§ 1 General – Area of application 1. These General Terms and Conditions apply to all present and future business relationships. 2. Consumers within the meaning of these Terms and Conditions are physical persons with whom business relationships have been entered into without it being possible to impute to them any commercial or self-employed occupational activity. Contractors within the meaning of these Terms and Conditions are physical persons or legal entities or business partnerships with legal capacity with which a business relationship has been entered into and which trade by practising a commercial or self-employed occupational activity. Customers within the meaning of these Terms and Conditions refers to both Consumers and Contractors. 3. Any General Terms and Conditions that deviate from, contradict or amend these Terms and Conditions shall not form an integral part of this contract, even if known about, unless they have been expressly agreed in writing. § 2 Conclusion of the contract 1. Our quotations are subject to confirmation. We reserve the right to make technical alterations as well as alterations in shape, colour and or weight within the bounds of what is reasonable. 2. When ordering a product the customer is making a binding statement that he wishes to purchase the product he is ordering. Orders must be in writing. We are entitled to accept the contract proposal in the order within two weeks of receipt by use. This acceptance may either be stated in writing or by delivery of the product to the customer. Should the scope of the order deviate from our quotation then we reserve the right to change the terms accordingly. We shall not deliver until these new terms have been confirmed by the customer. 3. If the customer orders goods electronically we will confirm receipt of the order immediately. The confirmation of receipt does not represent a binding acceptance of the order. The confirmation of receipt can be linked with the declaration of acceptance. 4. The conclusion of the contract is subject to proper and timely delivery by our suppliers. This shall only apply in the event that the non-delivery is not attributable to us, especially when a hedging transaction has been concluded with our supplier. The Customer will be notified immediately if the service is not available. The payment for this shall be refunded immediately. 5. If the Consumer orders goods electronically, then the text of the contract will be stored by us and will on request be sent to the Customer by e-mail together with these Terms and Conditions. § 3 Retention of title 1. In the case of contracts with Consumers the goods shall remain our property until payment of the purchase price has been made in full. In the case of contracts with Contractors, the goods shall remain our property until all claims for payment arising out of a current business relationship have been settled in full. 2. The Customer has an obligation to handle the goods with care. Inasmuch as maintenance and inspection work is necessary, the Customer shall carry these out on a regular basis at his own expense. 3. The Customer must notify us immediately if the goods are seized by a third party, such as in the case of a distraint, as well as of any damage or destruction of the goods. The Customer must notify us immediately of any change in ownership of the goods or of any change of his home address or business location. 4. If the Customer should act in a manner contrary to the contract, in particular with regard to late payment or breach of an obligation according to Sections 3 and 4 of these provisions, we shall be entitled to withdraw from the contract and demand the release of the goods. 5. The Contractor shall be entitled to resell the goods in the course of normal business. He shall then immediately transfer to us all accounts receivable amounting to the invoice total, which accrue to him against a third party as a result of the resale. We shall accept the transfer. After the transfer the Contractor shall have the authority to call in the account receivable. We reserve the right to call in the account receivable itself as soon as the Contractor does not fulfil his payment obligations properly and falls into arrears with his payments. 6. The handling and processing of the goods by the Contractor shall always be carried out in the name of and by order of us. If the goods are processed with articles not belonging to us then we shall acquire co-ownership of the new item in proportion to the value of the goods supplied by us in relation to the other processed articles. The same shall apply if the goods are mixed with other articles, which do not belong to us. § 4 Right of withdrawal and right to return goods. I. Distance contract with withdrawal clause 1. The Consumer shall have the right to withdraw his declaration of intent concerning the conclusion of the contract within two weeks of receipt of the goods. This withdrawal does not have to include a reason and must be stated to the seller in text form or by returning the goods; timely dispatch shall suffice for compliance with the deadline. 2. When exercising his right of withdrawal, the Consumer must return the goods if the item can be sent by parcel post. When the right of withdrawal is exercised the costs of returning the goods shall be borne by the Consumer for an order value of up to 40.00 EUR, unless the goods supplied were not as ordered. Where the order value exceeds 40.00 EUR, the Consumer does not have to bear the cost of returning the goods. 3. The Consumer shall pay value compensation for any deterioration that has occurred through normal use of the goods. The Consumer may test the goods thoroughly and carefully. The Consumer shall bear the cost of any loss of value that is the result of any use over and above that involved simply in the testing of the goods and which means that the goods can no longer be sold as “new”. II. Distance contract with return clause 1. The Consumer shall have the right to return the goods within two weeks of receipt. The right to return goods can only be exercised by sending them back, or if the goods cannot be sent as by parcel post, by demanding that they be taken back; timely dispatch shall suffice for compliance with the deadline. 2. When the right of to return goods is exercised the costs of returning the goods shall be borne by the Consumer for an order value of up to 40.00 EUR, unless the goods supplied were not as ordered. Where the order value exceeds 40.00 EUR, the Consumer does not have to bear the cost of returning the goods. 3. The Consumer shall pay value compensation for any deterioration that has occurred through normal use of the goods. The Consumer may test the goods thoroughly and carefully. The Consumer shall bear the cost of any loss of value that is the result of any use over and above that involved simply in the testing of the goods and which means that the goods can no longer be sold as “new”. § 5 Payment 1. There is a time limit on the quoted purchase price. The statutory sales tax is included in the purchase price. In the case of mail order purchase the purchase price includes flat rate mailing costs, which are calculated according to expenditure. No additional costs will be incurred if the customer places an order by telephone. The customer may pay the purchase price via cash on delivery, by invoice or by EC card. Delivery will only be made to new customers against prepayment or cash on delivery. 2. The customer shall undertake to pay the purchase price within 10 days of receipt of the goods. After expiry of this period the customer is in arrears with his payment. The Consumer must pay interest on the debt at 5% above base rate during the period in which he is in arrears. The Contractor must pay interest on the debt at 8 % above base rate during the period in which he is in arrears. We reserve the right to demonstrate a greater loss due to the delayed payment and to claim for this. 3. The customer only has the right to offset a claim against his account if his counterclaims have been established in law or have been acknowledged by us. The customer may only exercise a right to withhold payment if his counterclaim is based on the same contractual relationship. § 6 Passing of risk 1. If the Purchaser is a Contractor then the risk of accidental loss or accidental deterioration of the goods passes to the Purchaser when they are handed over, in the case of mail order purchase, when the item is delivered to the forwarding agent, carrier or other person or establishment appointed to ship the goods. 2. If the Purchaser is a Consumer then, even in the case of mail order purchase, the risk of accidental loss and of accidental deterioration of the item purchased does not pass to the Purchaser until the item has been handed over. 3. The same consequences arise if the Purchaser is in default in accepting delivery. § 7 Guarantee 1. If the Purchaser is a Contractor then if the product is faulty we may first at our own option either rectify the defect or provide a replacement under the terms of the warranty. 2. If the Purchaser is a Consumer then he initially has a choice at whether the posterior fulfilment should be in the form of rectification of the defect or provision of a replacement. We are, however, entitled to refuse the type of posterior fulfilment selected by the Consumer if this is not possible without incurring unreasonable costs and the other type of posterior fulfilment does not present any significant disadvantage to the Consumer. 3. If the posterior fulfilment is unsuccessful then the Customer can in principle demand at his own option either a lowering of the price (reduction) or a cancellation of the Contract (withdrawal). If, however, there has only been a minor breach of contract, in particular in the case of only minor defects, then the Customer shall have no right of withdrawal. 4. Contractors must notify us of any obvious defects in writing within a period of two weeks from the receipt of the goods, otherwise the assertion of any claim under the warranty shall be excluded. Timely dispatch shall suffice for compliance with the deadline. The Contractor shall bear the full burden of proof for all conditions of entitlement, in particular regarding the defect itself, the time when the defect was discovered and the timeliness of the notification of defects. Consumers must notify us of any obvious defects in writing within a period of two months after the time when it was discovered that the condition of the goods was contrary to the contract. This notification must be received by us before the deadline. If the Consumer does not give due notification then his rights under the warranty shall expire two months after discovery of the defect. This does not apply in the case of fraudulent intent on the part of the Seller. The Consumer shall bear the burden of proof regarding the time when the defect was discovered. If the Consumer was persuaded to purchase the item by inaccurate statements from the manufacturer then the Consumer shall bear the burden of proof regarding his decision to purchase. If the goods have been used then the Consumer shall bear the burden of proof regarding the defectiveness of the item. 5. If the Customer elects to withdraw from the contract because of a defect in title or a material defect once posterior fulfilment has been unsuccessful then he shall not be entitled to make a claim for compensation for the defect as well. If the Customer elects to make a claim for compensation once posterior fulfilment has been unsuccessful then the product shall remain with the Customer if this seems reasonable to him. Compensation shall be limited to the difference between the purchase price and the value of the defective item. This shall not apply if we have wilfully brought about the breach of contract. 6. For Contractors the warranty is for one year from delivery of the goods. For Consumers the limitation period is two years from delivery of the goods. If the items have been used then the limitation period is one year from delivery of the goods. This shall not apply if the Customer has not given us timely notification of the defect (Sect. 4 of these provisions). 7. If the Purchaser is a contractor then in principle only the manufacturer’s production description is deemed to have been agreed regarding the quality of the goods. Public utterances, praise or advertising on the part of the manufacturer do not represent any additional contractual quality specifications of the product. 8. If the Customer receives incorrect assembly instructions then we are only obliged to supply correct fitting instructions and this only if the absence of the correct assembly instructions prevents correct assembly. 9. The Customer shall not receive from us any guarantees in the legal sense. Manufacturer’s guarantees shall remain unaffected by this. § 8 Limitations of liability 1. In cases of breaches of obligation due to slight negligence our liability is restricted depending on the type of product to the foreseeable, average direct damages typical of this type of contract. This shall also apply in cases of breaches of obligation due to slight negligence on the part of our legal representatives or our vicarious agents. We shall not be liable towards Contractors in cases of where insignificant contractual obligations are breached due to slight negligence. 2. The above liability restrictions do not affect claims made by the Customer as a result of product liability. In addition these liability limitations do not apply in cases of physical injury and damage to health attributable to us or in the event of loss of life of a Customer. 3. Claims for compensation made by the Customer because of a defect shall expire one year from the date of delivery of the product. This does not apply if we can be accused of gross negligence, or in the event of physical injury or damage to health attributable to us or in the event of loss of life of a Customer. . 4. Sono Studiotechnik GmbH does not accept any liability for material handed over for processing or for damages or cost arising due to processing; the same applies to materials and equipment handed over to the company for storage. 5. In the case of sales transactions does not accept liability for technical alterations that have been made by the manufacturer in production. The equipment satisfies the relevant regulations of the country of manufacture. If under certain conditions of use the observation of German protective regulations (e.g. VDE, [German Association for Electrical, Electronic & Information Technologies] TÜV/GS) must be demonstrated then it is the responsibility of the Purchaser to ensure that these regulations are observed and to have the equipment or its installation approved by an authorised office at his own expense. When purchasing pyrotechnical materials the Purchaser shall undertake to observe the regulations of the German Explosives Law and the accident prevention regulations for platforms. 6. In the case of the sale of equipment Sono Studiotechnik GmbH shall remain the owner until the purchase price has been paid in full. § 9 Final provisions 1. The law of the Federal Republic of Germany shall apply. The provisions of the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods do not apply here. 2. If the Customer is a businessman, a legal entity under public law or a separate estate under public law, then our place of business shall exclusively be the court of jurisdiction for all disputes arising out of this contract. The same shall apply if the Customer does not have a general court of jurisdiction in Germany, or if his address or usual place of abode are not known at the commencement of the legal action. 3. Should individual provisions of this contract with the Customer, including these General Terms and Conditions, be invalid or cease to be valid, either wholly or in part, then the validity of the other provisions shall remain unaffected by this. The regulation that is wholly or partly invalid should be replaced by a regulation whose economic success comes as close as possible to that of the invalid regulation.