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Händle & Korte GmbH · Rathausufer 20 · 40213 Düsseldorf +49 211 6022440 info@hk-net.de Deutsch

General Terms and Conditions

Convenience translation. Only the German version is legally binding: Allgemeine Geschäftsbedingungen.

Händle & Korte GmbH (“HK”) – version for businesses (B2B) – as of 31 October 2026

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§ 1 Scope and contracting party

  1. These General Terms and Conditions apply to all contracts of Händle & Korte GmbH, Rathausufer 20, 40213 Düsseldorf, Germany, concerning IT infrastructure, cloud services, hosting, data centre services, internet and telecommunications services, and managed services.
  2. The range of services includes in particular:
    • Infrastructure as a Service, virtual servers and cloud hosting;
    • web hosting and email hosting;
    • colocation and dedicated servers;
    • business internet, fibre connections and IP transit;
    • SIP trunks, numbers and other telecommunications services;
    • cloud PBX and comparable application services;
    • managed firewalls, VPN, DNS, domains, monitoring and backup;
    • other IT and managed services.
  3. These Terms apply exclusively to entrepreneurs within the meaning of Section 14 of the German Civil Code (BGB), legal entities under public law and special funds under public law.
  4. These Terms do not apply to contracts with consumers. Separate contractual documents are to be used for consumer contracts and for services to which mandatory consumer protection provisions apply.

§ 2 Contractual documents and areas of application

  1. The specific content of the contract is determined by the order document and the contractual documents expressly referred to therein.
  2. The contractual framework may include in particular:
    • the order document or order form;
    • individually agreed special conditions;
    • a product-specific service description;
    • a product-specific service level agreement;
    • a data processing agreement including its annexes;
    • these General Terms and Conditions;
    • a designated price and service list;
    • a telecommunications annex for publicly available telecommunications services.
  3. In the event of conflicting provisions, the following basic rule applies:
    • Mandatory law takes precedence over all contractual terms.
    • Individually negotiated agreements take precedence over pre-formulated contractual terms.
    • The order document and special conditions expressly agreed therein take precedence over the other contractual documents.
    • Product-specific documents take precedence over these Terms insofar as they expressly and conclusively govern their respective subject matter.
    • These Terms apply on a supplementary basis insofar as a subject matter is not governed in a higher-ranking or more specific contractual document.
  4. A service description governs in particular the scope of services, technical requirements, functional features, obligations to cooperate and product-specific restrictions.
  5. An SLA governs exclusively the service levels specified therein, in particular availability, measurement methods, maintenance windows, response times, fault categories, fault clearance times and service credits. For these subject matters, the SLA takes precedence over the service description and these Terms. In all other respects, the service description remains authoritative.
  6. The data processing agreement including its annexes takes precedence over all other contractual documents exclusively insofar as it concerns the processing of personal data on behalf of the customer, instructions, technical and organisational measures, sub-processors, personal data breaches, audit rights and the deletion or return of personal data.
  7. The data processing agreement does not take precedence with regard to the scope of services, remuneration, availability, term, termination, liability and service credits, unless it expressly contains a provision on these matters.
  8. Each incorporated contractual document is identified by title, version number and version date. Only the version expressly referred to in the order document, in the order confirmation or in any other contract confirmation is authoritative.
  9. Subsequent publication or amendment of a contractual document does not replace a version already agreed.

§ 3 Conclusion of contract

  1. A contract is concluded by signature, by acceptance of an offer in text form, by confirmation of an order or by commencement of the agreed provision of services.
  2. Oral agreements are documented by a confirmation in text form. In the event of conflicts between the confirmation and an individual agreement made previously, the individual agreement takes precedence.
  3. Offers from HK are non-binding unless they are expressly designated as binding.
  4. For electronic orders, the customer receives a confirmation setting out the services ordered, prices, term and the incorporated contractual documents and their respective versions.

§ 4 Scope and provision of services

  1. HK provides the services agreed in the order document in accordance with the respective incorporated service description.
  2. There is no obligation to provide services that have not been expressly agreed. This applies in particular to support services, backup, restore, migration, monitoring, maintenance, individual configurations and data exports.
  3. Technical performance features, availability levels, response times and fault clearance times apply only if they have been expressly agreed.
  4. HK is entitled to use suitable subcontractors, carriers, data centre operators, software providers and other service providers to provide the services.
  5. HK may provide services using technically or functionally equivalent methods, provided that this does not unreasonably impair the agreed scope of services, the agreed service level or the legitimate interests of the customer.

§ 5 Customer’s obligations to cooperate

  1. The customer shall provide HK with all information, access credentials, contact persons, approvals, technical prerequisites and other cooperation in good time and in full.
  2. The customer is obliged in particular:
    • to keep access credentials secret and protect them against unauthorised access;
    • to secure systems, end devices and access interfaces appropriately;
    • to comply with the technical requirements of the respective service description;
    • to inform HK without undue delay of security-relevant events and recognisable faults;
    • to store or transmit only lawful content and data;
    • to instruct users and employees to use the services in accordance with the contract.
  3. HK is not responsible for delays or additional effort resulting from late, incomplete or incorrect cooperation by the customer.
  4. Additional effort arising from a breach of the obligations to cooperate may be charged in accordance with the agreed price list or, if no such list is applicable, on a time and materials basis.

§ 6 Charges and invoicing

  1. Recurring basic charges are invoiced monthly in advance.
  2. Usage-based charges are invoiced monthly in arrears.
  3. One-off charges are invoiced upon performance or provision of the service concerned, unless otherwise agreed in the order document.
  4. All prices are subject to the applicable statutory VAT.
  5. Invoices are payable without deduction within 14 calendar days of receipt of the invoice. The date of receipt of payment by HK is decisive.
  6. The customer may only set off claims that are undisputed or have been finally determined by a court.
  7. The customer may only exercise a right of retention on account of counterclaims arising from the same contractual relationship. Mandatory statutory rights to refuse performance and rights of retention remain unaffected.

§ 7 Late payment and suspension of services

  1. In the event of late payment, HK is entitled to claim default interest and the costs permitted by law.
  2. HK may send the customer a payment reminder and set a reasonable deadline for payment. After this deadline has expired without payment, HK may temporarily suspend services in whole or in part if:
    • the claim is due;
    • the customer is in default of payment;
    • the claim has not been disputed with substantiation in text form before the suspension is carried out;
    • the suspension is proportionate, taking into account the service concerned and the interests of the customer;
    • HK has given reasonable prior notice of the suspension.
  3. An objection is substantiated if the customer identifies the specific invoice or the specific invoice item and sets out the factual or legal grounds for the objection in a comprehensible manner. A merely general objection does not prevent suspension.
  4. A claim disputed with substantiation is not taken into account as grounds for suspension until the objection has been resolved, unless the objection is manifestly unfounded. The undisputed part of the claim remains payable and may justify a suspension if the other requirements are met.
  5. HK is entitled to demand reasonable security if, on the basis of specific facts, there is reason to fear that the customer will not fulfil its future payment obligations, or will not fulfil them on time.
  6. The security must be based on the expected payment risk and must not be unreasonably high. HK shall notify the customer in text form of the reasons for and the amount of the security demanded.
  7. A suspension solely because the customer does not provide security is only permissible if the security was justifiably demanded, the customer was given a reasonable deadline for this and the consequences of non-provision were announced.
  8. A suspension shall, where technically possible, be limited to the service concerned.
  9. For publicly available telecommunications services, the special statutory requirements for a suspension take precedence.
  10. A suspension may only be maintained for as long as the reason for the suspension persists.

§ 8 Prices and price adjustments

  1. HK is entitled to adjust recurring charges for ongoing services if, after conclusion of the contract, the costs relevant to the provision of the service concerned change.
  2. The relevant costs include in particular:
    • software licences and other usage fees;
    • services and prices of third-party providers;
    • energy and electricity costs;
    • costs of data centre space and data centre operation;
    • carrier, network, transit and other upstream service costs;
    • hardware, platform and infrastructure costs;
    • personnel costs, insofar as they can be allocated to the provision, support or further development of the service concerned;
    • statutory levies;
    • additional costs caused by public authorities or directly imposed by law.
  3. A price adjustment is permissible if the costs relevant to the service concerned have changed overall by at least 5 per cent compared with the time of conclusion of the contract or of the last price adjustment. This cost threshold relates exclusively to HK’s entitlement to review and implement a price adjustment. It is not to be equated with the threshold for the customer’s right of termination under this § 8.
  4. The adjustment may only take into account the extent to which the change in costs affects the provision of the service concerned.
  5. HK is not obliged to disclose internal cost ratios, individual calculations or trade secrets. However, the notification must explain the service concerned, the relevant cost categories, the reason for the change and the calculation of the new charge in a comprehensible, summarised form.
  6. The price adjustment is made at HK’s reasonable discretion. In doing so, HK takes into account in particular:
    • the amount and duration of the change in costs;
    • the significance of the cost factor for the service concerned;
    • cost reductions that have already occurred or are foreseeable;
    • the possibility of avoiding or reducing costs through reasonable measures;
    • the ratio between the change in costs and the charge previously applicable.
  7. Cost increases and cost reductions are taken into account according to the same principles. A price adjustment must not result in an increase beyond this.
  8. HK may pass on directly attributable increases in software licences, third-party services, energy, data centre, carrier services, network services or other upstream services directly to the customer, insofar as they relate to the service concerned and HK has no reasonable influence on their amount.
  9. Notification of a price adjustment is given in text form at least six weeks before it takes effect.
  10. In the case of cost changes caused directly by law or by public authorities, the notice period may be reasonably shortened if a longer period would lead to unreasonable pre-financing or a considerable economic disadvantage for HK. In this case, notification is given without undue delay after HK becomes aware of the relevant cost change.
  11. The notification contains:
    • the date on which it takes effect;
    • the service concerned;
    • the previous and the new charge;
    • the relevant cost categories;
    • a comprehensible description of the reason for the adjustment;
    • a reference to the customer’s right of termination.
  12. If the charge for a service concerned increases by more than 5 per cent compared with the charge last applicable, the customer may terminate the service concerned with two weeks’ notice, effective as of the date on which the increase takes effect.
  13. The right of termination does not apply insofar as the change relates exclusively to levies owed by law or to costs to be passed on directly to the customer and HK has no discretion of its own regarding their amount.
  14. Mandatory statutory rights of termination remain unaffected.
  15. A termination under this § 8 does not affect other services, provided that these can be continued independently from a technical and economic point of view.
  16. For publicly available telecommunications services, the mandatory statutory provisions on contract amendments and rights of termination apply.

§ 9 Term and termination

  1. The term and notice period are set out in the order document or the product-specific service description.
  2. Unless otherwise agreed therein, a contract of indefinite duration may be terminated with four weeks’ notice to the end of a month.
  3. For variable IaaS services without a fixed minimum term, the notice period agreed in the order document applies. In the absence of such an agreement, the notice period under paragraph 2 applies.
  4. The right to extraordinary termination for good cause remains unaffected.
  5. Good cause may exist in particular if:
    • the customer remains in default with material payments despite a reasonable deadline having been set;
    • the customer repeatedly or seriously breaches obligations of use;
    • continuation of the contract becomes unreasonable due to statutory, regulatory or security-related requirements;
    • a material third-party provider permanently discontinues the service and no reasonable replacement is available.
  6. Notices of termination must be given at least in text form and must clearly identify the contractual relationship or order document concerned.

§ 10 Support, maintenance and faults

  1. General support is offered Monday to Friday from 8 am to 6 pm, excluding public holidays at HK’s registered office.
  2. The central support channel is support@hk-net.de, unless another means of communication is specified in the order document or SLA.
  3. There is no general obligation to provide personal support at all times or to guarantee a response time.
  4. Response times, fault clearance times and escalation levels apply only if they have been expressly agreed in an SLA.
  5. HK may carry out scheduled maintenance. Where possible, maintenance is announced with reasonable notice.
  6. Security and emergency maintenance may, where necessary, be carried out without prior notice.
  7. The customer shall report faults without undue delay via the designated support channel and shall reasonably assist HK in analysing the fault.

§ 11 Service levels and service credits

  1. A commitment regarding availability or response time exists only if it has been expressly agreed in an SLA.
  2. The respective SLA specifies in particular:
    • the relevant service;
    • the measuring points and measurement method;
    • the measurement period;
    • the permitted maintenance windows;
    • the fault categories;
    • the response and fault clearance times;
    • the requirements for and amount of service credits.
  3. Scheduled maintenance, emergency maintenance, outages caused by the customer’s own systems, lack of cooperation, force majeure, external networks outside HK’s area of responsibility and other events specified in the SLA are not taken into account when measuring availability.
  4. HK’s operating and monitoring data are authoritative for determining availability, unless the customer presents substantiated, specific indications of an incorrect measurement.
  5. Service credits are granted only on request. The request must be submitted within 30 calendar days after the end of the relevant incident.
  6. The service credit is limited to a maximum of 25 per cent of the monthly net charge for the specific service affected.
  7. Service credits are not a lump-sum settlement of claims for damages.
  8. Insofar as a claim for damages exists on account of the same event, a service credit granted is offset against the damages owed on account of the same event. Double compensation for the same damage is excluded.
  9. Statutory claims for damages, price reduction, termination or other legal remedies are not excluded by service credits, insofar as such an exclusion would be impermissible by law.

§ 12 Backup, restore and end of contract

  1. Where the customer has ordered web hosting or email hosting, HK creates a backup of the customer data covered by the contract at least once a day.
  2. HK retains backups for a period of at least 90 days.
  3. The retention period of at least 90 days refers to the period during which backups are kept in accordance with the agreed rotation scheme.
  4. The retention period does not refer to the number of available restore points. In particular, there is no entitlement to a separate daily backup state remaining available for every single day of the entire 90-day period.
  5. Backups are created and retained in accordance with a rotating backup scheme. A specific historical backup state can only be restored if it is still available under the rotation scheme at the time of the restore request.
  6. HK ensures that a restore is carried out in accordance with the agreed scope of services and the technical possibilities. There is no guarantee that every historical backup state can be successfully restored in every individual case.
  7. This applies in particular in the case of damaged or incomplete backups, undetected data errors, incompatible data formats, changes made by the customer, lack of cooperation by the customer or events outside HK’s area of responsibility.
  8. For IaaS, virtual servers, dedicated servers and other services, there is a backup obligation only if this has been expressly agreed in the order document or in the respective service description.
  9. A restore is free of charge insofar as it is necessary to remedy a data loss for which HK is responsible.
  10. Restores initiated by the customer and restores outside the agreed scope of services may be charged in accordance with the price list or on a time and materials basis.
  11. After the end of the contract, HK generally makes the customer data held in the production system available for 30 days, unless this is precluded by a different agreement, a statutory obligation or a data protection requirement.
  12. After this period has expired, HK is entitled to delete the production data. Backups are deleted in accordance with the regular rotation scheme.

§ 13 Data export and switching providers

  1. HK provides existing self-service export functions to the agreed extent.
  2. Insofar as Regulation (EU) 2023/2854 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2023 on harmonised rules on fair access to and use of data applies to the respective data processing service, HK provides the switching, export, assistance and interoperability services owed by law without charging an impermissible switching charge.
  3. This applies in particular to services that are mandatory, standardised or necessary to enable switching under the Data Act.
  4. This does not include additional services that go beyond the obligations owed by law and are ordered separately by the customer. These may include in particular:
    • individual migration planning;
    • analysis and cleansing of data;
    • data conversion into a target format not owed by law;
    • individual adaptation of applications or interfaces;
    • development of additional export or migration tools;
    • project management;
    • support with systems or applications of the receiving provider;
    • training and other consultancy services.
  5. Additional services are only charged if they have been described to the customer in text form before being carried out and have been ordered by the customer.
  6. Remuneration for additional services may not be justified on the grounds that they are necessary to fulfil a mandatory statutory switching obligation.
  7. HK may make the performance of an export or migration conditional upon compliance with reasonable security, identification and cooperation obligations. This must not unreasonably hinder the switching owed by law.
  8. The customer is responsible for ordering a migration in good time and for its technical preparation.
  9. For publicly available telecommunications services, the special statutory requirements on switching providers, number porting and the avoidance of an unreasonable interruption of the service take precedence.

§ 14 Data protection and data storage in Germany

  1. Insofar as HK processes personal data on behalf of the customer, the data processing agreement concluded between the parties, including its annexes, applies.
  2. HK stores customer data, including the associated backups, physically and exclusively in Germany.
  3. A deviating agreement on the physical storage location of the customer data or the associated backups is excluded.
  4. Administrative access to systems and customer data is carried out exclusively by persons authorised to do so and only insofar as it is necessary for the provision, security, maintenance or fault analysis of the agreed service.
  5. Access is controlled and logged in accordance with HK’s relevant security and authorisation concepts.
  6. Administrative access from abroad or by persons abroad is only permissible if it is necessary for the provision of services, is controlled by HK and the data protection requirements, in particular those relating to transfers to third countries, are met.
  7. The physical storage of the customer data and the associated backups in Germany remains unaffected by this.
  8. The commitment to storage in Germany does not automatically cover every technical processing operation outside the actual storage. This applies in particular to support, monitoring, security processes, licensing processes and administrative activities.
  9. Insofar as such processes concern personal data, they are described and legally safeguarded in the data processing agreement (AVV) and its annexes.

§ 15 Changes to services and contractual terms

  1. HK may make technical, organisational and security-related changes to the services if these are necessary to maintain, improve or secure the services.
  2. A change is only permissible if the agreed nature of the service is preserved and the legitimate interests of the customer are given appropriate consideration.
  3. Changes due to statutory, regulatory or security-related requirements may also be implemented at short notice, insofar as this is necessary. HK informs the customer of this in advance where possible, otherwise without undue delay after implementation.
  4. Changes to the essential subject matter of the service, the agreed functionality, the term or the financial burden on the customer require an agreement or must be implemented in accordance with a special statutory or contractual amendment procedure.
  5. For publicly available telecommunications services, the special statutory requirements for contract amendments apply.
  6. HK may replace third-party services with a technically and economically reasonable substitute service if the third-party provider discontinues the previous service, changes it significantly or no longer provides it on reasonable terms.
  7. If no reasonable substitute is available, HK may terminate the part of the service concerned with reasonable notice. Mandatory statutory rights of the customer remain unaffected.

§ 16 Permitted use and unlawful content

  1. The customer may only use the services within the framework of the contract, the applicable laws and recognised security requirements.
  2. The following in particular are not permitted:
    • the storage or transmission of unlawful content;
    • the operation or distribution of malware;
    • unauthorised interference with systems or networks;
    • attacks on systems, networks or services;
    • the circumvention of security measures;
    • use that endangers the stability, security or availability of the infrastructure of HK or third parties;
    • use that infringes the rights of third parties.
  3. In the event of a specific threat to security, availability or legal compliance, HK may temporarily restrict or suspend the service concerned, insofar as this is necessary and proportionate.
  4. HK informs the customer of this, insofar as this is legally and technically possible.

§ 17 Liability

  1. HK is liable without limitation:
    • for damage resulting from injury to life, body or health;
    • for damage caused intentionally;
    • for damage caused by gross negligence;
    • insofar as mandatory statutory liability applies;
    • insofar as HK has expressly assumed a guarantee;
    • insofar as HK has expressly assumed a procurement risk.
  2. Liability for gross negligence does not differ according to whether the damage was caused by an executive or another vicarious agent.
  3. In the event of a breach of a material contractual obligation due to simple negligence, HK is only liable for the damage that was foreseeable at the time of conclusion of the contract as a typical consequence of the breach of duty, given the nature and scope of the service concerned.
  4. Material contractual obligations are those obligations whose fulfilment makes the proper performance of the contract possible in the first place and on whose fulfilment the customer may regularly rely.
  5. In all other respects, HK’s liability for simple negligence is excluded.
  6. Liability for damage to property and financial loss is, as a rule, limited per contractual relationship and contract year to twelve times the monthly reference charge for the specific service affected. However, this limitation only applies insofar as it adequately covers the damage recoverable under this § 17. If this is not the case, liability is limited to the damage recoverable under this § 17.
  7. Atypical, indirect damage and damage not foreseeable at the time of conclusion of the contract are not recoverable, in particular loss of profit, consequences of business interruption not directly caused and other consequential damage, insofar as this is permitted by law.
  8. The monthly reference charge is:
    • for a fixed monthly charge, the monthly net charge last agreed;
    • for a usage-based charge, the average of the six immediately preceding complete billing months;
    • where there are fewer than six complete billing months, the average of the complete months billed to date;
    • for services not yet billed, the monthly minimum or basic charge agreed in the order document;
    • for services without a minimum or basic charge and without a sufficient billing history, the average monthly revenue on which the order document is based or which is to be expected on the basis of objective indications.
  9. If calculation in accordance with the preceding paragraph is not possible, the reference charge is the average monthly revenue expected to be incurred for the specific service affected in accordance with the order document.
  10. An expressly agreed liability cap in an order document or a product-specific service description takes precedence over this general provision, insofar as it meets the statutory requirements for limitations of liability.
  11. The limitations of liability do not apply to damage resulting from injury to life, body or health, to intent, gross negligence, mandatory statutory liability or an expressly assumed guarantee.
  12. A binding service description, an agreement on quality or a service commitment expressly designated as binding does not in itself constitute a guarantee or strict (no-fault) liability.
  13. This also applies to the commitment that, for web hosting and email hosting, backups are created daily and retained for at least 90 days in accordance with the agreed rotation scheme, and to the commitment to store customer data, including the associated backups, physically and exclusively in Germany.
  14. A guarantee or no-fault obligation to indemnify exists only if HK expressly designates it as a guarantee or as a no-fault obligation to indemnify in the respective contractual document and clearly defines its scope.
  15. In all other respects, the binding service commitments remain contractual obligations owed. Their breach may therefore, in the event of fault, give rise to the customer’s statutory claims, but is subject to the above liability provisions, insofar as no mandatory statutory liability precludes this.
  16. In the event of data loss, HK is liable in the case of simple negligence only for the recovery effort that would have been required had the customer backed up its data properly and appropriately.
  17. This limitation does not apply insofar as HK has assumed a specific backup or restore service. In this case, liability remains limited to the agreed scope of services and the above limits of liability.
  18. Service credits under § 11 are not a conclusive or lump-sum settlement of claims for damages. However, they are offset against claims for damages based on the same event and the same damage.
  19. The above limitations of liability apply accordingly in favour of HK’s legal representatives, employees and vicarious agents.

§ 18 Confidentiality and protection of business information

  1. The parties shall keep all confidential information of the other party secret and use it only for the performance of the contract.
  2. Confidential information includes in particular business and trade secrets, technical information, access credentials, security information, customer data, calculations and information about the performance of the contract that is not publicly known.
  3. Information is not confidential if it is publicly known, becomes publicly known without a breach of contract, was already lawfully known to the receiving party or is lawfully provided by a third party without an obligation of confidentiality.
  4. Statutory disclosure obligations remain unaffected. The party concerned shall inform the other party, insofar as this is legally permissible.

§ 19 Rights to software, documentation and work results

  1. HK retains all rights to its software, infrastructure, documentation, methods, templates, concepts and other pre-existing materials.
  2. The customer receives the non-exclusive and non-transferable rights of use required for the contractual use of the agreed services.
  3. The provision of source code, ownership of the infrastructure or rights of use to HK’s internal methods is not owed unless this has been expressly agreed.
  4. The customer may reproduce documentation and evaluations provided for its own internal business purposes, insofar as this is necessary for the contractual use.

§ 20 Force majeure and external service disruptions

  1. Neither party is liable for delays or impediments to performance caused by force majeure.
  2. Force majeure is an extraordinary event, unrelated to operations and originating from outside, which was not foreseeable for the party concerned at the time of conclusion of the contract and could not be prevented or averted in time even by exercising the utmost reasonable care.
  3. This includes in particular:
    • natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, storms or comparable natural events;
    • war, armed conflicts, acts of terrorism, riots and comparable serious acts of violence;
    • measures by public authorities or lawful sovereign interventions that directly prevent the provision of services;
    • widespread failures of the energy or telecommunications supply, insofar as they lie outside HK’s area of responsibility;
    • substantial and targeted acts of sabotage or cyberattacks by third parties, insofar as HK has taken reasonable protective measures customary in the industry;
    • industrial action, insofar as it was not caused by a breach of duty for which HK is responsible.
  4. Force majeure does not include ordinary operational disruptions, foreseeable maintenance or servicing deficiencies, inadequate capacity planning, insufficient security precautions, organisational fault or other circumstances attributable to HK’s area of responsibility.
  5. The failure or delay of a carrier, data centre operator, upstream supplier or other third-party provider constitutes an external service disruption for which HK is not responsible, insofar as:
    • the cause lies outside HK’s area of responsibility;
    • there is no fault for which HK or a vicarious agent attributable under Section 278 of the German Civil Code (BGB) is responsible;
    • a reasonable alternative procurement or rerouting is not possible or is economically unreasonable;
    • HK informs the customer without undue delay of the expected effects;
    • HK takes reasonable measures to limit the disruption.
  6. The statutory attribution of fault on the part of vicarious agents under Section 278 BGB remains unaffected. The careful selection, monitoring and management of a third-party provider does not preclude the statutory attribution of attributable third-party fault.
  7. In the event of force majeure or an external service disruption for which HK is not responsible, the affected performance deadlines are extended by the duration of the impediment plus a reasonable restart period.
  8. HK informs the customer without undue delay as soon as the impediment to performance and its expected effects become known, and takes reasonable measures to limit the disruption.
  9. As soon as the impediment to performance ceases, HK resumes the provision of services without undue delay.
  10. If the impediment lasts longer than 30 days or it is foreseeable that it will last longer than 30 days, either party may terminate the part of the service concerned with 14 days’ notice in text form.
  11. Termination does not affect payment claims that have already arisen. Services already provided must be paid for.
  12. Mandatory statutory claims, in particular on account of intent, gross negligence or breach of material contractual obligations, remain unaffected.

§ 21 Final provisions

  1. The law of the Federal Republic of Germany applies, excluding the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG), insofar as no mandatory statutory provisions conflict with this.
  2. If the customer is a merchant (Kaufmann), a legal entity under public law or a special fund under public law, the place of jurisdiction for all disputes arising from the contractual relationship is HK’s registered office. HK remains entitled to sue the customer at the customer’s general place of jurisdiction.
  3. Notices of termination and other legally relevant declarations must be made at least in text form, unless a stricter form is prescribed by law.
  4. Should any provision of these Terms be or become invalid, the remainder of the contract remains valid. The invalid provision is replaced by the statutory provisions.

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