General Terms and Conditions for the offers provided by the QS-Akademie

I. Scope

These General Terms and Conditions are applicable to the seminars, congresses, workshops and other on-site events (hereinafter collectively referred to as "events") as well as to webinars and e-learning modules (hereinafter collectively referred to as "online courses") organised and conducted by QS Qualität und Sicherheit GmbH in the QS-Akademie (QS Academy) division. They govern the contractual relationship between the participant or the company that enrols a participant to attend the event/online course (hereinafter jointly referred to as "participant") and QS Qualität und Sicherheit GmbH as the proprietor of the QS-Akademie (hereinafter also referred to as "QS"). Any deviating General Terms and Conditions on the part of the participant are not valid.

II. Booking

The events/online courses that have been published by QS on its website www.q-s-akademie.de or in any other form (event catalogue, advertisements, flyers, bro-chures) shall not constitute binding offers but rather serve as an invitation to a pro-spective participant to submit a request for participation which can be accepted by QS. There is no legal entitlement regarding the participation in events/online courses of the QS-Akademie.
Bookings for an event/an online course must be submitted via the QS-Akademie website www.q-s-akademie.de. Once the online form has been fully completed, the prospective participant submits an offer to conclude an agreement for the participa-tion in an event/online course offered by the QS-Akademie by clicking on the button "Book now (subject to cost)". The submission of the offer represents the prospective participant’s acceptance of these General Terms and Conditions, which are published at www.q-s-akademie.de in their latest version. Upon acceptance of the offer by QS, they will be deemed an integral part of the agreement regarding participation in an event/an online course. Following the submission of the fee-based booking, the pro-spective participant receives a message by e-mail, which either confirms the booking immediately or confirms the receipt of the booking request. In any case, the partici-pation agreement for an event/an online course shall only be deemed concluded up-on written confirmation of the booking by QS (booking confirmation). QS is entitled to subject the acceptance of the offer under the provision that the participation fee is paid in full within a defined period of time; in this case the agreement shall only be concluded upon payment of the requested participation fee within the specified peri-od of time. The booking confirmation will be sent by e-mail to the e-mail address provided by the prospective participant with his registration. The communication be-tween QS, the prospective participant and the participant is generally conducted by e-mail.
The participant receives per e-mail (i) information concerning the venue, the time of the event and the agreed services, (ii) an invoice for the participation fee and in case of an online course (iii) personalised access data for this online course. The partici-pant of an online course shall not be permitted to grant or provide third parties ac-cess to the respective online course. The participant is responsible for ensuring that the access data is kept confidential, carefully stored and protected against unauthor-ised access, misuse and loss.
In the case of events/online courses for which the number of participants is limited, bookings will be considered in the order in which they are received.
If QS has secured a room contingent for the participants of an event/course at the conference hotel or another location, the participants can book their rooms directly at the hotel or accommodation under reference to the respective event/course. A contractual relationship in this respect shall only be concluded between the hotel/accommodation and the participant. There is no entitlement to the availability of accommodation from the room contingent.

III. Participation fee

The participation fee published on www.q-s-akademie.de or in any other manner and communicated to the participant with the booking confirmation is quoted per participant and event date/online course plus the statutory value-added tax at its respective statutory rate. The fee includes the services published and described in the booking confirmation. Unless otherwise agreed in the booking confirmation, travel expenses, costs for overnight stays (lodging) and other services (parking fees, copying costs, etc.) are not included in the participation fee. These costs shall be borne by the participant.
The participation fee is to be paid either immediately by credit card or on account. In the latter case, the participation fee shall be payed in full without deduction within the period stated on the invoice. Payment is deemed to have been received on time if it has been credited to the bank account of QS shown on the invoice within the specified period. If the participation fee is due for payment before the event/online course takes place, QS is entitled to terminate the participation agreement and exclude the participant from participation if the payment has not been effected on time. The right to assert further claims, such as interest on arrears or damages, shall remain unaffected to QS in such cases.

IV. Execution

Content, scope of services and execution of the event/online course are determined after publication and written confirmation by QS.
The event/online course will be carefully prepared based on the current state of knowledge and conducted by experienced instructors. If the agreed services of the event/online course include documentation (script, lecture notes, handouts, etc.), it is prepared with care and according to the latest knowledge. Documentation may be handed over to the participant in written or electronic form at the discretion of QS. If it is not possible to provide documentation on site, it shall be sent to the participants electronically or in another form as soon as possible following the event/online course. Non-availability of the documents during the event/the online course does not constitute a reason for the entitlement of a reduction in price.
Opinions expressed by instructors exclusively reflect the opinion of the instructor.
QS shall reserve the right to replace announced instructors by other, equally qualified instructors and to amend the course of the event/online course or to replace, redesign or omit single lectures of an event/online course as far as this has no influence on the overall character of the event/online course. These amendments shall not entitle the participant to withdraw from the participation agreement or to reduce the agreed participation fee.
Prospective participants will be informed of the technical participation requirements in the publications for the online courses prior to booking. Participants will be reminded of the technical requirements again when they receive their access data for the online course. Unless QS points out any other requirements, participation in an online course of the QS-Akademie requires fast internet access, an updated version of an internet browser, an updated operating system version and an updated flash player. The participant is responsible for ensuring that these requirements are in place. To enable access, the internet browser must accept cookies. The participant is entitled to make use of the online course for the duration published on www.q-s-akademie.de or otherwise and communicated to the participant with the booking confirmation. The period of use begins on the day on which the participant receives the personalised access data.
Upon conclusion of the event/online course, the participant will receive a confirmation of participation which will be made available for download in the protected area of the QS-Akademie ("My Academy"). The data in the confirmation of participation is based on the information provided by the participant in the booking process. QS is entitled to retain the confirmation of participation until the participation fee has been fully paid.

V. Cancellation or postponement of an event/an online course by QS

QS reserves the right to cancel or postpone an event/an online course if, in the opinion of QS, this is deemed necessary for organisational reasons (e.g. illness of the instructor, non-availability of the venue) or due to official orders, or if the minimum number of participants determined by the QS-Akademie for the event is not reached or if the event cannot take place at the agreed time for other reasons. In these cases, the participant shall have no claim to the execution of the event/the online course.
QS will inform the participant immediately in the event of a cancellation. Participation fees for which payment has already been effected are fully refunded to the participant by QS. This shall also apply if the participant is unable to attend the alternative date in the event of a postponement of the event/online course. Any further claims, especially for compensation of travel and accommodation costs as well as costs of loss of working hours, are excluded in the event of cancellation or postponement of an event/online course.

VI. Withdrawal of the participant

The participant is entitled to withdraw from participation in an event. The participant may withdraw free of charge up to 30 days prior to the start of the event. If the participant withdraws after this period, the participant shall be obliged to pay 50% of the participation fee for withdrawal up to 15 days prior to the start of the event. In these cases, QS will refund a participation fee already paid completely or 50%. Should the participant withdraw from the agreement within 14 days prior to the start of the event or should he/she fail to appear without prior withdrawal, the participant shall continue to be obliged to pay the full participation fee. Withdrawal after the start of the event is not possible under any circumstances.

As an alternative to withdrawal, the participant is entitled to nominate a replacing participant if he is prevented from attending. The replacing participant must be announced to QS before the start of the event. QS may only object to the participation of the replacing participant for important reasons concerning the replacing participant. If the participant allows another person to participate in the event, this does not release the participant from his contractual obligations towards QS. If a replacing participant is nominated by the participant and takes part in the event, the participant shall still be contractually liable regarding the participation in the event. In particular, the participant shall retain the obligation to pay the participation fee. There is no claim for repayment of the participation fee.
The participant may withdraw from participation in an online course. In the event of withdrawal, the participant remains obliged to pay the full participation fee. As an alternative to the withdrawal, the participant is entitled to name a replacing participant with prior written consent of QS. If a replacing participant is nominated by the participant and takes part in the event, the participant shall still be contractually liable regarding the participation in the online course. In particular, the participant shall remain obliged to pay the participation fee. There is no claim for repayment of the participation fee.
The declaration of withdrawal from participation in a booked event/online course must be submitted via the protected area of the QS-Akademie. Withdrawal can be performed under "My Academy" in the booking details by clicking the "Cancel" button. The participant will then receive an e-mail message from QS confirming the cancellation and the participation fee still to be paid or retained by QS according to paragraph 1. The date on which the declaration of withdrawal was submitted is decisive for its calculation. In exceptional cases, participants may withdraw from a booking of an event/an online course by e-mail (akademie@q-s.de). Also, in this case, the participant will receive a message confirming the withdrawal and further information on the participation fee still to be paid or retained by QS.

VII. Cancellation

Notwithstanding the rights arising from clauses V. and VI. of these General Terms and Conditions, an ordinary termination of the contract for participation in the event/online course is excluded for both parties.
The right to terminate the agreement for good cause shall remain unaffected. A Good cause, in the understanding of both parties to the agreement, shall be deemed to exist in particular if a participant persistently disrupts the event, if a participant fails to pay on time in response to a reminder or if the technology used by the participant disrupts the functionality and security of an online course. If the reasons for the termination for good cause can be attributed to the participant, there shall be no entitlement to a refund of the participation fee that has already been paid.

VIII. Liability

The publications on www.q-s-akademie.de and all other publications of the QS-Akademie are prepared with the utmost degree of care. Notwithstanding this, QS shall not assume any liability for the correctness, completeness and topicality of the publications.
The events/online courses of the QS-Akademie have been prepared and implemented with great care and diligence in cooperation with experienced instructors. However, the QS-Akademie accepts no liability for the topicality, correctness and completeness of the contents of the events/online courses and the documentation. In particular, it is not liable for a certain quality of the event/online course
QS and the participant are mutually contractually liable regarding the participation in an event/online course for intent and gross negligence in accordance with the applicable legal regulations. The limitation of liability does not apply to injury of body, life or health. In the event of simple negligence, the parties to the agreement shall only be liable if an essential contractual obligation is violated, the fulfilment of which makes the proper execution of the agreement possible in the first place and on the observance of which the contractual partner regularly relies and may rely ("cardinal obligation").

IX. Copyright and ancillary copyrights

The copyright, the right of use, further development and exploitation of the documentation created by QS or the instructors (script, lecture notes, handouts, etc.) and of the contents of events and online courses lies with QS. Rights of third parties to the copyrighted works remain unaffected.
QS provides documentation and other content to the participant exclusively for the designated use. This right of use is not transferable. The right of use entitles the participant to the use and one-time print out of the documentation as well as to access the online courses, retrieve documents, to read access as well as to download and store documents on the participant's terminal. The creation of copies and downloads is permitted for personal, private and non-commercial use only.
The participant is permitted to copy - also in extracts -, to pass on to third parties free of charge or against payment or to use the event/online course material and the documentation in any other way only with the explicit written consent of QS. The event/online-course documents, the documentation and all other contents of the QS-Akademie have to be identified as such when used. Upon request, the participant shall undertake to provide QS with information about the type and scope of use if there are justified indications that there has been a usage that is in conflict with this agreement.
The participant is not permitted to change the event/online course documents, the documentation and all other contents of the QS-Akademie and to use changed versions, to make them publicly accessible, especially on the internet or in other networks. The presentation of www.q-s-akademie.de in foreign frames is only permitted with the written consent of QS.
The word and picture mark of the QS-Akademie may not be used (e.g. advertising on the homepage) without the written consent of QS, with the exception of the confirmation of participation issued by the QS-Akademie.

X. Data protection

QS collects, stores and processes personal data of interested parties, participants and companies whose employees participate in events/online courses of the QS-Akademie. QS will only collect, store and process this data in strict compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Collection, storage and processing of personal data will only take place to the extent necessary for the execution and handling of the contractual relationship with the customer and as long as QS is legally obliged to retain this data. For the preparation and execution of events/online courses, QS can forward this data to service providers involved by QS. The data will not be passed on to unauthorised third parties.
QS may use photos and film recordings of events for journalistic work in its print and online media as well as all other information media without any time and space restrictions if the participants of the event have given their consent. The declaration of consent can be revoked at any time for the future towards QS.
The data protection statements of the QS-Akademie, which are available at www.q-s-akademie.de and are part of the participation agreement for events/online courses, shall apply.

XI. Final provisions

The agreement concerning the participation in an event/online course is subject exclusively to the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany. The provisions of the UN Sales Convention (CISG) are not applicable.
Place of performance and jurisdiction for all disputes arising from this contractual relationship is, as far as legally permissible, the place of business of QS Qualität und Sicherheit GmbH. QS reserves the right to assert possible claims against the participant at the court which is locally competent at the participant's place of business.
The contract language is German.
Amendments, additions and deviations from these Terms and Conditions of Participation must be made in writing. This applies to any agreement to amend these General Terms and Conditions.
Should individual provisions of these General Terms and Conditions or parts thereof be or become invalid, this shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions and of the agreement concluded under these Terms and Conditions of Participation as a whole. In this case, the parties obligate to agree on other provisions in place of the invalid provisions which come as close as possible to the legal and economic content of the invalid provision.

Bonn, 5 May 2020