General Terms and Conditions
1. Formation of a Contract
1.1 These General Terms and Conditions (hereinafter referred to as “GTC”) govern the mutual rights and obligations between noEssentials, Brüggbühlstrasse 40, 3172 Niederwangen bei Bern (hereinafter referred to as the “Provider”) on the one hand, and the customer of noEssentials (hereinafter referred to as the “Customer”) on the other hand. The Provider and the Customer shall be individually referred to as a “Party” and collectively as the “Parties.”
1.2 These GTC serve as the basis of the contract and apply to all contractual relationships between the Parties, even without explicit notice. Any business or purchasing conditions of the Customer are considered waived. Agreements that deviate from these GTC, including this written form clause, require written form.
2. General, Validity
2.1 These general terms and conditions, along with any attached appendix, are an integral part of every offer of services provided by the Provider.
2.2 Subject to any differing written agreements, the following contractual conditions apply to all contractual objects of the Provider.
2.3 The offers made by the Provider are non-binding and subject to change. A contract is concluded upon the written order confirmation by the Provider or through the mutual signing of a contract, but in any case, no later than the acceptance of the delivery/service by the Customer.
3. Subject of the Contract
3.1 The Provider offers the Customer the services specified and exhaustively listed in the offer, namely, photo trips (“Contractual Subject Matter”). Photo workshops and digital products are not regulated by a separate contractual subject matter, as they are standardized products that cannot be personalized.
3.2 Special requests must be defined and confirmed in writing by the Provider.
3.3 The Provider provides its own services such as photo trips, photo workshops, aerial photography or videography, commissioned photography, and commissioned video.
3.4 A contractual obligation for a specific work is only owed if it is explicitly defined in the offer.
3.5 The Provider may adjust its services and processes at any time during the fulfillment of the contract, provided that it does not adversely affect the Customer’s use.
3.6 The Customer is responsible for travel documentation. The necessary documents for entry (passport/identity card, health documentation, visa, etc.) must be available. The names of the participants must be filled in according to the valid identification for entry. If the entry documentation is not filled in correctly or brought along, the Provider may refuse to provide the services without reimbursement.
3.6.1 The same provisions as stated in section 3.6 apply if documents or certificates for entry into a country are missing.
4. General Obligations of the Contracting Parties
4.1 Each party undertakes to inform the other party of any circumstances that may have an impact on the execution of the contract. The Customer shall truthfully inform
the Provider of any aspects that may affect their contractual capacity or the quality of services to be provided by the Provider. The Customer shall use the services provided to them responsibly and shall be liable for civil and criminal actions, releasing the Provider from any responsibility in case of criminal prosecution. The Customer shall strictly adhere to Swiss legislation and applicable international agreements when using the provided equipment, software, and acquired services.
4.2 The Customer is solely responsible for the equipment. The Provider assumes no
liability for any damage to the photo equipment.
4.3 The Provider is liable within the framework of applicable laws, with liability for
slight negligence excluded. Liability for consequential, indirect, and incidental damages is also excluded, as well as liability for auxiliary persons.
5. Contractual Objects
5.1 The contractual objects of the Provider are partially or entirely based on pre-existing software, equipment, or services from third parties (third-party providers). The Provider may use software, equipment, and services from third parties to fulfill their obligations. Equipment (with or without separately licensable third-party software) is referred to here as a product. Furthermore, the Provider may involve subcontractors under their responsibility to fulfill the obligations arising from the contractual relationship.
5.2 The Provider is not liable for damages, such as flight delays, public transportation disruptions, etc., caused by third-party providers.
6. Usage Rights
6.1 Unless expressly agreed otherwise, this contract does not involve the transfer of ownership, and the following provisions regarding usage rights for contractual objects apply: The Customer is granted a non-exclusive, time-limited to the contractually agreed duration, non-transferable, and non-sub licensable right to use the equipment for their own internal use.
6.2 If software or products from third-party providers are part of the Provider’s service or if the Provider otherwise provides software or products from third-party providers to the Customer, the terms and conditions of use, licensing, support, and maintenance associated with these products or software from the third-party providers also apply. The Customer acknowledges these conditions as binding for them. To the extent that a third-party provider offers usage, licensing, support, or maintenance services for such products, the Provider will pass on these services to the Customer, and the Customer’s claims will be governed by the provisions of the third-party provider. If the usage, licensing, support, or maintenance conditions of the third-party provider are less extensive than these terms and conditions, the Provider’s performance obligation will be reduced accordingly. This also applies to service quotations.
7. Intellectual Property
7.1 All rights to existing or intellectual property created during the fulfillment of the contract regarding the Provider’s services remain with the Provider or the authorized third party (e.g., third-party providers).
7.2 Documents created by the Provider for the purpose of courses and presentations (both in digital and analog form) may not be used for other purposes without the written consent of the Provider. It is particularly prohibited to disclose project documents developed by the Provider, whether contractual or non-contractual, to the Provider’s competitors or to its own departments, subsidiaries, etc., for the purpose of bidding or engagement without written permission.
8. Payment Terms for Services, Photo Trips, and Photo Workshops
8.1 The payment terms, unless otherwise specified, can be found in the respective contract. If the agreed-upon deadlines are not met, the Provider reserves the right to exclude the Customer from the corresponding services. The cancellation costs described in these terms and conditions shall apply.
For a photo trip agreement, an advance payment of 40% of the total amount is due 10 days after the contract is concluded. An additional 30% is due 30 days before the start of the trip. The remaining balance must be settled 10 days before the start of the trip.
Photo workshops do not require a separate contract, and the amount owed must be paid 30 days before the start.
8.1 In the case of a late booking (less than 60 days before the start of a photo trip) or price fluctuations (e.g., newly introduced fees, government VAT increases, exchange rate increases, transportation cost increases, etc.) that incur additional costs, the Provider will pass on these costs to the Customer.
9. Rebooking, Changes, Cancellation for Services, Photo Trips, and Photo Workshops
9.1 Photo workshops can be canceled free of charge up to 30 days before the start. If the photo workshop is canceled less than 30 days before, the fees are as follows:
- 29 to 14 days: 25% of the total amount
- 13 to 8 days: 50% of the total amount
- 7 to 0 days: 100% of the total amount
9.2 For a rebooking, change, or cancellation after the conclusion of a photo trip contract, a processing fee of CHF 300 per person will be charged to the customer.
9.3 Unless otherwise specified in the contract, rebooking, change, or cancellation costs will be directly invoiced to the customer.
9.4 If payment is not made within the specified deadline, the Provider may invoke the cancellation under the conditions mentioned in sections 9.2 and 9.3.
9.5 If the customer has to or wants to terminate a photo trip or photo workshop prematurely for any reason, or if they are unable to avail themselves of individual services, the price for the unused services or the entire service will not be
refunded. Only the services that do not burden the Provider will be refunded.
10. Changes by the Provider
10.1 The Provider reserves the right to modify the program of the photo trip or photo workshop if unforeseeable and unavoidable circumstances require it.
10.2 If a program change for a photo trip results in a price increase of more than 15% of the total amount, the customer may withdraw from the contract within 5 days after the notification, with a full refund. The reservation remains as stated in section 3.2.
10.3 If no notification is received within the specified period, the Provider assumes that there is agreement with the changes.
10.4 If fewer customers are booked for a photo trip or photo workshop than the specified minimum number of participants, the Provider reserves the right to cancel the photo trip or photo workshop at least 4 weeks before the scheduled start. All costs already paid will be refunded. Additional necessary travel documents, such as passport renewals, visas, insurance, etc., will not be refunded.
10.5 The mentioned tour guide is not an obligation of the Provider and may be hanged at any time.
11. Program Changes
11.1 In general, the photo trips are not subject to modifications. However, exceptions may apply in cases of force majeure or situations where providing a emedy
would involve disproportionate costs or efforts. In such cases, the provider is not obliged to provide a remedy. The provider does not reimburse participants for services that were not rendered unless they do not burden the provider or are refunded by the third-party provider. Additionally, this applies only if the amounts involved are not negligible or if legal regulations prohibit refunds. Further claims are excluded.
11.2 If a trip has to be canceled due to force majeure, the full trip price remains payable. The provider only reimburses the services not rendered if they do not burden the provider. Further claims are excluded.
12. Special Rules for the Purchase of Products
12.1 Upon shipping of the products, the benefits and risks transfer to the customer.
12.2 The ownership of ordered products remains with the provider until the full purchase price, including interest, any fees, and taxes, has been legally paid.
13 Acquisition and Use of a License for Digital Products
13.1 The acquisition of digital products is only possible through predefined payment
methods. Payment via invoice for digital products is not available.
13.2 The license grants the customer a permanent, non-exclusive, non-transferable,
worldwide license to use the purchased digital products.
13.3 The customer can sell end products created with the provider’s presets to an unlimited number of people. The end products must not contain the presets themselves. This means that the customer can sell an edited photo to a customer or an archive photo edited with the provider’s preset products, but cannot sell a product that includes the presets.
13.4 The customer is not allowed to distribute the presets. By purchasing these presets, the customer agrees to the licensing agreement. The distribution, copying, sale, or redistribution of derivative works is also prohibited.
14 Special Rules for the Surrender of the Use of Systems
14.1 The systems and contractual items provided to the customer for use remain the property of the provider and may not be transferred to others.
14.2 The customer is obligated to cooperate in measures necessary for the protection of the provider’s property.
15. Place of Performance
The place of performance is noEssentials, Brüggbühlstrasse 40, 3172 Niederwangen bei Bern, Switzerland.
16. Jurisdiction and Applicable Law
The relationship between the provider and the customer is exclusively governed by Swiss substantive law, to the exclusion of any other legal regulations such as the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods. Any disputes that may arise between the two parties in connection with the execution or interpretation of the service contract will be submitted to the competent court in Bern, which is expressly declared competent by the provider and the customer.
17. Legal Scope of the General Terms and Conditions
The customer acknowledges having understood and taken note of these general terms and conditions for the agreed-upon service, and agrees to them without any restrictions.
18. Severability Clause
If any provisions of these general terms and conditions (AGB) are found to be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall remain in effect. In such a case, the invalid or unenforceable provisions will be replaced with valid provisions that achieve, to the fullest extent possible, the economic effects intended by the invalid provisions.
