General Terms and Conditions

I. Scope of Applicability

1. Unless otherwise explicitly agreed upon in writing or required by law, these General Terms and Conditions apply to all current and future contracts between BOEHMERT & BOEHMERT Anwaltspartnerschaft mbB – Patentanwälte Rechtsanwälte (hereinafter: BOEHMERT & BOEHMERT) and its clients which concern legal advice and/or representation (Mandate).

2. Mandates are granted to BOEHMERT & BOEHMERT, not to individual partners and/or persons acting on behalf of BOEHMERT & BOEHMERT.

3. Unless otherwise explicitly agreed upon in writing or required by law, third parties are not included in or protected by the Mandate. They cannot claim any rights under the Mandate.

II. Scope and Fulfilment of the Mandate

1. The Mandate is the service agreed upon, not a specific legal or commercial success. The Mandate will be handled according to the principles of proper professional practice, including continuous further training and in consideration of current legal developments.

2. Unless otherwise explicitly agreed upon in writing, and under exclusion of foreign laws, the Mandate will be handled according to German laws including the laws and statutes of the European Union which are valid in Germany, but excluding tax laws.

3. To fulfil the Mandate, BOEHMERT & BOEHMERT is entitled to involve and consult competent staff and professionally competent third persons, provided these are also bound to professional secrecy or contractual confidentiality.

4. During the course of the Mandate, BOEHMERT & BOEHMERT is entitled to communicate with the client and third parties by e-mail. Unless otherwise explicitly agreed upon at least in text form at the request of the client, such communication will be transport-encyrpted. If communication shall be encrypted end-to-end, the client is obliged to facilitate the exchange of certificates that are offered by BOEHMERT & BOEHMERT.

III. Remuneration, Advance and Due Date

1. Charges, disbursements and fees (Remuneration) are subject to the Remuneration Agreement between the Parties and/or to the applicable schedules of fees and charges of BOEHMERT & BOEHMERT, or, alternatively, to the applicable statutory provisions on remuneration in accordance with the act on the remuneration of attorneys at law (RVG), which is also applicable to the remuneration of patent attorneys in litigation matters.

2. BOEHMERT & BOEHMERT is entitled to invoice a reasonable advance payment of the estimated Remuneration for the Mandate and to make commencement of and/or continuing with the services contingent to prompt payment of same.

3. Payment of invoices is due immediately upon receipt of an invoice by the client; interest will become due after 30 days. The client can only offset against claims of BOEHMERT & BOEHMERT if the claims of the client are undisputed or have been declared final and binding. BOEHMERT & BOEHMERT may issue invoices monthly.

4. BOEHMERT & BOEHMERT is entitled to collect money and money’s worth for the client and to use these funds – provided they are not earmarked – to settle Remuneration claims.

5. If required, the client will convey its VAT identification number to BOEHMERT & BOEHMERT and agrees that this will be disclosed to tax authorities in Germany.

IV. Liability and Limitation of Liability

1. The principles of liability are governed by the provisions of the German Partnership Act (Partnerschaftsgesellschaftsgesetz) and on the basis of these General Terms and Conditions. The liability of BOEHMERT & BOEHMERT for damages due to professional error is limited to the assets of the partnership.

2. In all cases of simple negligence, the liability of BOEHMERT & BOEHMERT is insofar limited to EUR 10.000.000 (in words: ten million) for each Mandate, irrespective of the number of potential claimants. The limitation of liability does not apply to culpably caused damages arising out of loss of life or injury to body or health of a person. The limitation of liability covers all damages due to professional error irrespective of whether damages occurred in one or more years.

3. BOEHMERT & BOEHMERT maintains a liability insurance, the amount insured of which exceeds the legal minimum insurance. Upon the client’s explicit request, it is possible, for individual cases, to conclude a liability insurance at an amount requested by the client and to increase the limitation of liability to that amount, provided that an agreement was reached in advance between BOEHMERT & BOEHMERT and the client with regard to the costs involved.

4. A damage claim can only be asserted against BOEHMERT & BOEHMERT within a preclusion period of one year after the client first became aware of the damage and the event giving rise to the claim, but at the latest within five years after the event giving rise to the claim, unless the failure to observe the time limits was through no fault of their own. The claim expires if legal action is not taken within a period of six months after written rejection of the indemnification and if the client was made aware of this consequence. The right to plead the statute of limitations remains unaffected.

V. Privacy and Data Protection

Detailed information about data protection, our handling of personal data and your rights as data subject can be found online at www.boehmert.com/data-protection.

VI. Applicable Law, Place of Fulfilment and Jurisdiction

1. The attorney-client-relationship is subject exclusively to German law, excluding German Private International Law.

2. Place of performance for all services rendered and local and international venue for all disputes arising out of or in conjunction with the attorney-client-relationship is the respective branch office of BOEHMERT & BOEHMERT, provided the client carries on a commercial business.

VII. Miscellaneous

1. If a provision of these General Terms and Conditions is or becomes invalid or unenforceable, this will have no effect on the validity and enforceability of the remaining provisions. The invalid or unenforceable provision will be replaced by a valid and enforceable provision which comes closest to the intended purpose of the original provision.

2. Alterations or additions to these General Terms and Conditions must be made in text form and explicitly marked as such. This also applies to the revocation of the requirement of the text form.