General Terms and Conditions of the Photographer Enrico Renje
1 Validity of the terms and conditions
1.1 Scope of application
The production of photographs, films and videos (hereinafter referred to as "Photographs") and the granting of licences to existing
of already existing Photographs shall be made exclusively on the basis of the following Terms and Conditions. These terms and conditions shall also apply to all future production and licence agreements, unless deviating provisions are expressly agreed.
These GTC shall apply as of 10 May 2021. All previous GTC shall lose their validity as of this date.
1.2 Third-party GTC
Any terms and conditions of the Client which deviate from the following terms and conditions shall not be recognised. Such deviating terms and conditions shall not become part of the contract even if the photographer does not expressly object to them.
2 Production orders
Production orders include the production of photographs by the photographer on behalf of the client.
2.1 Cost estimate
The Photographer's cost estimates shall not be binding. The Photographer shall only be required to notify the Client of cost increases if the total costs originally estimated are expected to be exceeded by more than 15 %.
2.2 Authorization to commission third parties
If the services of a third party have to be used for the execution of the order or if any other contract has to be concluded with third parties, the photographer shall be authorised to enter into the corresponding obligations in the name and for the account of the client.
2.3 Briefing
The client's briefing forms the basis for the photographs and calculations to be produced by the photographer. The Client shall provide the Photographer with a complete, conclusive and written briefing (e.g. in the form of written minutes of a meeting, by e-mail, etc.). In the event that the Client does not provide the Photographer with a written briefing, the pre-production meeting (PPM), the previous e-mail correspondence between the Client and the Photographer as well as the Photographer's memorial minutes of the PPM and telephone notes shall form the basis for the production of the photographs.
2.4 Artistic freedom
The photographer shall have artistic freedom in the production of the photographs, although the client's binding specifications from the briefing, PPM and/or verbal or telephone instructions shall be observed. Complaints and/or notices of defects regarding the photographer's artistic freedom are excluded. Subsequent requests for changes on the part of the Client shall require a separate agreement and shall be remunerated separately.
2.5 Complaints
If the Client himself/herself or a person authorised by him/her is present during the production of the Photographs, the Client shall examine the Photographs while they are still on the set and notify the Photographer of any defects without delay so that the Photographer can rectify the defect and produce new Photographs. If no notice of defects is given, the photographs shall be deemed to have been approved and accepted.
If neither the Client nor a person authorised by the Client is present during the production of the photographs, the Photographer shall send the photographs to the Client after they have been produced. The latter shall immediately inspect the photographs submitted for any defects.
If, in the opinion of the Client, the Photographs are defective, the Client shall notify the Photographer in writing of the defectiveness without delay, but no later than 14 days after receipt of the Photographs, and shall specify at least one defect. In this case the client may refuse acceptance. After expiry of this period the photographs shall be deemed to have been accepted by the Client (Section 640 (2) BGB).
2.6 Availability
If the Client or a person authorised by him is not present during the production of the recordings, the Client shall ensure that he or a person authorised by him can be reached at least by telephone and by electronic means of communication (e.g. by telephone, fax, e-mail, fax, fax, e-mail).
electronic communication media (e.g. e-mail, SMS, etc.) for the photographer to be available at all times for short-term coordination and decisions.
2.7 Cooperation obligations of the client
Insofar as the Client is required to supply information, items (e.g. products, goods, etc.), releases, etc. necessary for the production of the Photographs or is responsible for other tasks relevant to the production of the Photographs (e.g. booking of models, locations or catering, etc.), the Client shall ensure that delivery, provision, access to locations, arrival of models, etc. takes place in good time so that the production of the Photographs can commence punctually on the agreed date. As soon as the Client becomes aware that timely delivery, provision, access to locations, arrival of photographic models, etc. is not possible, he shall notify the Photographer of this without delay. If this results in a delay in the production of the photograph and if the cause of this delay lies within the client's sphere of influence, the client shall bear the costs incurred as a result of the delay (e.g. additional hotel accommodation, location days, bookings of models, stylists, make-up artists, assistants, rebookings, etc.).
2.8 Obtaining releases
Unless otherwise agreed in an individual contract, the customer shall be obliged, in the case of photographs of persons and objects in which third party copyrights, property rights or other rights of third parties exist, to obtain the consent of the persons depicted and the holders of the rights required for the production and use of the photographs in accordance with the German Art Copyright Act (KUG), the German Data Protection Regulation (DS- GVO) and any other statutory provisions. In this case, the client shall indemnify the photographer against claims for compensation by third parties resulting from a breach of this obligation. The obligation to indemnify shall not apply if the customer proves that he is not at fault.
The above provision shall also apply if the photographer selects the persons or objects to be photographed himself, provided that he informs the client of the selection made in good time so that the client can obtain the necessary declarations of consent or select and make available other suitable persons or objects for the photographic work.
2.9 Delivered objects
The photographer may proceed as follows with the objects supplied by the client for the production: If the items supplied by the Client are perishable goods (e.g. foodstuffs), they shall be disposed of by the Photographer after completion of the Production.
If the items supplied by the Client are non-perishable items (e.g. clothing, etc.), they shall be returned to the Client at the Client's expense after completion of the production.
2.10 Image selection
The photographer shall select the photographs to be submitted to the client for acceptance upon completion of the production. Rights of use shall be granted, subject to payment in full, only to those photographs which the client accepts as being in accordance with the contract.
3 Termination/Production fee/Additional costs/Invoicing
3.1 Termination
Both parties may terminate the contract in accordance with the statutory provisions.
3.2 Time overrun
If the time allotted for the shooting work is substantially exceeded for reasons for which the photographer is not responsible, an agreed flat fee shall be increased accordingly. If a time fee has been agreed, the photographer shall also receive the agreed hourly or daily rate for the time by which the photographic work is extended.
3.3 Additional services and additional work
Additional services and work going beyond the contractually agreed scope, in particular the production of images beyond the scope stipulated at the beginning of the contract, shall be remunerated separately on a time basis.
3.4 Incidental costs
In addition to the fee owed, the Client shall reimburse the Photographer for any ancillary costs incurred in connection with the execution of the commission (e.g. for digital image processing, photographic models, make-up artists, stylists, travel, etc.).
3.5 Due date of the fee / advance on costs
The production fee is due upon delivery of the photographs. If a production is delivered in parts, the corresponding partial fee shall be due upon delivery of each part. If the execution of an order extends over a longer period of time, the photographer may demand advance payments in accordance with the amount of work performed. Incidental costs shall be reimbursed as soon as they have been incurred by the photographer.
In addition, the photographer shall be entitled to demand advances on costs in an appropriate amount.
3.6 Transfer of rights of use
The Client shall not acquire the rights of use to the Photographs under copyright law until the fee has been paid in full and all ancillary costs have been reimbursed.
3.7 Electronic invoicing
The photographer shall be entitled to issue his invoice in electronic form and to send it to the client (§ 14 UStG). The Client agrees to electronic invoicing and electronic sending of invoices.
4 Archival material
Archival Material shall be Photographs held in the Photographer's archives and to which the Photographer grants the Client licences of use to an individually agreed extent in each case.
4.1 Viewing material
Photographs requested by the Client from the Photographer's archive shall only be made available for viewing and selection.
No rights of use are transferred with the provision of the photographs for viewing and selection. Any use requires the photographer's prior written consent.
The use of the photographs as working templates for sketches or for layout purposes, as well as the presentation to customers, already constitutes use subject to a fee.
4.2 Licence fee
For the granting of rights of use to the Photographs from the Photographer's archive the contractually agreed licence fee shall be payable. If a usage licence fee has not been expressly contractually agreed, the usage licence fee to be paid by the Client shall be determined in accordance with the respective current image fees of the Mittelstandsgemeinschaft Fotomarketing (MFM).
5 Rights of use
5.1 Individual granting of rights of use/own advertising
The Client shall only acquire rights of use to the recordings to the extent stipulated in the contract. Ownership rights shall not be transferred. Irrespective of the scope of the rights of use granted in individual cases, the photographer shall remain entitled to use the images within the scope of his own advertising.
5.2 No further transfer to third parties
The Photographer's prior written consent shall be required for the transfer and/or granting of the rights of use acquired by the Client to third parties, even if these are companies affiliated with the group, subsidiaries, distribution partners of the Client or other editorial departments of a publishing house.
The Photographer shall be entitled to make the granting of consent to the planned third-party use dependent on the payment of an appropriate licence fee.
5.3 No editing
As a matter of principle, the Photographs may only be used in their original version. Any modification or alteration (e.g. montage, photographic alteration, colouring) and any change in the reproduction of the image (e.g. publication of extracts) shall require the Photographer's prior consent. The only exceptions to this are
the elimination of unwanted blurring or colour weaknesses by means of digital retouching.
5.4 Naming the author
The photographer must be named as the author of every image published. The name must be attached to the image.
6 Image data / digital image processing
6.1 Data transfer/data format
The photographer shall hand over to the client the selected photographs and the associated data, files and data carriers (photographic material).
and data carriers (photographic material) after completion of the order. The parties shall agree on the data format. If no agreement is reached, the photographer may determine a suitable data format and select a suitable data carrier. The photographer shall not be obliged to archive the photographs which are the subject of the contract on his own data carriers and shall not assume any guarantee for the availability of the photographic material after the photographic material has been handed over to the client.
6.2 Digital dissemination
The dissemination of digital recordings by means of remote data transmission or on data carriers is only permitted insofar as the exercise of the rights of use granted requires this form of reproduction and dissemination.
6.3 Archiving
The recordings may only be digitally archived for the Client's own purposes and only for the duration of the right of use. The storage of the Photographs in online databases or other digital archives accessible to third parties shall require a separate agreement between the Photographer and the Client.
6.4 Image data
The EXIF, IPTC and/or XMP data contained in the files of the Photographs may not be altered or removed by the Client.
The Client shall ensure by suitable technical means that this data is preserved in any data transmission, in any transfer of the image data to other data carriers, in any reproduction on a screen and in any public reproduction.
7 Liability and compensation
7.1 Scope of liability
The photographer shall only be liable for damage caused by himself or his vicarious agents intentionally or through gross negligence. Excluded from this are damages arising from the breach of a contractual obligation which is essential for achieving the purpose of the contract (cardinal obligation), as well as damages arising from injury to life, limb or health, for which the photographer shall also be liable in the event of slight negligence.
7.2 Exclusion of liability for third-party services
If the photographer concludes a contract with third parties on behalf and for the account of the client on the basis of a corresponding power of attorney, he shall not be liable for the services and work results of the persons and companies commissioned.
7.3 Exclusion of liability for use of the photographs
The photographer shall not be liable for the way in which his images are used. In particular, he shall not be liable for the admissibility of the use under competition and trademark law.
7.4 Limitation
The Client's claims arising from a breach of duty by the Photographer or his vicarious agents shall become statute-barred one year after the statutory commencement of the limitation period. This shall not apply to claims for damages based on an intentional or grossly negligent breach of duty on the part of the Photographer or his vicarious agents and claims for damages on account of injury to life, limb or health, even if they are based on a slightly negligent breach of duty on the part of the Photographer or his vicarious agents; the statutory limitation periods shall apply to these claims for damages.
7.5 Contractual penalty for breach of usage rights
In the event of unauthorised use, unauthorised exceeding of the rights of use, unauthorised alteration or redesign or disclosure of a photograph to third parties by the Client, the Photographer shall be entitled to demand a contractual penalty in the amount of 200 % of the agreed fee for use or - in the absence of an agreement - of the customary fee for use, but at least € 500 per photograph and individual case. The assertion of a further claim for damages shall remain unaffected by this.
7.6 Contractual penalty in the event of missing/incorrect naming of the copyright holder
If the photographer is not named in the publication of a photograph (clause 5.4) or if the name of the photographer is not permanently linked to the digital image (clause 6.3), the Client shall pay a contractual penalty amounting to 100 % of the agreed fee or, in the absence of an agreement, of the customary usage fee, but at least € 200 per image and individual case. The Photographer also reserves the right to assert a further claim for damages in this respect.
8 Value Added Tax, Artists' Social Security Contribution
The fees, charges and costs to be paid by the Client shall be subject to value-added tax and the artist's social security contribution, which may be payable by the Photographer for services rendered by third parties, in the respective statutory amount.
Source/status: BFF Practical Handbook on Photographic Law - First Edition 2020 - 10.2.2 Sample General Terms and Conditions for Photographers
9 Statute and place of jurisdiction
The law of the Federal Republic of Germany shall apply.
In the event that the Client does not have a general place of jurisdiction in the Federal Republic of Germany or moves his registered office or habitual residence abroad after conclusion of the contract, the place of jurisdiction shall be the photographer's place of residence.