General terms and conditions

I. Booking of conferences, seminars and courses

Section 1: Scope of application

These General Terms and Conditions govern the contractual relationship between the participant (hereinafter the “Participant”) in seminars, courses and conferences (hereinafter the “Event”) and BIO Deutschland e.V. (hereinafter “BIO D”). Any conflicting terms and conditions of the Participant shall not apply.

Section 2: Registration and confirmation

Registration should ideally be completed via the internet (alternatively by letter, fax or email) and must clearly identify the sender (via a legally binding signature or a unique email address/URL). The registration shall only become legally binding upon final confirmation by BIO D, which shall be sent via email. Provisional confirmations are for informational purposes only and are not legally binding.

If an Event is offered in a hybrid format, the Participant may choose between available participation options. Should the Participant opt for online participation, the regulations set out below in “Part II. Additional terms and conditions for online and hybrid events” must be observed.

Section 3: Obligations

The participation fee is per person and per Event date, plus the applicable statutory value-added tax (VAT). Where applicable, it includes Event materials, lunch, beverages during breaks and in some cases, dinner. BIO D reserves the right to substitute advertised speakers and to make necessary changes to the Event programme, provided the overall character of the Event is maintained. Participants shall be informed immediately if the Event cannot be held due to force majeure (including but not limited to natural disasters and pandemics, as well as orders issued by government, administrative, police or judicial authorities to shut down or cancel the Event or such authorities’ recommendations not to hold the Event) or if good cause (e.g. unavailability of speakers, venue disruptions or insufficient attendance) prevents the Event from being held.

Cancellation due to an insufficient number of participants shall occur no later than two weeks prior to the Event. In such cases, event fees will be refunded. A justified change from an in-person to a digital format does not constitute a cancellation. A change is justified if BIO D cannot reasonably conduct the Event in the planned format. If the execution of the Event is impossible or only partially possible due to force majeure or good cause, claims for reimbursement of travel and accommodation expenses or lost earnings are excluded, unless such costs result from grossly negligent conduct or intentional misconduct on the part of BIO D.

In case of any disruption to obligations, BIO D shall make every reasonable effort to rectify or limit the disruption. Refund claims for temporary disruptions of an Event (particularly in the case of digital events) are excluded.

Section 4: Payment terms, default and set-off

4.1 Payment methods and due dates
BIO D offers immediate digital payment (e.g. via credit card or other instant payment methods) for all Events.

For registrations made at least 14 days before the Event starts, the Participant may choose “payment by invoice”. In this case, the fee is due 14 days from the invoice date.

4.2 Short-term registrations/immediate payment
For registrations made less than 14 days before the Event (particularly last-minute digital or same-day registrations), the “payment by invoice” method is not available. In these cases, the participation fee must be paid immediately during the registration process via the digital payment methods offered; no other payment terms shall be accepted.

4.3 Payment status and right of access
Participation is contingent upon full receipt of the fee prior to the Event. Payment status will be verified electronically at check-in. If payment is not received, access will be denied unless the Participant settles the balance on-site (in cash or by card). Any transaction costs shall be borne by the Participant.

4.4 Default
If the Participant falls into arrears (default) when the invoice payment method is selected, BIO D is entitled to claim statutory default interest. Further claims remain unaffected.

4.5 Exclusion of reimbursement claims
If access is denied due to lack of payment, no claims may be made for the reimbursement of travel, accommodation or other costs.

4.6 Set-off and rights of retention
The Participant may only set off claims against BIO D that are legally established by a court of law or recognised in writing. A right of retention exists only for counterclaims arising from the same contractual relationship.

Section 5: Cancellation

Cancellations must be submitted in writing and are possible free of charge up to the cancellation deadline specified in the Event registration details. If no deadline is specified, written cancellations are accepted free of charge up to 14 days before the Event start date. After the cancellation period has expired, the full participation fee shall be charged. This also applies in the event that the cancellation is due to illness or a positive test for the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.

BIO D will gladly accept a substitute participant at no additional cost. By submitting the registration, the Participant acknowledges and accepts the cancellation deadline.

Section 6: Copyright

All Event materials are protected by copyright. Reproduction, distribution, or any other use of these materials requires the express written consent of BIO D.

Section 7: Liability

The Events are carefully prepared and conducted by qualified organisers, authors and speakers. Despite this care and attention, BIO D assumes no liability for the accuracy, completeness or timeliness of the Event materials or the Event execution. BIO D is not liable for items brought by the Participant (e.g. coats, valuables, training materials, exhibits). The respective house rules of the venue must be followed.

Furthermore, the liability of BIO D in cases of slight negligence is limited to the breach of material contractual obligations (i.e. those whose fulfilment is necessary for the proper performance of the contract and upon whose fulfilment the parties regularly rely and may rely); in these cases, liability is limited to typical, foreseeable damages. This shall not apply in the event of injury to life, limb or health; the absence of a warranted quality; the breach of a guarantee; fraudulent misrepresentation; or product liability claims. In such instances, BIO D shall be liable without limitation.

Section 8: Applicable law, jurisdiction and place of performance

The laws of the Federal Republic of Germany shall apply to the exclusion of the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG). To the extent legally permissible, Berlin shall be the place of jurisdiction and performance.

Section 9: Right of withdrawal for consumers

As a consumer, the Participant has the right to withdraw his or her registration in writing (e.g. by letter, fax or e-mail) within 14 days of receiving the registration confirmation without giving any reason. The withdrawal period begins upon receipt of this notification (which includes such notification being issued during the registration process), but not before the conclusion of the contract or the fulfilment of the information obligations pursuant to Article 246b Section 2 in conjunction with Section 1, paragraph 1, of the Introductory Act to the German Civil Code (EGBGB), as well as the obligations pursuant to Section 312g, paragraph 1, sentence 1, of the German Civil Code (BGB). No cancellation fees will be charged. To meet the deadline, it is sufficient to send the withdrawal notice before the expiry of the withdrawal period. Such notice should be directed to:

BIO Deutschland e.V.
Schützenstr. 6a
10117 Berlin

Phone: +49 30 2332164-00
email: events@biodeutschland.org

This right of withdrawal does not exist if the booked Event has already taken place and the Participant has attended it.

Consequences of withdrawal: If you withdraw from this contract, we shall reimburse all payments received from you within 14 days of receiving your notice. For this reimbursement, we will use the same payment method you used for the original transaction, unless expressly agreed otherwise with you; in no case will you incur any fees for this reimbursement.

II. Additional terms and conditions for online and hybrid events

Section 1: Scope of application

The following additional terms and conditions contain supplementary provisions for online Events. Any conflicting terms and conditions of the Participant shall not apply.

Section 2: Access

Should the Participant opt for online participation, he or she shall receive access credentials for the Event either with or following the confirmation of registration (see Part I, Section 2 above). If a password is required for access, it must be treated as confidential and may not be disclosed to third parties.

Section 3: Liability

BIO D excludes liability for the unauthorised access or manipulation by third parties; for the security, integrity and availability of networks, servers, software and third-party data; and for third-party malware. Furthermore, BIO D shall not be liable if the Event is unavailable online due to technical or other issues outside of its control (e.g. third-party failures, Participant misconduct or improper use). BIO D shall also not be liable for data throughput rates and data traffic capacities, nor for the bandwidth available to individual servers. The same applies to access limitations caused by third parties for which BIO D is not responsible. BIO D expressly points out that, given the current state of technology, the protection of data transmitted over open networks such as the internet cannot be fully guaranteed. The Participant is therefore informed that third parties may, under certain circumstances, be technically capable of interfering with network security without authorisation and viewing the content of the communications. BIO D disclaims any liability resulting from such actions.

In all other respects, Part I, Section 7 shall apply.