These terms and conditions contain the legally required information regarding conclusion of contract, prices and payment conditions, and description of services.
1. Scope and Definitions
(1) These General Terms and Conditions (GTC) govern the legal relationship between me, Fotografie Katharina Viellechner, Virchowstraße 15E in 15831 Blankenfelde-Mahlow (hereinafter referred to as "I" or "me"), and my clients (hereinafter referred to as "Customer" or "Client") regarding photography services.
(2) These GTC apply to both consumers pursuant to Section 13 of the German Civil Code (BGB) and entrepreneurs pursuant to Section 14 BGB, unless otherwise stipulated in individual provisions.
(3) I expressly recognize deviating terms and conditions of the Customer only if I have agreed to them in writing. This applies even if I do not expressly object to deviating terms and conditions.
2. Subject Matter of the Contract
(1) The subject matter of the contract is the provision of photography services.
(2) Photography services include:
a) Conducting preliminary consultations and introductory meetings,
b) Assistance with location scouting,
c) Performing the photoshooting,
d) Image editing and/or retouching.
(3) The services agreed upon in the contract or offer, as well as their scope, are determined by the specific offer and the conclusion (signature of both parties) of the contract.
3. Prices and Terms of Payment
(1) The prices stated at the time the contract is concluded apply; all prices are in euros. As I am a small business owner pursuant to §19 value added tax act (UStG) my prices are exempt the statutory VAT.
(2) The customer is required to pay a deposit of 50% of the total price via bank transfer prior to the photo shoot, unless stated and agreed upon otherwise in writing (such as a contract).
(3) The (remaining) balance is due no later than 14 days after the Client has received the final product and must also be paid via bank transfer.
(4) I do not offer any other payment methods.
4. Cancellations by the Customer
(1) The customer is entitled to cancel the booked service at any time. In case the booked service is cancelled, I reserve my right to keep the deposit in full.
(2) The right to terminate for good cause remains unaffected by this.
(2) The right to terminate for good cause remains unaffected by this.
5. Rescheduling by the Customer
(1) The customer may reschedule an already confirmed service appointment free of charge up to 7 calendar days prior to the scheduled date, provided a new date can be mutually agreed upon. Rescheduling must be requested in writing (e.g., via email).
(2) Rescheduling less than 7 calendar days before the appointment is deemed a cancellation within the meaning of Section 6, unless a new, binding alternative date can be mutually agreed upon within an appropriate timeframe.
(4) In the event of repeated postponements or postponements made without prior agreement, I reserve the right to terminate the contract and, where applicable, claim damages.
(4) In the event of repeated postponements or postponements made without prior agreement, I reserve the right to terminate the contract and, where applicable, claim damages.
6. Hindrances, Force Majeure, and Unavailability
(1) Hindrance to Performance by me
If I am prevented from performing the service while executing an order due to circumstances of any kind, I shall notify the client of this in writing without delay.
If I am not responsible for these circumstances, we shall mutually agree on a reasonable rescheduling of the agreed date.
If I fail to provide timely written notification, I may not subsequently rely on these circumstances.
If no agreement is reached regarding a substitute date, the client is entitled to withdraw from the contract. In this case, I shall refund all payments already made.
(2) Force Majeure
In cases of force majeure, I am released from my obligation to perform for the duration and to the extent of the impact of such events.
Force majeure is defined as any unforeseeable and unavoidable event beyond my control that prevents me, in whole or in part, from fulfilling the contract. This includes, in particular:
- natural disasters (e.g., fire, floods, severe weather),
- official orders,
- pandemics, epidemics, wars,
- strikes, lawful lockouts,
- sudden operational disruptions or other unavoidable outages.
I shall inform the client immediately of the occurrence and cessation of the force majeure event and shall endeavor to limit its impact as much as possible.
The contracting parties shall coordinate on how to proceed. If the force majeure event persists for more than four weeks beyond the originally agreed date, either party is entitled to withdraw from the contract.
The right to terminate the contract for good cause pursuant to Section 314 of the German Civil Code (BGB) remains unaffected.
(3) Unavailability of the Photographer
If I am unable to provide the agreed service due to an unforeseeable event – e.g. due to illness, accident, or force majeure – I shall inform the client immediately.
In such a case, I am entitled to offer an alternative date or to withdraw from the contract. Any payments already made will be refunded in full.
The client is not entitled to any further compensation for damages, provided I am not responsible for the cancellation.
7. Copyright and Usage Rights
All photos created by me fall under the German copy right law (Urheberrechtsgesetz) §2. I am the originator of these images and protected under the German copy right law. Unlawful usage of the photos is therefore prohibited.
(1) Upon the handover of the digital copies, the customer is granted a non-exclusive right of use—unrestricted in terms of location and time—to utilize the images for private purposes. The customer is entitled to share the images with third parties (specifically family members and friends) for private, non-commercial purposes.
Any commercial use—including by third parties to whom the customer has passed on the images—is permitted only upon prior written agreement.
In case of transfer of license being necessary, an adequate fee and the type of license is to be agreed upon and expressly stated in a contract signed by all parties involved and the photographer.
(2) If a copyright notice is affixed to an image, it must not be removed. When using an image, or parts or crops thereof, an appropriate copyright notice must be included. Any deviations from the foregoing provisions require a written agreement between the provider and the customer.
(3) In the event of public display of the images, particularly on social networks, the customer is requested to credit the creator as the photographer (e.g., “Photo: Fotografie Katharina Viellechner” or by linking to the profile or website https://www.fotografie-viellechner.de/ or https://www.instagram.com/kathas.fotos/). This request also applies to third parties to whom the customer passes on the images.
(4) Pursuant to Section 158 (1) of the German Civil Code (BGB), the granting of rights becomes effective only once the customer has paid the price owed in full. I may provisionally permit use of the subject matter of the contract prior to this time. Such provisional permission does not constitute a transfer of rights under this clause.
8. Limitation of Liability
(1) I accept unlimited liability for damages caused intentionally or through gross negligence, as well as for culpable injury to life, body, or health.
(2) In the event of a culpable breach of essential contractual obligations - the fulfillment of which is a prerequisite for the proper execution of the contract and upon whose observance the customer regularly relies - my liability for simple negligence is limited to typically foreseeable damages.
(3) Any further liability for simple negligence is excluded, unless mandatory statutory provisions dictate otherwise.
(5) Liability under the Product Liability Act remains unaffected.
9. Customer Liability
(1) The customer is liable for all damages caused intentionally or negligently by the customer—or by persons brought along or supervised by the customer—to my equipment (e.g., camera, lenses, lighting, other technical devices) or other property. This includes damages resulting from improper handling, theft, or loss.
(2) The customer undertakes to take all necessary precautions to protect the equipment and to report any damage immediately.
(3) Should the customer fail to meet their liability obligations, I reserve the right to invoice the customer for the full amount of the damages incurred.
10. Generative AI (genAI) and training thereof
(1) Unauthorized uploading, data mining, ingestion, or use of my photos -in whole or in part- to train AI technologies, machine learning models or large language models (LLM) is strictly prohibited. No right is granted to use any photos for synthetic content generation or algorithmic adaptation. The client (incl. any third parties working with of for the client) agrees not to upload, input, or otherwise transmit the work, or any part thereof, into any genAI system, LLM, or consumer-facing AI tool (such as ChatGPT, Claude or similar technologies) for any purpose, including editing, evaluating, or machine learning training without the photographer's prior express written consent. This section applies unless stated otherwise in a contract signed by all parties involved.
(2) In case of the production of material where I am seen, heard, or in any other way shown: The material must not be used to create any synthetic, digital, or AI-generated replica of my voice, image, or likeness, without prior express written consent. Breach permits immediate termination, and removal of all such material.