Cookies
It’s simple: this website is made in WordPress, contains YouTube videos, has some social media and other plug-ins to make it a bit nicer and some other tools to make the site just a bit friendlier to use. Someone once counted them, there were 34 and we personally did nothing with any of them. They are used to see where visitors come from and where they go and via what search terms, as is done everywhere on the web. Really, nothing special.
Privacy and processor regulation
This is where it gets more exciting. Since the AVG or GDPR, it has become a bit trickier to just store and keep personal data. First of all: should we approach you unintentionally, we will say sorry first. Sincerely. Immediately after that, we will go to work to remove your data from our database. Talking about databases: for press contacts, we work with a database which itself ensures that it is AVG-proof. That saves us some time. For other data, we mainly use Google Apps, which stores email addresses, phone numbers and sometimes address details. That is quite handy, because we use them very often. Our phones work with them too. We do our utmost to handle them carefully. We secure our equipment of course and do not share data with anyone. The little data we do have remains in our possession and we do not share it with third parties. And again, if you want out, just let us know and we will arrange it.
It is quite logical that we store and retain customer and relationship data. Fortunately, customers stay with us for a very long time, longer than the official retention period, so in many cases the data is also stored with us for a longer period. It is also possible that we store more information, such as a date of birth (so we don’t forget your birthday) or a home address for a summer surprise. Again, if you don’t like it, just let us know and out you go. At least, those details; we hope you’ll stay friends. Furthermore, we like to clean up, so if information is no longer relevant, it goes in the trash.
If things go wrong, and information is unintentionally released to the public, then we are very sorry. We will do our utmost to report it as soon as possible and, more importantly, try to limit the damage as much as possible. Fortunately, we know a thing or two about reputation management, so we’re sure that will work.
Proclaimer
A proclaimer is the positive variant of the disclaimer. In short, it comes down to this: we are doing our best to accurately reflect the information on this site. As reputation managers we also have our own reputation to uphold. Nevertheless, it may happen – we are only human – that an error has crept in. We regret this and will correct it as soon as we find it. We do not expect anyone to be harmed by our site. If this should be the case, unfortunately we cannot be held liable. On the other hand, should you benefit greatly from our site and its information, there is no need to shout it from the rooftops. Just referring is fine.
General terms and conditions
This is the most difficult part, and so far we have not been able to make it into a more enjoyable text. For the real enthusiasts, good luck with it. For the others, it comes down to this: we’re just a really cool company and we’ll do everything we can to make it as fun as possible for you. If there is anything, we are the first to listen.
Art 1
In these general terms and conditions the terms below are used with their respective meanings, unless stated otherwise.
Contractor: It’s a Rep
Client: counterparty of It’s a Rep
Assignment: agreed upon work (under conditions to be decided upon by mutual consent).
Art 2
The general terms and conditions apply, to the exclusion of other (purchase) conditions, to all offers, quotations, work, assignments and agreements between the contractor and client(s), to which the contractor has declared these conditions applicable, insofar as these conditions have not been explicitly deviated from by the contractor in writing.
Article 3
If one or more of the provisions of these general terms and conditions lapse, the remaining provisions of these general terms and conditions shall continue to apply. The parties will in that case consult to agree on substitute provisions, whereby the purpose and tenor of the original provision will be taken into account as far as possible.
Indirect damage is exclusively understood as the reasonable costs incurred to establish the cause and the volume of the damage, insofar as the establishment relates to damage within the meaning of these Terms and Conditions, any reasonable costs incurred to have the Contractor’s faulty performance meet the requirements of the Agreement, insofar as they can be attributed to the Contractor, and reasonable costs incurred to prevent or limit the damage, insofar as the Principal demonstrates that these costs have led to the limitation of direct damage as referred to in these Terms and Conditions.
Art 4
Each order between the Contractor and the Client is governed by Dutch law. Even if an engagement is fully or partially carried out abroad or if the Client lives or is established abroad.
Art 5
Offers of the contractor are based on the information provided by the client. The client guarantees that to the best of his knowledge he has provided all the information essential for the design, execution and completion of the order. The offers made by the contracted party are free of obligation and valid for 30 days, unless indicated otherwise.
The contractor shall only be bound by its offers if the other party confirms acceptance thereof in writing within 30 days, unless indicated otherwise. Octrooibureau Novopatent has the right to revoke the offer within 2 working days after acceptance by the client.
The prices in the mentioned offers are exclusive of VAT, other government levies and other costs incurred for the assignment, such as shipping and administrative costs, unless indicated otherwise.
If the acceptance deviates (on minor points) from the offer included in the quotation, the Supplier is not bound by it. The order will then not be concluded in accordance with this deviating acceptance, unless the contractor indicates otherwise. In the event of verbal (telephonic) changes to the order by the client, without written confirmation, the risk of implementing the changes will be borne by the client. Any additional costs associated with changes to the original order communicated orally or in writing by the client will be charged in full to the client.
A compound quotation does not oblige the contractor to perform part of the assignment at a corresponding part of the quoted price.
Offers do not apply automatically to future assignments.
Art 6
The client shall provide the contractor in good time with all documents, information and contacts necessary for the proper execution of the order.
Art 7
The contractor shall carry out the work within the framework of the order to the best of his knowledge, expertise and ability.
To the extent necessary for the proper execution of the order, the contractor has the right to have (parts of) the work performed by third parties. It will do so in consultation with the client and will do its utmost to achieve the agreed obligations and quality.
The contractor accepts no liability for work carried out by third parties in so far as they themselves have entered into an agreement with the client.
Octrooibureau Novopatent shall not be liable for loss or damage caused by relying on incorrect and/or incomplete information supplied by the Client, unless it ought to have been aware of the incorrectness or incompleteness of the information.
If it has been agreed that the order will be executed in phases, the contractor may suspend execution of the parts belonging to a subsequent phase until the client has approved in writing the results of the preceding phase.
If the contractor or third parties engaged by the contractor carry out work for the assignment at the client’s location or at a location designated by the client, the client will provide the facilities reasonably required by those employees free of charge.
Unless otherwise agreed, research into the existence of patent, copyright and portrait rights of third parties is not part of the assignment. The same applies to any investigation into the possibility of such forms of protection for the client.
Unless the work is not suitable for that purpose, the contractor shall at all times be entitled to mention its name on or in the work or to have it removed, and the client shall not be permitted to disclose or reproduce the work without the written permission of the contractor.
Art 8
The client accepts that the time planning of the assignment may be affected if the parties decide to change their approach, method or scope of the assignment and the resulting work in the interim. If the client makes interim changes to the performance of the assignment, the accountant will make the necessary adjustments on the client’s instructions. If this leads to additional work, he will charge this to the client as an additional assignment. The contractor may charge the client for the additional costs incurred in amending the order.
Contrary to paragraph 1, the contractor will not charge additional costs if the change or supplement to the order is the result of circumstances that can be attributed to the contractor.
Art 9
The contractor promotes the interests of the client within the limits of the assignment given. The client is not entitled to have the agreed work performed by a third party without consultation or consent of the contractor.
Nor is the contractor entitled, without consultation with or permission from the client, to provide similar services to other clients in so far as these compete with the client in question.
Unless expressly agreed otherwise in writing, or if the nature of the assignment dictates otherwise, the assignment from the client to the contractor shall be for an indefinite period, on the understanding that either party may terminate the relationship by registered letter with due observance of a six-month term as from the moment that the relationship has lasted six months. If a deadline has been agreed for the completion of certain activities within the term of the assignment, this is not a deadline. If the term for completion is exceeded, the client must therefore give the contractor written notice of default.
During the six-month period referred to in the previous paragraph, the client shall be obliged to comply with the fee agreements in force with the contractor as if there were no question of cancellation.
Art 10
If the parties have not agreed otherwise in writing, the contracted party shall set its rate according to a monthly fee or project rate.
The fee of the contractor includes the costs of secretarial work and telephone costs. He shall invoice travel time and travel and accommodation expenses as agreed in the offer.
In all quotations, the contracted party will only charge for the time actually spent and, in the event of an imminent overrun of more than 10 per cent of the amount quoted, he will invoice after consultation with the client. Amounts are exclusive of VAT.
If the contractor agrees on an hourly rate with the client, the contractor is nevertheless entitled to increase this rate without the client having the right to terminate the agreement for that reason, if the increase in the price is the result of a power or obligation arising from legislation or regulations or is caused by an increase in the price of raw materials, wages etc. or on other grounds which could not reasonably have been foreseen when the agreement was concluded.
In the case of work which extends beyond the year, Contractor may – without prior written notice – increase the rate agreed in the offer as at 1 January of each calendar year by no more than the percentage of inflation in the preceding year, as provided by Statistics Netherlands. In the event of a price increase outside of the rate of inflation, the contractor may also increase the prices. The customer may cancel the order if the annual increase exceeds 10 percent. He may not do so if the increase ensues from the law.
The contractor shall inform the customer in writing of his plans for increasing the rate, including the amount and the effective date.
If the client does not agree to the increase of more than 10% planned by the contracted party, he may, within two weeks of being informed thereof, cancel the order in writing, with effect from the effective date of the increase as stated in the contracted party’s notification.
Art 11
Payment must be made within 30 days of the invoice date, unless otherwise agreed.
After the due date, the client is legally in default and the contractor has the right to charge the statutory interest. The commissionee shall charge interest on the amount due from the date on which the client is in default until the amount has been paid in full. The costs of a reminder, demand and summons each time amount to € 100.00 and are at the Client’s expense.
In the event of the Client’s liquidation, bankruptcy, attachment or suspension of payments, the Supplier’s claims against the Client will fall due immediately.
In case of non-compliance with the obligations of the customer, all costs made in order to be able to claim are for the customer, both judicial and extrajudicial, whereby the latter costs amount to at least 15 percent of the amount of the outstanding claim(s).
Art 12
All items delivered by the contractor, including designs, sketches, drawings, films, software and (electronic) files, remain the property of the contractor, unless otherwise agreed.
The customer is not authorised to pledge or otherwise encumber the goods covered by retention of title.
If third parties levy attachment on the goods supplied subject to retention of title or wish to establish or assert rights thereon, the client must inform the accountant thereof as soon as may be expected.
The customer is obliged to insure the items delivered under retention of ownership and to keep them insured against fire, explosion, water damage and theft, and to make the insurance policy immediately available for inspection on request.
The goods delivered by the contracted party, which are subject to retention of title in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 1 of this article, may be sold on only in the context of normal business operations and may never be used as a means of payment.
If the contracted party wishes to exercise its property rights referred to in this article, the client gives unconditional and irrevocable permission to the contracted party – or third parties to be appointed by the contracted party – to enter all the locations where the property of the contracted party is located in order to retrieve this property.
Article 13 Complaints
Complaints about the work performed must be notified in writing to the contracted party within two weeks of the invoice date and no later than three weeks after completion of the work in question. The notice of default must contain a description of the shortcoming that is as detailed as possible, so that the contractor can respond adequately.
If a complaint is justified, the contractor will carry out the work as agreed, unless this has become demonstrably pointless. The customer must make this clear in writing.
If it is no longer possible or worthwhile to carry out the agreed work, the contractor is liable within the limits laid down in article 17.
Article 14
If the agreement is terminated prematurely by the contractor, the contractor, in consultation with the client, will ensure the transfer of work still to be done to third parties. This is unless the termination is attributable to the client.
If the transfer of the work results in extra costs for the contractor, these will be charged to the client. The client is obliged to pay these costs within the period specified, unless the accountant indicates otherwise.
Art 15
The contractor is authorised to suspend the fulfilment of the obligations or to dissolve the agreement, if the client does not fulfil the obligations under the agreement, or does not fulfil them in full or on time, or if after the conclusion of the agreement circumstances come to the knowledge of the contractor which give him good reason to fear that the client will not fulfil his obligations, if, when the agreement was concluded, the client was asked to provide security for the fulfilment of his obligations under the agreement and this security is not provided or is insufficient or if, as a result of a delay on the part of the client, the contractor can no longer be required to fulfil the agreement under the terms originally agreed.
Furthermore, the contractor is authorised to dissolve the agreement if circumstances arise of such a nature that fulfilment of the agreement is impossible or if other circumstances arise of such a nature that the unaltered maintenance of the agreement cannot reasonably be required of the contractor. If the Agreement is dissolved, the Supplier’s claims against the Client will become immediately due and payable. If the Contractor suspends fulfilment of its obligations, it will retain its claims under the law and the Agreement.
If the contracted party proceeds with suspension or dissolution, it will not be obliged to pay compensation for damage and costs arising in any way.
If the dissolution is attributable to the client, the accountant will be entitled to compensation for the loss, including the costs incurred directly and indirectly as a result (including the costs of any third parties engaged), as well as to a payment of 50 per cent of the remaining part of the fee that the client would have owed if the assignment had been fully completed.
If the client fails to fulfil his obligations under the agreement and this failure justifies dissolution, the accountant will be entitled to dissolve the agreement with immediate effect without any obligation on his part to pay any compensation or indemnification, while the client will be obliged to pay compensation or indemnification on account of breach of contract.
If the order is terminated prematurely for any reason whatsoever, the client is no longer permitted to use the designs made available to him and any licence granted to the client in the context of the order will lapse.
Article 16
If the contractor has made goods available to the customer during the execution of the order, the customer must return the delivered goods in their original condition, free of defects and in their entirety, at the customer’s written request, within 14 days. If the client fails to meet this obligation, all costs arising from this shall be at his expense.
If, after receiving a reminder, the customer still remains in default, the contractor may recover the resulting damage and costs, including replacement costs, from him.
Article 17
For accepted orders, the contractor has a best-efforts obligation. If the contractor is liable, this liability is limited to what is regulated in this provision.
The contractor is not liable for damages of any kind arising because the contractor has relied on incorrect and / or incomplete data provided by or on behalf of the client, or if the client has approved the proposal, prototype, proof or similar.
The Contractor is only liable for direct loss, provided that said loss is reported within one year of completion of the assignment.
Direct loss is understood to mean only the reasonable costs of determining the cause and extent of the damage, to the extent that such determination relates to damage within the meaning of these general terms and conditions, any reasonable costs incurred to have the Contractor’s defective performance conform to the Agreement, to the extent that such costs can be attributed to the Contractor, and reasonable costs incurred to prevent or limit the damage, to the extent that the Principal demonstrates that such costs have resulted in a limitation of the direct damage referred to in these general terms and conditions.
The Contractor shall never be liable for indirect loss, including consequential loss, loss of profit, lost savings and loss due to business interruption.
If the contractor is liable for direct loss, such liability will be limited to a maximum of the amount invoiced and, in any event, to the amount of the payment to be made by the contractor’s insurer in the case in question.
The client is obliged, if reasonably possible, to retain copies of the materials and data supplied by him until the assignment has been completed. In the event of failure to do so, the contractor’s liability will lapse.
The limitations of liability mentioned in this article shall not apply if the damage is due to intent or gross negligence on the part of the contractor or his executive subordinates.
Article 18
In case of deliveries the costs of transport and insurance shall be borne by the customer.
Art 19
Client shall safeguard the contractor against claims from third parties, who suffer damage in connection with the execution of the agreement and whose cause is other than attributable to the contractor. If the contracted party is held liable by third parties for this reason, the client is obliged to assist the contracted party in court and to do everything that may be expected of him in that case.
Should the client fail to take adequate measures, the contracted party will be entitled to do so itself, without notice of default. All costs and damages incurred by the contractor and third parties as a result will be borne in full by the client.
Article 20
Parties do not have to comply with their obligations if they are hindered by circumstances that are not due to fault, nor – according to the law – when a legal act or a generally accepted conception is for their account.
In addition to what is understood in the law and in case law, force majeure is understood to be all external causes, foreseen or unforeseen, over which the contractor cannot exercise any control, but which prevent him from fulfilling his obligations. Strikes in the company of the contractor, illness and/or incapacity for work are also included here.
The contractor shall also be entitled to invoke force majeure if the circumstance preventing (further) fulfilment arises after he should have fulfilled his obligations.
The parties may postpone their obligations during the force majeure situation. If the situation of force majeure lasts longer than two months, all parties may dissolve the agreement without being obliged to pay compensation to the other party.
If, at the time of the force majeure, the Supplier has already partially fulfilled his obligations or will be able to fulfil them, he may submit a bill for this part. The Client shall pay this statement of expenses as if it were a separate assignment.
Article 21
Both parties are required to keep confidential information they have received for the assignment. Information is considered confidential if this is indicated by the other party or if this appears from the (type of) information. The distinct knowledge of the contractor, including methodology, results and benchmark data in any form whatsoever, is in any case part of the information that must be kept secret by the client.
If this last paragraph is violated, the client will forfeit an immediately payable penalty of €25,000.00, whereby the contractor will be entitled to claim the actual damages in court if these exceed the aforementioned amount.
Should the contractor, by virtue of a statutory provision or a judicial decision, have to provide confidential information to third parties designated by law or by the competent court and should he not be able to invoke a legal right to refuse to give evidence or such a right recognised or permitted by the competent court, he shall not be required to pay damages or compensation and the other party shall not be entitled to dissolve the assignment on the grounds of loss resulting from this.
Art 22
The contractor reserves the rights and powers to which he is entitled under the Copyright Act and other intellectual laws and regulations.
Octrooibureau Novopatent has the right to use the knowledge gained by the execution of an agreement for other purposes, provided that no strictly confidential information of the client is disclosed to third parties.
Art 23
In the event of disputes arising from this agreement or from agreements built on it, the parties will try to solve them in the first instance by means of mediation according to the regulations of the Stichting Nederlands Mediation Instituut in Rotterdam, applicable at the start of the mediation.