Legal notice

Information pursuant to Section 5 DDG (German Digital Services Act)

fotografa
Tabea Marten
Lehderstr. 60
13086 Berlin
Germany

Phone: +49 174 1822499
Email: kontakt@fotografa.de

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Website: internetgestalten / Berlin

Portrait photograph of Tabea Marten: Vivian Werk / Berlin

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Responsible for the content pursuant to Section 18 (2) MStV (German State Media Treaty):

Tabea Marten
Address as above

Consumer Dispute Resolution

I am neither willing nor obliged to participate in dispute resolution proceedings before a consumer arbitration board.

Terms and Conditions

I. General

These Terms and Conditions (T&C) apply to all contracts between the photographer (the “Contractor”) and the client. Deviating terms and conditions of the client shall only become part of the contract if the Contractor expressly confirms their validity in writing. “Photographs” within the meaning of these T&C are all works created by the Contractor, irrespective of their form of production or storage (e.g. negatives, slides, prints, digital files, videos).

II. Copyright and Rights of Use

Copyright in the photographs arises upon their creation and remains, pursuant to Sections 7 and 29 of the German Copyright Act (UrhG), exclusively and permanently with the Contractor. It is not transferable. At no point does the client acquire the copyright itself, but exclusively the right of use described below — these are legally distinct and mutually independent rights.

The right of use is to be distinguished from this: it is the right to actually use the photographs. Upon full payment of the agreed fee, the client receives, for all photographs created through fotografa, a right of use unrestricted in time and territory, worldwide and non-exclusive, including private and commercial use (e.g. business communication, press, marketing, advertising, publications).

Attribution

The Contractor must be named as the author in every publication, either as “Tabea Marten / Berlin” or “www.fotografa.de / Tabea Marten”, or in another form agreed with her.

Use by third parties (e.g. publishers, editorial offices, press)

If the client passes photographs on to third parties within the scope of its own publication (for example for a press portrait or a publisher’s contribution), this is permitted provided that the Contractor is expressly named as the author in each instance of use and that she is provided with a specimen copy of the respective publication. Any further transfer to third parties or sub-licensing — for example for independent commercial exploitation by the third party itself — requires the Contractor’s prior written consent.

Editing

The client may adapt the photographs to the formats required for the respective publication without separate consent. Permitted adaptations include in particular cropping, scaling, changes to the aspect ratio, and adjustments to resolution and file format, provided that this does not contradict the visual statement and the overall compositional design.

Not permitted are edits that alter the character of the photograph or distort its statement. These include in particular colour and contrast filters that substantially change the visual impression, retouching of the person depicted, montages and collages, the insertion or removal of image elements, as well as any form of editing, extension or regeneration by means of artificial intelligence. Such edits require the Contractor’s prior written consent.

Original files (RAW data, negatives) remain exclusively with the Contractor and will under no circumstances be released, not even against separate remuneration.

III. Remuneration and Payment Terms

The fee is agreed as an hourly, daily or flat rate, plus any applicable value added tax. The latter is governed by the law applicable at the place of performance or according to the client’s place of business (Germany, Austria or Switzerland) and is shown accordingly on the invoice. Ancillary costs (e.g. rental costs) are borne by the client unless otherwise agreed.

For the on-site process, travel costs within Germany, Austria and Switzerland are already included in the agreed flat fee.

Deposit

Upon conclusion of the contract, a deposit of €1,000 is agreed. This is due no later than 4 weeks before the agreed appointment; if the contract is concluded within this period, the deposit is due immediately upon conclusion of the contract. The deposit is credited against the total fee.

In the event of cancellation, it will be offset against the cancellation fees payable under Section X; any remaining amount will be refunded, any amount exceeding this will be claimed additionally. The remaining invoice is due within 7 days of invoicing without deduction. In the event of late payment, statutory default interest and reminder fees apply. All works remain the property of the Contractor until payment has been made in full.

IV. Satisfaction Guarantee

Should the client not be satisfied with the result of the photographic work, the fee paid will be refunded in full. The request for a refund must be communicated in writing within 14 days of provision of the photographs. The satisfaction guarantee relates to the overall result of the photographic service.

Upon refund, the right of use granted under Section II expires in full and retroactively. In this case, the client undertakes to delete all image files provided, including all copies, edits and backups, and to remove any publications already made — including those by third parties to whom the client has provided the photographs — without undue delay. Deletion must be confirmed to the Contractor in writing upon request. Any use of the photographs after a refund has been made constitutes an infringement of copyright.

V. Delivery and Digital Provision

The finished, edited photographs are made available to the client no later than 14 days after the agreed appointment. Delivery takes place exclusively in digital form via a secure download link or comparable means of transmission. Physical data carriers are provided only by separate agreement. Download links are limited in time. The client is obliged to download the data within this period and to back it up independently. The service is deemed to have been fully rendered upon provision of the download link.

Long-term storage takes place only by express agreement.

VI. Delivery Times and Force Majeure

The delivery period of 14 days stated in Section V is binding. If it is exceeded, the client may set the Contractor a reasonable grace period of at least 7 days; upon its fruitless expiry, the client is entitled to the statutory remedies.

The Contractor is not liable for delays caused by force majeure or by unforeseeable events for which she is not responsible (e.g. illness, technical failures, natural events); in such cases the period is extended appropriately. The Contractor will inform the client without undue delay of the occurrence of such an event and of the expected duration of the delay.

VII. Liability

The Contractor is liable in cases of intent and gross negligence. In cases of simple negligence, liability is limited to the breach of material contractual obligations and to foreseeable, typical damages. Liability for damages arising from injury to life, body or health, and liability under the German Product Liability Act, remain unaffected in all cases.

The Contractor is liable for data loss only if the client has failed to make adequate data backups. For errors or delays caused by third-party providers (e.g. printers, cloud services, music licences), the Contractor is liable only in cases of demonstrable gross negligence.

VIII. Self-Promotion

The Contractor may use the photographs created within the scope of the assignment for her own promotional purposes (website, portfolio, social media, print materials) only with the client’s prior express consent. This consent is voluntary and may be withdrawn at any time with effect for the future; if the client refuses, withdraws or does not give consent, no disadvantages arise for the client.

IX. Data Protection

The Contractor processes personal data exclusively in accordance with the GDPR. Data is stored only to the extent necessary for the performance of the contract and is passed on only where legally required or necessary for carrying out the assignment. Details are set out in the privacy policy at www.fotografa.de.

X. Performance Disruptions and Cancellation Fees

In the event of cancellation of an appointment by the client, the following periods and rates apply, relative to the agreed appointment:

• up to 1 month in advance: no cancellation fee
• up to 2 weeks in advance: 30% of the agreed fee
• less than 2 weeks in advance: 50% of the agreed fee

In all cases, the client reserves the right to prove that the damage actually incurred is lower than the respective rate stated; in that case, only the lower amount proven is payable. Any existing right of withdrawal of a consumer under Section XI remains unaffected by this provision.

Postponement to a new appointment

If the client does not wish to cancel the agreed appointment but to postpone it to a new date, the same periods and rates as stated above for cancellation apply.

Cancellation by the Contractor

If the Contractor has to cancel the agreed appointment for reasons of her own (e.g. illness), the client receives, at the client’s choice, either a full refund of payments already made or a preferential new appointment — in both cases at no additional cost to the client.

If the client or persons involved fail to appear or appear late, the Contractor may charge a reasonable non-attendance or cancellation fee.

XI. Right of Withdrawal (consumers only)

Consumers within the meaning of Section 13 of the German Civil Code (BGB) who conclude a contract at a distance or off business premises have a statutory right of withdrawal in accordance with the following instructions.

Withdrawal Instructions

You have the right to withdraw from this contract within fourteen days without giving any reason. The withdrawal period is fourteen days from the day of conclusion of the contract.

To exercise your right of withdrawal, you must inform us (fotografa, proprietor Tabea Marten, Lehderstr. 60, 13086 Berlin, Germany, e-mail: kontakt@fotografa.de, telephone: +49 174 1822499) of your decision to withdraw from this contract by an unequivocal statement (e.g. a letter sent by post or an e-mail). You may use the attached model withdrawal form, but it is not obligatory.

To meet the withdrawal deadline, it is sufficient for you to send your communication concerning your exercise of the right of withdrawal before the withdrawal period has expired.

Effects of Withdrawal

If you withdraw from this contract, we shall reimburse to you all payments received from you without undue delay and in any event not later than fourteen days from the day on which we are informed about your decision to withdraw from this contract. We will carry out such reimbursement using the same means of payment as you used for the initial transaction, unless you have expressly agreed otherwise; in any event, you will not incur any fees as a result of such reimbursement.

If you requested that the provision of services should begin during the withdrawal period, you shall pay us an amount which is in proportion to what has been provided until you have communicated to us your withdrawal from this contract, in comparison with the full coverage of the contract.

Early Expiry of the Right of Withdrawal

In the case of a contract for the provision of services, the right of withdrawal expires if we have fully performed the service and you have expressly consented, before the beginning of performance, to our commencing performance before the expiry of the withdrawal period, and you have acknowledged your awareness that you lose your right of withdrawal upon full performance of the contract as a result of your consent.

Model Withdrawal Form

(If you wish to withdraw from the contract, please complete this form and return it.)

To: fotografa, proprietor Tabea Marten, Lehderstr. 60, 13086 Berlin, Germany, e-mail: kontakt@fotografa.de

I/We (*) hereby give notice that I/we (*) withdraw from my/our (*) contract for the provision of the following service:

Ordered on (*)/received on (*):

Name of consumer(s):

Address of consumer(s):

Signature of consumer(s) (only if this form is notified on paper):

Date:

(*) Delete as appropriate.

XII. Final Provisions

The law of the Federal Republic of Germany applies. In the case of consumers, this choice of law applies only to the extent that it does not deprive the consumer of the protection afforded by mandatory provisions of the law of the country in which the consumer has his or her habitual residence.

The place of performance and jurisdiction is the Contractor’s place of business, provided that the client is a merchant, a legal entity under public law, or a special fund under public law.

Should any provision of these T&C be or become invalid, the remaining provisions remain unaffected.

Status: August 2026

This English version is a translation provided for convenience only. In the event of any discrepancy, the German version of these Terms and Conditions shall prevail.