I. SCOPE
The following General Terms and Conditions of Delivery and Business (hereinafter referred to as the "Terms and Conditions") shall apply to all assignments, quotations, deliveries, and services provided by the Photographer (Philipp Schmidt).
These Terms and Conditions shall be deemed accepted upon the Client's receipt of the Photographer's delivery, service, or quotation, and at the latest upon the Client's acceptance of the photographic material for publication.
Should the Client wish to object to these Terms and Conditions, such objection must be made in writing within three (3) business days. Any conflicting or deviating terms and conditions of the Client are hereby expressly rejected. Such terms shall not become part of the agreement unless expressly acknowledged by the Photographer in writing.
Within the framework of an ongoing business relationship, these Terms and Conditions shall also apply to all future assignments, quotations, deliveries, and services provided by the Photographer without the need for further express incorporation, unless otherwise agreed in writing.
II. COMMISSIONED PRODUCTIONS
Any cost estimates prepared by the Photographer are non-binding. If production costs increase during the course of production, the Photographer shall notify the Client only if it becomes apparent that the originally estimated total costs will be exceeded by more than fifteen percent (15%). If the agreed production period is extended for reasons beyond the Photographer's control, the Photographer shall be entitled to additional remuneration based on the agreed hourly or daily rate or, where applicable, to a reasonable increase of the agreed flat fee.
The Photographer is entitled to commission third-party services required for the production in the name of and on behalf of the Client and at the Client's expense.
The Photographer shall select the photographs presented to the Client for acceptance upon completion of the production. Usage rights shall be granted only for those images accepted by the Client as being in accordance with the contract and only after full payment has been received.
Unless the Photographer receives written notice of defects within two (2) weeks after delivery of the photographs, the photographs shall be deemed accepted as conforming to the contract and free from defects.
The Photographer shall be credited as the author of every published image. The credit must appear in direct connection with the image. In the case of digital files, the Photographer's name must remain electronically linked to the image data. The Client shall take appropriate technical measures to ensure that this connection is maintained during all data transmissions, transfers to other storage media, screen displays, and any public presentation, so that the Photographer can always be identified as the author of the images.
The Photographer accepts no liability for the infringement of rights relating to trademarks, company names, registered designs, persons, or depicted objects unless an appropriately signed model or property release has been provided. The acquisition of rights extending beyond the Photographer's copyright—including rights relating to works of fine or applied art depicted in the images, as well as obtaining publication permissions from collections, museums, or similar institutions—shall be the sole responsibility of the Client. The Client shall indemnify and hold the Photographer harmless against any third-party claims arising from the breach of this obligation. The Client is also solely responsible for captions, accompanying text, and the context in which the images are published.
III. FEES
The agreed fee shall apply. If no fee has been agreed, remuneration shall be determined in accordance with the current fee recommendations of the Mittelstandsgemeinschaft Foto-Marketing (MFM). All fees are exclusive of the applicable statutory Value Added Tax (VAT).
Costs and expenses incurred in connection with the assignment—including, but not limited to, material and laboratory costs, model fees, props, travel expenses, accommodation, per diems, and similar expenses—are not included in the Photographer's fee and shall be borne by the Client.
The fee pursuant to Section III.1 shall remain payable in full even if the commissioned and delivered photographic material is ultimately not published.
If production is cancelled due to adverse weather conditions, the Client shall pay fifty percent (50%) of the agreed fee, one hundred percent (100%) of all travel and accommodation expenses, and one hundred percent (100%) of all third-party costs, including service providers, models, and equipment rental.
The Client may only offset claims or exercise a right of retention against undisputed claims or claims that have been finally determined by a court of law. Offsetting against disputed but legally mature counterclaims shall also be permissible.
All fees, charges, and costs payable by the Client shall be subject to statutory VAT and, where applicable, the German Artists' Social Security Contribution (Künstlersozialabgabe), including any contributions arising from the Photographer's own services or third-party services.
IV. USAGE RIGHTS
Copyright usage rights shall pass to the Client only after full payment of the agreed fee and reimbursement of all ancillary costs.
Unless otherwise agreed, the Client acquires only a non-exclusive right to a single use of the images. Publication on the internet or inclusion in digital databases shall, unless otherwise agreed, be limited in time to the publication period of the corresponding or a comparable printed publication.
Exclusive rights of use, media-specific exclusivity, territorial exclusivity, or embargo periods must be agreed separately and shall be subject to a surcharge of at least one hundred percent (100%) of the applicable basic fee.
Any use beyond that described in Section IV.2—including exploitation, reproduction, distribution, or publication—shall require additional remuneration and the Photographer's prior written consent. This applies in particular to:
secondary use or republication, especially in anthologies, product brochures, advertising campaigns, reprints, or similar publications;
- any editing, alteration, or modification of the photographic material;
- any reproduction or use of the image files on digital storage media;
- any uploading, publication, or display of the image files on the internet, in online databases, or in any other electronic archives, including the Client's internal electronic archives.
- any alteration of the photographic material by means of photo compositing, montage, electronic manipulation, or artificial intelligence (AI) for the creation of a new copyright-protected work shall require the Photographer's prior written consent and must be identified with the designation "[M]". Furthermore, the photographic material may not be traced, recreated photographically, or otherwise used as the basis for another work.
The Client is not entitled to transfer, assign, sublicense, or otherwise grant the usage rights, in whole or in part, to any third party, including affiliated companies, subsidiaries, or group companies.
The Client acknowledges that the photographic material supplied by the Photographer constitutes copyright-protected photographic works within the meaning of Section 2 (1) No. 5 of the German Copyright Act (Urheberrechtsgesetz).
Even where exclusive usage rights have been granted, the Photographer shall remain entitled to use the images for self-promotional purposes.
V. CONTRACTUAL PENALTIES AND DAMAGES
Any unauthorized use, reproduction, publication, distribution, or transfer of the photographic material without the Photographer's prior consent shall give rise to a contractual penalty amounting to five (5) times the applicable usage fee for each individual infringement, without prejudice to any further claims for damages.
Failure to provide proper photographer credit, incomplete credit, incorrectly placed credit, or credit that cannot clearly be attributed to the relevant image shall result in an additional charge of one hundred percent (100%) of the agreed or customary usage fee.
The Photographer shall not be liable for the failure or default of third parties.
VI. GENERAL PROVISIONS
The laws of the Federal Republic of Germany shall exclusively govern these Terms and Conditions, including in cases where deliveries or services are provided abroad.
Any amendments or supplements to the contract or to these Terms and Conditions shall be valid only if made in writing.
Should any provision of these Terms and Conditions be or become invalid or unenforceable, the validity of the remaining provisions shall remain unaffected. The parties undertake to replace the invalid provision with a valid provision that most closely reflects the economic and legal intent of the original provision.