General Terms and Conditions (T&C) of Carus-Verlag GmbH & Co. KG

§1 Scope


(1) The subject of these General Terms and Conditions of Business, including the mandatory information according to the Distance Selling Law, is the regulation of all contracts made between consumers and retailers (hereinafter referred to as the Customer) and Carus-Verlag GmbH & Co. KG insofar as they relate to the ordering processes which are carried out by the use of electronic telecommunications. All services are provided exclusively in accordance with the following terms and conditions applicable at the time the order is placed, unless individual agreements have been expressly made in writing. The publisher shall not recognize any deviating conditions for customers unless he has agreed expressly to their validity.

(2) Customer within the meaning of the following provisions is any natural person who enters into a legal transaction for purposes that can predominantly be attributed neither to their commercial nor to their independent professional activities (cf. §13 German Civil Code).

(3) Retailer within the meaning of the following provision is any natural or legal person or partnership with legal capacity who, when concluding a legal transaction, pursues their commercial or independent professional activity (cf. § 14 German Civil Code).


§2 Conclusion of Contract


(1) The description of the product range on our website serves  – as the printed catalogs – solely to provide information to the customer. This is not an offer to conclude a contract within the meaning of § 145 of the German Civil Code. The customer’s order represents a binding offer to conclude a sales contract; this also applies to orders placed via our webshop or by e-mail or telephone or other of the publisher’s channels (e.g. Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp).

(2) An order of physical (printed) products via the webshop can be placed as follows:

  • the customer can use their existing customer account or, if no customer account exists yet, they can open a customer account via the webshop with their first order
  • the customer can place an order without a customer account; in this case the information required for the purchase must be entered into the form

An order for digital products (downloads of sheet music and additional material or content of the choir app carus music) is only possible via a customer account. Where a customer account does not yet exist, one must be opened during the ordering process.  

(3) When placing an order via our website the customer receives an order confirmation by e-mail. Should individual details of the product range on the website be incorrect, the publisher will inform the customer of this on receipt of the order and make a corresponding counter-offer.

(4) The order confirmation is not a declaration of acceptance; when ordering physical (printed) products, the sales contract comes into effect with the despatch of the goods and invoice. When ordering digital products (downloads) the license agreement comes into effect with the provision of a relevant link by e-mail or in the customer account. When purchasing the contents of the carus music choir app, the contract takes effect through the provision within the browser-based application carus music (https://carus-music.carus-verlag.com).
A separate declaration of acceptance of the order by the publisher to the customer is not issued; the customer waives this in accordance with §151 S.1 of the German Civil Code. If the publisher does not accept the offer, the customer will be informed immediately.

(5) If the customer opts for an immediate payment method (see §6 para. 1), the contract shall be concluded, in deviation from para. 1, upon initiation of the payment transaction. The publisher expressly reserves the right to contest the contract (for example in the case of incorrect price information).


§3 Revocation


(1) Right of Revocation for Consumers

Right of Revocation

You have the right to revoke this contract within fourteen days without giving any reasons. The fourteen day revocation period commences on the day you or a designated third party, other than the carrier, have received the goods. In order to exercise your right of revocation, you must inform us by means of an explicit declaration (e.g. by letter sent by post, fax, or e-mail) of your decision to revoke this contract. Please send this to:

Carus-Verlag GmbH & Co. KG
Sielminger Str. 51, D-70771 Leinfelden-Echterdingen, Germany
e-mail: sales@carus-verlag.com
Phone: +49-(0)711-797 330-0

In order to comply with the revocation period, it is sufficient that you send the notification of exercising the right of revocation before the end of the revocation period.

Legal Consequences of Revocation

If you revoke this contract, we will reimburse all payments we have received from you, including shipping costs (except for any additional costs arising from your choice of delivery method other than the cheapest standard delivery we offer) without delay and no later than fourteen days after receiving notification of your revocation of the contract. For this refund we will use the same method of payment which you used to complete the original transaction, unless expressly agreed otherwise with you; in no event will you be charged for this refund.
We may refuse a refund until we have received the goods, or until you have provided proof that you have returned the goods, whichever is earlier. You must return the goods to us either via post or directly within fourteen days of the day on which you inform us of your decision to revoke the contract. The deadline is met if you despatch the goods before the end of the fourteen day revocation period. You will bear the direct costs of returning the goods. You will only be liable for any eventual loss of value of the goods if this loss of value is due to unnecessary handling of the goods for testing the nature, properties and functioning of the goods.

(2) Exclusion of the Right of Revocation
The right of revocation does not apply to goods which were produced according to customer specifications or are clearly tailored to personal needs (e.g. offprints) or which by their very nature are not suitable for return (e.g. antiquarian items). Furthermore, the right of revocation does not apply to distance contracts for the supply of audio and video recordings or of software if the seal has been broken by the customer. The seal is considered to be broken when the cellophane protective wrapping has been removed.

(3) Expiry of the Right of Revocation
The right of revocation expires with the purchase of digital products (downloads of sheet music and additional material or content of the carus music choir app) if the customer explicitly agrees that Carus begins with the execution of the contract i.e. with the provision of the digital data before the expiry of the revocation period begins, and the customer has confirmed their acceptance of this by their agreement that they lose their right of revocation with the beginning of the execution of the contract.


§4 Goods subject to non-availability


The publisher reserves the right to refrain from processing the order if a title ordered is not in stock, or the out-of-stock title is out of print and the goods ordered are therefore not available. In this case, the publisher will immediately inform the customer of the non-availability and reimburse any payment already made.


§5 Prices


(1) Sheet music and books in both physical (printed) and digital form are subject to the statutory price fixing in the Federal Republic of Germany.

(2) The publisher has accepted the IDNV as a reference database and stipulates with the so-called reference price declaration that he will regularly and completely report his prices for sheet music publishing products, recalls, and retail price increases to the IDNV. The publisher thus fulfils his obligation to publish set prices and alterations to retail prices. In the price reference database, minimum order quantities, if any, are also published, which must be complied with by both the publisher and retailer with regards to the end purchaser.

(3) The final prices applicable to the end purchaser are the prices stated on the website. Errors and price changes excepted.

(4) All prices are quoted in Euro including VAT and do not include shipping costs, unless the order is explicitly offered free of shipping costs.
For orders from third countries, the prices are net prices.

(5) Prices for special prints will be calculated upon request.




§6 Terms and Conditions of Payment


(1) The invoiced amount is due upon conclusion of the contract and is payable immediately, unless otherwise stipulated. The invoice amount should be paid excluding bank charges. The following instant payment methods may be used: credit card (VISA or MASTER), Sofortüberweisung (instant bank transfer), or PayPal. The deduction of discounts is not permitted.

(2) In special cases with the purchase of physical (printed) products, purchase on account is possible.
In such cases the invoice amount should be transferred to the specified account within 14 days. Customers in Austria and Switzerland have the option of settling their invoices by payment into our bank accounts in the respective countries. Transfers must be made free of bank charges at the exchange rate on the due date. If the payment deadline is exceeded, the publisher will without notice charge interest calculated at the rate the publisher itself is charged by its bank.
In principle, this option does not apply when purchasing licences for the use of digital products (downloads of sheet music an additional material or content of the carus music choir app). Payment options are exclusively instant payment methods.


§7 Shipping Costs / Invoice / Terms of Delivery


(1) You can find information on shipping costs under “Order & despatch”.

(2) If the customer has not selected a shipping method, the publisher will ship according to the basic “Standard” tarif in the schedule. Delivery times listed in the shipping costs schedule are non-binding guidelines.

(3) The supply of digital products (downloads of sheet music and additional material) usually takes place immediately after the completion of the order by providing a link via e-mail or by providing a link in the customer account. The supply of the contents of the carus music choir app also takes place immediately after the completion of the order, but through the provision of the contents within the choir app.
The processing of the order and the transmission of the data is partly automated. The customer should ensure that the data provided, in particular the e-mail address, is correct, and that e-mail receipt is technically secure, in particular that no spam filters prevent transmission.

(4) In principle, the invoice is sent together with the goods. With an order comprising exclusively digital products (downloads of sheet music and additional material and content of the carus music choir app) the invoice is only sent electronically by e-mail. If physical and digital products (downloads of sheet music and additional material or content of the carus music choir app) are ordered together, a composite invoice is issued for all items ordered. In such cases, the invoice will only be included in the physical shipment.

(5) If the customer does not accept the goods, the publisher has the right, at its discretion, to withdraw from the contract or to claim damages for non-fulfilment of the contract.


§8 Guarantee


If there is a defect in the purchased item, the statutory warranty regulations of the German Civil Code apply.


§9 Compensation


The customer is entitled to compensation only if their counterclaims are legally confirmed or recognized by the retailer.


§10 Retention of Title


The goods supplied remain the property of Carus-Verlag GmbH & Co. KG until the customer has paid the purchase price in full.


§11 Choral Leaflets and Choral Scores, Instrumental Parts


Choral leaflets and choral scores will only be sold in choral quantities (minimum 20 copies). Exceptions are only possible in justified cases. Minimum order quantities also apply to string parts of works scored for larger forces. Wind parts may only be ordered in complete sets.


§12 Prohibition of Copying


The items contained in the publisher’s catalog are protected by law. Any kind of reproduction is prohibited by law and is liable to prosecution, unless reproduction has specifically been allowed by the publisher.


§13 Use of Digital Products (Downloads)


(1) You can find information on data formats and system requirements in our FAQ.

(2) The customer does not acquire any rights in the contents by downloading digital content. The customer acquires a licence from Carus for a single, non-exclusive right of use. The licence includes the right to download and/or to print out the item ordered for their personal use on a terminal device of their choice. By purchasing a licence for choral/ orchestral forces, the customer acquires the right to download the item ordered onto a terminal device of their choice and to use it for the specified ensemble in the quantity ordered. By purchasing a licence to use a text from the “additional material” download section in html format, the licence includes the right to use this text in unaltered form with the author’s name and, where applicable, the translator’s, and the source reference, e.g. in a program booklet, and to reproduce it in the number of copies required.
When purchasing the contents of the carus music choir app, the customer acquires the right to download the purchased content as often as s/he wishes exclusively for personal use in the choir app, or to also use it offline in the choir app within a period of a minimum of 5 years after purchase.

(3) The customer shall not be granted any rights other than those listed in paragraph 2. The customer is expressly not allowed, for example, to change the content or technology of downloads, to pass them on to third parties, to upload them to the internet and make them publicly available, or to use them for commercial purposes.

(4) Downloads (sheet music and additional material) are provided with a digital watermark which makes it possible to identify the original purchaser in the case of use contravening the contract or the law.
The PDFs of sheet music downloads have an imprint with the name of the customer or ensemble, as well as the number of copies licensed.


§ 14 Performance of protected works


(1) The following works are protected by the German Copyright Act

  • Works by living authors or works by authors who have died within the last 70 years.
  • Works protected as scientific works or first editions under § 70, § 71 of the German Copyright Act [UrhG].


(2) Concert performances of protected works listed in this catalog must be registered as follows:

  • Those covered by the 70 year term of copyright: GEMA, Postfach 301 240, D-10722 Berlin, Germany or with the relevant performing rights societies in other countries (SACEM, AKM, CISAC)
  • Works protected under § 70, § 71 of the German Copyright Act [UrhG]: VG Musikedition, Friedrich-Ebert-Str. 104, D-34119 Kassel, Germany.


(3) Staged performances are covered by grand rights (theater rights). These are handled directly by the publisher and not by GEMA (the German Society for Musical Performing and Mechanical Reproduction Rights). Staged performances should therefore be registered directly with Carus-Verlag, Rights/Licensing, Sielminger Str. 51, D-70771 Leinfelden-Echterdingen, Germany.
 

§15 Data Protection Policy


The collection, processing, and use of all personal data is exclusively for order processing, and will be treated confidentially. Data will only be passed to third parties insofar as this is necessary for processing an order. The purchaser expressly consents to the collection, storage, processing, and use of personal data. The purchaser has a right to information, and to the correction, blocking, and deletion of their stored data. For details, please refer to our Data Protection Policy.

 

§16 Applicable Law and Jurisdiction


The law of the Federal Republic of Germany shall apply excluding the United Nations Convention on the International Sale of Goods.

If the customer is a merchant or legal entity under public law, the exclusive place of jurisdiction for all disputes arising from the contractual relationship is Stuttgart, Germany.


§ 17 Online Dispute Resolution


Since the first quarter of 2016 the EU Commission has provided an internet platform for the online resolution of disputes (called the “ODR Platform”). The ODR Platform serves as a contact point for the out-of-court settlement of disputes concerning contractual obligations arising from online purchase contracts. The ODR Platform can be accessed at the following link: https://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr
Carus-Verlag does not participate in dispute resolution procedures before consumer arbitration boards.




Carus-Verlag GmbH & Co KG
Date: 20.01.2022