Other important information:
The following Terms and Conditions regulate the conditions for the use of the websites and/or mobile apps of F&P GmbH, Karl-Liebknecht-Straße 12, 04107 Leipzig (hereinafter referred to as the “operator”).
Users may, among other things, use the operator’s websites and/or apps to gain access to information provided by the operator. Additional options for users include uploading texts, images, data, graphics, film sequences etc. to the operator’s website and/or apps. Content uploaded by users can be accessed by other users and, of course, by the users themselves.
In order to facilitate a peaceful and civilised sense of community among adults with all manner of views and attitudes towards life, it is imperative that the operator require users to consent to certain rules and practices.
By using the operator’s mobile apps for iOS and Android devices (hereinafter referred to as “mobile apps”, the user agrees to the validity of these Terms and Conditions.
Conflicting terms and conditions on the part of users shall not form part of the contract. The operator reserves the right to adjust or modify the Terms and Conditions at any time. In the event of a change or amendment to the Terms and Conditions, users will be notified by email four weeks before the change takes effect. If the user does not object to the validity of the revised Terms and Conditions within four weeks after receiving the email, the new Terms and Conditions shall be deemed to have been accepted. In the event of an objection, the operator shall be entitled to terminate the contractual relationship. The Operator shall inform the user separately of the significance of this four-week period in the email containing the amended Terms and Conditions.
The operator provides websites and mobile apps, via which users can, among other things, upload or otherwise add content. Among other things, the operator makes it possible to access such content. Registering with and using the provider’s websites and/or mobile apps is free of charge.
Simply registering and using the operator’s websites and/or mobile apps as part of a basic membership is not subject to a fee. Paid features are clearly marked as such and can be booked separately by the user if desired.
The operator’s services are intended exclusively for persons of full legal age and capacity, legal persons and partnerships. Minors are not permitted to register on the operator’s websites and/or mobile apps.
Generally speaking, the operator does not review the content uploaded and entered by users. It cannot therefore guarantee its correctness, appropriateness or quality. Nevertheless, the operator reserves the right to refuse to publish, to correct or to delete content and information, including on profiles, at its own discretion and/or to temporarily or permanently block a user’s account. This shall apply in particular if the operator becomes aware of an infringement of these Terms and Conditions or legal provisions, if false information is discovered or if there are other compelling reasons.
For the purpose of protection against fake accounts and untrustworthy offers, the operator reserves the right to check, if necessary, whether user accounts are genuine and in accordance with the requirements, and in this context to request that users provide certain documentation, such as verification images or a copy of their ID. It is up to users whether they respond to such a request on the part of the operator. Should a user fail to comply with such a request, the operator reserves the right to delete their account.
Users shall not have any legal claim to the use of the operator’s services and/or the publication of content on the operator’s websites and/or in its mobile apps. In the case of infringements of these Terms and Conditions or of legal provisions, or if there are other compelling reasons, for example a disturbance in the harmonious sense of community among the users of the websites and/or mobile apps, the operator may ban users, thus prohibiting them from using its services in future. Members who have been banned are prohibited from re-registering with the operator’s services.
If a banned user circumvents their ban by re-registering under a different pseudonym, their account data shall be deleted as soon as this comes to light. Former members who have been banned and who repeatedly attempt to re-register will face legal action at their own expense.
In the case of serious personal attacks, insults, defamation and threats or other potentially criminal conduct, the operator reserves the right to involve the law enforcement authorities. The assessment of a situation which results in a change, refusal, deletion, blocking or to banning a user shall be at the operator’s discretion.
The operator may change, extend or restrict the platform’s services, features and content at any time. As far as this involves paid features, the operator shall ensure appropriate compensation.
Communication between users, e.g. via ClubMail, takes place without it being monitored by the operator’s moderators. Where the operator has a legal, judicial or official obligation, the operator may investigate accordingly and forward appropriate evidence to the authorities.
If a user’s free account is not used for more than 3 months, the operator may delete it without further notice. In such cases, users shall not be entitled to have their data stored or released.
In order to use the features of the mobile apps, the user must register free of charge. Registration requires the user to provide a valid email address. When registering, users can choose a username and password. They are then given a personal account (user account). If users make mistakes when entering information before placing an order, these mistakes can be corrected on the order page. By registering as a member and creating a profile, the member submits an offer to enter into a user contract. They have no legal claim to enter into a contract. Conclusion of the contract is confirmed as soon as the member has successfully registered. Separate acceptance by the operator is not required. The contract text is not stored by the operator. At present, contract conclusion is only possible in German.
The use of the basic features of the operator’s services is free of charge. Users can purchase various additional benefits for a fee. Before the final purchase, the respective prices are clearly and obviously displayed to the users on the operator’s websites and in its mobile apps. The operator reserves the right to change these prices at any time.
In connection with the booking of paid features for a certain period of time, the user concludes a subscription which is automatically renewed depending on the selected period of time, unless the user cancels the subscription no later than 24 hours before the end of the respective period.
Only one account is allowed per person. If two individuals create a joint profile for a couple, then they are also each permitted to create individual profiles. Commercial providers are permitted to create an additional profile for purely private use. In case of a breach of this regulation, the operator reserves the right to delete the user’s account.
Providers operating commercially and users with financial interests must make this clear in their profile and select the corresponding account type when registering. If requested by the operator, the user must furnish evidence of their status as a commercial user, for example by providing their business licence. In case of a breach of this obligation, the operator shall be entitled to delete the account.
Right of withdrawal
You are entitled to withdraw from this contract within fourteen days without giving reasons. The withdrawal period is fourteen days from the date of contract conclusion. In order to exercise your right of withdrawal, you must notify us, the company
F&P GmbH
Karl-Liebknecht-Straße 12
04107 Leipzig
Email: support@joyce.app
of your decision to withdraw from this contract by means of an explicit declaration (e.g. a letter sent by post or email). You may use the attached sample withdrawal form for this purpose, although this is not mandatory. In order to comply with the withdrawal period, it is sufficient if your notice that you are exercising your right of withdrawal is simply submitted before the end of the withdrawal period.
Consequences of withdrawal
If you withdraw from this contract, then we must refund all payments we have received from you, including delivery costs (except for any additional costs resulting from the fact that you chose a different type of delivery than the least expensive, standard delivery offered by us), without delay and no later than fourteen days from the date on which we received the notice of your withdrawal from this contract. For this repayment, we will use the same payment method as the one you used for the original transaction, unless expressly otherwise agreed with you; under no circumstances will you be charged for this repayment.
Sample withdrawal form
If you wish to withdraw from the contract, then please fill in this form and return it to:
F&P GmbH, Karl-Liebknecht-Straße 12, 04107 Leipzig, Email: support@joyce.app
I/We (*) hereby withdraw from the contract I/we (*) concluded for the purchase of the following goods (*)/the provision of the following service (*)
Ordered on (*)/received on (*)
Name(s) of consumer(s)
Address(es) of consumer(s)
Signature of consumer(s) (only applies to notices submitted on paper)
Date
(*) Delete as appropriate
End of withdrawal information for consumers
Users undertake to provide only true, complete and up-to-date information about their person when registering, and to fulfill the minimum requirements which apply when adding content to the operator’s website and/or mobile apps. They shall update this information if it changes. If the account requires a change which the user cannot perform themselves, then the operator must be informed. If there are legitimate doubts as to the authenticity of the information, then the operator may, in order to protect other members against potential fake accounts, temporarily block the account and require the user to prove its authenticity. Should the user fail to comply with this request, the operator shall be entitled to delete the account.
Passwords serve to prevent unauthorised persons from using the websites and/or mobile apps. They must not be passed on to third parties, must be protected against third-party access and should – for the user’s own security – also be changed at regular intervals. The operator will never ask the user for their password. In suspected cases of misuse, the password must also be changed and the operator notified without delay.
The user is personally responsible for their own activities, information and content, and must comply with legal provisions. This applies in particular to the areas of copyright, trademark protection and the protection of minors. Users guarantee that they hold all necessary rights with regard to the content added by them to the operator’s database, that the use and/or exploitation of any content added does not infringe the rights of third parties (e.g. a person’s right to their own image, the right to a name, third-party trademark rights) and that the content added is not in breach of the provisions of these Terms and Conditions or legal provisions. If requested by the operator, the member undertakes to furnish evidence of their legal ownership of rights to the content.
All users are required to comply with the ground rules published under “Help and Support” on the operator’s websites and/or in its apps. This includes treating other members with respect and maintaining a friendly conversational tone. Every user agrees not to offend, threaten, provoke or harass other users in any way.
Users undertake to only add content to the operator’s website, or transmit it to the operator, if such content is not classified as “prohibited content” under Section 6 of these Terms and Conditions.
Furthermore, users undertake to only ever use standard smartphones or tablets, that are in line with current technological norms, to access or use the operator’s services. Any actions that serve or may serve to impair, circumvent or hinder the normal operation of the operator’s services are strictly prohibited. This applies in particular to the following actions and attacks: XSS, SQL injection, CSRF, phishing, DoS, DDos, brute force, session capturing, automated or scripted access, and other manual and automatic attacks on, or interferences with, the technical infrastructure of the operator’s services. The operator will report any breach of this rule to the relevant law enforcement authorities.
Lastly, users undertake to release the operator and/or its affiliates, as well as the employees, representatives, partners and performing agents of the operator and/or its affiliates, from all claims asserted against the operator and/or its affiliates, as well as the employees, representatives, partners and performing agents of the operator and/or its affiliates, by third parties for infringement of their rights due to content added to the operator’s websites and/or mobile apps by the user or due to any other use of the operator’s services by the user. The user shall, upon first request, accept all costs incurred by the operator for the legal defence this requires, including all court and lawyer fees.
By transmitting or uploading their content (texts, photos, graphics, film sequences), the user grants the operator the free, simple right, without any restriction in terms of territory or time, to use, modify, present, make accessible, reproduce and distribute the transmitted content on or via the above-mentioned services.
What does this mean for you?
For example, if you upload images for your profile, then they will be resized (“modified”) if necessary and shown to the people who visit your profile (“reproduced”). Nevertheless, all content you post always belongs to you. No one is allowed to use your content without your explicit consent – not commercially, not for studies and not for any other reason.
When using the platform, applicable law must be respected and third-party rights observed. In particular, the user is prohibited from:
sharing protected content (e.g. copyrighted or trademarked content) without proper authorisation, or sharing links to other telemedia containing illegal content.
Erotic topics related to minors have no place in JOYCE.
Any content that relates to drugs, medicine, or harmful/unhealthy practices is strictly prohibited and may only be shared in exceptional cases with permission from the moderators.
Moreover, the user is prohibited from harassing, misleading, publicly implicating or provoking other users of the platform or company employees.
Users are prohibited from exploiting the provider’s services, either directly or indirectly, for marketing purposes, i.e. distributing other users’ contact information (inc. phone numbers, email addresses, links, mobile phone numbers) for commercial gain. Sending 0900 service numbers or other premium-rate numbers to other users is in particular prohibited. Furthermore, users are prohibited from promoting other comparable (commercial or non-commercial) services on the provider’s website, and from repeatedly posting identical or nearly identical content.
The user is obligated to share only justifiable posts and comments that are appropriate to the relevant context (e.g. the group concerned, the forum or image concerned). Users should adopt a polite and professional tone when communicating with one another. Constructive feedback is desired, however personal attacks and spiteful remarks are prohibited, as are discussions regarding decisions made by moderators.
Posts or comments that infringe upon these regulations may be moderated or deleted. Users can be excluded from further use of the forum or platform on a temporary or permanent basis.
The supply and demand of sexual services is strictly prohibited in JOYCE. Accordingly, we remove any content or profiles offering or looking for paid sex. This can also occur retrospectively if a financial interest becomes evident from a profile description, from complaints via ClubMails or elsewhere.
Paid features are offered on the operator’s websites and/or in its mobile apps. Before the final purchase, the respective prices are clearly and obviously displayed to the user on the website and/or in the mobile apps. The operator reserves the right to change these prices at any time.
Insofar as paid options are offered by the operator, the main obligations shall be determined by the conditions agreed in each individual case. In order to process payments for paid memberships, the operator cooperates with external payment providers. By taking out paid membership, users agree to the validity of the general terms and conditions of these billing partners. The billing partners’ general terms and conditions can be found on their respective websites.
Users can cancel their free membership allowing them access to the operator’s services at any time. In the case of paid memberships, the contractual relationship shall end after termination by the user at the end of the agreed term. To cancel their contract, users will find the relevant account deletion function in their account settings on the operator’s websites and/or in its mobile apps. Cancellation by fax or email is also possible.
If the operator modifies, blocks, checks or deletes an account or issues a user ban for reasons concerning the Terms and Conditions, this shall not affect payment obligations with regard to a paid membership and the operator shall not refund any amounts already paid by the user.
The databases and other technical apparatus provided by the operator reflect current technological standards. The operator endeavours to ensure the greatest possible availability of the platform. However, problems over which the operator has no control (force majeure, fault of third parties etc.) or maintenance work may result in temporary restrictions to the availability of the operator’s services. The operator assumes no liability for the permanent availability or accessibility of its mobile apps, and is not liable for downtime caused by essential care and maintenance work or by new faults, as far as these were not foreseeable and could be missed even by the average diligent programmer.
Furthermore, the operator assumes no responsibility for the authenticity and storage of uploaded content. If an account is deleted, modified or blocked due to an infringement of the Terms and Conditions, the user shall have no legal claim to the release of any content or communication data stored with that account.
Any claims for damages asserted against the operator are excluded, regardless of the legal basis, unless the operator, its legal representatives or its performing agents are guilty of intent or gross negligence. This does not affect the operator’s liability for damage to life, limb or health, or its liability under the German Product Liability Act. In the event of a breach of essential contractual obligations, the operator shall be liable for any negligence, albeit only up to the amount of the foreseeable damage.
The above limitations of liability shall also apply to companies affiliated with the operator as well as to any personal liability of the employees, representatives, partners and performing agents of the operator and/or its affiliates.
The operator respects the rights of third parties and accordingly has an interest in preventing the publication of content added by users which infringes rights. If a user believes that content infringes their own rights (e.g. a person’s right to their own image, the rights to a name, trademark rights) or other rights, the operator requests detailed notification about the issue. The operator shall promptly investigate all serious notifications of rights infringements and initiate appropriate legal action. Any abuse will be punished.
All rights (copyright, trademarks and other property rights) to the database work, the database, and the content, data and other elements added to it are held exclusively by the operator. This does not affect any rights users have to the content they add themselves.
It is forbidden to change copyright notices or other proprietary notices on the operator’s website or in its mobile apps.
Under no circumstances may the contents of the operator’s database be used to set up another database in any media form or for commercial data exploitation or the provision of information.
The integration or any other linking of the database or individual elements of the database with other databases or metadatabases is prohibited.
The European Commission provides an online dispute resolution platform (ODR platform) under the following URL: www.ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr. The operator is neither obliged nor willing to participate in a dispute settlement procedure before a consumer arbitration board.
German law shall apply exclusively. In the case of contracts with consumers from abroad, mandatory regulations or the protection granted by the case law of the respective country of residence shall remain and apply accordingly.
The place of jurisdiction for all claims arising from and due to the use of the operator’s services is Leipzig, Germany, provided that the user is a merchant (German: Kaufmann) within the meaning of the German Commercial Code (HGB). The same applies if the user moves their place of residence abroad after entering into the contract or has no general place of jurisdiction in Germany.
Should individual provisions of these Terms and Conditions be wholly or partly legally invalid or lose their legal validity in whole or in part later on, this shall not affect the validity of all the unaffected parts of these Terms and Conditions. The ineffective provision shall be replaced by the legal provisions which come closest to the intended economic purpose of the original provision. The same applies to any omissions discovered in these Terms and Conditions.