General Terms and Conditions / Client Agreement

1. Contracting Party

The contracting party is Recht 24/7 Schröder Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH, registered office in Munich (hereinafter: Recht 24-7). A law firm practicing and advising under German law. The following terms and conditions (hereinafter also: client agreement) apply to every engagement; they are also expressly referred to once again in the online ordering process for each individual order.

2. Scope of Services / Duties to Cooperate

The scope of the legal advice is determined by the service descriptions presented on the website and, where applicable, made available for download. Please note that on weekends (orders received from 1:00 p.m. on Friday) and public holidays, our processing times may be extended until 4:00 p.m. on the next business day. For particularly urgent matters, we offer an express engagement for a surcharge: if the engagement is received by 4:00 p.m., you will receive our response by 9:00 a.m. at the latest on the next working day. It is incumbent upon the client to ensure that they can be reached at the email address they have provided. If an email cannot be delivered, or is delivered late, because of an incorrect email address, the client bears responsibility for this. Advice by telephone is not owed unless it is part of an advisory product or has been expressly commissioned in addition.

2.1 Trademark Search and Application

As part of the identity and similarity search for trademark applications, we use the databases we employ to conduct a technical search as to whether an application already exists for an identical or similar trademark. Due to the complexity of a trademark and its sequence of characters, it cannot be ruled out that a search will not identify all similar trademark names. In this respect, please also note that an opposition under trademark law, a cease-and-desist letter from a third party, actions for injunctive relief and preliminary injunctions may already be brought if the complaining party itself alleges a likelihood of confusion. It can therefore never be completely ruled out that a third party will pursue the legal remedies mentioned above. An identity and similarity search cannot prevent this. Nevertheless, after proper examination, we advise filing an application, while pointing out the aforementioned risks that always remain with a trademark application. With trademark searches, there is a risk that, as time passes, new trademarks will be filed and the search will no longer be up to date. We therefore assume that a trademark search remains valid for three months. Once the trademark search has expired, you may either file the trademark on the basis of the old trademark search or commission a new trademark search, which we recommend. Trademark searches include up to two searches within the scope of the application. Any further search will then be offered at the list price applicable at the time and invoiced once commissioned by the client. As part of the trademark application, we will file the trademark finally approved by you. If, through no fault of Recht 24/7, a trademark application has not been completed more than three months after the initial engagement, Recht 24/7 may charge an additional flat service fee or adjust the fee to the fees then in effect. The examination of registrability and the evaluation of the search results by our law firm are carried out exclusively under applicable German law and harmonized European Union trademark law. Our analyses and recommendations are based on the legal framework and requirements of the German Patent and Trade Mark Office (DPMA) and the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO). We accept no liability for the compatibility of the examination of registrability and the trademark search with the laws of other jurisdictions. If the trademark offices in the designated countries object to the application of the trademark, or if oppositions are filed on the grounds of possible infringements of third-party rights, a local lawyer must be engaged.

2.2 Company Formation and Liquidation

Any additional costs charged by a third party (e.g., for a Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK) inquiry in Berlin) shall be borne by the client. The scope of services includes scheduling an appointment. Rescheduling, changing the notary, and confirming and canceling appointments must be handled by the founder / liquidator personally. The formation flat fee applies only to a formation by cash contribution. A formation by contribution in kind is not included in the formation package. Furthermore, the formation package does not include the drafting of individual shareholdings or options, such as vesting. These can, however, be prepared for an additionally agreed fee. An additional surcharge is charged for processing and reviewing third-party documents; the amount depends on the scope of the documents. If, through no fault of Recht 24/7, a formation or liquidation has not been completed more than three months after the initial engagement, Recht 24/7 may charge an additional flat service fee or adjust the fee to the fees then in effect. For engagements outside the packages, processing within 24 hours cannot be guaranteed. Processing time depends on the effort involved.

2.3 Secure-Shop

If the Secure-Shop product is terminated, there is no longer any right to use the legal texts created by Recht 24/7. Further use is not permitted. You may purchase the legal texts for continued use against a one-time payment. In this case, the contents will no longer be updated and Recht 24/7, as a law firm, will no longer be liable for the legal texts. The legal texts and the seal may only be used for the domain specified during registration. Use for websites with unlawful content is prohibited.

2.4 Drafting of Terms and Conditions and Contracts, Contract Review

In the area of drafting terms and conditions and contracts and of contract review, revisions, follow-up questions and adjustments are possible for up to 14 days after Recht 24/7 has prepared the contract. Later or further revisions can be commissioned additionally. Revisions in the context of contract negotiations and/or participation in contract negotiations are not included in the scope of services, but can be commissioned as an additional engagement.

3. Follow-up Questions / Initial Consultation

In exceptional cases, we may need further information or documents from you in order to continue working on your case. We use the email address you provided for these follow-up questions. If follow-up questions are necessary, the response time pursuant to Clause 2 begins when the additional information still required is received on our servers. Our legal advice constitutes an online initial consultation intended to give you an initial legal orientation. Due to the limited possibility of establishing the facts and the speed of processing, the initial consultation cannot always replace personal legal advice from a lawyer. We therefore strongly recommend always obtaining personal advice from a lawyer before making legally binding decisions and declarations (particularly in the case of notices of termination, payments or the refusal of a payment). In the area of initial legal consultation, revisions, follow-up questions and adjustments are possible for up to 14 days after the advice provided by Recht 24/7 and to the extent of up to three follow-up questions. Further reviews and advice can be commissioned as an additional engagement.

4. Declining Cases

Occasionally, very complex cases in particular are not suitable for an initial legal consultation. If a case cannot be handled competently by way of an initial consultation, Recht 24-7 reserves the right to decline to accept the case. In this event, you will of course not incur any costs. You will be notified that the case has been declined within the response times set out in Clause 2. Otherwise, the agreed flat fees apply. If, in an individual case, a greater workload is required due to multiple and/or extensive written submissions by the opposing party, Recht 24/7 may offer an additional fee for further handling of the engagement.

5. Tax Law, Social Security Law, Social Law, Insolvency Law, Pension Law, Foreign Legal Systems

Unless expressly agreed otherwise, Recht 24-7 does not owe the client any advice with regard to tax law questions or consequences, or with regard to questions of social security law, social law, insolvency law, pension law or the law on lawyers' liability. Nor does Recht 24-7 owe tax advice merely because Recht 24-7 points out tax law issues that need to be clarified or that exist. Recht 24-7 does not owe any advice with regard to foreign national legal systems. However, if questions concerning foreign national legal systems arise in connection with handling an engagement, Recht 24-7 is obliged to point this out and to recommend that the client engage a lawyer experienced in that foreign legal system.

6. Fees

The fees owed to Recht 24-7 are determined by the provisions of the German Lawyers' Remuneration Act (Rechtsanwaltsvergütungsgesetz, RVG), unless the parties conclude a separate fee agreement deviating from it. Such an agreement is usually concluded in the online ordering process.

7. Multiple Clients

Multiple clients are jointly and severally liable for all claims of Recht 24-7 arising from and in connection with this agreement. Recht 24-7 may rely solely on the information and instructions of any one of several clients unless a client objects to this in writing vis-à-vis Recht 24-7; in this case, Recht 24-7 may terminate the engagement.

8. Professional Liability Insurance

Recht 24-7 has taken out professional liability insurance with HDI Versicherungs-Aktiengesellschaft to cover the liability risks for financial losses (liability claims) arising from its professional activities. The insurer's payments for all losses caused within one insurance year, as well as the number of insured events per insurance year in which an insured sum of EUR 1 million can be claimed, are limited. Territorially, insurance coverage applies to advising on and dealing with European law, insofar as this takes place through law offices or offices established or maintained in the Federal Republic of Germany. Restrictions apply to liability claims arising from activities through law offices or offices established or maintained outside the Federal Republic of Germany, from activities in connection with advising on and dealing with non-European law, and from activities before non-European courts.

9. Choice of Law, Place of Jurisdiction

This agreement is governed by the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany. For clients who are merchants (Kaufleute), the following applies: the exclusive place of jurisdiction for both parties is Munich.

10. Professional Rules, Conflicts of Interest, Out-of-Court Dispute Resolution

The following professional regulations apply: Federal Lawyers' Act (Bundesrechtsanwaltsordnung, BRAO), Rules of Professional Practice (Berufsordnung, BORA), Specialist Lawyers' Regulations (Fachanwaltsordnung, FAO), Lawyers' Remuneration Act (Rechtsanwaltsvergütungsgesetz, RVG). The professional regulations can be accessed in German and English on the website of the German Federal Bar (Bundesrechtsanwaltskammer) (www.brak.de) under the heading “Berufsrecht” (professional law). Lawyers are prohibited by professional regulations from representing conflicting interests (Section 43a (4) BRAO). Before an engagement is accepted, it is therefore checked whether a conflict of interest exists. For disputes between clients and Recht 24-7, out-of-court dispute resolution is available upon application at the Rechtsanwaltskammer für den Oberlandesgerichtsbezirk München (Bar Association for the Higher Regional Court District of Munich) Tal 33, 80331 München, Germany Email: info@rak-muenchen.de Website: https://rak-muenchen.de/ In such proceedings, the lawyer concerned must appear if requested to do so by the board of the bar association. Independently of this, the following body has been established at the German Federal Bar (Bundesrechtsanwaltskammer) for the resolution of disputes between members of bar associations and their clients: Schlichtungsstelle der Rechtsanwaltschaft (Conciliation Body of the Legal Profession) Rauchstr. 26, 10787 Berlin, Germany Email: schlichtungsstelle@s-d-r.org Website: http://www.s-d-r.org/ This conciliation body is a consumer conciliation body under the German Consumer Dispute Resolution Act (Verbraucherstreitbeilegungsgesetz). Recht 24-7 is neither obliged nor willing to participate in dispute resolution proceedings before this conciliation body or any other consumer conciliation body within the meaning of the Consumer Dispute Resolution Act.

11. Access to Conversations in AI-Supported Applications

For the efficient handling of the engagement, the lawyer entrusted with the matter may access the conversations conducted within the AI-supported applications of RECHT 24/7. This includes all information entered by the client as well as the content generated by the AI, insofar as it is relevant to handling the engagement. Access takes place exclusively for the purpose of carrying out the engagement and is subject to the professional duties of confidentiality and the applicable data protection provisions.