Terms of Business

A. Scope

1.    These General Terms and Conditions (hereinafter referred to as “GTCs”) apply to the registration for and use of the image database (located at www.picture-alliance.com) and to the electronic access to and/or use of image material provided by dpa Picture-Alliance GmbH (hereinafter referred to as “Picture-Alliance”), even if these services and image material are provided without provision of or explicit reference to these GTCs.
2.    “Image material” is deemed to be all photographic, graphical and film material and other audiovisual content in the image database (photographs, graphic representations, drawings, diagrams, videos, etc.), including, without limitation, related metadata, any accompanying texts and other accompanying material. Image material may be owned by Picture-Alliance or by any of its content partners, which is specified in the information contained in the accompanying data.
3.    The image database and image material are provided exclusively on the basis of these GTCs. If the Customer) has concluded additional contractual agreements with Picture-Alliance in relation to the use of the image database and/or the image material, the provisions of such contract will prevail and these GTCs will apply in addition. Any terms and conditions of the customer that deviate from these GTCs are not accepted and will not be part of the agreement on the access to and use of image material, even if Picture-Alliance does not expressly object to them.
4.    The offer by Picture-Alliance is not available to consumers or private individuals, but solely to commercial users or entrepreneurs, as defined in § 14 of the German Civil Code (BGB [Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch]), who wish to be granted rights of use for image material through a separate user agreement. The term “commercial user” also includes, without limitation, associations, governmental bodies and other non-governmental bodies.  
5.    The provisions of these GTCs, and of any applicable additional contracts concluded between Customer and Picture-Alliance, shall also apply to such individual users who are acting as employees or agents of the Customer. The Customer shall oblige these users to comply with the provisions of these GTCs and shall be responsible for their conduct [act and omisions] as if it were for Customer's own. Furthermore, each user registering for the image database will be required to accept these GTCs. Customers also include such contractual partners that have registered via a third-party provider (e.g., without limitation, PictureMaxx) which provides access to the Picture-Alliance image database, or if the Customer is in any other contractual relationship with Picture-Alliance, where said relationship is aimed at the use of the image offerings of Picture-Alliance.
 

B. Conclusion of an Image Database Contract, Use of the Image Database

1.    Picture-Alliance operates the image database in which Picture-Alliance’s image material and that of other agencies and content providers may be viewed and researched to select image material for the purpose of (separate) acquisition of rights of use. Use of the image database for any other purposes is expressly prohibited.
2.    The complete access to the image database and, if needed, the retrieval of image material is in the responsibility of the Customer and will require prior registration either by the Customer or by its authorised user. Registration is free of charge and, as such, does not entitle nor oblige the user to acquire usage rights to the image material. There is no right of register for the image database. The acquisition of rights of use for the image material provided in the image database will always requires conclusion of a separate agreement and is generally subject to a fee.   
3.    Registration can be done either via the registration page at https://www.picture-alliance.com/profile/registration (see B.5. below) or via the single sign-on method (SSO) by making use of the dpa-ID service (see B.4. below) which is provided by dpa Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH (“dpa”). If the Customer already has a dpa-ID account, the image database can be accessed without need for a separate registration, but will in each case be subject to these GTCs.
4.    The registration for a dpa-ID can be done at https://sso.dpa-id.de/goto/register. For the use of the dpa-ID separate terms and conditions of dpa apply, the validity of which is not affected by these GTCs and/or any other contractual agreements regarding the use of the image database. When registering for the image database via the dpa-ID, all form fields have to be filled in completely and truthfully. Only if the terms of use for the dpa-ID service are accepted during the registration process the registration process can be completed. Each user must be authorised to provide the provided contact details and, in particular, without limitation, to use the email address as a user name. Data from third parties must not be provided and used, unless the respective user has been expressly authorised to do so, and shall provide evidence of such authorisation upon request. If all fields in the form have been filled in completely and data submitted, an automatically generated email will be sent to the submitted email address, in which the recipient will be requested to confirm his/her registration for the dpa-ID (so-called double opt-in procedure). Submission of a completed registration form constitutes an offer (to dpa) to conclude a user agreement for the dpa-ID SSO service. dpa accepts such offer by sending a confirmation email and/or by issuing and activating such user’s dpa-ID. It is in dpa’s sole discretion to refuse the registration of an interested party and thus the issuing of a dpa-ID, without giving reasons, or to terminate an existing registration at any time. Only after this registration and subject to acceptance of these GTCs the Customer or user may be granted access to the image database and the content retrievable therein. Registration for the dpa-ID as such and the associated allocation of log-in data does not constitute any right to access the image database. Picture-Alliance is entitled to refuse the activation of an interested party or holder of a dpa-ID, thus the access to the image database without giving reasons or to terminate any already activated account .            
5.    When registering directly via the image database and without a dpa-ID, all fields in the registration form provided must be filled in completely and truthfully. The registration process can only be completed if these GTCs are accepted during the registration process. Furthermore, each user must be authorised to provide the contact details and in particular, without limitation, to use the email address as a user name. Data from third parties must not be provided and used, unless the respective user is expressly authorised to do so and will provide evidence of such authorisation upon request. If all fields in the registration form have been filled in completely and data submitted, an automatically generated email will be sent to the submitted email address, in which the recipient will be requested to confirm his/her registration (so-called double opt-in procedure). Submission of a completed registration form constitutes an offer to conclude a user agreement for the image database. Picture-Alliance accepts such offer by sending a confirmation email and/or by granting access to the image database. Picture-Alliance has the right to refuse the registration of an interested party and thus activation, without giving reasons, or to terminate a registration that has already been made.       
6.    With the registration being successfully completed, either via the registration form on the image database or through a dpa-ID, and these GTCs being accepted the image database may be used within the contractually determined framework, and a so-called image database contract comes into being between the contracting parties. The access to the image database and/or the acquisition of a dpa-ID do not replace the necessity of a separate contractual basis to receive or use the image material. The user acknowledges and agrees that additional contractual or general terms and conditions may be applicable to subscription agreements which have already been concluded or are to be agreed between the Customer and dpa or Picture-Alliance.   
7.    The access data for the dpa-ID and/or the image database (i.e. the email address serving as user name and the password) are for personal use only. The Customer respectively user undertakes to keep the access data secret and to not disclose these to third parties or make them available for use by third parties. Even in the event of a misuse, the Customer or user shall be liable for any and all database accesses and other transactions, which can be subject to payment where necessary, and that are made via the dpa-ID or image database account, insofar as the Customer or user is responsible for such misuse. In addition, reference is made to the terms and conditions applicable to the dpa-ID registration, which are available at sso.dpa-id.de/goto/terms. Further, reference is made to the provisions in section J below, ”Data Protection”.    
8.    The registered Customer can view and research content in the image database, in order to use it after separately acquiring the corresponding rights of use. The use of the image database for any other purposes is expressly prohibited. Except with the necessary usage rights, it is in particular, without limitation, prohibited to make copies of the image material (including, without limitation, by means of screenshots) and/or to forward them to third parties and/or make them available to the public, likewise via linking, framing or other techniques.
9.    The contents of the image database will continuously be updated. Picture-Alliance is however not obliged to make updates at a particular frequency and/or to a particular extent. The selection of content offered in the image database is at the free discretion of Picture-Alliance. Picture-Alliance at all times, may in its sole discretion change, remove from and/or add contents to the database.    
10.    Any all activities that are aimed at making the image database inoperable or impeding its use are prohibited. The same applies to automated querying, reading or mirroring of the database, e.g. (without limitation) with tools such as web crawlers or wrappers.
11.    Picture-Alliance does not warrant to Customer cannot claim that the image database and/or the image material will have a particular technical or optical appearance, or that particular software or compatibility with particular web browsers or devices will be available. Usually, the Customer will have access to the image database 24 hours a day on every day of the year; except for unavailability or limited functionality due to necessary system and maintenance times or arising from circumstances beyond the control of Picture-Alliance. Picture-Alliance therefore does not guarantee continuous availability of the image database.
 

C. Duration and Termination of the Image Database Contract

1.    Each image database contract between a Customer and Picture-Alliance is concluded for an indefinite period of time. Unless otherwise contractually agreed, either party may terminate the image database contract at any time, with immediate effect. Any rights of use that have already been acquired before termination will be unaffected by the termination. However, after termination of the image database contract the Customer can no longer use the image database to its full extent and also cannot download any further image material from the image database.   
2.    Even in the event of any longer notice periods that are agreed in individual contracts, the right of both parties to termination of the image database contract for cause without notice remains unaffected. Such cause for Picture-Alliance  to terminate is, in particular, without limitation, if:
a)    the Customer provides false and/or inaccurate information during their registration process and/or fails to inform Picture-Alliance immediately of any changes thereto;
b)    the Customer fails to pay any due amounts despite a reminder from Picture-Alliance;
c)    the Customer breaches material provisions of these GTCs and/or of the user agreement; or
d)    Picture-Alliance discontinues operation of the image database, in whole or in part, or makes a substantial change in the organisation of the image database.
 

D. Account Blocking, Recall by Picture-Alliance

1.    In the event of an at least reasonable suspicion of a violation of these GTCs, the user agreement and/or a third party’s rights, Picture-Alliance may suspend a customer account without prior notification to the Customer. The Customer will be informed by Picture-Alliance of such suspension. The suspension shall remain in effect until either the suspicion has been dispelled or the violation has been remedied and the Customer has provided a suitable assurance of refraining from future violations. If the violation/infringement justifies Picture-Alliance’s right to terminate the agreement without notice, Picture-Alliance may, instead of lifting the suspension, also issue a notice of termination to the Customer.    
2.    If a third party objects the image material to Picture-Alliance, Picture-Alliance may withdraw the relevant image material from the Customer by email, to the address that is stored in the Customer’s account. Any withdrawals must be complied with immediately and the image material concerned be removed from the Customer’s service and Customer shall cease to further this use. It shall be in Picture-Alliance’s sole discretion to either make a refund of the portion of the purchase price or to deliver a substitute. Picture-Alliance is under no obligation to notify the Customer of any content that has become the subject of a dispute, outdated or inaccurate
 

E. Acquisition and Scope of rights of use; Use of Image Material

The download and subsequent use of the image material is in each case subject to prior purchase, and payment, of corresponding rights of use by the Customer. The acquisition of rights of use shall be governed by a separate agreement entered into between the Customer and Picture-Alliance. These GTCs shall apply supplementary to all user agreements and must be complied with, unless expressly agreed otherwise in the user agreements. Without prejudice to such other agreed terms, the following applies in relation to any use of image material:    
1.    The representation of image material in the image database is non-binding. Only by placing an order the Customer is making a binding offer. The order can be placed in writing, by email, by phone or via the order functionality within the image database. During the order process on the image database, the Customer has the option to choose between different delivery methods.   
2.    Each contract on the use of image material regulates in particular, without limitation, the nature and the scope of the rights of use, as well as the respec-tive fees owed by the Customer. An order receipt confirmation, if any, does not constitute the conclusion of a contract. The Customer only acquires the simple [i.e. non-exclusive and non-transferable] rights of use to the image material, for a limited time, territory and type of use. The Customer respectively user acknowledges and agrees, that the provisions of these GTCs on the scope and acquisition of rights of use shall apply accordingly as a contractual agreement with respect to image material, that is in the public-domain.   
3.    Each use of the image material requires Picture-Alliance’s prior approval (release statement), which, as the case may be, will be granted in writing or by email unless generally granted in a user agreement. The same applies for any use of the image material as a work template, for sketches, for image editing, for printing or for layout and presentational purposes. For clarification purposes, it should be noted the delivery or provision of image material via the selected delivery method does not include a release for its use. Unless the release statement is not granted separately in a concluded user agreement, it must be obtained from Picture-Alliance’s image sales department for each individual order of images.   
4.    Image material will be provided in each case for a limited period of use. If the image material is not used, it must be deleted from all of the Customer’s electronic storage devices within no later than one month. Image material for which rights of use have been acquired and which has been used must be deleted immediately from electronic storage devices after expiry of corresponding usage rights respectively the termination of the contract on the grant of the usage rights. The image material must in any case be deleted no later than three months (after its receipt or retrieval).   
5.    The release statement issued by Picture-Alliance only permits one-time use for the specified purpose. Multiple uses will each require a separate download, unless otherwise agreed in the user agreement. Any usage beyond the agreed scope of license shall be subject to an additional fee and, again, requires prior approval. It shall be noted in particular that the digital use and analogue use (e.g. in print media) of image material, and likewise the use of a complete work and use of parts thereof (for instance in the case of a video and still images taken from such video), will each be deemed separate uses.    
6.    Unless otherwise agreed, the image material may be made available to the public or otherwise distributed for a maximum period of up to 3 months. The Parties acknowledge and agree, that if the Customer makes the image material available to the public or distributes it in excess of this period of time, the Customer thereby assumes the sole legal responsibility and/or liability for the image material upon the expiry of the use period specified in sentence 1 (of this Section E. 6).  
7.    The Customer shall at all times observe the accompanying image information (caption) as well as metadata and comply with any usage conditions and restrictions contained therein. The Customer shall be solely liable for any damages resulting from its non-compliance and shall indemnify Picture-Alliance against any third-party claims arising thereof. In addition, Picture-Alliance expressly reserves the right to assert further claims for damages against the Customer as a result of any failure to comply with the information.  
8.    Where video and/or motion picture material is marked as raw material, this is provided solely for the purpose of production of Customer’s own video clips and may, if the Customer acquires publication rights, only be published or be made available to the public after prior editing or transformation, while observing applicable journalistic duties of care, as part of video clips produced by the Customer.
9.    For each publication, a usage statement (and, if applicable, a digital sample copy) shall be sent electronically to Picture-Alliance, without delay, un-prompted and free of charge. For uses in print products, the number of print run copies shall also be reported, and for online media uses, the URLs, together with any necessary access data, shall be communicated to Picture-Alliance. Usage statements shall be provided no later than within 30 days of the start of use of any item of image material, and solely in digital form by email to the email-address belege@picture-alliance.com, and giving details on the respective Picture-Alliance image number, the image size used and, if applicable, the page number on which the image is used. In any events of omission or failure to provide a usage statement as described above, Picture-Alliance is, entitled to charge the Customer a processing fee of €25.00 for each outstanding or incorrect respectively incomplete usage statement. The Assertion of further claims for damages or additional contractual penalties, according to Section H.2, remains unaffected by this.    
10.    The transfer of the image material to third parties and/or the duplication, editing or transformation of the image material is not permitted, except with the prior consent of Picture-Alliance in writing or by email. This includes, without limitation, the sale to third parties of online links or of other means of references to these images.  
11.    Subject to E.5 above, the Customer will only be granted a simple [i.e. non-exclusive and non-transferable] right of use to the photographic (respectively film or graphic) copyright. In particular, the grant of license respectively approval by Picture-Alliance to use an item of image material does not include the transfer of rights in relation to, or any assurance that, any depicted persons and/or the owners of the rights to depicted works and/or owners of trademarks or other property rights have given any necessary consent to public reproduction, particular, without limitation, for any advertising use. The Cus-tomer shall be solely responsible to obtain any nec-essary consent from third parties, in a given case. The Customer shall be responsible to observe the personality rights, copyrights, trademark rights and any other rights in relation to any persons, works, objects or figures depicted according to laws and regulations that are applicable in the country in which Customer will use the image material. This does not apply if and to the extent that the existence of the necessary consent or grant of rights has been expressly confirmed in writing by Picture-Alliance.     
12.    The image material, in particular such in which any persons are recognisable, may only be used in a temporal and content-related context described in the text (caption) accompanying the image. The respective information and restrictions contained therein must be strictly observed with regard to the mode and location of use. Image and text must not be used in a way that distorts or misrepresents their meaning or content. The Customer is strictly obliged to observe the journalistic principles of the German Press Code or of any comparable journalistic duties of care.    
13.    The image material must not be used in an illegal or immoral context. This includes in particular, without limitation, any use that serves to incite hatred against people within the meaning of §§ 130, 130a and 131 of the German Criminal Code (StGB [Straf-gesetzbuch]), that serves to instruct committing crim-inal offences and/or that glorifies or trivialises violence, that is pornographic within the meaning of §§ 184, 184a, 184b and 184c of the German Criminal Code (StGB), or that is likely to seriously morally endanger children and adolescents or to impair their well-being.
14.    When using the image material, it must be clearly and unmistakably marked with the copyright notice and agency notice respectively the credit specified in the accompanying image data respectively in the caption. If no such notice or crediting information is available, the credit “Photo [respectively vid-eo/graphic/illustration]: Picture-Alliance” shall be added. In addition, the name of partner agencies and/or of other sources of the image material shall be included, if required in the caption or the image accompanying data or if these are indicated there. The obligation to credit the author arises from § 13 of the German Copyright Act (UrhG [Urheber-rechtsgesetz]).   
15.    If the Customer makes the image material available to the public on the internet, the customer shall, in accordance with the technical possibilities, place a machine-readable reservation of rights on its web-site or other publication media according to § 44b (3) of the German Copyright Act (UrhG) (e.g. in the Robots.txt), with which the use of the image material for data mining is prohibited.
16.    Should Picture-Alliance inform the Customer that there are imminent, potential or actual claims arising from violations of third parties’ rights for which Picture-Alliance may eventually be liable, the Customer shall promptly cease to use the image material. Picture-Alliance will as compensation provide the Customer upon request with comparable image material at no cost, but subject to the contractual terms and conditions, or otherwise will refund the purchase price on a pro rata basis.
 

F. Fees and Charges

1.    Each use of the image material is subject to a fee. Any granting of rights of use is subject to the condition precedent that the applicable usage fee is paid to Picture-Alliance.  
2.    In addition to the usage fee further costs may be incurred. Thus, for the download of high-resolution data of the image material (HighRes) via the image database, a technical fee in the amount of € 26.00 is payable, unless otherwise agreed between the Parties. Provided that, Picture-Alliance carries out search of and/or a compilation of image material and/or image selection at the Customer’s request, a processing fee may be charged. For the use of im-age material that is in the public-domain, the fee is payable as a processing fee for the agency services provided by Picture-Alliance.   
3.    Exclusive rights to the image material and corresponding blocking periods and the fees arising for this must be agreed with Picture-Alliance on a case-by-case basis. The respective fee will be due upon expiry of the agreed period, even if the image material has not yet been published. Picture-Alliance reserves the right to offer the same items of image material to other interested parties for their use after expiry of the blocking period.  
4.    Invoices will be submitted in writing or via email. The Customer agrees to receive invoices, credit notes and reminders in electronic form. The Customer is obliged to provide a valid and reachable email address for invoicing.  
5.    Picture-Alliance’s invoices are due and payable immediately upon receipt, with no deductions. All amounts such as fees, costs and processing fees are net plus statutory VAT and any applicable contributions to the social security scheme for artists. For commercial transactions, Picture-Alliance is entitled to demand an interest of 9 percentage points above the base interest rate [Basiszins] 30 days after the due date, plus additional reminder costs of € 5.00 per reminder. 
 

G. Warranty

1.    In the event of defective image material, the Customer is entitled, within the scope of the applicable legal provisions, to demand subsequent performance, which will be made in the form of rectification of the defect or subsequent delivery free from defects. Picture-Alliance may, in its sole discretion, choose the type of subsequent performance. The statutory regulations regarding withdrawal and price reduction remain unaffected. Any statutory warranty rights are subject to that the Customer itself fulfils the inspection and complaint obligations as re-quired under § 377 of the German Commercial Code (HGB [Handelsgesetzbuch]). The Customer is obliged to check the delivery contents upon receipt for completeness and freedom from defects, and shall notify Picture-Alliance in text form of any discovered defects within 48 hours of receipt respectively of data retrieval or transfer. Failure to give notice of defects, incomplete or late notification of defects will preclude any objection that the delivery was incomplete or defective, excluding any liability of Picture-Alliance for any costs already incurred or arising. Except in the case of claims for damages, the statute of limitation for warranty claims in relation to the image material is twelve months from the date of download.        
2.    Picture-Alliance is responsible for the reliability and availability of the transmission routes and the correct transmission of the image material only to the extent that the transmission ways are part of its own infrastructure.
 

H. Indemnity, Contractual Penalties, Liability

1.    In the event of any unauthorised use, duplication, modification, editing, transformation, transfer or storage of the image material, or in the event of non-observance of the copyright and/or agency notices and/or any other unauthorized use, the Customer shall indemnify Picture-Alliance against any and all third-party claims arising as a result thereof. This also includes, without limitation, the costs of Picture-Alliance’s legal defence. Picture-Alliance further-more expressly reserves the right to assert additional damage claims against the Customer. The foregoing indemnification obligation does not apply if Picture-Alliance itself was not duly authorized to grant the Customer the respective right of use.  
2.    In the event of an unauthorised use by the Customer, Picture-Alliance will additionally be entitled to demand a contractual penalty of an amount equalling three times the common usage fee, but of at least €350.00 per image. Assertion of additional claims for damages remains hereby unaffected.  
3.    With the payment of compensation for damages and/or of a contractual penalty, the Customer will not acquire ownership of or any rights of use to the image material.
4.    Picture-Alliance’s liability for culpably caused damages is limited or excluded as follows: Picture-Alliance will not be liable in the event of ordinary negligence of its executive bodies, legal representatives, employees and its other vicarious agents or in the event of gross negligence of its non-executive employees or vicarious agents, unless such negligence constitutes a breach of material contractual obligations. A material contractual obligation means an obligation whose fulfilment is essential to the proper execution of the contract, and the breach of which jeopardises the achievement of the purpose of the contract, and the observance of which the Customer may regularly rely on. However, liability for grossly negligent breach of material contractual obligations with respect to vicarious agents, who are not executive employees, as well as for the breach of material contractual obligations without gross negligence, will be limited to compensation for the typical foreseeable damage, but will in no event exceed a maximum amount of € 50,000.00 per damage event. Liability under the (German) Product Liability Act [Produkthaftungsgesetz], liability for intent, gross negligence, deception, liability for damages arising from culpable injury to life, body and/or health, as well as liability for quality and durability guarantees (§§ 444, 639 of the German Civil Code [BGB – Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch]), assurances and/or other guarantees, will remain unaffected by the above provisions. Liability commitments made to third parties and arising from this contract may not be made without the prior consent of Picture-Alliance. Furthermore, the Customer undertakes to actively contribute to the mitigation of damages.      
5.    Picture-Alliance will not be liable in the event of errors in or disruptions to service operations and delivery difficulties arising due to industrial action or in cases of force majeure. In the event of disruptions to or errors in the operation of the service due to other reasons, Picture-Alliance will be liable in accordance with the above provision in Section H.4.
 

I. The Customer’s Duty to Inform

Should the Customer believe that any image material provided in the image database would infringe upon their rights (e.g. copyright, neighbouring rights, personality rights and/or trademark rights), they shall notify Picture-Alliance of the possible infringement and give Picture-Alliance the opportunity to react within a reasonable period of time before the Customer seeks legal or judicial assistance or action.
 

J. Data Protection

1.    The Customer is hereby informed that Picture-Alliance and any vicarious agents store the user da-ta and customer data as well as log files in digital form and process these within the scope and purpose of the existing contractual relationship with the Customer. Details can be found in the dpa-ID priva-cy policy [https://sso.dpa-id.de/goto/privacy-policy-sso] and in the privacy policy for the image data-base [https://www.picture-alliance.com/cms/23]   
2.    If the Customer provides Picture-Alliance with personal data for the purpose of setting up user accounts for the image database and/or a dpa-ID, the Customer will be responsible for data protection-compliant transfer of the data and will furthermore ensure that it has collected the data lawfully and in particular, without limitation, has obtained any necessary consents from the data subjects for forwarding and their use by Picture-Alliance and, upon request, it will provide evidence for such consent.
3.    In addition, reference is made to the privacy statement of the dpa Group applicable for business contacts: https://www.dpa.com/de/datenschutzerklaerung
 

K. Final Provisions

1.    Should one or more provisions of these GTCs be or become invalid, the validity of the remaining provisions will remain unaffected. Instead of the invalid provision a provision that comes closest to the intended purpose of the invalid provision shall apply; the same applies in case of any omissions.
2.    There are no oral collateral agreements. Any and all amendments and/or supplements regarding these GTCs, the image database contract and/or other agreements on the use of the image database and/or the image material require written form or an advanced electronic signature. The same applies to a waiver or amendment of this formal requirement. As an advanced electronic signature, a signature via an electronic remote signature service using a multi-level authentication method will be deemed sufficient.
3.    The Customer may only exercise set-off and/or re-tention rights against Picture-Alliance if it can do so on the basis of an undisputed or legally enforceable counterclaim.
4.    Picture-Alliance shall have the right to assign rights and obligations, in whole or in part, to its affiliated companies (within the meaning of §§ 15 et seq. German Stock Corporation Act [AktG, Aktiengesetz]), without Customer’s consent. For the purpose of fulfilling the contract and exercising rights arising from this contractual relationship Picture-Alliance may make use the services of third parties.   
5.    Picture-Alliance reserves the right to use any electronic mail address, which it receives from the Cus-tomer in connection with this Agreement, for the purpose of advertising its own similar goods or services, unless the Customer objects to such use. Customer may object at any time. Further information can be found in the privacy statement of the dpa Group applicable for business contacts (https://www.dpa.com/de/datenschutzerklaerung).  
6.    The place of performance and place of jurisdiction for all claims arising from and in connection with these GTCs and any contracts based on them which are with merchants, legal entities under public law or special funds under public law or with persons who do not have their general place of jurisdiction in Germany, shall be Hamburg (Mitte). Picture-Alliance may, in its sole discretion, also institute proceedings against the Customer at the competent court at the place of Customer’s registered office.  
7.    All legal relationships between Picture-Alliance and the Customer are governed by the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany, with the exclusion of the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG).
 

L. Customer Service & Contact

For any questions about the image database, Customers can contact Picture-Alliance by email at sales@picture-alliance.com. Enquiries will usually be processed during regular office hours on busi-ness days (Monday to Friday) between 09:00 am and 5:00 pm.