1. Spheres of business
OPINION Market Research & Consulting GmbH – hereinafter referred to as the Supplier – is engaged in the following spheres of business:
a) Market research
b) Marketing consultancy service
c) Software development.
2. Subject of the contract
The services provided by the Supplier relate to the field of market research in its widest sense. Depending on the requirements of the specific problem under investigation, the Supplier makes use of all the modern, scientifically recognised methods of research pertaining to the fields of sociology, statistics, business management and economics.
3. Contents of tender
When submitting a tender the Supplier shall define the background and aims of the study, as well as the structure of the investigation – method, type and scope of the findings, delivery, amount of time required and fee.
4. Fee
a) Basically the fee shall comprise all the services which have to be provided by the Supplier in connection with the carrying out of the order in accordance with the proposal for the survey; the fee shall cover the provision of a copy of the report or, if previously agreed upon, data in electronic form.
If the Client makes any changes or additions to the requirements, the Supplier shall be entitled to change the fee accordingly. The same shall apply if additional costs are incurred for other reasons for which the Supplier is not responsible.
b) The fee shall cover the oral presentation of the findings of the research work at the Client's premises only if this is explicitly stated in the contract. Otherwise a charge will be made for the cost of work and travel expenses incurred in connection with the presentation.
c) The survey fees serve the purpose of financing the job in hand; for that reason, as a basic principle, payment is required to be made in advance. Fees up to and including € 10,000.- are payable when the order is placed; in the case of fees exceeding € 10,000.- 50% is payable when the order is placed and the remaining 50% on completion of the study, i.e. on delivery of the results.
Any arrangements deviating from the above must be stated in the contract or, as the case may be, in the schedule of services. All fees shall be net prices, i.e. no deductions are permissible, and they shall be due for payment immediately after receipt of the invoice. Statutory value-added tax shall be payable in addition to the agreed fee.
5. Confidentiality
The Supplier shall treat all information provided by the Client in strict confidence.
The Supplier shall be entitled to make use of the methodical and scientific experience gained from the survey for the purposes of basic research or, as the case may be, to store the same in a database in such a way that it is anonymous. In the case of publication, the name of the Client must not be revealed; neither must there be any reference which might suggest the name or any other particulars relating to the Client.
6. Proprietary rights and copyright
The Supplier shall own the proprietary rights and the copyright on all the material – questionnaires, data carriers and tapes etc. – produced during the carrying out of the order, as well as the proprietary rights and the copyright on the conception of the survey as a whole.
This shall not affect the Client's copyright on material which the Client has compiled.
7. Material relating to the survey
The Client shall have the right to inspect the original material relating to the survey at the Supplier's premises. The interviewees or, as the case may be, the persons who completed the questionnaires shall, however, remain anonymous.
Any costs incurred as a result of measures required to ensure anonymity must be borne by the Client.
Unless otherwise explicitly agreed, the Supplier undertakes to store documents relating to the survey for six months and data carriers for a period of two years following delivery of the survey report.
8. Guarantee
The Supplier guarantees that all due care and attention will be exercised in relation to the methodical structure of the survey and that the survey will be properly conducted and evaluated.
Complaints shall be justified only if the Supplier has wilfully and with gross negligence breached its duty to exercise due care and attention.
In the case of damage for which the Supplier is responsible, the extent of liability will be limited to the total amount of the fee agreed on for the specific job concerned.
9. Liability of the Client
The Client shall be liable for any damage caused directly or indirectly to the Supplier or to third parties as a result of the application or use of the products provided by the Client, unless the Supplier has acted wilfully or with gross negligence.
10. Own use
The Client shall receive the survey reports exclusively for the Client's own use. Any publication of the research work or of its findings or parts thereof for the purpose of advertising, and any transmission of the same – being the equivalent of publication – to sales representatives, suppliers or customers, shall require the previous written consent of the Supplier. The Client shall not be entitled either to hand over the findings of the survey to third parties or to store, process or communicate these findings in external information and documentation systems without the Supplier's consent.
The Client hereby undertakes not to make wrongful use of data provided by OPINION. If it has been established that, in violation of this contract, data provided by OPINION has been passed on to third parties from the Client's business, the Supplier shall be entitled to claim damages without having to produce evidence as to how the unauthorized transfer of information took place.
11. Other agreements
Any agreements which deviate from the terms of this contract shall require to be made in writing at all times.