General Terms of Use of txtr GmbH, Berlin

May 16, 2013

§ 1 Applicability

  1. The following General Terms of Use apply to all business relations between txtr GmbH ("txtr") and its customers („Users“) in the version applicable at the time of concluding the contract. Users’ conditions which deviate from these Conditions will not be accepted by txtr unless explicitly agreed upon in writing.

§ 2 Specification of Services

  1. txtr operates for business purposes the website http://txtr.com (the "txtr Website"). On this Website, Users have access to the areas txtr Store (the "txtr Store") as well as txtr Platform (the "Platform").
  2. txtr offers any User the possibility to load the application (the "txtr App") being offered by txtr for certain mobile phones and similar players like Tablet PCs (the "mobile players") free of charge on its mobile player. Depending on the txtr App Version the User has access to the area txtr Store .
  3. Registered Users may also post comments on books inro the txtr feed (the “Feed”).
  4. On the txtr Store, the User has access to a catalogue with digital files of various forms, especially books, magazines and similar products. With the download of these products the User may obtain a license according to Section 4 et seq. of these Conditions or may download texts free of charge (the "ebooks"). On the Platform the User has, inter alia, the possibility to download texts free of charge and to upload and administer his or her own digital documents.

§ 3 Registration, Use

  1. Prerequisite for the purchase of an ebook or for an upload of his or her own digital documents on the Platform, is the registration of the User by creating an account on the txtr Website or via the txtr App (the "Registration"). Further functions and services available on the Platform and via the txtr App, in particular access to the txtr Store, may be used without a Registration.
  2. The Registration is free of charge. txtr is authorized to check or let check the data given by the User for plausibility and to refuse or revoke a Registration. The User shall provide true, up-to-date and complete information when registering and placing orders, and inform txtr immediately about changes of the data given.
  3. Upon the first Registration the User will receive a password (the "Access Data"), which is necessary for future logins. The User shall organize his or her Access Data in a secure way, keep them confidential and notify txtr without delay if he or she loses the Access Data or suspects that third parties may have unauthorized knowledge of them. If through the negligence of a User, a third party uses the services of txtr on the basis of such Access Data, the User shall be personally liable for any damages incurred by txtr as a result. txtr shall not be liable for damages caused to the User due to abuse or loss of the User’s Access Data.
  4. On the occasion of the first Registration and with each future login after any changes of the Conditions, the User will be explicitly asked to accept these General Terms of Use as binding. If he or she rejects, the User cannot use those services, for which he or she needs a Registration.
  5. txtr provides its service only to full age users.

§ 4 Contract conclusion via the txtr Store and Terms of Use

  1. On the txtr Store, the User may obtain the right to use ebooks. The presentation of the range of products on the txtr Store represents a non-binding invitation to the User to order these products. The ebooks are classified by different categories. Each ebook indicates its title, author and/or publisher, as well as the price, including V.A.T, optionally further information are available. The price is due and payable immediately upon ordering. txtr accepts only those forms of payment offered to the User within the context of the respective order. Payments by direct debit and credit card will be charged on the day of invoicing.
  2. In order to acquire an ebook, the User shall select an ebook and put it into his or her virtual cart. To continue the purchase, first-time Users must be registered and/or have to sign up upon later purchases. The payment method and the invoice address may be verified and saved as future base setting. When continuing the acquisition, the User views the details of his or her order, in particular the total purchase price. The User may then submit the order finally and bindingly. Should a bank debit not be carried out or be returned, the User authorizes the Bank to inform txtr of his or her name and present whereabouts.
  3. The acceptance of the contract by txtr occurs with the immediate download of the ebook on the User’s account or Mobile Device. The User obtains the download directly and does not have to activate it first. As soon as the download is made, the risk will pass to the User. The User waives any right to receive an additional declaration of acceptance according to Art. 151 S. 1 BGB. 
  4. After having purchased ebooks the User has no right of withdrawal or return, as the User cannot return an ebook because of the basic possibility of a continued use.
  5. As far as there are forcing reasons not to sell an ebook the User will be informed about the unavailability. Payments already made will be reimbursed to the User without delay.
  6. Some ebooks offered by txtr are protected by DRM (Digital Rights Management) systems, for which the user may require a personal DRM ID. The Adobe ID can be created online at Adobe (www.adobe.com/). Under the DRM (Digital Rights Management) licence the use of ebooks may be limited to a certain number of terminal devices.
  7. When buying an ebook the User will acquire the use licence as defined under Art. 5 (the "ebook Licence"). The ebook Licence will only be awarded on the condition that all claims against the User arising out of the order have been completely settled. The User is only entitled to set off counterclaims which are undisputed or have been established by a court of law.
  8. The User acknowledges that returns of purchased ebooks can only be made for corrupt or defective ebooks and in any case not after 72 hours from the time of purchase.

§ 5 Rights of use on ebooks and freely available files

  1. The content of the downloads being distributed by txtr is protected by copyright. The User undertakes to agree and adhere to the copyrights. No copyrights, rights of use nor other property rights to the content will be transferred to the User unless otherwise stated in these General Terms and Condition, in the End-User-License Agreement and/or the conditions highlighted during the purchase of the ebook or in the product descriptions .
  2. With the download the User acquires the simple, non-transferable right to use the offered ebook only for personal, domestic and non-commercial, non-institutional, non-corporate and non-teaching use. The download of the ebook does not provide any commercial or promotional use rights in such ebook. Before receiving full payment of the purchase price, txtr is entitled to revoke this right to use.
  3. In particular it is not allowed to change the content of the downloads or make editorial changes or to use modified versions, to copy the downloads for third parties, to make them publicly available or to forward them to third parties, to put them on the Internet or on other networks, to copy, resell or use them for commercial purposes. 
  4. In case the publisher of the content is located in the United States of America (the "US Publisher"), the User acknowledges that any claims against this publisher shall be interpreted and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York in the United States of America, without giving effect to their principles of conflicts of law and that by using the txtr Store the User waives any claims against the US Publisher that may arise under the laws of other countries or territories located outside of the United States or states other than New York. The state courts of the State of New York in and for New York County, and if the jurisdictional prerequisites exist, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and no other court or tribunal, shall have sole and exclusive jurisdiction to hear and determine any dispute or controversy arising out of the US Publisher’s ebooks or concerning the US Publisher. With respect to any such action or proceeding against a US Publisher, the User irrevocably (a) consents and submits to the personal jurisdiction of said courts, and (b) waives the defense of lack of personal jurisdiction and/or inconvenient forum and/or improper venue.

§ 6 Services on the Platform

  1. On the Platform, the User has the option to download freely accessible texts free of charge.
  2. The User may compile his or her own files and make texts accessible for certain Users. The disk space for uploaded content is limited for each User. In case the user uploads own texts or texts of third parties, then the user will accept automatically and explicitly Art. 7 of these Terms of Use.

§ 7 Lawfulness of Multimedia Content

  1. txtr only provides the necessary disk space for and access to the content which is uploaded by the User. The User shall be solely responsible for the content uploaded by him or her to the txtr Platform. The User shall ensure that such content does not violate any applicable laws and statutory provisions, public policy and, in particular, the rights of a third party (naming, privacy, copyright, data protection, etc. rights). In particular, the User undertakes not to upload any content that violates provisions of the Criminal Code, the Interstate Treaty governing the Protection of Minors in the Media (JMStV) or laws governing firearms.
  2. The User shall not transmit data or store data on a data carrier of txtr that, given their type or nature (e.g. viruses), size or reproduction (e.g. spamming), could jeopardize the functioning or operation of the services and data network of txtr. Furthermore, the use of computer programs for the automatic readout of data, such as crawler, is prohibited on the txtr Platform without the express consent of txtr. The User shall be liable to txtr for any damages resulting from the transmission of such prohibited data.
  3. If the User is in breach of any of the aforementioned prohibitions and guidelines of these Terms of Use, txtr may reject the User's content, delete and block content immediately and block the User from further uploads, delete the pages and any references thereto immediately and/or terminate the User’s registration with immediate effect. In such event, the User is not entitled to the restoration of his or her content on the txtr Platform.
  4. The User agrees to indemnify and hold harmless txtr and to reimburse any costs txtr incurs from defense against third party claims arising out of Content posted, uploaded or in other ways published on the txtr Website by such User and to release txtr from claims asserted by any third parties because of a violation of their rights due to the Content of the User.

§ 8 Rights of use to content posted by the User into the Feed

  1. By uploading content into the Feed the User grants to txtr the non-exclusive, free of charge, non-volume-limited, transferable right to use such content unlimited in terms of time and place. Such right of use shall particularly include the right to make the User’s content available to the public, either by wire or wireless means, in such a manner that third parties may access it from a place and at a time individually chosen by them, including the reproduction on any receiving devices that allow online access, such as stationary and mobile computers, television sets and mobile phones. The right of use further includes the right to reproduce, distribute, send, play back in public and publish the User’s content uploaded into the Feed and other similar uses. txtr shall especially be entitled to embed such User’s content in partner’s websites by using widgets or similar applications.

§ 9 Availability and liability

  1. According to the current state of the technology the data communication on the internet cannot be guaranteed perfectly and any time availably.txtr does not provide any guarantee or warranty with respect to the availability of its services. txtr shall not accept any liability for defects that are beyond its control.
  2. The User bears sole responsibility for the selection of the ebooks.
  3. txtr may limit access to its services if such limitation is required for the safety and reliability of the net, the integrity of the network, in particular the prevention of serious disruptions of the network, the software or stored data.
  4. txtr is liable for cases of intent and gross negligence. txtr is not liable for slight negligence insofar as no important contractual obligation (cardinal obligation) has been hurt, insofar as no warranty has been given for the state and condition of a product, insofar as no maliciously concealed defects or a case of default or impossibility occurred. In the event that important obligations have been hurt due to slight negligence, txt shall be liable only to the amount of the typically foreseeable damage. The previously mentioned liability exclusions shall not apply in case of injury to life, body or health. The liability according to the Law on Product Liability remains untouched. txtr shall not be liable for the display of content on the txtr Website or via the txtr App. txtr distances itself explicitly from the content of all pages to which direct or indirect reference (so-called "Links") is made from within the services and the Platform of txtr. txtr shall not be liable for such content and pages whatsoever. Only the providers of such pages shall be liable for the content of such pages.
  5. The liability for consequential damages such as loss of profit, missing savings and other indirect damages as well as the compensation for expenses incurred in vain shall be excluded. If the liability of txtr is excluded or limited, this also applies to the personal liability of employees, representatives and vicarious agents.
  6. txtr shall not be liable for data being stored on the txtr Website or on the Mobile Device. Each User shall be liable and is recommended to secure backups of his or her files.

§ 9 Data protection

  1. txtr undertakes to handle all personal User data in strict confidence according to statutory provisions and to collect, process and use the data during the term of the agreement only for the purposes of executing the agreement, unless User expressly consents to other uses. The data are collected, used and processed electronically. A separate Datenschutzerklärung (Data Privacy Statement), to explain the issues relating to data protection, has been attached hereto. The User shall hereby acknowledge such Privacy Statement.
  2. The User consents explicitly to the collection, use and processing of his or her personal User data.
  3. Upon registration the User expressly agrees that his or her address and email may be used for occasional information regarding the update and new services of txtr. The consent may be withdrawn by informal report at any time.

§ 10 General Provisions

  1. German Law shall apply for these General Terms of Use and all legal relations between the User and txtr. The provisions of the German Conflict of Laws and the International Sale of Goods shall not apply.
  2. Jurisdiction over any disputes arising in connection with txtr shall lie with the courts in Berlin, Germany, as far as legally admissible.
  3. Should individual provisions hereof shall be or become void or incomplete, the validity of the remaining provisions hereof shall in no way be affected. The contractual partners will replace the invalid provision by a legally effective provision which closest reflects the economic purpose of the invalid term. The above regulation shall also apply to possible loopholes.



Data Privacy Statement (Datenschutzerklärung)

  1. Data collection

    2. When registering at the txtr GmbH ("txtr") and when creating its own user profile, the User submits informations about its own personal or material circumstances such as email address, date of birth, sex and domicile ("Personal data"). These Personal Data will be handled by txtr, respectively by the involved payment provider with regard to the method of payment, in strict confidence according to the legal provisions. During the term of the agreement the data will only be collected, processed and used for the purpose of executing the agreement, unless the User expressly consents to other uses.

    The collection, use and process of data is carried out electronically. In order to improve its product range continually, txtr collects anonymized data for the use of its Apps, for example which contents  are accessed in the txtr Store or how the txtr Apps are used. The user may deactivate this data collection in the settings of the App. txtr never stores data about read books or reading habits without the explicite approval of the user. The data transfer between the App and the Server is SSL encrypted.

  2. Data use

    3. txtr will ony transfer personal data to third parties if this is legally required by law and/or if txtr has the express permission of the user.

    txtr is entitled to transfer personal data to third parties, if those parties shall carry out services and actions by order and for txtr , like for example to let the software run on the platform of remote servers or carry out and settle up payment processes for offered products or services . In this respect txtr complies with the provisions of Art. 11 BDSchG .

    For the purposes of advertising, marketing and structuring the services of txtr according to needs, txtr carries out researches in regard of the interests and behaviour of the user. This is made by an anonymous procedure, so no personal data are transferred which allow direct conclusions on the user. The user has the right to stop the process and use of its data. During the term of the agreement txtr may send the User a newsletter with information, for example relating to support, technical advice and other information regarding its services, if the User has agreed to receive this newsletter.

    The User may cancel the newsletter at any time and free of charge by using the link in the newsletter.
    txtr shall be entitled to collect, process and use the User 's master and connection data for the purpose of identifying, delimiting and removing malfunctions and errors in the telecommunication systems. If the requirements are met, txtr may collect, process and use the master and connection data that are necessary to uncover any unlawful use of the telecommunication systems and services. In accordance with prevailing legal provisions, txtr may provide information to criminal prosecution authorities and courts for prosecution purposes. Upon request, txtr shall provide the User with the information on the stored data relating to the User’s person or pseudonym, free of charge and without delay. The information can be provided electronically, if desired. Apart from this, txtr will pass on neither the User’s data nor the content of the User’s private messages to third parties without the User’s explicit prior consent.

  3. Cookies

    4. txtr uses codes from text and numbers (the "Cookies") on the txtr Website which allow the use of the Website by the User, with which the User may be identified during its visit on the Website and be re-identified when visiting the Website again. These Cookies are stored on the Computer of the User.

    txtr reserves the right to use Google Analytics. Google Analytics also uses Cookies. The informations about the use of the Website created by the Cookie (inclusive the IP-address of the User) are transferred in such a case to a Server of Google and are stored there. Google will use these informations in order to analyse the use of the Website, in order to issue reports about the activities of the Website for the Website operator and in order to provide further services being related with the use of the Website and the use of the Internet. Google may transfer these information to a third party, provided this is legally compulsory or as far as third parties process these data in the name of Google. Google will not associate the IP address of the User with any other data held by Google.

    The user can deactivate such cookies in the settings of its computer. However, it might then be possible that the user cannot use all functions of this Website. By using this Website the user agrees that its anonymously collected data are used in the manner described above, but the user is also aware, that Cookies may possibly store the IP-address of the terminal used by the user .

  4. Usage Tracking

    5. In order to improve txtr’s offers continuously, txtr collects data for the use of the App. Thereby txtr investigates for example which content the users view in the Shop or which functions of the App they use. These data are user-related collected, that means a so-called "App ID" is transferred, which allows to allocate the usage data to the App being installed on your device. txtr collects the "App ID", in order to be able to allocate the collected user behavior always to the same user. txtr evaluates the data only anonymously, i.e. user data is not connected with personal user accounts in order to offer users e.g. personalized offers. The transfer of the user data out of the App is made via an encrypted connection.
    When the user logs in to the App with his personal user account it allows txtr, to collect these user data. The user may revoke his permission at any time becoming effective for the future. For doing so, the user deactivate the recording of the usage data in the "settings" of the App. Of course the user may activate this function there again at any time.

    No usage data is recorded in the App demo mode.

  5. Data protection

    6. txtr explicitely notifies the User, that data protection and data privacy during data transfer via open networks such as the Internet cannot be completely guaranteed under the current state of technology. The User understands and acknowledges that the provider can view, in technical terms, the pages stored on the web server and, perhaps, other User data stored on such server at any time. The User shall be fully responsible for ensuring that the data transmitted to the internet and stored on web servers are protected and secure.

  6. Validity of the Data Protection Regulation

    7. txtr shall be entitled to change this Data Privacy Statement by observing the applicable data protection provisions. Whenever this Privacy Statement is changed, txtr will notify this to the User on the occasion of his or her next login. The User has the possibility to object to any change within 14 days in writing, whereby an email shall be deemed to be sufficient. In such a case, txtr may terminate the provision of services to the User.