GTC

for

E-Commerce.

German GTC law is complex and full of restrictive provisions. Our team of experienced attorneys will check and draw up general terms and conditions for online trading for you so that you can act in a legally secure manner.

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General terms and conditions in online trading

General terms and conditions (GTC) are the legal foundation of e-commerce transactions. Since individual contractual agreements cannot be implemented in mass business, e-commerce inevitably has to rely on ready-made contractual terms and conditions. Whether these are referred to as GTC, terms and conditions of purchase or sale, contract terms, terms of use or otherwise, they are always general terms and conditions in legal terms.

Legal requirements for GTCs

German GTC law places strict requirements on the effectiveness of GTCs. The key requirements are transparency and comprehensibility: the clauses must be formulated in such a way that they are understandable even for legal laypersons. Unclear or surprising provisions are deemed invalid. If clauses are ambiguous, the most customer-friendly interpretation is always taken as a basis. In addition, GTCs must not unreasonably disadvantage customers. This means that clauses that are unilaterally detrimental to the customer are invalid. In German GTC law, there is also no possibility of a reduction to preserve validity, i.e. if a GTC clause is invalid, something that comes as close as possible to what was intended should apply.

Ineffective GTC clauses can have serious legal and economic consequences. Individual ineffective clauses lead to the statutory provisions taking their place, which often has disadvantageous consequences for the user. In addition, ineffective clauses can be the subject of cease and desist letters from competitors or consumer protection associations and lead to costly cease and desist letters, contractual penalties and court proceedings. We minimize these risks by drafting legally compliant contracts and protect you from the consequences under competition law.

Differences between B2C and B2B

The legal requirements differ considerably depending on whether you are doing business with consumers (B2C) or entrepreneurs (B2B). Significantly stricter protection regulations apply in the B2C sector. Numerous clauses that are permissible in business transactions with entrepreneurs are invalid for consumers. In B2C transactions, numerous mandatory consumer protection rights apply, for example in relation to withdrawal, information obligations and liability. Such regulations may not be circumvented or restricted by GTCs. Limitations of liability are only permitted within narrow limits, in particular not in cases of intent, gross negligence or damage to life, limb or health. In addition, payment and delivery terms must be regulated precisely and without contradiction so that there are no loopholes. In e-commerce in particular, issues relating to data protection, warranties, guarantees or rights of use for digital content are often particularly relevant and must be legally compliant. Finally, jurisdiction and choice of law clauses must not violate mandatory consumer protection law and must be agreed transparently and permissibly.

Creation, review and adaptation of GTC for online trading

Our attorneys specializing in IT law and e-commerce offer you comprehensive advice on GTC law, including drafting, reviewing and adapting your GTC. We do not draft GTCs that are limited to the mere fulfillment of information obligations in distance selling. Instead, we develop GTCs that provide for genuine contractual arrangements within the permissible framework and are tailored to the requirements of your company. This enables us to provide you with the best possible contractual protection. Our services include, among other things

Determining the requirements:
What is the purpose of the GTC? Which risks should be contractually covered? Which constellations do you want to regulate? Which clauses are useful and which are not?
Creation of GTC:
We create and design individual and legally compliant GTC for e-commerce for you.
Review and adaptation of GTC:
Do you already have GTCs? If so, we will be happy to review them with regard to their effectiveness and legal certainty and make any necessary adjustments.
Updating GTCs:
The law on GTCs is constantly changing. Clauses that were permissible in the past may become invalid due to changes in case law or changes in legislation. We are happy to regularly check your GTCs to see if they need to be adapted and provide the necessary updates.
Advice on incorporating GTCs:
We will be happy to advise you on how you can ensure that GTCs are effectively incorporated into your processes.

Our expertise – your advantage

Our law firm has many years of experience in drafting, reviewing and adapting GTCs in e-commerce. Our attorneys specializing in this field combine sound legal expertise with practice-oriented strategies to ensure that your interests are optimally reflected in the GTC in a legally compliant manner. This gives you contracts whose effectiveness you can rely on. You benefit from:

Individual advice and analysis: We don’t want to create off-the-shelf GTCs for you, but GTCs that fit your individual requirements and provide you with the best possible contractual protection.
Legal expertise:
We have many years of experience in the area of GTC in e-commerce. We have gained this experience both by drafting the relevant general terms and conditions and by representing clients in numerous legal disputes in which the validity of GTCs was the subject of dispute. Through continuous further training, we also ensure that we – and therefore you – are always up to date.
Success-oriented action:
The aim of our legal advice in connection with GTCs is to protect your business interests in the long term through sensible contractual drafting. We take into account all relevant legal, regulatory and industry-specific requirements in our advice in order to provide you with tailor-made GTCs.