for Advertisements in Newspapers and Magazines in Commercial Business Transactions
- “Advertising Order” or “Order”
An “advertising order” or “order,” as defined by these General Terms and Conditions, is the contract for the publication of one or more advertisements by an advertiser or other inserter in a printed medium for the purpose of dissemination. - Order Execution Period
In cases of doubt, advertising orders must be executed within one year of the contract’s conclusion. In the absence of any other agreement, any changes to advertisement prices shall immediately apply to ongoing orders. - Discounts in the Price List
The discounts specified in the advertisement price list shall only be granted for advertisements by an advertiser that appear in a printed medium within one year. This period begins with the appearance of the first advertisement. - Retroactive Discount Claim
The advertiser shall have a retroactive right to the discount corresponding to the actual number of advertisements placed within the one-year period, provided that the order was concluded at the beginning of the period and was initially eligible for a discount according to the price list. - Adjustment for Unfulfilled Orders
If an order is not fulfilled due to circumstances for which the publisher is not responsible, the client shall, without prejudice to any further legal obligations, reimburse the publisher the difference between the discount granted and the discount corresponding to the actual uptake. No reimbursement shall be made if the non-fulfillment is due to force majeure within the publisher’s area of risk. - Placement in Specific Issues, Editions, or Locations
No guarantee is provided for the placement of advertisements in specific issues, editions, or at certain locations within the printed medium, unless the client has expressly made the validity of the order contingent upon such placement. In that case, the order must be received by the publisher in time so that the client can be informed, prior to the advertising deadline, if the order cannot be executed in this manner. If the client has reserved a right of withdrawal, its exercise requires a notice period of at least eight weeks before the publication month of the respective issue. In the case of calendars, a right of withdrawal is not possible. - Right to Reject Orders
The publisher reserves the right to reject advertising and supplement orders—including individual call-offs as part of an overall agreement—based on content, origin, or technical form, according to uniform, objectively justified principles. This also applies to orders placed at branch office counters, at acceptance points, or through representatives. Supplement orders shall only be binding for the publisher after a sample of the supplement has been submitted and approved. Supplements that, by their format or design, give the reader the impression of being an integral part of the newspaper or magazine or that contain third-party advertisements will not be accepted. The rejection of an order will be communicated to the client immediately. - Responsibility for Submission Materials
The client is responsible for the timely delivery of the advertisement text and for providing flawless print materials or supplements. Should the provided print materials be evidently unsuitable or damaged, the publisher will immediately request replacements. For advertisements placed by telephone or changes initiated by telephone—as well as for errors resulting from unclear dictation—the publisher assumes no liability for the accuracy of the reproduced content. The publisher guarantees the customary print quality for the given title, within the limitations imposed by the provided print materials. - Defects in the Advertisement Impression
If the printed advertisement is wholly or partially illegible, incorrect, or incomplete, and the publisher is responsible for such defects, the client shall be entitled to a reduction in payment or a replacement advertisement if the defects significantly impair the intended purpose of the advertisement. Missing or incorrectly printed control information shall not give rise to any claim by the client unless otherwise agreed. Any further claims by the client—especially claims for damages due to positive breach of obligation, fault at the time of contract conclusion, gross negligence, or tort—are excluded. Claims for damages due to impossibility or delay shall be limited to the replacement of the foreseeable damage and to the fee payable for the respective advertisement or supplement. Claims based on the absence of guaranteed characteristics shall be limited to the compensation of the performance interest. All complaints must be raised by the client with the publisher within four weeks of the invoice and proof being sent. - Forwarding of Incoming Mail
Incoming requests, communications, cards, and address printouts intended for the client will be forwarded by the publisher as normal postal mail unless the publisher holds a right of retention due to the client being in default of payment. In the event that a shipment is lost, the client shall not be entitled to a price reduction. - Proof Copies
Proof copies will only be provided upon the client’s explicit request. The client is responsible for verifying the accuracy of any returned proof copies. If the client fails to return the provided proof copy within the specified deadline, the proof shall be deemed approved for printing. - Invoicing and Payment Terms
If the client does not make an advance payment, the invoice along with proof shall be issued no later than the fifth day of the month following the publication of the advertisement. The invoice must be paid within the period specified in the price list, commencing from the receipt of the invoice, unless a shorter payment period or advance payment has been agreed in an individual case. Any discounts for early payment will be granted according to the price list. Annual invoices for reproductions in the “distribution channels” section shall become due at the latest with the publication in the first issue of the billing period. - Late Payment and Default
In the event of late payment, default interest will accrue in accordance with legal provisions, as well as any further delay damages, if applicable. Agreed volume discounts shall lapse if the client does not pay the invoice on time. In the event of late payment, the publisher may suspend further execution of the current order until payment is received and may require advance payment for the remaining advertisements. In the event of insolvency or a composition/moratorium arrangement, any discounts shall retroactively be forfeited for the calendar year. - Delivery of Advertisement Excerpts
Upon request, the publisher will provide an excerpt of the advertisement along with the invoice. If the type and scope of the advertisement order justify it, up to two complete issue numbers will be supplied. If an issue can no longer be obtained, it will be replaced by a legally binding confirmation of placement from the publisher. - Costs for Changes and Additional Materials
The client shall bear the costs for any significant changes to the originally agreed execution, as well as for the creation and delivery of ordered templates and drawings. - Circulation Decline and Price Reduction
A drop in circulation will give rise to a claim for a price reduction in an agreement covering several advertisements only if a specific circulation level was expressly stated in the price list or otherwise and this level falls by more than 20%. Furthermore, any warranty or damage claims are excluded if the publisher has informed the client in time—upon a drop in circulation of 10% or more—so that the client may withdraw from the contract before the advertisement appears. - Return of Print Materials
Print materials will only be returned to the client upon special request. The obligation to retain these materials ends three months after the order’s completion. The risk of damage during transportation of any print materials returned by the publisher to the client or to third parties shall be borne by the recipient. - Place of Performance and Jurisdiction
The place of performance and the exclusive jurisdiction for both parties shall be the registered office of the publisher. The contractual relationship is governed by German law.
For Advertising in Online Media
- Preliminary Note:
The following General Terms and Conditions (hereinafter “GTC”) apply to contracts concerning the placement of advertising materials and listings in electronic information and communication services, in particular the Internet (hereinafter briefly “Online Media”), with the companies B&L MedienGesellschaft mbH & Co. KG and B&L NewMedia GmbH (both hereinafter referred to as the “Publisher”). No other contractual documents shall apply—even if certain provisions are not contained in these GTC.For advertising and listing orders that relate both to online media and to magazines, the GTC of the medium in which the respective advertising or listing order is to be executed shall apply.
- Advertising/Listing Order:
An “advertising order” within the meaning of these GTC is the contract for the placement of one or more advertising materials (e.g., internet banners) in Online Media for the purpose of dissemination. A “listing order” within the meaning of these GTC is the contract for the placement of a listing or several listings (e.g., company link or advertorial) in Online Media for the purpose of dissemination. - Advertising Materials:
An advertising material within the meaning of these GTC may, for example, consist of one or more of the following elements:
– A picture and/or text, audio sequences and/or moving images (e.g., banner),
– A sensitive area that, when clicked, connects via an online address specified by the client to additional data located within the client’s domain (e.g., link).
Advertising materials that are not recognizable as such due to their design shall be clearly marked as advertising. - Listings:
A listing within the meaning of these GTC may, for example, consist of one or more of the following elements:
– An entry in a directory in the form of a data record,
– Detailed information provided by the client as an attachment to the respective data record,
– A link to an electronic information and communication service of the client,
– The establishment of an email connection to the client. - Conclusion of the Contract:
Subject to any conflicting individual agreements, the contract shall generally be concluded by written or email confirmation of the order. Even in the case of verbal or telephone confirmations, the Publisher’s GTC shall always apply. In cases where advertising orders are placed by advertising agencies, the contract shall, in the event of any doubt, be deemed to be concluded with the advertising agency. The Publisher is generally entitled to request proof of mandate from the advertising agencies. - Execution Period:
Advertising and listing orders must, in cases of doubt, be executed within one year from the conclusion of the contract. In the absence of any other agreements, in the event of price changes the new conditions shall immediately apply to ongoing orders. - Rebate/Discount Adjustment:
If an order is not fulfilled due to circumstances for which the Publisher is not responsible, the client shall, without prejudice to any further legal obligations, reimburse the Publisher the difference between the discount granted and the discount corresponding to the actual execution. No reimbursement shall be made if the non-fulfillment is attributable to force majeure within the Publisher’s area of risk. - Right to Refuse:
The Publisher reserves the right to reject or block advertising orders—including individual call-offs within an overall agreement—if their content violates legal or regulatory requirements, has been objected to in a complaint procedure by the German Advertising Council, or if their publication is unreasonable due to the content, origin, or technical form according to uniform, objectively justified principles of the Publisher.The Publisher is also entitled to withdraw an already published advertising material or listing if the client subsequently makes content changes to the advertising material or if the data referred to by a link is later altered, thereby fulfilling the conditions specified in paragraph 1.
This applies also to orders placed at branch office counters, at acceptance points, or via representatives. The rejection of an order shall be communicated to the client immediately.
- Data Delivery:
The client is obligated to supply proper advertising materials/listings that conform to the Publisher’s format or technical specifications in a timely manner before the commencement of placement. The Publisher is generally not obliged to retain advertising materials or listings beyond the time of their last dissemination. The costs incurred by the Publisher for changes to the advertising material/listing requested by the client shall be borne by the client. - Grant of Rights:
The client represents and warrants that it holds all rights necessary for the placement of the advertising material/listing and indemnifies the Publisher in connection with the order against any claims by third parties arising from violations of legal provisions. The Publisher shall be indemnified for the costs of any necessary legal defense. The client is obligated to support the Publisher in good faith with information and documents for legal defense against third parties. The client transfers to the Publisher all copyright, related rights, and any other rights necessary for the use of the advertising in Online Media—in particular, the rights to reproduce, distribute, transmit, broadcast, extract from a database, and retrieve—in the time period and to the extent necessary for the execution of the order. All these rights are transferred without territorial limitation and authorize the placement of the advertising by means of all known technical methods as well as all known forms of Online Media. - Publisher’s Warranty:
The Publisher warrants that the advertising material/listing will be reproduced in the best possible quality in accordance with the customary technical standards. However, the client acknowledges that, given the state of the art, it is not possible to create a program completely free of errors. This warranty does not apply to minor errors. A minor error in the reproduction of the advertising materials/listings shall be considered to exist if it is caused by
– computer failure due to system malfunction,
– the use of unsuitable display software (e.g., browser),
– the use of unsuitable hardware,
– disruptions in the communication networks of other operators,
– incomplete and/or outdated offerings on so-called proxies (caching), or
– failure of the ad server that lasts no longer than 24 hours (whether continuous or cumulative) within 30 days after the commencement of the contractually agreed placement.
In the event of an ad server failure over a significant period of time (more than 10 percent of the contractually agreed placement period) in the context of a time-bound fixed booking, the client’s payment obligation shall lapse for the duration of the failure. No further claims shall exist.In the event of insufficient reproduction quality of the advertising material/listing, the client is entitled to a reduction in payment or a flawless replacement advertisement—but only to the extent that the purpose of the advertising material is impaired. In the event that a replacement advertisement fails or is unreasonable, the client shall be entitled to a reduction in payment or cancellation of the order. If any defects in the advertising/listing materials are not apparent, the client shall have no claims in the event of insufficient publication. This also applies to errors in repeated advertising placements if the error was not pointed out before the publication of the subsequent placement.
- Performance Disruptions:
If the execution of the order fails due to reasons for which the Publisher is not responsible (e.g., due to software issues or other technical reasons), such as computer failure, force majeure, strikes, statutory provisions, disruptions in the area of responsibility of third parties (e.g., other providers), network operators, or service providers, or for comparable reasons, the execution of the order shall be made up. The Publisher’s claim for remuneration shall remain in effect, provided that the make-up is carried out within a reasonable and acceptable period for the client after the disruption has been remedied. - Liability:
Claims for damages arising from a positive breach of obligation, fault at the time of contract conclusion, or tort shall exist only in cases of intent or gross negligence on the part of the Publisher, its representatives, or agents. This does not apply to liability for assured properties and for the breach of essential contractual obligations; in the latter case, liability is limited to the foreseeable damage. Claims for damages resulting from impossibility of performance and delay shall, in cases of slight negligence, be limited to the replacement of foreseeable damage.In the case of gross negligence by an ordinary agent, liability towards entrepreneurs shall be limited to the extent of foreseeable damage. This limitation does not apply to breaches of essential contractual obligations.
- Price List:
The price list published on the Internet or in other media at the time of order placement shall apply. For companies, changes remain reserved. Discounts shall be determined according to the price list then in effect. Advertising agencies/intermediaries are obliged to adhere to the Publisher’s price lists in their proposals, contracts, and invoices. - Late Payment:
In the event of payment default, default interest shall accrue in accordance with legal provisions as well as any further delay damages, if applicable. Promised discounts shall lapse if the client fails to pay the invoice on time. The Publisher may, in the event of payment default, suspend the further execution of the ongoing order until payment is received and may require advance payment for the remaining placements. In the event of insolvency or settlement/moratorium, any discounts shall be retroactively forfeited for the calendar year. - Termination:
Cancellations of advertising/listing orders must be made in writing or by email. - Data Protection:
The advertising/listing order shall be processed in compliance with the applicable data protection regulations. - Place of Performance/Jurisdiction:
The place of performance and the exclusive jurisdiction for both parties shall be the registered office of the Publisher. The contractual relationship is governed by German law.
