General Terms and Conditions (GTC)

I General

1.1 The following Terms and Conditions (GTC) shall apply to all assignments and contracts between Amon Aleme Selassie (the “Photographer”) and the client for the production of images and other works and the granting of rights of use in respect thereof

1.2 The Client's Terms and Conditions shall not be applicable.

1.3 Photographs, images and other graphic works produced by the Photographer, both moving and still, regardless of the technical form or medium in which they were created or are available, will henceforth be referred to as works.

II Production Assignments

Production Assignments involve the production works by the Photographer on behalf of the Client.

2.1 The Photographer reserves all rights of use and utilization of cost estimates, drawings, graphics, plans and other documents prepared by him. They may not be made accessible to third parties. If the assignment is not granted, they must be returned to the Photographer without delay.

The Photographer shall only be required to give notice of cost increases if the total costs originally estimated are expected to be exceeded by more than 15 %.

2.2 The Client's briefing shall form the basis for the works and calculations to be produced by the Photographer. The Client shall provide the Photographer with the briefing in full, conclusively and in writing (e.g. as written minutes of a meeting, by email, etc.). In the event that the Client does not provide the Photographer with a written briefing, the pre-production meeting (PPM), the previous email correspondence between the Client and the Photographer, as well as the memorial protocols of the PPM and telephone notes prepared by the Photographer shall form the basis for the production of the works.

2.3 If the Client is required to supply information, items (e.g. products, goods, etc.), approvals, etc. necessary for the production of the works or assumes other tasks relevant to the production of the works itself (e.g. booking of models, locations or catering, etc.), the Client shall ensure that the delivery, provision, access to locations, arrival of models, etc. takes place in time so that the production of the works can commence punctually on the agreed date. As soon as the Client becomes aware that timely delivery, provision, access to locations, arrival of models, etc. is not possible, he shall notify the Photographer immediately. If this results in a delay in the production of the work, and if the cause of this delay lies within the Client's sphere of influence, the Client shall bear the costs caused by the delay.

2.4 Unless otherwise agreed in an individual contract, the Client shall be required to obtain the consent of the persons depicted and the holders of the rights in accordance with the German Art Copyright Act (KUG), the German and European Data Protection Regulations and any other statutory provisions required for the production and use of the images in case of photographs of persons and objects in which third-party copyrights, property rights or other third-party rights exist. In this case, the Client shall indemnify the Photographer against any claims for compensation by third parties resulting from a breach of this obligation.

This also applies if the Photographer himself is required to select the persons or objects to be photographed, provided that he informs the Client in due time about the selection made.

III Acceptance, Deficiencies

3.1 When producing his works, the Photographer has artistic freedom of design, although the Client's binding specifications from the briefing, PPM and/or verbal or telephone instructions must be observed. Complaints and/or notices of deficiencies with regard to the artistic freedom exercised by the Photographer are irrelevant. Subsequent change requests by the Client require a separate agreement and shall be compensated separately. If the Client has not given the Photographer any express instructions regarding the design of the works, the Photographer shall be free in the image conception as well as the artistic-technical design.

3.2 If the Client or a person authorized by him is present during the production of the works, the Client must inspect the works while still on set/at the shoot and immediately notify the Photographer of any deficiencies so that the Photographer can rectify the defect and/or produce new works. If no authorized person is present, the works will be sent to Client for inspection. If the notification of deficiencies is not received within 14 days upon Client’s receipt, the works shall be deemed to have been approved and accepted.

3.3 The Photographer shall select the works to be submitted to the Client for acceptance upon completion of the creation. Rights of use shall be granted only under the condition of full payment of all outstanding monies under the assignment and only with regard to those works which the Client has accepted as being in accordance with the contract.

IV Payment, Extra Charges, Invoicing

4.1 For the production of the works, a fee is agreed as an hourly rate, a daily rate or a flat rate, as applicable. This fee does not include additional costs (travel expenses, model fees, expenses, props, laboratory and material costs, studio rent, data handling costs, etc.) which shall be charged separately. The fee for the right of use shall be based on the current edition of the picture fee overview of the Mittelstandsgemeinschaft Foto-Marketing (MFM) .

The payment is due upon delivery of the works. In case of partial deliveries, the corresponding partial payment is due upon delivery of each part. If the execution of an order extends over a longer period of time, the Photographer may demand partial payments in accordance with the amount of work performed. Additional costs shall be compensated as soon as they have been incurred by the Photographer.

4.2 Additional services and work beyond the contractually agreed scope shall be compensated separately on a time spent basis.

4.3 The Photographer is entitled to issue his invoice in electronic form and to send it to the Client (§ 14 UStG). The Client agrees to electronic invoicing and electronic invoice delivery.

V Copyright and Rights of Use

5.1 The Photographer owns all copyright in the works produced. When utilizing the works, the Photographer shall be named as the author of the works. Any exception requires the Photographer’s prior consent in writing.

5.2 Any right of use granted by the Photographer does not include ownership in the works, which shall remain with the Photographer. Unless expressly agreed otherwise and in writing, Client shall be granted a simple right of use for the purpose agreed under the contract. Any additional usage must be agreed in writing and shall be charged separately. Provisional viewing copies of non-final versions are not included in the rights of use.

5.3 The use of the works is only permitted in the original version. Any change or transformation and any change in the image reproduction requires the prior written consent of the Photographer.

5.4 Regardless of the transferred rights of use, the Photographer remains entitled to use the works in the context of self-promotion. This includes websites and social media platforms as well as printed photo books of collected works. Public reproduction of recognizable persons affords their consent.

VI Liability and Compensation

6.1 The Photographer shall only be liable for damage caused by himself or his vicarious agents intentionally or through gross negligence. Excluded from this are damages arising from the breach of a contractual obligation that is essential for achieving the purpose of the contract (cardinal obligation), as well as damages arising from injury to life, limb or health, for which the Photographer is also liable in the case of slight negligence.

6.2 The Photographer assumes no liability for the type of use of his works. In particular, he is not liable for the admissibility of their use under applicable competition and trademark laws.

6.3 If the Photographer upon prior authorization concludes a contract with third parties on behalf and for the account of the Client, the Photographer shall not be liable for the services and work results of the persons and companies commissioned.

6.4 The sending and return of works, templates and other data carriers shall be at the expense and risk of the Client. The Client may determine how and by whom the shipment is to be made.

6.5 If the Photographer is not named in the event of publication of a picture (4.1), the Client shall pay a contractual penalty amounting to 100% of the agreed fee or, in the absence of an agreement, of the customary usage fee, but at least € 200 per picture and individual case. The Photographer also reserves the right to assert a further claim for damages in this respect.

6.6 In the event of unauthorized use, unauthorized exceeding of rights of use, unauthorized alteration or redesign or unauthorized transfer of a work to third parties by the Client, the Photographer shall be entitled to demand a contractual penalty in the amount of 200% of the agreed fee for use or - in the absence of an agreement - of the usual fee for use, but at least € 500 per work and individual case. The assertion of a further claim for damages remains unaffected.

6.7 The Client's claims arising from a breach of duty by the Photographer or his vicarious agents shall become statute-barred one year after the statutory commencement of the limitation period. Excluded from this are claims for damages based on an intentional or grossly negligent breach of duty by the Photographer or his vicarious agents and claims for damages due to injury to life, limb or health, even if they are based on a slightly negligent breach of duty by the Photographer or his vicarious agents; the statutory limitation periods shall apply to these claims for damages.

VII Format and Archiving

7.1 The Photographer shall hand over to the Client the selected works as well as the associated data, files and data carriers (photographic material) after completion of the order. The Photographer is not obliged to hand over analog negatives or digital RAW files. If not specified in the contract, processed TIFF or JPEG files will be delivered.

7.2 The Photographer is not obliged to store analogue negatives or digital data of the works produced after these have been accepted by the Client and made available to the Client in the manner specified in the contract. If storage or retention is required, this must be explicitly agreed and compensated for separately.

7.3 The works may only be digitally archived for the Client's own purposes and only for the duration of the right of use. The storage of the recordings in online databases or other digital archives accessible to third parties requires a separate agreement between the Photographer and the Client.

7.4 The EXIF, IPTC and/or XMP data contained in the files of the works may neither be changed nor removed by the Client. The Client shall ensure by suitable technical means that this data is preserved during any data transmission, during any transfer of the image data to other data carriers, during any reproduction on a screen as well as during any public reproduction.

7.5 The transfer of digital recordings by means of remote data transmission or on data carriers is only permitted insofar as the exercise of the rights of use granted requires this form of reproduction and distribution.

VIII Data Protection

8.1 The Client's data communicated to the Photographer shall be stored electronically insofar as this is necessary for the proper processing of the business relationship. The Photographer undertakes to treat all information disclosed to him/her in the course of the order as confidential.

8.2 If Client’s personal data is processed on the basis of legitimate interests pursuant to Art. 6 (1) p. 1 lit. f DSGVO, he has the right to object to the processing of such personal data pursuant to Art. 21 DSGVO, provided that there are grounds for doing so that arise from the particular situation or the objection is directed against direct advertising. In the latter case, Client has a general right of objection, which is implemented without specifying a particular situation.

IX Taxes

In addition to the fees, charges and costs to be paid by the Client, VAT shall be added at the respective statutory rate.

X Final Clauses

The laws of the Federal Republic of Germany shall apply.

If any provision of these GTC shall be entirely or partly invalid or unenforceable, this shall not affect the validity and enforceability of all other provisions. An invalid or unenforceable provision shall be regarded as replaced by such a valid and enforceable provision that as closely as possible reflects the economic purpose that the parties hereto had pursued with the invalid or unenforceable provision.