These General Terms and Conditions are only directed towards The Bright Side Story and not towards third parties.
1. Agreement, Quotation, and Confirmation
1.1 – These General Terms and Conditions (hereinafter: General Terms and Conditions) apply to all quotations and the formation, content, and performance of all agreements entered into between the client and the contractor (hereinafter: illustrator). Deviations from these General Terms and Conditions can only be agreed upon in writing between the client and the illustrator.
1.2 – Quotations are entirely non-binding and valid for 30 calendar days after the quotation is sent. Prices for digital illustrations are exclusive of VAT. The rates and offers mentioned do not automatically apply to future assignments. The prices mentioned in the quotation are based on standard package prices, illustration prices or the hourly rate at that moment. Additional costs, such as printing illustrations, are in addition to the specified illustration rate. The client is responsible for the accuracy and completeness of the data provided by or on behalf of her to the designer, on which the designer bases the quotation.
1.3 – Assignments are confirmed in writing by the client. If the client fails to give this confirmation but nonetheless agrees that the designer begins to carry out the assignment, the contents of the quotation shall be deemed to have been agreed upon as described in these General Terms and Conditions.
1.4 – Requests submitted via the “Contact” request form and scheduled at an available moment can no longer be canceled without the permission of both the client and the contractor.
2. Billing
2.1 – Billing for the project will be divided into two parts. The ‘reservation fee,’ which constitutes 20% of the total project cost, will be invoiced during the preparatory steps of the project, coinciding with the project’s preparation. The remainder of the total project cost will be invoiced after the introduction meeting, which is considered an integral part of the project.
Payment for these invoices will follow a specific process. An invoice will be provided through email. The client is required to make the payment within 14 calendar days to the account number specified on the invoice. In the case of non-payment after this period, a reminder will be sent, providing an additional 14 calendar days for payment.
2.2 – The first feedback session takes place when the billing has been settled, if this is not the case, no feedback session will take place until the billing is settled.
3. Execution of the Assignment
3.1 – The illustrator will make every effort to execute the assignment with care and independence. The client’s interests will be taken into account and an effort will be made to achieve a usable result for the client. To the extent necessary, the illustrator will consult with the client, and the illustrator will provide the client with a written report of the progress of the execution of the assignment.
3.2 – The illustrator shall retain the copyright on the illustrations made by him until the assignment has been fully executed and the invoice has been paid in full.
3.3 – The illustrator shall not be liable for any damage suffered by the client as a result of the execution of the assignment, unless the damage is the result of intent or gross
negligence on the part of the illustrator.
4. Termination
4.1 – The client has the right to terminate the agreement with the illustrator without notice of default or judicial intervention, subject to a reasonable compensation for the illustrator’s costs and the work done up to that point.
4.2 – The illustrator has the right to terminate the agreement with the client with immediate effect and without notice of default or judicial intervention, if the client is in default in fulfilling its obligations under the agreement or if circumstances arise of such a nature that fulfillment of the agreement is impossible or can no longer be required in accordance with the standards of reasonableness and fairness.
5. Intellectual Property
5.1 – All rights and intellectual property arising from the assignment – including trademark law, drawing or design right, patent right, and copyright – on the results of the assignments belong to the illustrator.
5.2 – When publishing an illustration made by The Bright Side Story, the illustrator’s name must be included. It is not allowed to alter and/or add text and/or other illustrated objects to the illustration. Additionally, placing texts, hashtags, or other forms of text and/or illustration expressions that are in violation of the law, public morals, public order or reasonableness is prohibited.
5.3 – The illustrator has the right to include or remove her name on, by or in the publication surrounding the result of the assignment for the client at any time. The client is not allowed to make the result public without the illustrator’s prior permission without including the name.
5.4 – Unless otherwise agreed, the illustrations remain the property of the illustrator. Regardless of whether they are available to the client or to third parties.
5.5 – After the completion of the assignment, both the client and the illustrator have no obligation to retain materials and data used during the agreement.
6. Use of the Result
6.1 – When the client indicates that the result has been fully executed to their satisfaction, the client is granted the right to take use of the illustration(s). The result must always only be used for the pre-agreed usage rights for which the assignment was provided. The right to use is exclusive, unless otherwise agreed in the nature of the agreement.
6.2 – When the result will be used by both the client and third parties, the usage rights with these parties must also be agreed upon.
6.3 – It is not allowed to assign or sell the illustration in any way.
7. Costs
7.1 – If the execution of the assignment is delayed and/or interrupted by circumstances that cannot be attributed to the illustrator, the client is required to reimburse any costs incurred. The designer will try to limit these costs as much as possible.
8. Payment and Suspension
8.1 – All payments must be made without deduction, offset or suspension, within 14 calendar days after the invoice date, unless otherwise agreed in writing or stated otherwise on the invoice.
8.2 – All goods delivered to the client remain at all times the property of the illustrator until all amounts owed by the client to the illustrator have been fully paid to the illustrator.
8.3 – If the client is in default with the full or partial payment of the amount due, the illustrator will stop the assignment and no new assignments will be accepted by this client.
8.4 – A ‘reservation fee,’ equal to 20% of the total project cost, will be invoiced during the preparatory steps before the introductory meeting. The remaining invoicing will occur after the introductory meeting.
8.5 – If it appears that no desired result has been found after the completion of the designated feedback sessions due to previous unclearness and/or unattainable instructions for the illustrator, the design that stands after the last feedback session will be delivered and there is no question of any form of refund.
8.6 – The client acknowledges that a ‘reservation fee’ of 20% will be invoiced during the preparatory stages, prior to the introductory meeting. These fees cover the time invested in the client up to that point and represent a portion of the reserved hours for the forthcoming project. The client understands that these fees will be charged in the event of project cancellation and are non-refundable if the project does not proceed.
8.7 – In certain cases, it is possible that the ‘reservation fee’ is not invoiced immediately when the project commences within the same month. In such instances, the billing of the entire amount will take place after the introductory meeting. In the event of a project cancellation, the 20% ‘reservation fee’ can retrospectively be billed for the time invested in the project up to that point and the reserved hours.
9. Guarantees
9.1 – The illustrator guarantees that the delivered work was designed by her and that she can dispose of the work as the maker under copyright law and as the copyright holder. The illustrator guarantees that the result of the assignment does not infringe upon the rights of third parties or is otherwise unlawful at any time.
10. Liability
10.1 – The illustrator is only liable for the damage that is directly attributable to the illustrator. Liability of the illustrator for indirect damage, such as consequential damage, lost profits, missed savings, damaged or perished data or materials, or damage due to business stagnation, is excluded.
11. Other Provisions
11.1 – All parties involved in the agreement between the client and illustrator are obliged to maintain confidentiality of confidential information, facts and circumstances that come to the knowledge of the other party in the context of the assignment, from each other or from other sources, of which it can reasonably be understood that disclosure or communication to third parties would cause damage to the illustrator or the client.
