Richardt Patentanwälte PartG mbB terms of engagement

These Terms of Engagement apply to all existing and future contracts between the instructing party (hereinafter referred to as the client) and Richardt Patentanwälte PartG mbB. Any deviating provisions in individual cases must be agreed in writing or be provided for by mandatory statutory law. The contractual partner is the law firm itself, and not individual persons employed by the law firm.

2.1 The subject of the mandate is the agreed service and not a specific economic or legal outcome.

2.2 Richardt Patentanwälte PartG mbB and the domestic and foreign patent attorneys and attorneys-at-law as well as European Patent, Design and Trademark Attorneys working for Richardt Patentanwälte PartG mbB provide their services independently and in accordance with the principles of proper professional conduct.

2.3 Unless otherwise expressly agreed upon in writing, the mandate shall be handled exclusively in accordance with German law, including the law of the European Union applicable in Germany in each case with the exception of tax law, to the exclusion of other legal systems. The patent attorneys working for Richardt Patentanwälte PartG mbB only provide advice within the scope defined in § 3 of the law on patent attorneys (Patentanwaltsordnung) (PatAnwO). Any further statements made by a patent attorney, in particular on the Unfair Competition Act (UWG), antitrust law, contract law, tax law, criminal law, foreign national law, do not constitute legal advice, but only serve the purpose of pointing out further legal options for action, the legal assessment of which is subject to an examination expressly requested by the client by an attorney authorized to provide legal advice in the relevant field of law.

2.4 Richardt Patentanwälte PartG mbB shall be entitled to engage expert employees and expert third parties, in particular foreign correspondence attorneys and freelancers, to carry out the mandate, provided that they have been bound by confidentiality obligations to an extent that at least corresponds to the professional confidentiality applicable to the attorneys working for Richardt Patentanwälte PartG mbB.

2.5 Richardt Patentanwälte PartG mbB shall provide consulting services exclusively for the client. This applies in particular to legal opinions or other written statements. Richardt Patentanwälte PartG mbB assumes no liability towards third parties, unless this has been expressly agreed upon in writing.

2.6 Patentanwälte PartG mbB shall be entitled to communicate with the client and third parties by e-mail or another form of electronic communication in unencrypted form in the course of performing the mandate as long as the client itself communicates with Richardt Patentanwälte PartG mbB in unencrypted form and/or unless otherwise agreed at least in text form at the client's request. If the communication is to be end-to-end encrypted, the client is obliged to indicate which encryption or encryption provider he wishes to use and to provide the necessary certificates.

3.1 The client shall inform Richardt Patentanwälte PartG mbB and the persons working for Richardt Patentanwälte PartG mbB in due time and in full and shall provide all necessary information and decisions in due time so that the mandate can be performed in due time by Richardt Patentanwälte PartG mbB and, if applicable, by any correspondent attorneys.

3.2 The client shall inform Richardt Patentanwälte PartG mbB of his current postal address and other means of communication so that he can be contacted by Richardt Patentanwälte PartG mbB. In particular, the client shall notify Richardt Patentanwälte PartG mbB of any changes to his contact details during the mandate. Richardt Patentanwälte PartG mbB shall not assume any liability if, in the absence of a valid postal address and/or invalid electronic address data (e.g. e-mail address, URL, etc.), an instruction to maintain an IP right cannot be obtained or cannot be obtained in time. The same applies if the client cannot be reached by telephone.

3.3 If it is not possible to obtain the necessary information or instructions from the client in due time within a period that can no longer be extended, Richardt Patentanwälte PartG mbB may take action to preserve the client's rights on the basis of the client's presumed interests. There is no obligation to do so. If Richardt Patentanwälte PartG mbB acts in the presumed interest of the client, the client shall pay the fees, expenses and charges incurred.

4.1 The fees, disbursements and charges (remuneration) shall be determined in accordance with the remuneration agreements made or in accordance with the applicable fee schedules of Richardt Patentanwälte PartG mbB, or alternatively in accordance with the relevant statutory fee provisions of the German Lawyers' Remuneration Act (Gesetz über die Vergütung der Rechtsanwälte RVG). Unless otherwise agreed on fees, expenses and charges (remuneration), the attorney's fee shall be calculated according to the complexity, scope and economic importance of the matter and shall be determined by Richardt Patentanwälte PartG mbB at its reasonable discretion. In contentious proceedings, a fee of at least the fee pursuant to the Law on the Remuneration of Attorneys (Gesetz über die Vergütung der Rechtsanwälte RVG) shall be charged.

4.2 Travel time and the time required for the internal coordination of lawyers to process the man-date shall be remunerated on a time basis. Travel time shall be charged at half the hourly rate.

4.3 Any expenses incurred for air travel, rail travel and other journeys as well as accommodation costs incurred for mandate-related travel shall be invoiced separately in the amount incurred.

4.4 Richardt Patentanwälte PartG mbB shall be entitled to charge an appropriate advance for the anticipated remuneration when the mandate is granted and to make the commencement and/or continuation of the work dependent on its immediate payment.

4.5 Unless otherwise stated in the invoice, payment shall be due immediately upon receipt of the invoice. Richardt Patentanwälte PartG mbB shall be entitled to charge interest on arrears 30 days after the due date. Payment of the invoice shall always be made non-cash. Richardt Patentanwälte PartG mbB shall be permitted to invoice on a monthly basis in the case of long-term client relationships.

4.6 Richardt Patentanwälte PartG mbB is entitled to receive funds and monetary values for the client and, insofar as they are not earmarked for a specific purpose, to satisfy claims for remuneration from other mandates of the client. In all other respects, Richardt Patentanwälte PartG mbB will forward to the client without undue delay any funds received and due to the client.

4.7 The client may only set off claims by Richardt Patentanwälte PartG mbB against claims by the client if the client's claim is undisputed or has been finally upheld in a court of law.

5.1 The principles of liability are based on the provisions of the German Partnership Act (Partnerschaftsgesellschaftsgesetz) and the terms of engagement. There is no further liability for the individual attorneys working for Richardt Patentanwälte PartG mbB, insofar as they act within the scope of their work for Richardt Patentanwälte PartG mbB.

5.2 Liability for cases of simple negligence is limited to €5,000,000 (in words: five million) for each individual mandate, regardless of the number of claimants. The limitation of liability covers all damages due to professional negligence, regardless of whether the damages occurred in one or several years. The limitation of liability does not apply in the event of intent or gross negligence or culpably caused damages resulting in the loss of life, physical injury or the impairment of the health of a person.

5.3 At the client's request, Richardt Patentanwälte PartG mbB can take out insurance for an individual case for an amount requested by the client and increase the amount of the limitation of liability to this amount. The client bears the associated costs.

5.4 Richardt Patentanwälte PartG mbB does not assume any liability for damages caused by cooperation partners, unless they have acted as vicarious agents for Richardt Patentanwälte PartG mbB. Richardt Patentanwälte PartG mbB commissions a foreign attorney to provide services to the client in the name of the client, so that the foreign attorney is not a vicarious agent of Richardt Patentanwälte PartG mbB, but rather the client's direct contractual partner.

5.5 Claims for damages can only be asserted against Richardt Patentanwälte PartG mbB within a preclusive period of one year after the client becomes aware of the damage and the event giving rise to the claim, but no later than five years after the event giving rise to the claim, unless the failure to meet the deadline is not the client's fault. The claim shall become extinct if an action is not brought within six months of written refusal of the compensation and the client has been advised of this consequence. The right to raise the objection of the statute of limitations shall remain unaffected.

The mandate ends with the completion of the order. It can be terminated by either party with immediate effect by means of a declaration to the other party, without stating reasons, but not at an inopportune time.

Detailed information on data protection, the handling of personal data by Richardt Patent Attorneys, and the rights of persons affected is available on the internet at www.richardt.eu/datenschutzerklaerung/.

8.1 The mandate shall be governed exclusively by German law, to the exclusion of German international private law.

8.2 The place of performance for all services related to the mandate and the exclusive place of jurisdiction for all legal disputes arising from the mandate shall be Wiesbaden.

9.1 Should any of the provisions of these Terms and Conditions of Engagement be or become invalid, the validity of the remaining provisions shall not be affected. The invalid or unenforceable provision shall be replaced by a valid and enforceable one that comes closest to the intended purpose.

9.2 Any amendments or additions to these terms and conditions must be made in writing and must be expressly marked as such. This also applies to the cancellation of the written form requirement.

9.3 The use of exclusively masculine formulations applies to female and diverse persons accordingly and was chosen only for the sake of simplified readability.

9.4 The German version of these Terms of Mandate is the legally binding one.