Terms of Use

1. Language and translations

These Terms of Use are provided in several languages. Only the English version is authoritative and legally binding, unless expressly stated otherwise in a specific individual case. Translations are provided solely for the sake of clarity. Mandatory consumer protection regulations of the country in which the user has their habitual residence remain unaffected.

Where, for individual case-specific licence, release, consent, exchange, gift or purchase agreements within the respective workflow, a separate provision regarding the choice of language or law is specified, this individual provision shall take precedence in the case in question.

2. Provider and Platform Operator

Contrima is a registered trademark of Mark Reinhardt.

The operator and provider of the platform is Mark Reinhardt, acting as a sole trader.

Contrima provides a technical platform for the presentation, allocation, provision, documentation, licensing, sale and management of photographic content, as well as the associated access, gallery, approval, consent, purchase, subscription and payment processes.

Contrima does not become a contractual partner between photographers and photographed persons, models, buyers or other parties involved, unless expressly stated otherwise in the specific offer or in the respective workflow. Contrima does not undertake any legal review of individual usage agreements, releases, consents or publications.

3. Scope

These Terms of Use apply to all visitors, registered users, photographers, buyers and other persons who use Contrima, QR codes, personal access links, galleries, showcase areas or other Contrima functions.

For certain functions, in particular photographer accounts, sales and payment functions, licence packages, case-specific approval, consent, licence, exchange, gift and purchase processes, as well as payment services, supplementary terms, offer descriptions or case-specific agreements may apply. In the event of any conflict, these shall take precedence for the respective specific area.

4. Registration and User Account

Where registration is offered, users are obliged to provide true, complete and up-to-date information and to treat access data as confidential.

Photographers are responsible for ensuring that their account, their profile and their stored billing, seller, tax and payout details are accurate and up to date, insofar as such functions are offered or activated.

Contrima is entitled to block, restrict or delete user accounts or individual functions in the event of breaches of these terms and conditions, unlawful content, incomplete or inaccurate verification details, suspected security breaches or misuse, or due to legal or regulatory requirements.

5. Content, Uploads and Photographers’ Liability

Photographers may only upload, process, publish, offer for sale or otherwise use content if they are authorised to do so. The photographer is personally responsible for ensuring that the necessary rights, permissions, consents, authorisations or other legal bases are in place and that no third-party rights are infringed. This applies in particular to personality rights, image rights, copyright, neighbouring rights, trademark rights, data protection rights, the rights of minors, as well as any rights or powers relating to land, premises, buildings, private locations, objects, projects or other contexts depicted.

Insofar as consent, approval, authorisation or any other form of permission is required for the capture, upload, assignment, preview, publication, licensing, sale or other processing of a photograph, the respective photographer must ensure this themselves. In particular, Contrima does not guarantee that subsequent consent, subsequent approval, a subsequent choice of licence or a subsequent purchase will remedy any prior unlawful processing.

The photographer shall indemnify Contrima against all claims by third parties, which are asserted on the basis of unlawfully uploaded, processed, published or offered content, including reasonable legal defence costs, insofar as the photographer is responsible for the infringement.

6. Platform licence and public display on Contrima

By uploading content, the Photographer grants Contrima a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free licence to store the content for the purpose of operating the platform, technically process, reproduce, convert, add preview markers or watermarks to, assign, make available, archive and make publicly accessible within the scope of the contractually agreed access, gallery, approval, licensing, purchase and verification processes.

Insofar as content, images or other displayed contexts are, in the respective case, package or other approval process, expressly approved for public display, Contrima may, in particular:

• display them in the Contrima showcase of the respective photographer,
• display them in public gallery views of the relevant case or photographer,
• display them in a public overall gallery on the platform.

Any further use for Contrima’s own independent advertising activities outside the usual platform presentation shall only take place, insofar as separate authorisation has been granted for this purpose or a corresponding agreement expressly provides for this.

7. QR codes, access system, claiming and galleries

Contrima may provide QR codes, access codes, personal access links, or comparable access technologies, which enable the photographed persons, accepting persons, buyers or other parties involved to access specific content, participant pages, galleries, previews, approval, licensing and purchase processes.

These access media serve exclusively to facilitate technical access, the assignment of a case and the execution of the respective workflow, and do not confer any independent rights of use. The scope of rights arises exclusively from the respective offer, the specific package and the finally confirmed individual case.

Contrima may provide galleries, previews, watermarks, publication stages, activations, purchase and consent logic, participant assignments and personal access areas. Personal access links and access tokens must be treated as confidential and must not be disclosed to third parties without authorisation.

8. Licensing, Consent and Purchase Processes

Contrima may provide package-related licensing, release, consent, exchange, donation and purchase processes for specific photos or galleries. The applicable scope of rights is determined exclusively by the package or offer displayed and finally confirmed in each case.

Insofar as such processes include statements regarding persons depicted, persons represented, or locations, rooms, properties, objects, projects or other contextual elements, this applies only to the extent confirmed in each case and only insofar as the person making the statement is authorised to do so. Contrima does not generally verify such authorisations; the rights of third parties remain unaffected.

Insofar as a purchase, activation or other consideration is a prerequisite for the acquisition of rights, the relevant rights arise only to the extent that the respective transaction has been effectively completed or otherwise confirmed.

Minors may only use purchase or licensing processes to the extent provided for by the respective workflow and where a parent or guardian, or another adult legally authorised to act on their behalf, confirms, approves or authorises the purchase, the acceptance of the respective package, and the payment and data processing required for this. Any independent involvement or declaration by the minor does not replace this required authorisation by a representative. Contrima may make the conclusion, activation, delivery or documentation of the transaction contingent upon the required representative authorisation and a validly authorised payment transaction being in place.

In the case of the provision of digital images, digital files or digital usage rights in return for payment, Contrima may make immediate provision prior to the expiry of a statutory withdrawal period conditional upon the purchaser expressly agreeing that provision shall commence prior to the expiry of the withdrawal period and confirming that they forfeit their right of withdrawal upon the commencement of provision. Without this consent, Contrima may refuse, cancel or postpone the immediate provision, activation, delivery or commencement of the payment process until the expiry of the withdrawal period. Statutory rights in the event of defects remain unaffected.

In connection with such processes, Contrima may generate, store and make available to the parties concerned agreement, evidence or PDF documents. For case-specific agreements, a separate choice of law or other case-specific provision may be provided for in the respective flow.

9. Payment functions, subscriptions, image sales and Stripe

Contrima may offer paid services, subscriptions, storage packages, image and licence purchases, seller accounts, payout functions and other transactions. The exact terms and conditions (e.g. prices, terms, storage capacity, commission or fee models) are set out transparently in the relevant offer, tariff or workflow.

For payment processing, subscriptions, buyer payments, seller onboarding and payout functions, Contrima may use payment service providers, in particular Stripe and Stripe Connect. Where necessary for this purpose, the required registration, billing, identity, company, tax, payout, transaction, refund, dispute and chargeback data may be transferred to the payment service providers used and reconciled with them.

In cases involving minors or legal representation, payment, activation or delivery processes may additionally depend on the effective involvement of a paying, authorising or legally authorised adult, and on the provision of the necessary details, confirmations or payment authorisations.

If a purchase of digital images or digital usage rights is to be executed before the expiry of a statutory withdrawal period, Contrima may make the start of the Stripe checkout or a comparable payment process contingent upon an explicit confirmation of the immediate commencement of provision and the expiry of the right of withdrawal. In the case of minors, this confirmation must be provided by a parent or guardian or another adult legally authorised to act on their behalf.

Photographers who use sales or payout functions are required to provide all necessary information in full and to keep it up to date, and to accept the relevant additional terms and conditions, payment service provider terms and conditions, and disclosures. Contrima may delay, block, offset or withhold payments, where this is necessary due to verification requirements, negative balances, chargebacks, refunds, disputes, suspected misuse, legal obligations or regulatory requirements.

10. Storage, Archiving and Storage Quotas

Depending on the tariff or offer, storage quotas may apply to uploads, active galleries, archiving and other storage functions. Contrima is entitled to restrict uploads, activations or other functions if tariff or technical limits are reached.

Uploaded original data is generally initially retained in active storage for the current workflow. Finalised cases may, after a period of 90 days has elapsed since the last significant activity, be transferred to a non-public archive storage. Drafts that have not been finalised, test cases or uploads that have not been finalised may be deleted in accordance with the relevant service description or tariff provisions.

Agreement, verification, audit, thumbnail, fingerprint, hash, billing and other documentation data may be retained for longer or separately, regardless of the public availability of the original images, insofar as this is necessary for platform operation, verifiability, legal defence, accounting, legal obligations or archiving purposes.

11. Prohibited Use and Measures

In particular, any use of Contrima is prohibited that: infringes the rights of third parties, misuses access systems, circumvents security mechanisms, reads content without authorisation, retrieves content automatically on a mass scale, distributes malware, provides misleading information, or contravenes legal requirements or these Terms of Use.

Contrima is entitled to block or remove content, restrict access, deactivate functions, and take other appropriate measures, where this is necessary for security, legal, misuse, compliance or operational reasons.

12. Liability

Contrima shall be liable without limitation in cases of intent and gross negligence, as well as in the event of injury to life, limb or health.

In the event of a breach of material contractual obligations due to slight negligence, liability is limited to foreseeable damage typical for the contract. Otherwise, liability is excluded.

To the extent permitted by law, Contrima shall in particular not be liable for the legal validity, completeness or enforceability of individual agreements between photographers and photographed persons, recipients, buyers or other parties involved, for content posted by users, or for failures, delays or restrictions attributable to third-party providers, payment service providers, network connections, end devices or force majeure.

13. Availability

Contrima endeavours to ensure availability with as few interruptions as possible, but does not guarantee access at all times. Maintenance, security measures, technical developments, third-party service provider failures or regulatory requirements may lead to temporary restrictions.

14. Changes to the platform and these terms

Contrima is entitled to change, further develop or discontinue features, provided this is reasonable for users. This applies in particular to technical processes, payment and storage functions, gallery and access logic, as well as security and compliance measures.

Contrima may amend these Terms of Use with future effect, where there is an objective reason to do so, in particular in the event of changes to the legal situation, case law, the technical infrastructure, payment services, the scope of functions or security requirements. Where necessary, registered users will be informed of this in an appropriate manner.

15. Applicable Law

These General Terms of Use are governed by the law of the Federal Republic of Germany, excluding the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods. For consumers, this choice of law applies only to the extent that it does not deprive them of the protection afforded by mandatory provisions of the law of the country in which the consumer has their habitual residence.

Separate choice of law provisions remain unaffected,

16. Jurisdiction

If the user is a trader or a legal entity under public law, the exclusive place of jurisdiction shall be the provider’s registered office.