General Terms and Conditions

The following shows the terms and conditions of iF International Forum Design GmbH, iF Design Foundation, iF DESIGN TALENTS GmbH and iF DESIGN ASIA Ltd.

1. Recitals

Where hereinafter iF is referred to, it relates to iF International Forum Design GmbH, iF Design Foundation, iF DESIGN TALENTS GmbH and iF DESIGN ASIA Ltd. as well as to the contracts and services offered by them. These General Terms and Conditions shall apply to any and all legal relations between iF and the customer/user/contracting party (hereinafter referred to as „Contracting Party“) unless more specific provisions exist in the individual types of contracts and the conditions of participation set out therein. Where more specific provisions exist, they shall take precedence over the present General Terms and Conditions. A contract shall be concluded only between the contracting party and the respective iF company whose service is being purchased. A contracting party may be any natural person or legal entity intending to enter into a contractual or any other business relationship with iF or to make use of iF services.

2. Scope of Application/ Responsibilities of the Contracting Party

Exclusively the present General Terms and Conditions shall apply between iF and the contracting party. Any counter confirmations by the contracting party with reference to its own terms and conditions are hereby expressly disclaimed. Any deviations from these Terms and Conditions shall only be effective if confirmed in writing by iF. Each contracting party agrees to the worldwide, perpetual, unlimited use and publication by iF of the images, information, and data provided as part of such contracting party’s participation. Receiving an award includes the publication of the award-winning entry in all iF media. iF shall not be obligated to mention the author of contributions or photos by name. Should authors nevertheless assert claims against iF, the award winner shall release and hold harmless iF from and against any such claims. Each contracting party warrants and represents to be entitled to grant the rights to use the data provided by such contracting party. Each contracting party warrants and represents to hold any and all rights in the contents of its own website(s) or otherwise to be able to freely dispose thereof. In particular, the contracting party warrants and represents that (a) any contents and materials made available on its website(s) were free of errors at the time of publication, and that (b) the use of such contents and materials does not infringe any applicable conditions of iF and does not harm any persons or companies (including the warranty and representation that contents or materials are not defamatory). The contracting party shall release and hold harmless iF from and against any and all third-party claims made against iF arising from or in connection with contents or materials made available by the contracting party on its website(s). Any liability arising from iF’s failure to duly remove any such contents as soon as iF has been advised of its unlawfulness shall be excepted. Upon presentation of a final judgment or a court order, iF shall be entitled to exclude contributions from the competition that infringe any third-party industrial property rights (e.g., due to plagiarism, piracy, counterfeiting) at any stage of a competition and/or to withdraw publications. In addition, awards given out for any such contributions may be revoked retroactively.

3. Conclusion of a Contract/ Right to Withdraw/ Right of Cancellation/ Renewal Clause

Registrations or other declarations aimed at entering into a contract with iF may exclusively be made on the iF website. A contract with iF shall be concluded as soon as iF has acknowledged the order online, e.g., by email, or in writing or by performance. A contracting party may cancel its registration in writing without giving reasons within 14 days from submitting the registration. If by way of exception iF grants the contracting party a withdrawal in part or in whole after the withdrawal period, the contracting party is to pay a compensation fee (lump sum damages) to iF. If the contracting party is able to prove that as a result of its withdrawal iF has not suffered any loss or only a loss that is substantially less than such lump sum payment, the compensation fee payable by the contracting party shall be reduced accordingly. The amount of the lump sum damages payment shall be governed by – the date on which iF has received notification from the contracting party hat it wishes to cancel its registration; – the fees that would have been payable. The following shall apply to events and competitions organized by iF: iF shall be entitled to refrain from holding an event at its sole discretion, if such event’s viability seems to be uncertain. Mutual obligations of iF and the contracting party shall expire at the time of the cancelation; no claims for refunds or damages shall derive from any such cancelation. iF shall be entitled to change the contents of the event or to postpone, reduce, temporarily or close or cancel it for good cause (e.g., force majeure) in part or in whole. There shall be no reduction of the agreed fees. In the event of an adjournment in whole or a reduced duration, the contract shall be deemed concluded for the modified duration, unless the participant terminates the contract in writing within a period of 2 weeks from the notification of such change.

4. Terms of Payment

As a rule, a fee is charged for participation in a competition, event or exhibition organized by iF, unless otherwise agreed.
The fees to be paid by the contractual partner to iF are set out in the applicable terms of participation. An entitlement to the provision of services by iF or an entitlement to the use of rights granted shall only exist after timely payment of the invoice. All fees are subject to VAT, if applicable, which must be paid at the applicable rate. They are payable immediately after invoicing or by the payment date stated in the invoice without deduction using the means of payment offered in the respective competition. Payment shall only be deemed to have been made when iF can access the amount paid by the contractual partner.

5. Exclusion of Liability

iF shall be liable to the contracting party only if the contracting party asserts a claim for damages based on intent or gross negligence, including intent or gross negligence by iF, their representatives, or agents. Where iF is not deliberately in breach of contract or if iF is in breach of a material contractual obligation, its liability to pay damages shall be limited to typical, foreseeable losses. This exclusion of liability shall not apply in the event of injury to life, limb or health. iF shall not be liable for breaches of third-party rights by entries submitted or already awarded a prize and shall not guarantee that entries submitted do not infringe any third-party rights. Should it prove in retrospect that an entry submitted or an awarded prize infringes third-party rights, iF reserves the right to revoke such awards. The foregoing liability provisions shall apply accordingly to all services provided by iF in connection with the participation of the contracting party.

6. Competitor Claims, Written Form, Period of Limitation

All claims of the contracting party against iF are to be submitted in writing. They shall expire within 12 months, beginning with the end of the year in which they were established.

7. Legal Venue/Governing Law

Legal venue for any and all disputes between iF and its contracting party shall be Hanover, Germany, in particular for disputes arising from contracts already concluded. However, iF reserves the right to seek compensation before the court of the domicile of the contracting party or of its place of business. The contract shall be governed exclusively by and construed in accordance with the laws of Germany and the German text version excluding the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods This shall apply even if the participant or contracting party has its place of business abroad.

8. Right of Set-off and Right of Retention

An iF contracting party shall be entitled to claim a right of off-set or a right of retention only if the asserted counterclaim is due and uncontested or has been determined as legally valid.

9. Final Provisions

Any agreements deviating from these Terms and Conditions must be made in writing to be effective. This shall also apply to the waiver of this clause governing the use of the written form. Should individual provisions of the foregoing conditions be or become invalid, the validity of the remaining provisions hereof shall remain unaffected.