Terms of Use

The JOYclub website is geared towards people who want to broaden their horizons, get in touch with other users and share experiences - for singles, couples or those simply seeking company. The platform also aims to offer artists the opportunity to interact with others on a creative level and present themselves to others who may be interested. The following Terms of Use define the terms and conditions for using the JOYclub website.
Table of contents

Foreword

Users can retrieve this information, and other information that has already been made available, from the operator’s website. Users can also upload texts, images, data, graphics, videos, etc., to the operator’s website. Content uploaded by users can be viewed by other users. Users can also communicate with other users in forums.

In order to enable adults with many different opinions and approaches to life to interact in a straightforward and civilised manner, it is necessary for the operators of the platform to request that users comply with certain rules and procedures.

By using the services provided by the operator and clicking on the box “I have read and accept the Terms of Use” (either literally or in words to that effect), users declare that they agree to these Terms of Use. Any terms of use set out by users that conflict with the present terms shall not form part of the contract.

The operator reserves the right to adapt or amend the Terms of Use at any time. If the user does not object to such new Terms of Use within four weeks of the amendment, the amended Terms of Use shall be deemed to have been accepted.

1. Services provided by the operator

The operator provides the online JOYclub portal to which users can upload or otherwise add content. Amongst other things, the operator enables such content to be accessed. The contractual service provided by the operator consists in the provision of access - either free of charge or for a fee - to the platform.

Registration on and use of the JOYclub.com website is free of charge. No costs are incurred if the user merely registers and uses the operator’s website as a basic member. Chargeable options are clearly marked as such and can be booked separately by the user if so wished.

The services provided by the operator are aimed exclusively at adult, legally competent persons, legal entities and partnerships. Minors may not register on the operator’s website.

The operator generally does not examine the content uploaded or details entered by users. It cannot, therefore, guarantee the accuracy, appropriateness or quality of such content. Nevertheless, the operator reserves the right to refuse at its own discretion to publish content or information provided, e.g. in profiles, and to rectify or delete the same and/or block user accounts either temporarily or permanently. This may in particular be necessary where the operator becomes aware of an infringement of the present Terms of Use or statutory legislation, where false information is discovered or where there is other just cause to do so.
To protect itself against fakes and dubious offers, the operator reserves the right to check user accounts for authenticity and compliance, where there is cause to do so, and to request specific documents from users, for example, photo verification or copies of ID cards. Users are free to decide whether or not to respond to such requests by the operator. Should users fail to provide the requested documents, the operator reserves the right to delete their account.

Users have no entitlement to use the services provided by the operator and/or to publish content on the operator’s website. Should the user breach these Terms of Use or statutory provisions, or should there be another just cause to do so, e.g. if the harmonious interaction of website users is disrupted, the operator may impose a virtual ban on the user, meaning that the user will then no longer be able to use the operator’s services in future.

Members who have been banned from the website may not re-register for any of the services provided by the operator. If users circumvent this ban by re-registering under a new pseudonym, such account details shall be deleted immediately upon detection. Legal action shall be taken against banned former members who repeatedly attempt to re-register; such former members shall bear the costs of any such legal action.

In the event of serious personal attacks, insults, slander, threats or other criminal conduct, the operator reserves the right to involve law enforcement agencies. Any assessment that a situation merits alteration, rejection, deletion, blocking or the issue of a virtual ban, shall be at the discretion of the operator.

Platform services, functions or content may be altered, extended or restricted by the operator at any time. To the extent that this affects chargeable options, the operator shall ensure appropriate compensation is provided.

Communication between users, e.g. by ClubMail, is not monitored by the operator’s moderators. If it is required to do so by law, by court order or by the authorities, the operator may investigate such material and forward relevant evidence to the authorities.
If a user's free account has not been used for more than 3 months, this can be deleted by the operator without further notice. In this event, the operator is not required to store or release data.

2. Contract conclusion/accounts

Users are required to register free of charge in order to use platform functions. Users must have a valid e-mail address in order to register. Users choose a user name and password as part of the registration process. A personal account (user account) is then set up for them. By registering as a member or creating a profile, the member submits an offer to conclude a User Agreement. The user has no entitlement to conclude such a contract. The conclusion of the contract is confirmed upon successful registration. The wording of the contract is not stored by the operator. Contracts may currently only be concluded in German.

Each person may hold one account only. Couples are permitted to create singles profiles in addition to their couples profile. Commercial providers are permitted to create an additional profile solely for private use. In the event that a user breaches these provisions, the operator reserves the right to delete the user’s accounts.

Commercial providers or users with financial interests must indicate this in their profile and register for the relevant account type. At the operator’s request, the user shall provide proof of his/her capacity as a commercial user, for example by presenting his/her trade licence or similar. In the event of a breach of this requirement, the operator is entitled to delete the account.

3. Consumer cancellation policy

Right of cancellation

You have the right to cancel this contract within fourteen days without stating any reason for doing so. The cancellation period shall be fourteen days from the date on which the contract was concluded. To exercise your right to cancel, you must notify us,

F&P GmbH
Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 12
04107 Leipzig
Germany, E-mail: Customer support contact

of your decision to cancel this contract by means of a clear declaration (e.g. a letter sent by post or email). The attached sample cancellation form is intended to help you with this; however, you are not required to use it. The cancellation deadline shall be deemed to have been met if you dispatch the notification of your decision to exercise your cancellation right before the expiry of the cancellation period.

Consequences of cancellation

If you cancel this contract, we shall immediately reimburse all payments received from you, including delivery costs (with the exception of additional costs arising as a result of you choosing a delivery method other than the cheapest standard delivery offered by us) within fourteen days at the latest from the date on which we receive notice of your cancellation of this contract. For the purposes of reimbursement, we will use the same payment method as used by you in the original transaction unless otherwise expressly agreed with you; under no circumstances will you be charged any fees for such reimbursement.

Sample cancellation form

If you wish to cancel the contract, please complete this form and return it to us:

To F&P GmbH, Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 12, 04107 Leipzig, Germany

I/we (*) hereby cancel the contract concluded by me/us (*) for the purchase of the following
goods (*)/the provision of the following service (*)
Ordered on (*)/received on (*)
Consumer name
Consumer address
Consumer signature (only where notification is provided on paper)
Date

(*) Delete as appropriate

End of cancellation policy

4. User obligations

Users must only enter truthful, complete and up-to-date information about themselves when registering and providing the minimum content required by the operator’s website. They shall keep such data updated with any changes. The operator must be informed if an account adjustment is required that the user cannot undertake him/herself. If there is legitimate reason to doubt the authenticity of data, the operator may temporarily block an account and request a user to provide proof of authenticity, in order to protect other members from potential fakes. If the user fails to provide the proof requested, the operator shall be entitled to delete the account.

The purpose of passwords is to prevent unauthorised persons from using the website. Passwords should not be disclosed to third parties, must be protected against third-party access and for users' own safety should be changed at regular intervals. The operator will never ask users for their password. If there is reason to suspect that a password is being misused, the user must change it and inform the operator immediately.

Users are personally responsible for their activities, information and content they provide and are required to comply with statutory regulations. This applies in particular to copyright, trademark protection and the protection of minors. Users guarantee that they hold all necessary rights to content entered by them in the operator’s database, that the utilisation and/or exploitation of this content does not conflict with any third-party rights (e.g. the right to one’s own image, the right to bear a name, third-party trademark rights) and that published content is not in breach of any provisions of the present Terms of Use or statutory regulations. Members must provide proof of ownership of their rights to content at the operator’s request.

All users shall be required to observe the Community Guide published on the operator’s website under “help and support”. These include treating other members in a friendly and respectful manner. All users shall be required to refrain from insulting, threatening or provoking other users or harassing them in any manner whatsoever.

Users shall be required to publish on the operator’s website or transfer to the operator only such content as is not classified as “prohibited content” under Section 6 of the present Terms of Use.

Users shall also be required to call up or use the services provided by the operator only on commonly-used browsers based on the latest technology. Any action whose purpose is or could be to impair, circumvent or hinder the due and proper operation of the services provided by the operator is strictly prohibited. This applies in particular for the following measures/attacks: XSS, SQL injection, CSRF, phishing, DoS, DDos, brute-force, session-capturing, automated or script-controlled access, or other manual or automatic attacks on or interference with the technical infrastructure of the services provided by the operator. The operator shall report any breach of this regulation to the competent law enforcement agencies.

Finally, users shall be required to indemnify the operator and/or companies associated with it, along with employees, representatives, shareholders and vicarious agents of the operator and/or the companies associated with it, against all claims asserted by third parties against the operator and/or companies associated with it, as well as employees, representatives, shareholders and vicarious agents of the operator and/or the companies associated with it, as a result of the infringement of their rights by content published by the user on the operator’s website or due to any other use of the operator’s services by the user. The user shall assume all costs of any legal defence required by the operator, including all court and solicitor’s fees, as soon as it is requested.

5. Granting of rights

By transmitting or uploading content (texts, photos, graphics, videos, etc.), the user hereby grants the operator the simple right, free of charge and unlimited by place or time, to use, modify, present, make accessible, reproduce and disseminate such data on or by way of the abovementioned services.

For reasons of consistency, comments posted by users in the forum cannot be retroactively deleted or changed. Nor can competition-related posts be withdrawn once the evaluation phase has begun.

6. Prohibited content

When using the platform, applicable law must be respected and third-party rights observed. In particular, the user is prohibited from:

• sharing content that is insulting, defamatory, racist, seditious, immoral, discriminatory, or that incites violence;
• knowingly making false statements;
• sharing content that is political or ideological, if such content is not relevant to platform-specific subjects or if the content is used to advertise political parties or ideologies;

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 on JOYclub.

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.

7. Chargeable options/cancellation

The operator provides chargeable options on its website. Such options, which are provided by partner companies (e.g. NetDebit), can only be booked, changed or cancelled with these partner companies. The contractual basis is determined by the terms and conditions of business agreed with the partner companies.

Where chargeable options are provided by the operator, the main obligations are defined by the terms and conditions agreed in each case. Where no individual agreements have been made, the present Terms of Use shall also apply.

In the event that accounts are altered, blocked, examined or deleted, or a ban is issued by the operator on the basis of the Terms of Use, this shall not affect payment obligations for fee-based membership and fees already paid by the user shall not be reimbursed by the operator.

8. Warranty

The databases and other technical devices provided by the operator reflect the current state of technology. The operator shall endeavour to maximise the availability of the platform. The availability of services provided by the operator may, nevertheless, be temporarily restricted due to problems beyond the operator’s control (force majeure, third-party negligence, etc.) or due to maintenance work. The operator gives no guarantee that its website will be permanently available or accessible and shall not be liable for downtimes resulting from necessary service and maintenance work or from new faults that arise, provided that such faults were unforeseeable and could not have been prevented by an average and conscientious programmer.

Nor shall the operator be liable for the authenticity or storage of uploaded content. If an account is deleted, altered or blocked due to a breach of the Terms of Use, users shall not be entitled to content and communications data stored on the account.

9. Limitations of liability

Any and all claims for compensation against the operator are excluded, regardless of their legal basis, unless the operator, its legal representatives or vicarious agents are guilty of intent or gross negligence. Liability on the part of the operator for injury to life, body or health and liability under the Product Liability Act shall remain unaffected. In the event of a breach of material contractual obligations, the operator shall be liable for all cases of negligence, however only in the amount of foreseeable damages.

These limitations of liability shall also apply to companies associated with the operator and to the personal liability of employees, representatives, shareholders and vicarious agents of the operator and/or those of the companies associated with it.

10. Infringements

The operator respects the rights of third parties and is, as such, interested in preventing the publication of content constituting and infringement by users. Where a user is of the opinion that content infringes his/her rights (e.g. the right to one’s own image, the rights to bear a name. third-party trademark rights) or any other rights, this should be reported to the operator in detail. The operator shall pursue all reports of serious infringements without delay and take appropriate legal action. All cases of misuse shall be penalised.

11. Rights to the database

All rights (copyrights, trademark rights and other property rights) to database work, the database itself and the contents, data and other elements entered in it are owned exclusively by the operator. Any rights of the users to the content posted by them shall remain unaffected.

Copyright notices or other property rights notices on the operator’s website may not be altered.

The contents of the operator’s database may not be used to create a separate database of any kind whatsoever or for the purposes of commercial use of data or the provision of information.

The integration or other connection of the database or individual elements of the database with other databases or metadatabases is not permitted.

12. Final provisions

German law shall apply exclusively.

With regard to contracts with foreign consumers, mandatory provisions or protection granted by case law to the relevant country of residence shall remain in force and apply accordingly.

The place of jurisdiction for all claims arising from and as a result of the use of the services provided by the operator is Leipzig, Germany, provided the user is a business person (Kaufmann) within the meaning of the German Commercial Code (HGB). The same shall apply if the user transferred his/her residence abroad after the contract was concluded or has no general place of jurisdiction in Germany.

Should individual provisions of these Terms of Use be ineffective, either in whole or in part, or should they become ineffective, either in whole or on part, at a later stage, this shall not prejudice the applicability of any of the unaffected provisions of these Terms of Use. The ineffective provision shall be replaced by statutory provisions that come as close as possible to the economic intent of the said ineffective provision. The same shall apply in the event that any loopholes are discovered in these Terms of Use.