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1. General, scope of application

These General Terms and Conditions of GeoSphere Austria - Federal Institute of Geology, Geophysics, Climatology and Meteorology (hereinafter referred to as "GeoSphere Austria") apply to all business relations between GeoSphere Austria and its customers or service recipients (hereinafter referred to as "customer").

All services of GeoSphere Austria, deliveries, offers and other agreements are exclusively based on these General Terms and Conditions.

A customer’s deviating, conflicting or supplementary general terms and conditions are expressly excluded for the entire business relationship with GeoSphere Austria and, in exceptional cases, only become part of the contract if and to the extent that GeoSphere Austria has expressly agreed to their validity in writing. The mere omission of an objection to other general terms and conditions as well as the fulfillment of the contract by GeoSphere Austria does not in any case lead to their being considered as agreed upon.

As far as contracts, agreements or offers of GeoSphere Austria contain deviating or contradictory provisions in individual cases, these individual contractual provisions shall take precedence over these General Terms and Conditions. However, as far as these General Terms and Conditions contain only clarifying and/or supplementing or concretizing provisions, they shall apply in addition to the provisions agreed upon in the individual case.

The following supplementary terms and conditions, which form an integral part of these General Terms and Conditions, contain supplementary and more specific provisions for the respective defined scope of application. They exist in addition to the General Terms and Conditions and supersede them only where and to the extent that they contain more specific provisions.

Any amendments to these General Terms and Conditions will be communicated in writing to the contractual partners of GeoSphere Austria with whom GeoSphere Austria has an ongoing
business relationship. In this case, it is sufficient for GeoSphere Austria to provide written notice of an amendment to its General Terms and Conditions, provided that the General Terms and Conditions are publicly available on the website of GeoSphere Austria (www.geosphere.at). Any amendments to these General Terms and Conditions shall become effective upon their announcement. However, the customer is entitled to terminate the existing contractual relationship between him and GeoSphere Austria within one month after notification of the change of the General Terms and Conditions as of the last day of the month following the day of the notice of termination, irrespective of the contract period agreed upon
between him and GeoSphere Austria or the agreed upon termination provisions.

For reasons of better readability, these General Terms and Conditions do not use any gender-specific forms of language at the same time. All references to persons apply equally to all genders.

2. Services of GeoSphere Austria

Scope of Services

GeoSphere Austria is established as an institution under public law with its own legal personality for the provision of services in the fields of geology, geophysics, climatology and meteorology.

Delivery, Provision

The delivery of the services offered by GeoSphere Austria is carried out electronically or by way of call-off by the customer or - if this results from the service to be provided - on site, unless a different delivery agreement is made in individual cases. The delivery is carried out
using suitable, customary and state of the art transmission services, such as in particular telecommunication services, i.e. in particular telephone, fax, internet etc.. However, GeoSphere Austria is free to use newer or different technologies or systems, procedures or
standards for the transmission of services than initially offered due to technical progress or scientific findings. Such a possible change of the transmission method does not entitle the customer to withdraw from the contract, nor to assert any possible reduction of fees or other
claims of any kind whatsoever. The customer, in turn, is obligated to dispose of the technical systems and equipment necessary for the delivery and provision of the services to be rendered by GeoSphere Austria as agreed upon, in particular e.g. computer, telephone, fax machine, email, as well as the necessary software programs, etc., if applicable.
GeoSphere Austria does not assume any liability whatsoever for any delays in delivery and performance or any faulty transmissions that may occur due to the absence or non-functioning of the customer's required technical equipment.
Furthermore, the customer shall take suitable precautions to ensure that unauthorized access to the transmitted information by third parties is excluded. This concerns in particular the protection of access to transmission devices and the protection of access information (user IDs, passwords, etc.).
The delivery of the services to be provided by GeoSphere Austria will be made to the address (most recently) provided by the customer. GeoSphere Austria is not obligated to check the proper receipt of the services to be delivered by the customer and therefore does not provide any warranty in this respect.
GeoSphere Austria assumes no liability for the uninterrupted availability of the services. In particular, GeoSphere Austria is not liable for technical and/or maintenance-related interruptions and failures, missing and/or faulty transmissions or other technical difficulties in connection with the delivery of the services to be provided by GeoSphere Austria, as long as these were not caused intentionally or by gross negligence on the part of GeoSphere Austria.

Start of Delivery

Unless otherwise agreed upon in individual contracts, GeoSphere Austria shall commence delivery of the contractually agreed services on the first day of the month following the effective conclusion of the contract.

Changes in services and technical progress

GeoSphere Austria reserves the right to extend, change and improve services, as far as this is reasonable for the customer, taking into account the interests of GeoSphere Austria, but especially if this is necessary due to changes or additions to the law.
GeoSphere Austria will inform affected customers about any changes in a timely manner.
Furthermore, GeoSphere Austria is free to use newer or different technologies, systems, procedures or standards for the provision of services than initially offered, due to technical progress or scientific findings. Such a possible technical change does not entitle the customer to withdraw from the contract or to assert any possible reduction of fees or other claims of any kind whatsoever.

Free services
Where GeoSphere Austria provides services and performances free of charge, these may be discontinued at any time and without prior notice. This does not result in a right to a reduction, conversion or reimbursement of services and performances received at the same time against payment.
The services to be provided free of charge by GeoSphere Austria as a public body, institution under public law and research institution within the meaning of the PSI Directive, as well as those provided pursuant to Section 4 (1), (2) and (3) (9) and (10) GSAG (GeoSphere Austria Act) or pursuant to other legal provisions, shall remain unaffected.

3. Conclusion of the contract, duration and termination

Conclusion of the contract

Offers made by GeoSphere Austria are subject to change without notice and are non-binding, unless otherwise stated in the individual case. The contract comes into effect after the order
has been placed in writing, at the latest, however, when the execution of the order has begun or the contract has been signed by all parties to the contract.

Duration

The duration of the contractual relationship between GeoSphere Austria and the customer is to be determined in each individual case. If the duration of the contractual relationship between GeoSphere Austria and the customer is not agreed upon separately in an individual case, it is considered to be concluded for an indefinite period of time.

Termination

a) Ordinary Termination

Contractual relationships between GeoSphere Austria and the customer can be terminated - unless otherwise agreed in individual cases - by either contracting party by giving three months' notice to the end of each quarter.

b) Extraordinary Termination

Unless otherwise agreed in individual cases, contractual relationships between GeoSphere Austria and the customer may be terminated by GeoSphere Austria without notice if

• the customer ceases his/her business operations
• the customer violates one or more provisions of these General Terms and Conditions or of any contract existing between the customer and GeoSphere Austria or neglects the interests of GeoSphere Austria in a careless manner;
• the customer is in arrears with the payment of the monthly fee and despite a grace period of at least 14 days the arrears are not paid in full;
• insolvency proceedings are opened against the customer's assets or such proceedings are dismissed for lack of assets to cover costs.

Similarly, contractual relationships between GeoSphere Austria and the customer may be terminated by the customer without notice - unless otherwise agreed - if

• GeoSphere Austria discontinues the operation of that branch of business which is necessary for the fulfillment of its obligations under the terms of the contract concluded with the customer;
• GeoSphere Austria grossly violates one or more provisions of these General Terms and Conditions or of any contract existing between GeoSphere Austria and the customer, or neglects the interests of the customer in a careless manner;
• insolvency proceedings are instituted against the assets of GeoSphere Austria, or such proceedings are dismissed for lack of assets to cover costs.
  Any kind of termination must be in written form. E-mail (but not fax) sufficiently fulfills this written form requirement.

4. Prices and terms of payment

Fee

GeoSphere Austria provides its services, unless they are explicitly free of charge, against payment. The amount of the price will be determined on a case-by-case basis.
In case of doubt, all prices are net and exclusive of any additional costs (fees or other charges).

Payment due date

Unless otherwise agreed in individual cases, payments shall be due and payable without deduction within 30 calendar days of receipt of the invoice.

Value Added Tax and Other Fees and Charges

If GeoSphere Austria is subject to value added tax with regard to the specific service, GeoSphere Austria will charge the value added tax in addition to the agreed fee. In this case, the additional charging of value added tax does not constitute a right of withdrawal for the
contracting partner.
Any changes in tax rates, duties and/or fees or other public-law levies that become due with regard to the services to be provided by Geo- Sphere Austria will be invoiced by GeoSphere Austria at any time after any legal change becomes effective and do not entitle the contracting
partner to withdraw from the contract prematurely.

Indexing

Fees charged by GeoSphere Austria for periodically recurring services are index based. The basis for calculation is the consumer price index published by STATISTIK AUSTRIA, as amended
from time to time. The index figure published in the month of the conclusion of the contract shall serve as reference value. The fee shall be adjusted once a year on the basis of the index figure published for January, with effect for the current calendar year. If the consumer price index is no longer published, the index most closely corresponding to the index published by an official body shall be used as the basis for value protection. The right of GeoSphere Austria to claim an increase of the fee resulting from the index change expires exclusively if this right is not asserted within three years from the relevant index increase. Non-calculation or non-increase - regardless of the duration - shall not be deemed a waiver.

Default

In case of default of payment by the customer, GeoSphere Austria is entitled to suspend the service after prior reminder and setting of a two-week grace period and corresponding warning. The right of GeoSphere Austria to extraordinary termination of the contractual relationship remains unaffected.

Default interest

In the event that a customer is in default of payment of all or part of the invoice amount due to him, interest of 12% p.a. of the amount in default will be charged, subject to the assertion of further damages for default.

Reminder and collection charges

In case of default, the customer is obligated to reimburse GeoSphere Austria for any reminder and collection expenses incurred, as far as they are necessary for the appropriate prosecution.
In case GeoSphere Austria is in charge of the dunning process, the customer is obliged to pay an amount of EUR 15,00 per reminder and an amount of EUR 5,60 per half year for the keeping of records of the debt relationship in the dunning process.

Retention

The customer is not entitled to withhold payments due to incomplete overall performance, claimed warranty or guarantee claims or complaints.

5. Compensation, Warranty

GeoSphere Austria is liable - regardless of whether it is a contractual, non-contractual or statutory basis for a claim - for a breach of duty for which it is responsible, regardless of the legal grounds, only in the case of intent and gross negligence. Liability for slight negligence -
with the exception of personal injury - is excluded.
In addition or beyond that, claims for damages by the customer against GeoSphere Austria, regardless of their legal nature, are excluded, if and to the extent that this is not contrary to mandatory law.
Any claim for damages must be asserted in writing to GeoSphere Austria within six months from the date of knowledge, if otherwise excluded.
Any liability for gross negligence is limited to the amount of the order volume, but not more than EUR 440,000.
GeoSphere Austria is not liable for any delays in delivery and/or performance that occur due to force majeure or due to events that make it significantly more difficult or impossible for GeoSphere Austria to perform its services (in particular strikes, lockouts, official orders, failure or disruption of communication networks, etc.), even if they occur at suppliers or contractors of GeoSphere Austria or its sub-suppliers or subcontractors and were not foreseeable at the time the contract was concluded.
With regard to any defects, the statutory provisions shall apply, in particular § 377 UGB as amended, unless otherwise agreed in these General Terms and Conditions or in the individual contracts. The basis of the warranty/liability for defects is above all the agreement reached on the quality of the services. The warranty period is 6 months from handover of the respective services to the customer. In case of doubt, the handover is considered to have taken place upon electronic receipt/processing of the services delivered by GeoSphere Austria.
In the case of rectifiable defects, the customer is entitled to claim improvement or supplementation of the missing parts, if GeoSphere Austria is responsible for the defects during the provision of services.
GeoSphere Austria shall be liable for delay and impossibility of performance only, for which GeoSphere Austria is responsible, as well as for the existence of warranted properties.
Compensation for consequential damages and pure financial losses, unrealized profit or savings, loss of interest and damages from third party claims against customers is excluded to the extent permitted by law. The burden of proof for the existence of gross negligence lies with the injured party.
Furthermore, GeoSphere Austria assumes no liability for the products and services derived by the customer from the information provided - in accordance with the provisions of these General Terms and Conditions. The customer agrees to indemnify and hold GeoSphere Austria harmless from any claims by third parties.

6. Rights of use

Unless otherwise provided by law in a specific case (in this context, reference is made in particular to §5 GSAG, Federal Law Gazette I No. 60/2022), the customer has the non-exclusive right to use the information provided for the duration of the contract, in terms of location within the contract territory - in the absence of a corresponding provision in the individual case, within the territory of Austria - and in terms of subject matter limited to the purpose of the contract. Any further use is not permitted without the written consent of GeoSphere Austria.
The copyright to the services and information provided by GeoSphere Austria in accordance with the individual contractual agreement, in particular meteorological forecast data, graphics, visualizations, information from "reconnaissance and data collection work in accordance with §3 lit. 17 GSAG - Federal Law Gazette I No. 60/2022, etc. remains with GeoSphere Austria.
The customer is not entitled to pass on services provided by GeoSphere Austria, in particular the information, services or services made available, regardless of whether this is done in
written form, on data carriers or in electronic form or verbally, to third parties - whether against payment or free of charge - or to make them available to third parties in any other way.
"Third party" shall mean any person other than the Customer, even if such person has any relationship to one of the contracting parties.
If the customer is entitled to further use and/or publication of the services provided by GeoSphere Austria in individual cases (e.g. because they serve as the basis of technical expert opinions and professional assessments), GeoSphere Austria is to be cited as the source and this is to be indicated as follows: © GeoSphere Austria.
In all other respects, reference is made to the following supplementary terms and conditions for the use of data.

7. Place of performance, applicable law, place of jurisdiction and other matters

Place of performance

Place of performance is Vienna.

Contractual language

Contract language is German.
In the event of a collision between the German and English versions of these GTC, the
German version shall preceed. The English version is for information purposes only.

Applicable Law

Austrian law shall apply exclusively to the exclusion of all conflict of law provisions and the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods.

Place of Jurisdiction

The respective materially competent court for Wien Innere Stadt shall have sole jurisdiction.

Severability Clause

Should individual parts of a contract or these General Terms and Conditions prove void, ineffective or contestable, or should these be incomplete, the remaining provisions shall remain unaffected thereby and shall be interpreted or supplemented in such a way that the
intended purpose is achieved in a legally permissible manner, according to the will of the contracting parties.

Notifications to contractual partners

Notifications and deliveries to the customer are to be sent to the last address announced in each case. If the customer does not communicate his address in writing or not in time, GeoSphere Austria shall be held harmless and indemnified in this respect.

Prohibition of assignment

Claims against GeoSphere Austria must not be assigned, unless GeoSphere Austria has agreed to the assignment in writing beforehand.

Consumer business

For the legal relationship with consumers as defined by § 1 KSchG, the provisions of these terms and conditions apply only insofar as the law does not cogently provide differently.