter into this agreement to use the services. InterNations accepts this offer by activating the user’s membership and personal account.

   2. The user guarantees that the information submitted to InterNations for registration is complete and truthful. The user shall not use pseudonyms or nicknames, however, InterNations may allow exemptions at its sole discretion. The user shall keep the user’s profile up to date, in particular with regards to the user’s email address. The user shall ensure that InterNations can establish contact at all times with the user via the contact details provided by the user in the user’s profile on the InterNations Website. However, InterNations will preferably make any communication with the user via the user’s personal Membership Section on the InterNations Website.

   3. InterNations reserves the right to refuse membership of any user for any or no reason. A user has no right to membership within the InterNations community.

   4. The user hereby confirms that the user is of legal age at the time of registration and has not already registered with InterNations, i.e., only maintains one (1) user account.

   5. User accounts are not transferable.

   6. During registration, the user must determine a password which they will use to identify themselves to access the Website(s), the services, and the user’s personal account. The user is responsible for keeping the password secret and preventing other persons from accessing the user’s account via this password. The user agrees to notify InterNations immediately of any unauthorized use of the user’s password or account or any other breach of security through the contact form available on each InterNations Website under Contact. The user promises to immediately inform InterNations if there is any indication that the password is being used by third parties. InterNations will not be liable for any loss or damage arising from the user’s failure to properly comply with this section.

   7. As far as the user is in breach of the provisions in this Section 3, InterNations shall be entitled to terminate this agreement for good cause with immediate effect, to block the user’s account and/or to prevent further use of the services and the website(s) by the user. Any other rights of InterNations shall remain unaffected.

4. Prices and Payment

   1. The prices for the Albatross Membership are set forth on each InterNations Website under Membership in your account section and shall be binding. The total amount shall be due immediately upon invoicing and can be affected by any of the debiting procedures made available by InterNations. The user is aware of the fact and agrees that in case of online debiting procedures (i.e. payment via credit card) any data (e.g. name, credit card number, expiry date, bank details, etc.) which is necessary for the due processing of such payment will be transferred to third parties involved in the execution of the debiting procedure (e.g. operator of payment module, credit card acquirer, and the bank issuing the credit/debit card). The billing cycle equals the minimum service period even if, and once, the Albatross Membership is converted into an indefinite Albatross Membership as described in Section 9.2.2.

   2. The user shall at all times provide sufficient funds to allow for collection of any fees in the course of the debiting procedures designated by the user. Any costs (such as bank charges etc.) triggered by the failure to do so shall be borne by the user.

   3. InterNations reserves the right to amend the prices for future provisions of the services. Any price amendments shall become effective one (1) month after due notice by InterNations of the amendment via the user’s email address and/or by placing a notice in the user’s personal inbox in their Membership Section on the InterNations Website. The user may terminate the agreement within two (2) weeks after receipt of the said notice by sending the notice of termination through the contact form as available on each InterNations Website under Contact.

   4. The user accepts that they will receive all invoices as PDF files via their personal Membership Section on the InterNations Website. InterNations will not send a copy of the invoices also by mail to the user.

5. User’s Obligations

   1. The user shall only provide true and accurate personal, social, and professional information and shall not post on InterNations Websites any photographs identifying the user which are older than three (3) years or on which the user cannot be clearly and plainly recognized. The user shall not use any nicknames or pseudonyms to identify the user.

   2. The user shall not use, upload, post, email, send, transmit, or otherwise make available (in particular towards other users), or have others make available on the InterNations Websites, any contents that violate laws and statutes in any manner (illegal contents), such as, but not limited to:

      1. Contents breaching third-party rights – e.g. copyright, performance, and commercial property rights such as brands, patents, registered designs, design rights, and also other rights, for example name and personality rights;

      2. contents which are insulting or defamatory, regardless of whether said contents are directed at InterNations personnel, other companies, or another user;

      3. contents and actions violating criminal law, promoting anti-constitutional organizations or displaying the insignia of such organizations; contents glorifying violence; racist, pornographic, sexist contents; contents harmful to young persons; contents trafficking in narcotics, inciting or downplaying the consumption of narcotics, inciting criminal offenses, gambling, insult or slander, defamation, etc.;

      4. contents promoting any commercial practices considered unfair competition, including progressive customer acquisition practices (such as chain distribution systems, multilevel selling, or pyramid sales);

      5. contents annoying, pestering, or harassing any other user (cf. Section 7 of the German Unfair Competition Act; e.g. spam, chain letters, multi-level marketing, or multi-level network marketing);

      6. contents which include information for which the user has no right to disclose or make available under any law or under contractual or fiduciary relationships (such as proprietary and confidential information, insider information, etc.);

      7. contents that contain company logos. This excludes employees of InterNations, who may use the InterNations logo;

      8. contents intended to disrupt, destroy, limit, or impair services on the InterNations Websites or the functionality of any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment, in particular through robots, spiders, spamming, DOS attacks, chain mail, junk mail, scripts, etc.

   3. When using such services, the user shall adhere to all InterNations Networking, Forum, Content, Event, and Activity Guidelines as amended from time to time. Such guidelines are available on the InterNations Websites (see www.internations.org/guidelines/).

   4. The user shall not

      1. send identical messages to more than one (1) user on the InterNations Websites;

      2. disguise the origin of any communication via the services or disguise the user’s own identity while using the services in any way;

      3. disobey any requirements, procedures, policies, or regulations set up for the use of the services on InterNations Websites by InterNations;

      4. interfere with or disrupt the InterNations Websites, its servers, or General Terms and Conditions of InterNations GmbH networks connected to InterNations. Nor shall the user engage in acts that impair the operability of InterNations’ infrastructure, particularly those which may overload the said infrastructure;

      5. block, overwrite, modify, or copy any contents on InterNations Websites, unless the said actions are necessary for the proper use of the services. The use of any search engine technology is not necessary for the proper use of the services and is therefore prohibited;

      6. tag other users or send email invitations to non-users without their prior consent.

   5. In the event InterNations has good reason to believe that the user has breached their obligations under this Section 5, the user agrees that InterNations shall be entitled to review the user’s personal data, communication and networking, however, only to the extent as required to verify such breach.

6. Granting Rights to Use

   1. The user grants InterNations all rights necessary with respect to contents to fulfill the purpose of this agreement.

      In particular, the user grants InterNations the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive, universally transferable, and fully sublicensable right to:

      1. to store all contents (in particular images, videos, text, etc.) uploaded or posted during the use of the InterNations Websites in an electronic form,

      2. to make the same available to other users and third parties and to disseminate the same to other users and third parties upon demand by way of download, and also to permit other users and third parties to make virtual or physical copies of these contents for their personal or other own use,

      3. to reproduce, disseminate, make generally available, and broadcast all uploaded contents on all websites or other platforms and services operated by InterNations (in particular TV, advertising, print media, radio, internet, mobile internet),

      4. to process the contents in a user-friendly form, make the same amenable for research and process the same such that other users and third parties can access the same at any time. This includes converting the contents into other data formats. InterNations is also granted the right to process the contents with respect to visual appearance, font, layout, scaling etc. InterNations shall have the right to combine the contents or parts thereof with its own or third-party contents, in particular to add links to the contents or make the same available to third parties via links,

      5. to amend, shorten, block, or suspend access to, and delete any contents provided by the user.

   2. With respect to all contents described above, the user hereby waives the exercise of all moral rights (Urheberpersönlichkeitsrechte) as far as legally possible, in particular with respect to infringements through changes to the contents made by InterNations or third parties.

   3. The user hereby warrants that with respect to the entire contents furnished by the user, the user is the holder of the corresponding intellectual property rights or is entitled to use and transfer rights of use (in particular for publication, reproduction, and dissemination) to the extent necessary and required under these GTC and during the course of the contents being used on the InterNations Websites without the infringement of any third-party rights.

   4. The user hereby acknowledges the right of InterNations to publish any photographs or film footage taken at InterNations Official Events or Activities on the InterNations Websites and/or on any platform approved by InterNations. Should the user wish to refuse the same, the user must clearly express this wish to the photographer or cameraman at the Event or Activity. Should the user wish to have InterNations remove a photograph already published on the InterNations Website, the user must contact InterNations through the contact form available on each InterNations Website under Contact.

7. No Responsibility for the User’s and Third-Party Contents

   1. InterNations shall not be liable for any contents provided by or made available by any user, including the user’s contents. In particular, InterNations does not guarantee that any such contents are true or accurate, or that it fulfills or serves any particular purpose.

   2. The user acknowledges that the InterNations Websites include and provide contents provided by third-party providers as well as links to websites of third parties (altogether third-party contents). InterNations shall not be liable for any such third-party contents, but will comply with its obligations in accordance with the German Act for Tele-media Services (Telemediengesetz).

8. Content Moderation & Complaint Management

   1. Any user who notices the InterNations platform being used in a way that is illegal (see Section 5.2), that is in breach of the user’s or any third-party’s rights, or that goes against our guidelines (such as fake profiles) shall report this. This option is also open to non-users through the contact form available on each InterNations Website under Contact. InterNations informs the reporter as well as the reported user about any measures taken by InterNations, including explaining the reasoning for the decision to the reported user.

   2. InterNations uses a combination of manual moderation and automated technical tools to guarantee the safety and authenticity of its services and users (e.g., identify and remove fake profiles, approve membership requests). InterNations Official Events are manually approved before they go live on the InterNations Websites. InterNations Activities are moderated to ensure they adhere to our guidelines. Additionally, users can report any official events or activities that seem suspicious or do not abide by our guidelines. These will then be reviewed manually, and appropriate action taken.

   3. InterNations will investigate the complaints and violations of its policies and may take any appropriate action, including, but not limited to issuing warnings, removing or blocking content, or terminating accounts and/or subscriptions. InterNations reserves the right to suspend, for a reasonable period of time and after having issued a prior warning, the provision of our services to users that frequently post manifestly illegal content as described in Section 5.2.

   4. InterNations also reserves the right to suspend, for a reasonable period of time and after having issued a prior warning, the processing of notices and complaints submitted through the reporting mechanisms and internal complaints-handling systems by complainants that frequently submit notices or complaints that are manifestly unfounded.

   5. When deciding on a suspension as described in Sections 8.3 and 8.4, InterNations assesses, on a case-by-case basis and in a timely, diligent, and objective manner, whether the recipient of the service, the individual, the entity, or the complainant engages in the misuse referred to in this section, taking into account all relevant facts and circumstances apparent from the information available to InterNations. Those circumstances shall include at least the following:

      1. the absolute numbers of items of manifestly illegal content or manifestly unfounded notices or complaints, submitted within a given time frame;

      2. the relative proportion thereof in relation to the total number of items of information provided or notices submitted within a given time frame;

      3. the gravity of the misuses, including the nature of illegal content, and of its consequences;

      4. where it is possible to identify it, the intention of the recipient of the service, the individual, the entity, or the complainant.

   6. Whenever InterNations reaches a decision that content is illegal or goes against our guidelines (which can result in the content being deleted or a user being denied further use of our services), the affected user or complainant has up to six months after the decision is made to appeal the decision. All cases that come in through the internal complaint-handling system are handled in a timely, non-discriminatory, diligent, and objective manner by appropriately trained employees of InterNations.

   7. If enough reasons are found to justify that the decision was unfounded or that the content was not in fact illegal or against our guidelines, then InterNations will immediately reverse the decision and inform the involved parties.

9. Terms of Termination, Reimbursement of Advance Payments

   1. This agreement shall remain valid and binding as long as the user uses the services. If the parties have agreed on a minimum service period for the Albatross Membership, the term shall end (only) with the expiration of the agreed period if the Albatross Membership is terminated at any time within the agreed period.

   2. If the Albatross Membership according to Section 9.1 is not terminated or not terminated in time at the end of the agreed service period, it shall be automatically extended beyond as follows:

      1. If the Albatross Membership was initially concluded prior to 1 March 2022, it shall be extended for a further period of the same length as the minimum service period.

      2. If the Albatross Membership was initially concluded on or after 1 March 2022, it shall be extended for an indefinite period.

   3. All Memberships running for an indefinite period of time (i.e., any Albatross Membership that was initially agreed for an indefinite period of time, or any Albatross Membership that was automatically extended pursuant to Section 9.2.2) may be terminated at any time without cause with a notice period of one month.

   4. If the user has terminated the Albatross Membership, the user is entitled to retain a Basic Membership.

   5. Both parties may terminate the Basic Membership at any time without cause.

   6. Both parties may terminate this agreement with cause in accordance with Section 9.7

   7. A party may terminate this agreement for good cause in accordance with Section 314 German Civil Code, taking into account all circumstances of the individual case and weighing the interests of either party against the other party, also considering any other adequate measures set forth in Section 9.6. On the part of InterNations, this is the case in particular if:

      1. the user, when using the service, fails to comply with any applicable statutory legal requirements or substantial contractual obligations as set forth in these GTC;

      2. there is a cause in the person of the user or in the user’s activities in relation to the InterNations Websites which may substantially impair the reputation of the InterNations Websites or InterNations.

      3. the user withdraws their consent given under data protection law to further processing of their personal data.

   8. Any termination according to this Section 9 requires that the user sends a notice of termination by using the respective termination function which is provided by InterNations in the user’s personal Membership Section of the InterNations Website. After filling in and confirming this information, InterNations shall provide the user with a confirmation of termination.

   9. In the event of a good cause in accordance with Section 9.7 and notwithstanding InterNations’ right to terminate the agreement, InterNations is entitled to

      1. delete or block the contents posted by the user,

      2. send the user a notice detailing the cause and claiming remedy of the cause, or

      3. block the user’s access to the services.

   10. The user shall not be entitled to claim reimbursement of any advance payments made by the user if InterNations has terminated the agreement or blocked the user’s access for good cause pursuant to Section 9.7 and 9.9.

10. Privacy

    InterNations acknowledges that any personal data provided by the user to InterNations is extremely important to the user. InterNations shall comply with all applicable legal provisions regarding data protection (German Data Protection Laws, European Data Protection Directives, and any other applicable data protection legislation). In particular, InterNations shall not provide or otherwise disclose any personal data of the user to any third party without consent, unless InterNations is required by statutory applicable law to reveal the data to third parties, in particular government or regulatory bodies, or if the transfer of data is necessary for operation of debiting procedures as described in Section 4.1 above. Details on InterNations’ handling and processing of the user’s personal data are set forth in the Privacy Policy of InterNations GmbH (InterNations) for the use of the services under the top level domain www.internations.org and the InterNations mobile applications (Privacy Policy) accessible on each InterNations Website under Privacy Policy.

11. Liability of InterNations

    1. Subject to the provisions set out in this section, InterNations shall only be liable for any damages, irrespective of the cause of action, including tort, which (i) are caused by negligent violation of an essential contractual obligation (Kardinalpfichtverletzung) which have to be duly fulfilled for the achievement of the contractual purpose and on which fulfillment the user can rely on under normal circumstances, or (ii) are caused by gross negligence or willful misconduct of InterNations.

    2. To the extent InterNations is held liable under the preceding paragraph, InterNations’ liability shall be limited to those typical damages which InterNations could reasonably foresee at the time of execution of the agreement, based on circumstances known to InterNations at that time, provided, however, this limitation shall not apply if any damages are caused by InterNations’ gross negligence or willful misconduct.

    3. InterNations shall not be liable for any consequential, incidental, or indirect damages unless those damages are caused by InterNations’ gross negligence or willful misconduct.

    4. Nothing in this Section 11 shall limit InterNations’ liability for personal injury and property damage claims based on the German Product Liability Act (Produkthaftungsgesetz).

    5. InterNations only provides the technical infrastructure which is necessary for its users to communicate and to interact with other users. Each user is solely responsible for their behavior and their interaction with other users. In particular, InterNations does not conduct a background check of its users and does not verify any statement from its users. Therefore, InterNations shall not be liable for any user’s behavior and interaction with other users.

    6. Furthermore, InterNations only provides the infrastructure for InterNations users to organize Activities (see www.internations.org/guidelines/activity/) or to interact with each other, but does not organize such Activities. These Activities are solely organized by Consuls or other Albatross Members (in the following referred to as Activity Coordinators) on a voluntary basis. Therefore, save as stipulated otherwise herein, under no circumstance shall InterNations assume legal responsibility for damages related to such Activities or to other interaction between its users. Nor is InterNations legally responsible for the behavior or actions of InterNations users or any other attendees during such Activities.

    7. The Activity Coordinators are in no way legally connected to InterNations, and, in particular, not employees of InterNations. The Activity Coordinators do not represent InterNations as vicarious agents. Thus, InterNations does not accept any legal responsibility and liability for damages resulting from the behavior and actions of Activity Coordinators. Nevertheless, Sections 11.1, 11.2, and 11.3 shall apply mutatis mutandis for the benefit of the Activity Coordinators, with the addition that their liability for slight negligence shall be excluded in total. Nor are they legally responsible for the behavior or actions of InterNations members or any other attendees during such Activities.

    8. Furthermore, InterNations only provides the infrastructure for InterNations users to organize InterNations Official Events (see www.internations.org/guidelines/event/) or to interact with each other. These Events are organized by the Ambassadors on a voluntary basis. Therefore, save as stipulated otherwise herein, under no circumstance shall InterNations assume legal responsibility for damages related to such Events or to other interaction between its users. Nor is InterNations legally responsible for the behavior or actions of InterNations users or any other attendees during such Events.

    9. The Ambassadors are in no way legally connected to InterNations and, in particular, not employees of InterNations. The Ambassadors do not represent InterNations as vicarious agents. Thus, InterNations does not accept any legal responsibility and liability for damages resulting from the behavior and actions of Ambassadors. Nevertheless, Sections 11.1, 11.2 and 11.3 shall apply mutatis mutandis for the benefit of the Ambassadors, with the addition that their liability for slight negligence shall be excluded in total. Nor are they legally responsible for the behavior or actions of InterNations members or any other attendees during InterNations Official Events.

    10. To the extent, the afore-mentioned Sections 11.1 through 11.9 provide for exemptions or limitations of liability of InterNations, these Sections shall also apply mutatis mutandis to the benefit of InterNations’ representatives and employees as well as its vicarious agents.

12. Indemnity

    The user shall indemnify and hold InterNations harmless and not accountable for claims for breach of third-party rights for which the user is responsible or any damage which is caused by a breach of any contractual obligations by the user. In particular, the user shall indemnify and hold InterNations guiltless and not accountable for claims by third parties resulting from any illegal acts by the user, in particular with respect to contents provided by the user infringing third-party rights or otherwise illegal contents. In so far as such infringement of rights result in court proceedings, the user shall also bear the costs incurred by InterNations as a result, in particular court and attorney costs.

13. Methods of Communication with the User

    Unless otherwise stated in these GTC, the user shall submit all notices to InterNations and shall communicate with InterNations through the contact form available on each InterNations Website under Contact. Unless otherwise stated in these GTC, InterNations will send all notices and other communications to the user by placing a notice via the user’s personal Membership Section on the InterNations Website. In any event, any mandatory form requirements under statutory laws and under Section 15 shall remain unaffected.

14. Miscellaneous

    1. If any provision of these GTC is, for any reason, invalid and/or unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall continue to be valid and enforceable to the fullest extent permitted by law. The same consequence shall apply to unintended gaps within these GTC.

    2. The place of performance (Erfüllungsort) under these GTC shall be InterNations’ main place of business.

    3. Place of jurisdiction, insofar as legally admissible, shall be Munich, Germany. This shall not impair any consumer jurisdiction forum competent for a dispute.

    4. Save as provided otherwise in this Section, these GTC and the contractual relationship shall be governed by German Law, excluding the provisions of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG). If the user is a Consumer according to Section 13 German Civil Code) and has their usual residence or seat in a country outside the European Union (EU) and the European Economic Area (EEA), these GTC and the contractual relationship shall be governed by German Law, excluding both, the provisions of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) and the provisions of German consumer protection law.

15. Consumer’s Right to Cancellation (Gesetzliches Widerrufsrecht für Verbraucher)

    1. If a user uses the services for a purpose that is not related to either their commercial or freelance activity (Consumer according to Section 13 German Civil Code), the following provisions shall apply to Consumers with usual residence in the EU or the EEA:

       Right to Cancellation and Exercise of Such Right

       In accordance with Section 246a German Introduction Act to the German Civil Code (Einführungsgesetz zum Bürgerlichen Gesetzbuch), the user may cancel the contract for their registration for the Basic or Albatross Membership within fourteen (14) days without stating a reason. The fourteen days period starts with the day of entering into contract (Tag des Vertragsschlusses), i.e. their registration for the Basic or Albatross Membership.

       Furthermore, the user is entitled to cancel the contract on their registration for the Albatross Membership within fourteen (14) days without stating a reason, after changing from Basic Membership to Albatross Membership. In this case, the fourteen days period starts with the day of entering into contract (Tag des Vertragsschlusses) on the Albatross Membership (Upgrade), i.e. the change of the membership.

       In order to exercise the cancellation right, the user must inform

       InterNations GmbH
       Karlsplatz 3
       80335 Munich
       Germany
       Fax: +49 89 461 3324 99
       Email: support@internations.org
       

       with a clear statement (e.g. by mail, fax, email or through the contact form available on each InterNations Website under Contact) on their decision to cancel the contract. The user can use the below template which, however, is not mandatory. In order to meet the fourteen days cancellation period, it will be sufficient to send out the cancellation notice within the two weeks period.

       Template for the Cancellation Notice (Muster Widerrufserklärung)

       InterNations GmbH
       Karlsplatz 3
       80335 Munich
       Germany
       Email: support@internations.org
       
       Herewith I/we cancel (*) the contract on the purchase of the following goods (*)/the provision of the following services (*)
       Ordered on (*)/Received on (*)
       Name of consumer(s)
       Address of consumer(s)
       Selected user name of consumer’s online profile
       Signature of the consumer(s) (in case notice is made through paper)
       Date

       Consequences of Cancellation (Folgen des Widerrufs)

       If the user cancels the contract in line with this Section, InterNations shall immediately return all payments which we have received from the user, including the delivery expenses (except for those costs which are based on your decision to select a delivery method deviating from our offered standard delivery), but at the latest within 14 days following receipt of your cancellation InterNations will use the same payment method which the user used to purchase the services under the cancelled contract save as otherwise agreed with the user; in no event InterNations will claim any fees for the return of payment.

       If the user requested that the service performance by InterNations should already start during the fourteen days cancellation period, the user shall pay a reasonable amount which shall adequately reflect the part of the services which have been performed until the cancellation, by taking the entire scope of the originally purchased services into account.

    2. The above provisions only apply to initial subscriptions and not to renewals of ongoing memberships (Renewal).

       The user’s right of termination under Section 9 shall not be affected by the user’s cancellation right under this Section 15.

    3. The user’s right of cancellation lapses before the end of the fourteen days cancellation period referenced in Section 15.1, if:

       1. the user had explicitly agreed that InterNations may already start performing the services for which the user is registered, and

       2. the user had explicitly confirmed that he is aware of losing his cancellation rights due to InterNations’ start of performance.