TERMS AND CONDITIONS

1. Contractual Basis

1.1 All services provided by the company PROTECT.TM LLC (hereinafter referred to as "PROTECT.TM") are governed by these Terms and Conditions, the information available on PROTECT.TM's website, and other terms and conditions referred to herein.

1.2 Customer's terms and conditions, as well as individual agreements, are valid only if PROTECT.TM has provided written consent.

1.3 PROTECT.TM may modify these Terms and Conditions, the Registration Agreement, the Terms of Use, and the Price Lists at any time. PROTECT.TM is obliged to inform the customer of such changes via mail or email, unless such notification requires unreasonable efforts. The customer may object to these modifications within 14 days from the notification. Should the customer object, PROTECT.TM may terminate the agreement within 14 days or, at our choice, at the next possible termination date. The new Terms and Conditions are accepted by the customer if the customer does not object. Changes to the Privacy Policy become effective upon announcement.

1.4 The customer is obliged to review and save these Terms and Conditions, as well as the respective appendices relevant to the customer. PROTECT.TM will keep a current version of these Terms and Conditions available on its websites.

1.5 The customer undertakes to maintain complete and accurate contact information in their user account at all times. PROTECT.TM is authorized to verify the information or request evidence and to terminate the account upon detection of incorrect or incomplete data.

1.6 The customer agrees to receive important notifications from PROTECT.TM via email. The email address provided in the customer account must be kept current and checked at regular intervals. PROTECT.TM is not responsible for customers not taking notice of messages sent to the provided email address.

1.7 By initiating an order through PROTECT.TM and/or executing electronic actions, the customer declares that they have the proper authority to place orders either for themselves or as a properly authorized representative of their organization and that they agree to the Terms and Conditions, Contractual Terms, Privacy Policy, and Registration Agreements in all parts.

1.8 In the case of orders for or in the name of third parties, the customer remains the sole contract partner of PROTECT.TM. Our Terms and Conditions, Contract Terms, Privacy Policy, and General Registration Rules also apply to the third party; the customer is obliged to bind the third party to abide by the required code of conduct and duties and pass on these terms to the third party.

 

2. Contract

2.1 The PROTECT.TM webpages constitute an invitation for customer contract applications. The content of the webpages is subject to change without notice. A contract can be concluded by either written or electronic confirmation of the application by PROTECT.TM or by fulfillment of the order. Mere use of the website or confirmations of receipt of an order shall not result in an agreement with PROTECT.TM.

2.2 If the order is only partially deliverable, the customer will accept partial delivery.

2.3 The object of the agreement and the scope and description of services shall be defined by the specific agreements.

2.4 The customer is obliged to check the order confirmation from PROTECT.TM and must contact PROTECT.TM immediately in the case of errors or mistakes.

2.5 The right to withdrawal and return in the case of distance selling agreements (§ 312 BGB) is excluded for contracts to supply goods, which are manufactured according to customer specifications or clearly tailored to personal needs, as well as services where PROTECT.TM has immediately begun at the request of the customer or where the value has already accrued to the customer. The customer agrees that PROTECT.TM shall immediately begin with the performance of the order or service. Such customized service is especially the case with the registration of individually specified trademarks according to customer requirements. In addition, we refer to our information on the right of withdrawal.

 

3. Trademark Services

3.1 For the use of services relating to the registration or management of trademarks, our Registration and Management Terms for Trademarks, which shall be considered part of the agreement.

 

4. Duration of Contract and Termination

4.1 The term of a service follows the accounting periods laid down in the specific agreements. Unless otherwise agreed or if the service description indicates otherwise, a standard term of 12 months applies to all services.

4.2 Agreements with a minimum term of 12 months are automatically renewed for another 12 months if they are not terminated with a notice period of 3 months to the expiry date, unless agreed otherwise.

4.3 Agreements with a term of less than 12 months shall be automatically renewed by their respective minimum term, unless they are not terminated with a notice period of 1 month before the date of expiry, unless agreed otherwise.

4.4 Services that are currently provided free of charge can be suspended or be made chargeable at any time, upon prior announcement by PROTECT.TM, provided PROTECT.TM grants a right of special termination to the customer.

4.5 Both parties can terminate the contract for important reasons. An important reason for PROTECT.TM is particularly assumed to exist when the customer:

  - is in delay of submitting the fee in the amount of one monthly fee for contracts which have a minimum duration or where a certain duration time period has been agreed upon,

  - is in more than 20 calendar days delay of submitting the payment for contracts with an undefined length, culpably violates duties of the contract or these terms and conditions,

  - by the use of the respective service obviously violates valid rights,

  - does not modify the use of the service within an appropriate period in such a way that they meet the requirements regulated in the terms and conditions despite having received a warning; or

  - culpably or negligently acts contrary to the terms and conditions of the agreement or the registration policies of the registries (if applicable).

In these cases, the customer loses all rights to the service.

4.6 The customer will be informed by email about the obligation to pay the renewal fees prior to the end of the contractual term. In the case of non-payment at least 3 days prior to the expiration date, the customer will lose all rights to the performance of the service.

4.7 If the customer did not terminate the contract on time and the customer has either identified their payment method to be credit card or bank debit and provided current and valid payment details, then the due amount will automatically be charged 10 days prior to the expiration and the agreement will be renewed accordingly. The same applies if the customer has sufficient funds or credit in their account.

4.8 In the event of premature termination of a service, no prorated refund of the consideration is paid for the remaining period, unless the termination is caused by PROTECT.TM culpably or through gross negligence without legal basis. This also applies to other services or additionally booked options as well as termination for cause and termination due to binding decisions in trademark disputes.

4.9 Cancellation notices are only accepted in written form, for contract conclusions beginning from 2024-04-01 in text form, which shall include faxed messages.

 

5. Pricing

5.1 The prices for services of PROTECT.TM and for third-party services mediated by PROTECT.TM are published without engagement on the websites. The prices can be changed at any time. This also applies to services currently provided free of charge.

5.2 Only the actual price on the day of the conclusion of the contract, the receipt of a specific order, or the renewal of a service applies.

 

6. Payment

6.1 Payment can be made by bank debit order for a USA bank, credit card (VISA, Mastercard, AMEX, Eurocard), by wire transfer, by Paypal payments, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Amazon Pay or any other payment method supported by Stripe. PROTECT.TM reserves the right to restrict payment methods available on a case-by-case basis.

6.2 Usage-based fees will become due immediately upon invoice unless another due date is agreed upon. Other charges must be paid in advance by the customer.

6.3 Execution of the tasks will only start after a successful credit card payment, by direct debit, or - for payments by check or bank transfer - upon receipt of the amount in the account of PROTECT.TM. All transaction costs must be covered by the customer. The customer has no right to fulfillment until payment is received in full.

6.4 If the customer fails to submit payment until the due date despite a reminder from PROTECT.TM, they are in default. In other respects, the statutory regulations for default shall apply.

6.5 The customer agrees that they will lose all rights to a service in case payments are not submitted, not submitted in full, or in the case of a chargeback by their bank or credit card company, credit card fraud, or any other reversed payment.

6.6 Invoices are published in the customer's account as well as sent by email, unless another procedure is agreed upon. Should the customer wish to receive an invoice by regular mail, then PROTECT.TM has the right to charge USD 3 for each mail delivery.

6.7 Payments for services are also not refundable in case of disruptions in the service due to force majeure or other causes outside the realm of PROTECT.TM's responsibilities.

6.8 Prepayments for services which could not be rendered will be credited to the customer's account and can be refunded at any point in time or be automatically used for open orders for which no payment has occurred. The customer will cover all costs of this refund.

6.9 If a bank debit is denied by the customer, or denied by the bank due to insufficient funds, or a chargeback is initiated for any reason, the customer is liable for the bank costs, currently USD 3, plus an additional processing fee of USD 10 per failed bank debit or chargeback. In addition, the customer irrevocably authorizes their bank to communicate to PROTECT.TM or their agents the name and address of the customer.

6.10 Per justified due payment reminder, PROTECT.TM is entitled to demand the costs incurred, which currently amount to USD 3, plus a handling fee of USD 8. PROTECT.TM is also entitled to cease all services after an unsuccessful reminder without notice and to block the access of the customer to their account(s).

6.11 The customer can only offset their own claims against claims of PROTECT.TM if these claims have been accepted by PROTECT.TM in writing.

6.12 In case of default on payments, PROTECT.TM may charge an annual interest of 9% above the current base interest rate according to § 247 BGB, or if the customer is a consumer, an annual interest rate of 5% above the current base interest rate.

 

7. Liability

7.1 As a condition of the customer’s access and use of PROTECT.TM's services, the customer agrees to defend, indemnify, save, and hold harmless PROTECT.TM, agents, partners, the respective central registry, as well as all persons involved in rendering the service in respect to all claims, demands, liabilities, costs, and/or expenses resulting from an illegal use of the service, of the trademark registered by the customer, or the content provided on a registered trademark. In the event of a claim, the customer has the right to prove PROTECT.TM that claims in the context of the exemption have not occurred in the demanded extent or not at all, and/or the customer is not responsible.

7.2 Neither PROTECT.TM, its agents, partners, the respective central registry, nor any person involved in the rendering of the service will be liable to the customer or any third party for any direct or indirect loss of profits, earnings, or business opportunities, damages, expense, or costs resulting directly or indirectly from any failure to perform any obligation or provide service hereunder because of any Force Majeure, or governmental acts or directives, strikes, riot or civil commotion, war, any natural disaster, equipment or facilities shortages which are being experienced by providers of telecommunication services generally, or other similar force or condition beyond PROTECT.TM's reasonable control.

7.3 PROTECT.TM cannot be held liable for delays of services and server downtimes due to force majeure, fault of third parties, or due to events which PROTECT.TM has no influence on, despite any agreed upon deadlines and dates. PROTECT.TM is authorized to postpone the provision of services and/or delivery by the duration of the respective disruption plus an appropriate starting time. Furthermore, PROTECT.TM can limit access to the service if the stability and security of the operation, the maintenance of the net integrity, in particular the avoidance of serious disturbances of the network, the software, or stored data require such action. PROTECT.TM is not obligated to review or monitor the use of the service by the customer to ensure its legality.

7.4 For all services of PROTECT.TM, liability will be limited to intent and gross negligence if and as much as it is legally permitted. In case of paid services, liability is limited by PROTECT.TM with negligence and rough negligence to the amount of the payment which can be paid in each case from the customer for the respective achievement and/or achievement period. For free services, the liability of PROTECT.TM is limited to cases of minor negligence and to an amount of USD 25 for each single case or USD 100 for all cases. In any other case, the liability of PROTECT.TM is limited to damages typically foreseeable at the time the agreement was first concluded.

7.5 The customer agrees to keep all passwords and access data received from PROTECT.TM for access to our services secret and to inform PROTECT.TM once they receive any information about unauthorized parties gaining access to these passwords. The customer acknowledges that they are responsible for any orders or statements issued with their user identification and that they bear the risk of unauthorized use of their access data. Should unauthorized third parties use PROTECT.TM's services while using the customer's account, the customer is responsible for all fees and damages. PROTECT.TM may lock access to an account if there is sufficient reason to assume it is used by unauthorized parties. PROTECT.TM will inform the customer without delay of any such measure taken.

7.6 In case of allowed use by third parties or resale of products and services of PROTECT.TM to third parties, the customer is liable for any claims resulting from violations of the contract terms by the third party and shall indemnify PROTECT.TM in full from all claims resulting from the use of the service by the third parties.

 

8. Data and protection of data

8.1 To perform the service, storage, processing, and use of personal data of the customer is necessary. This processing is performed within the scope of the applicable data protection regulations. Additional information on this is provided in the data protection guidelines of PROTECT.TM, which are deemed to be part of these terms and conditions.

 

9. Final clauses

9.1 Modifications or changes to terms or conditions or the contract, as well as cancellations, will only be accepted in writing, for contract conclusions beginning from 2024-04-01 in text form; oral agreements shall not be considered valid. This also applies to terms and conditions of customers unless PROTECT.TM expressly agrees to accept such terms in writing.

9.2 For commercial customers and legal entities in the USA, as well as for all customers without permanent residence in the USA, St. Ingbert/ USA will be the exclusive place of jurisdiction, as well as the place of fulfillment.

9.3 For the contract between PROTECT.TM and its customers, USA law is the only effective law. U.N. purchase law shall not apply.

9.4 If any provision of these terms and conditions shall be or become unenforceable and/or invalid, such unenforceability and/or invalidity shall not render these terms and conditions unenforceable or invalid as a whole. Any provision determined to be unenforceable or invalid shall be replaced by provisions that are valid and enforceable and closest to the original objectives and intents of the original provisions in an economic and legal sense that would have been agreed upon by the parties, had they known of the invalidity at the time of the agreement. As far as legally possible, PROTECT.TM shall replace the clause in the above-mentioned extent.

9.5 Both the English and USA version of these terms and conditions are valid and binding. In case of doubt or conflict, however, the USA version will prevail.

9.6 Contact Information. If you have any questions, concerns, or complaints about the Services or anything governed by this Agreement or any other agreement with Protect.TM, please contact us at:

Email: [email protected]
Phone: +1-716-402-7123

Protect.TM LLC
501 Silverside Rd Ste 105, Wilmington,
Delaware, 19809
USA