Copyright © 2002-2008
EscapeBox Germany
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These terms and conditions of use govern the basic legal relationships
between EscapeBox Germany GmbH (called "EscapeBox" below) and
its end customers (called "users" below). The general terms and
conditions of use serve to establish, with binding effect, the
behavioral and contractual foundations on both sides for certain and
reliable use of the on-line services and on-line information.
The general terms and conditions of use and the following special
contractual conditions are also available in the form of a
printer-friendly version
and in the form of a PDF file.
EscapeBox will exclusively provide its services under the
following provisions in connection with the special contract
provisions and prices lists that are in effect in each case:
- Services Involved
-
EscapeBox provides services that consist of computer and
data-transmission services, information and other Internet-related
content (called "services" below). The scope of the services will
result in each case from the special contract provisions in connection
with the selected product or rate group. Furthermore, third parties
will make software, information and other content or data available
that will be accessible through EscapeBox.
- Availability of the Service
-
EscapeBox provides its technical services 24 hours a day, 7
days a week, with an availability of 99% as an annual average.
Nevertheless, short-term bottlenecks, or access or transmission
disturbances, cannot be ruled out; EscapeBox is not liable for
them.
- Customer Service
-
If nothing else has been separately agreed upon in writing,
EscapeBox will offer customer service through the Internet, at
the very least via e-mail and possibly also via areas of the web
server of EscapeBox that are allotted for this.
- Compensation for Use
-
The usage compensation for the provision and granting of the services
will follow from the selected product or rate group and the price
lists that are in effect. The supplemental products that are offered
will be separately invoiced.
- Access Password for Services
-
EscapeBox will provide the user with an individualized password
that is to only be employed by the user, which will enable access to
the services of EscapeBox. The user is obligated to keep the
password secret and to keep it protected against access by third
parties. EscapeBox is to be notified without delay of any loss
of the password or a case in which the password becomes known to
unauthorized third parties. EscapeBox is not liable for damage
that comes about for the user because of the violation of the duty of
secrecy within his scope of risk. The user is responsible for the
consequences of an unauthorized use of the password vis-à-vis
EscapeBox.
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EscapeBox recommends that the password be changed on a regular
basis for security reasons. The change can be made by the user
himself on-line at any time. Corresponding notes and descriptions of
the procedure can be found in the documentation of the product.
- Changes in the Services that are Offered
-
EscapeBox offers services of a type and scope based on the
current status of the Internet and the technical, legal and commercial
frameworks for the use of the Internet. It will make an effort, when
there is an expansion of the usage possibilities in the Internet, to
make them available to the user, possibly based on a separate
agreement, but it is not legally obligated to do this.
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If the general conditions mentioned in paragraph 1 change and if the
provision of services becomes significantly more difficult for
EscapeBox because of this, it can change or cancel products and
services that are provided, adjust compensation rates or only offer
products and services that were previously made available for free for
a further fee.
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EscapeBox will notify the user without delay, but at least 30
days before the point in time of the change, if the further
availability of a portion of the services that are offered is
endangered because of the above-mentioned reasons or if the
compensation rates change. The user has the right, within four weeks
of the announcement of the changes, to terminate the agreement at the
point in time of the change with immediate effect for an extraordinary
reason if the acceptance of the changes is unreasonable for him or if
the original relationship of service and consideration is therefore
disturbed more than in an immaterial way. If the user does not make
use of his right of termination, he will tacitly acknowledge the
modified contractual conditions with the further use of the products
and services. When there are changes, EscapeBox will
specifically point out these circumstances and the consequences of a
termination that is not punctually provided to the user. Other rights
of the user are ruled out.
- Payment Default
-
If the user falls into arrears with payment obligations vis-à-vis
EscapeBox, all of the other receivables that may exist will
become immediately due and payable.
-
When there is a payment default, EscapeBox is entitled to
refuse to fulfill the contract two weeks after threatening the user
with this and to block the access of the user to the services and the
provision of the services at his expense. EscapeBox can
simultaneously threaten to block access to the services with the
reminder notice. When there is a block, the user will continue to be
obligated to pay the compensation that is due. EscapeBox has
to only cancel the block, with immediate effect, when the outstanding
payments have been completely made.
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If EscapeBox justifiably becomes suspicious that payment of the
outstanding amounts is improbable in the near future due to the
accompanying circumstances, EscapeBox is also entitled to
immediately block the access possibilities and services, without the
user being permitted any claims for compensatory damages, in order to
protect itself against further costs being caused by the user.
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When there is a payment default on the part of the user,
EscapeBox is additionally entitled to terminate the contractual
relationship after previously threatening to do so without a specific
period of advance notice.
- Exclusion of Objections
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If the user raises objections to the services invoiced by
EscapeBox, he has to notify EscapeBox of this in writing
within four weeks of the receipt of the invoice. Not making
objections within the proper period of time will be considered an
approval. Legal claims of the user when there are justified
objections will remain unaffected by this after the expiration of this
period.
- Copyrights
-
EscapeBox points out to the user that information and data to
which the user gets access within the framework of the usage
opportunities provided by EscapeBox could be protected by a
copyright. The possibility therefore exists that the user could make
himself liable for damages to the holder of the rights, for example
through the unauthorized copying, editing and/or dissemination of this
information and data, and could furthermore become subject to criminal
penalties. It is incumbent upon the user to inform himself in each
case and to find out for certain whether third-party information and
data are free of intellectual property rights. EscapeBox is
not liable for third-party content to which it has merely provided
access in accordance with the agreement.
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If EscapeBox provides the user with software of third parties,
the respective delivery and protection conditions of the software
supplier will apply.
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The Internet is a public and freely-accessible area. Protection of
the information and data that are contributed to the Internet by the
user from misuse, via encryption or in other ways, lies within the
scope of responsibilities of the user. EscapeBox has no
influence over this. EscapeBox is not obligated to the user to
take technical or legal measures to protect this information and
data.
- Duties and Obligations of the User
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The user is obligated to use the services of EscapeBox in a
proper and responsible manner and in accordance with the agreement, in
order to ensure the highest possible quality and usefulness of the
network and the services that are offered. Misuse and misbehavior,
especially if the reputation, the standing and the services of
EscapeBox are endangered or interfered with, will be prosecuted
and the causal party will be made liable for compensatory damages.
The user is particularly obligated:
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To not misuse the access opportunities to the services and to not
engage in illegal actions. In particular, he will make sure that the
information and data fed into the Internet by him do not violate the
legal regulations with regard to the protection of young persons or
the personal rights of third parties, and that they do not infringe
upon intellectual property rights, especially the copyrights of third
parties. He will not feed in data with immoral or illegal content.
Presentations and information that are injurious to human dignity,
that glorify or minimize cruel and inhuman acts of violence or that
incite racial hatred are particularly included here. This will apply
in spite of whether the user has or had knowledge of the content of
the material or of the legal regulations;
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To inform himself of, and adhere to, the rules, charters, netiquette,
instructions, customary practices, standards and the like - of an
administrative, technical and social nature - of distributive and
communication media such as IRC, e-mail, news, FTP or web forums, and
the applicable legal state of affairs.
Among other things, this expressly includes a prohibition of so-called
"spam", meaning all types of unrequested advertising and other
undesired (mass) nuisances regardless of the content or of the medium
used, a prohibition of so-called "mail bombs", a prohibition of
disseminating viruses, worms, Trojan horses or the like without
labeling them as such and for improper purposes, a prohibition of
advertising for or initiating such things or similar actions via
access routes, addresses or systems of EscapeBox, a prohibition
of falsifying header information in e-mail or news articles, as well
as a demand that the terms and conditions of use of chat servers be
observed and adhered to, especially with regard to so-called "bots"
and the like;
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To configure the mail server, when a proprietary one is operated, in
such a way that it cannot be used in an unauthorized fashion by other
persons or systems as a third-party relay;
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To not engage in grossly negligent or intentional interruptions of,
intervention in, or endangerment of the running operations or the
system security of any and all computers and networks; for example,
not to bypass any security precautions (colloquially called "cracking"
or "hacking"), to not intervene in services (e.g. through so-called
"denial of service attacks" such as, for example, smurf, flood pings
or control, cancel or supersedes floods) and to not systematically
search computers and networks (so-called "port scans"). Not even
attempts or "tests" are to be engaged in;
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To take the recognized principles of data security into account and to
follow them;
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To ensure compliance with legal regulations and official regulatory
conditions that are in one's sphere of influence;
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To not use the services or offerings of third parties for conducting
business or engaging in commercial activities that are legally
prohibited, or advertising for the execution of business or commercial
activities of this type;
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To immediately notify EscapeBox when there are signs of misuse
of his access ID(s).
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When there are violations of these duties or when there is a justified
suspicion of illegal behavior, EscapeBox is entitled to
immediately block access to the services and provision of the services
at the expense of the user, without the user being permitted any
claims for compensatory damages. EscapeBox has to only cancel
the block, with immediate effect, when the reasons for the block no
longer exist. When there are violations, the contractual relationship
can also be terminated by EscapeBox without a specific period
of advance notice if the user has been warned beforehand and the
termination has been threatened.
Warnings and threats of termination are unnecessary if they do not
promise to be successful or the violation is so serious that the
immediate termination of the agreement without a specific period of
advance notice appears to be justified. Warnings and threats of
termination can also be made via e-mail.
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The user is not entitled to duplicate or disseminate services or
offerings of EscapeBox, or to otherwise pass them along to
third parties, if there has not been an agreement to the contrary,
expressly and in writing.
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The user has to notify EscapeBox without delay when there is a
change in his personal data, address, banking arrangements or credit
card data.
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The user commits himself to participate in the investigation of
attacks of third parties on the, or via, the computer system of
EscapeBox if the attack stems from the environment of the
user.
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EscapeBox points out to the user that misuse or improper
behavior by him could have consequences under both the civil law and
the criminal law.
EscapeBox is legally obligated to support investigations when
there is a suspicion of violations of the criminal law or violations
against other security provisions when they are ordered by the
relevant authorities. There will not be an examination of the
legality of these orders by EscapeBox as a general rule.
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EscapeBox reserves the right to regularly check these rules
regarding the proper use of the services and to adjust them to the
extent necessary. These measures serve to protect and secure the
infrastructure and the data transfer in the interests of all of the
users. If an adjustment is necessary, EscapeBox will inform
the user of them early on, but at least 30 days before the point in
time of the adjustment. The user has the right, within four weeks of
the announcement of the adjustment, to terminate the agreement at the
point in time of the change with immediate effect for an extraordinary
reason if the acceptance of the adjustment is unreasonable for him.
If the user does not make use of his right of termination, he will
tacitly acknowledge the modified rules with the further use of the
products and services. When there are adjustments, EscapeBox
will specifically point out these circumstances and the consequences
of a termination that is not punctually provided to the user. Other
rights of the user are ruled out.
- Indemnification
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The user will indemnify EscapeBox for all of the claims of
third parties that are asserted against EscapeBox due to a
culpable violation of the rights of third parties by the user or due
to culpable behavior of the user against EscapeBox that is
illegal or in violation of the agreement. The indemnification and
assumption of liability are unlimited with regard to amount and also
include the costs of legal proceedings, the arrangement of settlements
and other consequential damage.
- Limitation of Liability
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The direct link to the Internet that is made possible by
EscapeBox and the opportunity for data transfer that is
associated with that involve an offered service for which a certain
level of security risks and other unforeseen risks still cannot be
completely ruled out despite continual improvements in the network
infrastructure and the hardware and software prerequisites.
EscapeBox is continually making efforts to take security
precautions within a reasonable scope. These measures could, however,
not be adequate under certain circumstances for completely ruling out
damage to the user. As far as this is concerned, the user is making
use of the services of EscapeBox at his own risk.
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If EscapeBox makes reference to offers or information of third
parties, it is not assuming any liability for the content of these
information providers. EscapeBox does not endorse the opinions
or factual claims that are published there because of the reference
unless EscapeBox explicitly says otherwise.
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EscapeBox does not have any influence over the information and
services offered in the Internet by third parties. It assumes no
liability for the information and services and the consequential
damages that could possibly result from their use.
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EscapeBox does not do any responsible editorial check of the
news groups, forums and chat rooms offered or linked to by it. The
use of such offerings is at the user's own risk.
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EscapeBox is not liable for interruptions of service or service
disturbances based on acts of God or due to events for which
EscapeBox is not responsible that make its performance
significantly more difficult or impossible. In particular, it is not
liable for the malfunction or breakdown of the communication or data
networks and gateways of other providers or telecommunications
companies, for offers that are incomplete or that have not been
updated from proxy servers (intermediate storage units) of providers
or other on-line services, or for the hardware and/or software
problems of third parties.
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EscapeBox is not liable for the survival or the further
transmission of the data entered in the service of EscapeBox if
its loss cannot be traced back to intent or gross negligence on the
part of EscapeBox.
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In general, EscapeBox is only liable when there is intent or
gross negligence; it is only responsible when there is slight
negligence if there has been a violation of duties material to the
agreement. The compensatory claims are limited in amount to the scope
of foreseeable damage or to the maximum legal amounts, as the case may
be.
- Offsetting and Withholding
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The user can only offset claims for compensation of EscapeBox
with claims that are not disputed or that have been determined with
binding legal effect. The user is only entitled to assert a right of
retention with regard to claims arising from the contractual
relationship.
- Data Protection
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If nothing else has been expressly agreed upon, the information
submitted to EscapeBox will be considered to be
confidential.
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Personal data will only be obtained, processed and used within the
framework of the use of the services that are offered and the
invoicing of the compensation. Usage or processing of these data that
goes beyond this will only be done if the user has consented to this
or a legal regulation orders or permits this.
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EscapeBox points out to the user that it is possible, because
of the structure of the Internet, that the rules of data protection
will not be observed by third parties who are not within the scope of
responsibilities of EscapeBox. It is also possible that a
message that, due to its addressing, should not leave the area of
applicability of the Federal Data Protection Act will nevertheless
leave this area.
- Other Issues
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German law is applicable to the contractual relationship. The place
of performance of the agreement is Berlin, Germany. The exclusive
legal jurisdiction for users who are full business persons, legal
persons under public law or special public-law assets is Berlin,
Germany.
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Changes and supplements to the agreement are required to be in
writing.
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Contractual claims of the user will be barred by the lapse of time one
year after the point in time at which the user becomes aware of the
damage and of the circumstances from which his entitlement to a claim
results. Contractual claims will be barred by the lapse of time two
years after the damaging event, without consideration being given to
the knowledge of the user.
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The nullity or ineffectiveness of individual provisions of this
agreement will not affect the validity of the remaining provisions.
In the case that individual provisions are void or ineffective, the
parties are obligated to replace the faulty provision with a provision
having an economic and legal meaning that comes as close as possible
to the faulty provision.
Version: August, 2002
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The special contractual conditions govern the specific rights and
duties between EscapeBox Germany GmbH (called "EscapeBox"
below) and its end customers (called "users" below) when services are
used in accordance with the product or rate group that is selected in
each case. EscapeBox provides its services to the user
exclusively under the following conditions in connection with the
general terms and conditions of use and the rate-group and price
lists:
- Object of the Agreement
EscapeBox will provided the following services, described in
more detail below:
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On-Demand UNIX Server
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EscapeBox will make it possible for the user to install and run
his own software in a virtual UNIX environment (called the "server
box" below). This area is provided with a number of pre-installed
software packages that the user can make use of if necessary.
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The type of use of this facility is up to the user, as long as it
does not violate the provisions in the general terms and conditions of
use or the special contractual conditions. Exclusively the user is
liable for any and all consequences that result from this use.
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EscapeBox will not conduct any routine checks of the area that
is made available to the user, but will reserve the right, or may be
legally obligated under certain circumstances, to follow up on
indications of a violation of the provisions that have been mentioned
and to take the appropriate countermeasures if necessary.
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Technical Support
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EscapeBox will support the user in setting up and using the
server box that is made available to him. In so doing, however, the
assistance will be limited to the specifics of this setup.
EscapeBox is not legally obligated to concern itself with
questions of a more general nature that are associated with the
topic.
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The support of the user will be exclusively given through the
Internet, at least via e-mail and possibly also through the areas of
the web server of EscapeBox that are provided for this.
Furthermore, comprehensive on-line documentation is available for the
user through the web area of his server box.
- Supplemental Services
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Supplemental services, such as setting up additional server boxes, could
be made use of based on separate agreements. If desired, domains can
also be registered and maintained for the user. Details follow from
the product description and the price list, which are available
on-line.
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Otherwise, all of the other services are to be understood as being
services above and beyond the agreement; no legal claim exists to
them.
- Pre-Installed Software
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EscapeBox will not provide any warranty or assume liability for
any pre-installed software that is made available for the user. The
availability in a useful form that is provided by EscapeBox is
exclusively for the convenience of the user who could otherwise, or would
otherwise have to, install this software himself if necessary. No
obligations at all will arise for EscapeBox from this.
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EscapeBox will make changes at irregular intervals to the
pre-installed software that will serve to remedy errors and provide an
adjustment to the state of the art, or will make changes that become
necessary for other important reasons. EscapeBox will make an
effort to avoid or to minimize negative effects to the server-box
operation of the user. When this is not possible, the user is
obligated, if he deems a further functioning of the respective
software to be necessary, to participate in the required adjustments
within his sphere of influence. There is no right to a restoration of
the prior state. EscapeBox is not liable for damage that
arises for the user from these changes.
- IP Addresses
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There is neither a claim to the issuance of a certain IP address for a
server box, nor to the retention of an unchanged IP address over the
entire term of the agreement. Changes that are arranged for by
EscapeBox will, however, only be made in coordination with the
user.
- Communication Paths
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With the exception of contract terminations that are made via postal
mail, EscapeBox will exclusively provide its users with
notifications via e-mail if nothing else has been agreed upon in
writing. The user is therefore obligated to provide a functional
e-mail address when the agreement is entered into and to immediately
inform EscapeBox when there is a change in this address. If a
notification nevertheless fails for reasons for which EscapeBox
is not responsible, EscapeBox will not be liable for
consequences that result for the user from the incapability to send an
e-mail.
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The user will generally contact EscapeBox by using Internet
services, either through the pages on the web server of
EscapeBox that are provided for this or via e-mail. Contract
terminations by the user have to be made in writing either through the
"Authenticated message" form on the web server of EscapeBox, by
fax or via postal mail.
- Compensation for Use
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The usage compensation for the provision and granting of the operation
of a server box will follow from the selected product or rate group.
The supplemental products that are offered will be separately
invoiced. The rate groups, price lists and payment arrangements that
are in effect can be viewed on-line at
http://www.escapebox.net/
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The compensation that arises in each case will be due and payable
without deductions after the service is provided when the user
receives the invoice. However, an exception from this is
the setup fee for the first server box of a new user. It will become
immediately due and payable with the setting up.
Compensation applying to the month is to be paid
on a pro rata basis for the rest of the month, starting with the day
of the provision of the service.
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Invoicing will be done via transmission in the form of a PDF file to
the server box of the user, where it can be called up via the
integrated web interface and printed out at the user's premises. The
server box can, moreover, be configured in the original state in such
a way that the invoice file is passed along via e-mail to one or more
recipients. If desired, the invoice will also be sent by postal mail
if a flat-rate fee for costs of USD 3.00 at present is
accepted.
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If nothing else has been agreed upon in writing, all of the invoice
amounts will be collected via a credit card or a direct bank debit. A
fee of USD 10.00 will be charged when there are return bookings for
reasons for which the user is responsible.
- Termination
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The agreement will be entered into for an indeterminate period of
time. The contractual relationship or additional special agreements
can be terminated on both sides in writing with a period of notice of
two weeks to the end of each calendar month.
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If the user only wants to end the usage of supplemental services or
portions thereof, he has to terminate the service in writing vis-à-vis
EscapeBox. A purely technical stoppage of use of the
supplemental services by the user is not sufficient for this.
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In case the user avails himself of his right of termination within
the first 30 days since activation of a server box, the setup fee
charged for this server box will be refunded to him.
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The right of termination for an exceptional reason of EscapeBox
when there is a breach of the agreement by the user will remain
intact.
Version: February, 2003
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We offer English language products on the
international market. Our web presence is therefore completely in
English, too, appropriate to the target market. Due to the fact, however,
that our company operates out of Germany, we are obligated to provide
legally binding documents in German as well, even if this contradicts
the international context of our site.
Therefore, the legally binding version of these business terms
is the German edition.
We provide the English version for the convenience of our
international customers, only.
Nevertheless, it was done by a professional translator specialized in
legal texts and, after proofreading it, we believe that it is accurate
and identical in meaning to the German document.
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