Terms of use

I. Scope, exclusion of deviating terms

1. The following Terms and Conditions (hereinafter “Terms of Use”) shall govern the contractual relationship between Compounder GmbH, c/o Bürogemeinschaft, Vondelstraße 35, 50677 Cologne, Germany, (hereinafter “Provider”) and the registered users (hereinafter “Users”) who wish to use the services provided under the domain https://study-in-germany.compounder.eu/ (hereinafter “Platform”) as well as the other services offered by the Provider within the scope of the Platform.

2. In addition to these Terms of Use, the privacy policy of the Provider applies (available here).

3. The terms and conditions of the User, if any, shall not apply and are expressly excluded. This also applies if the Provider (i) has not expressly objected the User's terms and conditions and/or (ii) provides its services without any objection.

II. Subject matter of the contract

1. The Platform and the services provided by the Provider on the Platform are addressed to Users with residence outside of the Federal Republic of Germany.

2. Users may enter into their information and upload documents on the Platform as required for the application for a study place at a German university and to have these information and documents reviewed for completeness by the Provider. Against payment of the consideration set forth in Section 5.2, the Provider offers to Users to submit the application at the universities selected by the User on the Platform. The complete scope of services of the Provider is specified under the following: our service.

3. The Provider only carries out applications of Users having their residence outside of the Federal Republic of Germany.

4. For the avoidance of doubt: The Provider cannot influence the decision regarding the User's admission to the selected university. Admission of the User at the selected university is at the respective university's sole discretion.

5. Several universities have engaged third-party providers (including, without limitation, Hochschulstart, Uni-Assist e.V.) to arrange, administer and conduct the application process. The relevant third-party providers charge fees for the use of such third-party services. For the avoidance of doubt: The Provider cannot influence the processing of the application conducted by the respective third-party provider. Therefore, the Provider shall not be liable for the services rendered by such third-party providers. Any contract regarding the administration of the application by the third-party provider will be concluded directly between the respective third-party provider and the User. The Provider is not a party to such contract.

6. The Provider assumes no liability for the authenticity, completeness, and/or suitability of the information and documents submitted by the User.

7. The use of the Platform is subject to the conclusion of a non-paid licence agreement regarding the use of the Platform; the licence agreement is entered upon registration on the Platform and creation a user account in accordance with Section 3.

8. The conduction of an application process by the Provider is subject to the conclusion of an agreement pursuant to Section 4 and payment of a consideration pursuant to Section 5.2.

III. Registration and creation of a user account

1. The use of the Platform requires a prior registration and opening of a User Account (hereinafter “Account”). To register and open an Account, the User must (i) enter their first and last name and a valid email address in the registration form and (ii) create a password.

2. By submitting the registration form and accepting these Terms of Use, the User makes an offer to conclude a non-paid licence agreement with the Provider regarding the use of the Platform (“User Agreement”). In the event, that the Provider accepts such offer and the registration, the User receives a confirmation email with a personalised activation link. Upon confirmation of the activation link, a User Agreement is concluded between the Provider and the User. Upon successful registration, an Account is created for the User. The User may access the Account with their email address and password. The password may be changed at any time via the password-protected User area. The User Agreement is concluded for an indefinite period of time.

3. Each User must register in their own name and for their own account. Users must either have reached the age of 16 at the time of registration and conclusion of any contracts with the Provider or the legal representatives of the User must have consented to the registration and conclusion of the contract with the Provider.

4. Each User may register only once; only one Account shall be created per User, provided, that an Account is not transferable.

5. The User is not entitled to be registered for the use of the Platform. The Provider reserves the right to decline registration or conclusion of contracts with a User without giving reasons.

6. The information and/or documents requested during registration must be provided completely and truthfully. In the event of any changes in these information, the User is obliged to update the information on the Platform immediately. Upon request of the Provider, the User must confirm the information provided by the User.

IV. Conclusion of a paid agreements

If the User wishes to subscribe for offered service plans as described on our service (hereinafter “Service Packages”), a paid agreement will be concluded as follows:

(a) A User may select one of the Service Packages provided by the Provider under our service by entering their payment data and confirming the subscription by clicking the button [“Order with obligation to pay”]. Prior to submitting the subscription request, the User may revise all data previously entered and, if required, correct it by entering other data or deleting the data entered in the respective input field.
(b) The Provider may accept the request by sending a confirmation email to the User, upon which an agreement regarding an application process against consideration is entered into in accordance with these Terms of Use (hereinafter “Application Contract”).

V. Prices and terms of payment

1. The Provider does not charge any fee for the registration on the Platform or the licence agreement for the use of the Platform concluded according to Section 3.2.

2. The services under the Application Contract are rendered against payment of the agreed consideration. Therefore, the User shall pay the Provider the remuneration specified in the respective Service Package under our service.

3. Some universities may engage third-party providers for the application process (including, without limitation, Hochschulstart, Uni-Assist e.V.). In this case, additional fees may be charged for the use of the application portals provided by such third-party providers. The User will be informed of any requirement to use services provided by third-party providers and the applicable fees upon selection of the university. The User shall bear any and all applicable fees and pay such fees directly to the respective third-party provider.

4. The remuneration owed by the User pursuant to Section 5.2 and the additional fees charged by third-party providers pursuant to Section 5.3 can only be paid by using the payment methods supported by the Provider. The supported payment methods are listed on the Platform. The Provider reserves the right to exclude individual payment methods for selected Users subject to reasonable grounds to fear a return debit note or cancellation of the payment or insufficient funds.

5. The remuneration according to Section 5.2 and the fees according to Section 5.3 are due in advance upon conclusion of the Application Contract.

6. Any and all fees shall include the statutory value added tax, if applicable.

VI. Granting of rights of use

1. Authorised Users shall be granted the non-exclusive right, limited in time to the term of the User Agreement, to access the Platform by means of telecommunications and to use the functionalities associated with the Platform by means of a browser in accordance with the User Agreement and the Application Agreement concluded in each case. The User is not granted any any further rights, in particular, without limitation, any rights to software applications, source codes, or the operating software.

2. The User grants to the Provider the simple rights of use to any and all information, documents, and other content created and/or uploaded (hereinafter “User Content”) during the term of the User Agreement and the Application Agreement if and to the extent necessary for the performance of the contractual services by the Provider. The User guarantees that the User Content created by the User does not violate any third-party rights, in particular, without limitation, any trademark rights, competition rights, copyrights, property rights, or personal rights of third parties.

VII. Sharing of User Content

For the avoidance of doubt: The application materials will be shared with the universities selected by the User and with the third-party providers, if any, engaged by the universities in connection with the application process.

VIII. Rights and obligations of the Provider

1. The Provider shall provide, maintain and service the technical server landscapes necessary for the provision of the services under the User Agreement and the Application Agreement. In this respect, the Provider shall be entitled to engage third parties as subcontractors.

2. The Provider shall back up its system and any stored data in accordance with the current state of the art, provided, however, that there shall be no obligation to archive data backup media. The User shall not be entitled to any claims for release of the data backup medium.

3. The Provider is entitled to modify and optimise the Platform at its own discretion, provided, however, that this does not significantly impair or jeopardise the purpose of the agreements entered into with the Users. With respect to any services offered by the Provider free of charge, the Provider is entitled to discontinue these services at any time after a reasonable period of notice.

IX. Rights and obligations of the User, use of the Account, sanctions, and blocking of the Account

1. The User guarantees that the information provided by the User is correct, complete, and up-to-date. The User shall inform the Provider without undue delay of any changes in the information required for the performance of the contract. Furthermore, the User shall use the provided IT infrastructure only for the agreed purpose of the contract and to the extent contractually agreed.

2. The User is obliged to support the Provider in the fulfilment of the Application Agreement. This includes, in particular, without limitation, the provision of any necessary data, information, or documents for the application to the universities selected by the User.

3. If the User selects a university that uses a third-party provider for the application process, the User is obligated to create an account with the relevant third-party provider(s). The User is also obligated to immediately grant the Provider access to such account if and the extent necessary for the performance of the agreements entered into with the Provider and for the Provider to fulfil its contractual obligations. If the User does not grant the Provider access to the account of the third-party provider in due time, the Provider may not carry out any applications via third-party providers. Any account created with the third-party provider must be maintained throughout the entire application phase.

4. The User shall

(a) not create any untrue or unobjective content;
(b) not make false statements regarding its personal data or other information;
(c) not create any pornographic or racist content;
(d) not create any content that violates the laws for the protection of minors or criminal laws;
(e) not take any action that could block, overload, or impair the proper working or appearance of the Platform (in particular, without limitation, denial-of-service attacks or uploading of viruses or other malicious code);
(f) not engage in any unauthorised commercial communication (in particular, without limitation, spam) on the Platform;
(g) not use automated mechanisms (such as, but not limited to, bots, robots, spiders, or scrapers) to collect content or information from other Users or otherwise access the Platform, unless express prior permission has been obtained from the Provider;
(h) not use any legally protected content without being authorised to do so or to set links to such content.

5. The Provider is entitled to irretrievably delete any and all content or information that violates these Terms of Use or that violates the applicable rules of politeness, etiquette, objectivity, and respectful interaction, or that is otherwise offensive and/or improper. In this respect, the User has no claim to reinstatement of deleted content.

6. If the User violates these Terms of Use or any applicable legal regulations, the Provider may

(a) modify or delete any concerned content or information of the User;
(b) terminate the User Agreement with the User without notice or cause;
(c) restrict the Account for a limited period of time or block it permanently.

7. The Provider may impose these sanctions without prior notice and without consulting the User, even against the User's express will.

8. The Provider may permanently exclude the User from using the Platform (permanent block) in particular, without limitation, in the event, that the User
(a) has provided incorrect data or has failed to update the data as required;
(b) transfers its Account to another individual without prior authorisation, or
(c) significantly harms other Users, in particular, without limitation, by misuse of the Platform.

9. For the avoidance of doubt: A permanent block shall also be permissible for other good cause.

10. After a User has been blocked, such User shall not (i) be entitled to reinstatement of the Account; and (ii) log into the Platform by using another Account.

X. Secrecy of credentials

1. The User is obliged to keep their credentials, i.e. their login data, passwords, etc., secret and shall not disclose or transfer it to any unauthorised third party. The User shall log out after each session. Any declarations or actions made or committed after a login with the User's credentials password and email address, will be attributed to the User. This shall also apply in the event, that the User (i) has no knowledge hereof; or (ii) intentionally or negligently discloses their credentials or otherwise grants access to its Account to third parties (including, without limitation, their family members). The User must inform the Provider immediately as soon as the User becomes aware of any access to their credentials or Account by any unauthorised third party.

2. In the event of any reasonable suspicion that the User's credentials became known to an unauthorised third party, the Provider is entitled, but not obligated, for security reasons, to change the credentials without prior notice or to block the use of the Account. The Provider shall inform the User hereof without undue delay and shall provide the new credentials upon request within a reasonable period of time. The User has no right to claim for the original credentials to be restored.

XI. Cancellation and termination of the contract, deletion of the Account

1. Subject to Section 11.4, the User Agreements may be terminated by either party at any time. The User may give notice of termination via the Account on the Platform by deleting its Account. Alternatively, the notice of termination may be made by mail to support@compounder.eu or by other notification in text form according to Section 126b of the German Civil Code (BGB).

2. If the User has concluded an Application Agreement, the Account may not be deleted during the term of such Application Agreement. Otherwise, the User may terminate the User Agreement any time after the conclusion of an Application Agreement, provided, however, that the termination shall be become effective upon termination of the Application Agreement. The User Agreement and Application Agreement may be terminated by sending a notice of termination via email to support@compounder.eu or any other communication in text form according to Section 126b of the German Civil Code (BGB).

3. The Application Agreement shall end automatically, without the need for a termination notice, upon complete fulfilment of the obligation under the applicable Service Package.

4. The right of the Provider to block a User Account according to Sections 9.6, 9.8, and 9.9 shall remain unaffected.

5. Following a termination, the Provider is entitled to delete (i) any and all content provided by the User and (ii) the Account on the Platform.

6. If an Account is inactive for a period of 365 days, the Account and any content thereon will be deleted permanently by the Provider. The Provider shall notify the User hereof by email with a notice period of two (2) weeks. If the User wishes to continue the Account, the User may object to the deletion of the Account by clicking the link provided in the notice according to Sentence 1. In this case, the Account remains active for another 365 days.

7. The parties right to terminate any contract without notice for cause shall remain unaffected.

XII. Availability

The Provider guarantees an availability of the Platform of 98% on an annual basis, provided, however, that any downtime resulting from any other event than due to a breach of duty by the Provider, including, without limitation, any attack on the Provider's systems by third parties, any hardware failure not caused by the Provider, or in case of force majeure, as well as any related maintenance work, which cannot be planned, shall not be taken into account with respect to the calculation of the availability. Due to any maintenance work, further development or any disruptions, the availability and use of the Platform may be restricted or temporarily interrupted. This may also result in data loss under certain circumstances.

XIII. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

1. SUBJECT TO THE FURTHER PROVISIONS OF THIS SECTION 13.1, THE PROVIDER SHALL ONLY BE LIABLE IN THE EVENT OF INTENT OR GROSS NEGLIGENCE OF THE PROVIDER OR ANY OF ITS LEGAL REPRESENTATIVES, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, OR OTHER VICARIOUS AGENTS ARE GUILTY OF INTENT OR GROSS NEGLIGENCE. HOWEVER, IN THE EVENT OF DEFAULT OR THE IMPOSSIBILITY OF PERFORMANCE FOR WHICH THE PROVIDER IS RESPONSIBLE, AS WELL AS IN THE EVENT OF ANY BREACH OF SUBSTANTIAL CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS (SO-CALLED CARDINAL OBLIGATIONS), THE PROVIDER SHALL BE LIABLE FOR ANY CULPABLE CONDUCT OR OMISSION OF THE PROVIDER OR ITS LEGAL REPRESENTATIVES, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, OR OTHER VICARIOUS AGENTS. “CARDINAL OBLIGATIONS” MEANS ANY CONTRACTUAL WHOSE BREACH WOULD JEOPARDISE THE ACHIEVEMENT OF THE CONTRACTUAL PURPOSE, AS WELL AS ALL OBLIGATIONS WHOSE FULFILMENT ENABLES THE PROPER PERFORMANCE OF THE CONTRACT IN THE FIRST PLACE AND ON COMPLIANCE WITH WHICH THE USERS CAN GENERALLY RELY.

2. EXCEPT IN THE CASE OF INTENT OR GROSS NEGLIGENCE ON BEHALF OF THE PROVIDER, ITS LEGAL REPRESENTATIVES, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, OR OTHER VICARIOUS AGENTS, THE PROVIDER'S LIABILITY SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE AMOUNT OF DAMAGES TYPICALLY FORESEEABLE AT THE TIME OF CONCLUSION OF THE CONTRACT.

3. LIABILITY FOR LOSS OF DATA SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE TYPICAL RECOVERY COSTS THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN INCURRED IF BACK-UP COPIES HAD BEEN MADE REGULARLY AND IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE RISK.

4. THE PROVIDER IS NOT LIABLE FOR THE FUNCTIONING OF THE TELECOMMUNICATION CONNECTION (TELEPHONE/ISDN/DSL LINES, ETC.) TO ITS SERVER IN THE EVENT OF ANY POWER FAILURES, NOR FOR FAILURES OF SERVERS THAT ARE NOT WITHIN THE PROVIDER'S SPHERE OF INFLUENCE. FURTHERMORE, THE PROVIDER IS NOT LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES CAUSED BY FORCE MAJEURE OR COMPARABLE EVENTS. COMPARABLE EVENTS ARE IN PARTICULAR, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY STRIKE, OFFICIAL ORDERS, PANDEMIC, THE FAILURE OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS NETWORKS OR GATEWAYS OF OTHER OPERATORS AS WELL AS DISRUPTIONS IN THE AREA OF OTHER TELECOMMUNICATIONS OR SERVICE PROVIDERS. FURTHERMORE, THE PROVIDER IS NOT LIABLE FOR ANY CONTENT CREATED OR GENERATED BY THE USER.

5. THE STRICT LIABILITY OF THE PROVIDER FOR DAMAGES ACCORDING TO SECTION 536A OF THE GERMAN CIVIL CODE (BGB) FOR ANY DEFECTS EXISTING AT THE TIME OF CONCLUSION OF THE CONTRACT SHALL BE EXCLUDED.

6. THE EXCLUSIONS AND LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY SET FORTH IN SECTIONS 13.1 TO 13.5 ABOVE SHALL NOT APPLY (I) IN THE EVENT OF THE ASSUMPTION OF ANY EXPRESS WARRANTIES, (II) IN THE EVENT OF ANY CLAIMS BASED ON THE ABSENCE OF WARRANTED CHARACTERISTICS AND (III) FOR DAMAGES ARISING FROM INJURY TO LIFE, BODY OR HEALTH AND (IV) IN THE EVENT OF MANDATORY STATUTORY PROVISIONS. FURTHERMORE, THE LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY SET FORTH IN SECTION 13.2 SHALL NOT APPLY IN THE EVENT OF DEFAULT BY THE PROVIDER WITH RESPECT TO ANY CLAIM FOR INTEREST ON ARREARS, TO THE LUMP SUM PROVIDED FOR IN SECTION 288 PARA. 5 OF THE GERMAN CIVIL CODE (BGB) OR FOR COMPENSATION OF COSTS OF LEGAL ACTION (INCLUDING REASONABLE LEGAL FEES).

7. ANY CLAIM PROVIDED FOR UNDER THE GERMAN PRODUCT LIABILITY ACT (PRODHAFTG) SHALL REMAIN UNAFFECTED BY THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SECTION 13.

XIV. Release

The User shall indemnify the Provider against any and all claims of third parties, in particular, without limitation, any claims due to copyright and personal rights infringements, which might be asserted against the Provider in connection with or in relation to the User Content of the respective User, upon request. The User shall notify the Provider without undue delay of any claims by third parties of which the User becomes aware. The Provider is entitled to take appropriate measures to defend themselves against any claims asserted by third parties or to pursue their rights. The User shall co-ordinate their defence against any asserted claims within the meaning of this Section 14 with the Provider in advance. Any claim for indemnification under this Section 14 shall include the reimbursement of costs incurred by the Provider as a result of legal prosecution/defense, including, without limitation, reasonable legal fees. This shall not affect any further claims for damages of the Provider under applicable law. If and to the extent the Provider is responsible for the respective infringement resulting in an assertion of claims within the meaning of this Section 14, any claims against the User shall be excluded.

XV. Right of withdrawal

XVI. Amendments of the Terms of Use

1. Any amendment of the Terms of Use shall only be effective if made in text form according to Section 126b of the German Civil Code (BGB). There shall be no ancillary agreements other than the contracts contemplated under these Terms of Use.

2. The Provider reserves the right to unilaterally amend these Terms of Use if this appears objectively justified. Any changes are objectively justified, in particular, without limitation, in the event of an expansion of the functions of the Platform, a change in the legal or statutory situation (for example, if under applicable law or case law a provision of these Terms of Use is deemed to be invalid) or if the equivalence relationship existing at the time of conclusion of the respective contract is disturbed significally due to unforeseeable changes not caused or influenced by the Provider, provided, however, that such change is not unreasonable for the User.

3. Any registered User will be notified of any amendment, if any, to these Terms of Use. Such amendments shall be deemed approved unless the User has objected in writing or by email to the Provider the validity of the amended Terms of Use within six (6) weeks after receipt of notice of the amendment, provided, however, that the Provider has pointed out to the legal consequences of any failure to or lack of such objection.

XVII. Online Dispute Resolution

The Provider hereby refers the user to the online dispute resolution (ODR) site provided by the European Commission under the following link: https://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr/. The Provider is not responsible for the content of this site or the possibility of carrying out a complaint procedure via this site. The email address of the Provider is info@compounder.eu.

XVIII. Information according to the German Law on Alternative Dispute Resolution in Consumer Matters (VSBG)

The Provider is not obliged or willing to conduct proceedings before a consumer arbitration board in accordance with the German Law on Alternative Dispute Resolution in Consumer Matters (VSBG). Notwithstanding the aforementioned, the German Law on Alternative Dispute Resolution in Consumer Matters (VSBG) requires to refer to a competent a consumer arbitration board:

Online conciliator
Zentrum für Europäischen Verbraucherschutz e.V.
Bahnhofsplatz 3
77694 Kehl (Germany)

Telephone: 07851 991480
Email: mail@online-schlichter.de
Internet: www.online-schlichter.de

XIX. Contract language, contract text, choice of law, place of jurisdiction, severability clause

1. The registration and any and all agreements entered into by and between the User and the Provider shall be in English language. The language of such agreements shall be English.

2. All texts of the agreements entered into by and between the User and the Provider are accessible to the User on the Platform in the current version.

3. The entire contractual relationship between the Provider and the User shall be governed by and construed in accordance with German law, excluding the applicability of the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG).

4. The place of jurisdiction shall be Cologne, Germany, in the event, that the User is a merchant, a legal entity under public law or special funds under public law. In this case, the right of the Provider to sue such User at its general place of jurisdiction shall remain unaffected. This shall not apply in case of any conflict with the statutory provisions within the meaning of Articles 24, 25, or 26 of the EuGVVO as amended on December 12, 2012.

5. In the event, that a provision contained in these Terms of Use is or becomes invalid or unenforceable, this shall not affect the validity or enforceability of the remaining provisions. The same shall apply in the event of any gaps in this Terms of Use.

[Current version: 13/08/2021]