Terms and Conditions
The ContentScope GmbH, Alte Jakobstraße 76, 10179 Berlin, Germany operates an Internet service using the URL https://sooner.de and https://soonereurope.com (abbreviated from now on as 'sooner'). The primary purpose of this website is to provide a tele-media Video on Demand service. In particular, the sooner platform offers a streaming subscription service. This service allows sooner users to stream films from an online platform for personal, non-commercial use. The use of services offered by sooner and the use of the sooner website and platform is permitted only under the stipulation that users comply fully with the Terms and Conditions of Use as outlined in this contract. Users must also comply fully with the conditions mandated in the German Protection of Young Persons Act; the German Data Protection Act; and, in particular, the German Federal Data Protection Act (Bundesdatenschutzgesetz = BDSG). Any misuse of, or unauthorized modification to, the internet website and its contents is strictly prohibited. In particular, the copying or culling of information from user groups, user forums and comments, indexes, catalogs and databases, etc. is not permitted and will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Furthermore, any form of reproduction, dissemination or distribution of any and all sooner content, or parts there of, without expressed written permission from sooner, is prohibited. Uninterrupted availability of the sooner website is not guaranteed. Although we make every effort to achieve maximum accuracy, we do not claim or guarantee that information on our website, its contents or entry listings, is full, complete or correct. The following list of General Terms and Conditions of Use is valid for all legal transactions conducted between sooner and End Users. These terms and conditions are considered accepted by the End User at the time any sooner content or service is viewed, downloaded or utilized. The General Terms and Conditions of Use are available anytime online on the sooner website.
1. Responsible person
ContentScope GmbH
Alte Jakobstrasse 76
10179 Berlin
Managing director: Andreas Wildfang
(hereinafter referred to as “ContentScope”)
2. Subject matter of the contract and definitions
ContentScope offers end customers a Video on Demand service (hereinafter referred to as “VoD service”), within the scope of which the use of selected films, series and other audiovisual content (hereinafter referred to as “content”) is made possible in certain countries by means of VoD (SVoD, TVoD and EST) in return for payment of a fee.
Definitions
“VoD” refers to the exploitation of content by way of making it publicly accessible within the meaning of Section 19a of the German Copyright Act, i.e. the right to make the production available to members of the public by way of retrieval.
“TVoD” (also known as transactional VoD or pay-per-view VoD) refers to the paid VoD exploitation of a content for temporary use by the end customer (including offline use after prior download) in accordance with the provisions of these terms of use.
“EST” (also electronic sell-thru) refers to the paid VoD evaluation of a content, in which the content is made available to the end customer for use for an unlimited period of time in accordance with the provisions of these Terms of Use.
“SVoD” (also known as subscription video-on-demand) refers to the paid VoD exploitation of a content, whereby the end customer can retrieve videos via streaming via a monthly or annual subscription.
“Consumer” is any natural person who concludes a legal transaction for purposes that are predominantly neither commercial nor their independent professional activity.
“End customers” in the sense of these terms of use are exclusively consumers of full age.
3. Scope of the terms of use
3.1 These Terms of Use apply to all services offered and rendered by ContentScope within the scope of the VoD service to end customers.
3.2 Divergent or supplementary terms and conditions of the end customer shall not apply unless they have been acknowledged by ContentScope in writing.
4. Registration and conclusion of contract
4.1 The use of the VoD service requires the conclusion of a framework agreement on the use of the VoD service in accordance with the provisions of these Terms of Use (hereinafter referred to as the “Framework Agreement”). To do this, the end customer must first enter the data requested via the registration form provided by ContentScope correctly and completely. The framework agreement is then concluded when the respective end customer is activated for the VoD service by ContentScope. The activation and the conclusion of the framework agreement will be confirmed to the end customer by email.
4.2 In order to conclude an agreement between ContentScope and an end customer regarding the use of the content provided within the scope of the VoD service (hereinafter referred to as the “usage agreement”), it is necessary for the end customer to enter further requested data completely and correctly via the input mask provided by ContentScope for this purpose and to carry out any age verification procedure that may be necessary (insofar as age verification is necessary, the end customer’s offer to conclude a usage agreement is subject to the condition precedent of successful completion of the age verification procedure). The contract of use is then concluded when the respective content is activated by ContentScope. The activation and the conclusion of the contract of use will be confirmed to the end customer by email.
4.3 The end customer’s offers to conclude a framework agreement and a contract of use are binding for the end customer. ContentScope is not obliged to accept an end customer’s offer to conclude a framework agreement or a contract of use.
4.4 The data of the end customer and the text of the contract provided within the framework of the conclusion of a framework agreement and a contract of use will be stored and can be accessed by the end customer via his user account.
4.5 The end customer can continuously correct his entries within the framework of the conclusion of the framework agreement and the contract of use. In addition, ContentScope provides the end customer with technical means when entering his or her data, with which the usual completeness and plausibility checks are carried out and with the help of which input errors can be detected and corrected (including checking whether all mandatory information has been entered and checking whether the characters match the corresponding field).
4.6 ContentScope is entitled to obtain the information required to determine the Member State of residence of the respective end customer in accordance with the Regulation on cross-border portability of online content services in the internal market or to take any measures that may be necessary for this purpose.
5. Scope of services and granting of rights
5.1 Once a usage contract has been concluded, ContentScope will provide the end customer with the respective content - depending on the content of the usage contract - for retrieval by way of TVoD, SVoD or EST.
5.2 In the case of the conclusion of a usage contract which entitles the end customer to a retrieval by way of the TVoD, the end customer can use the contents as follows:
5.2.a The end customer may play the content for the first time for the purpose of immediate viewing via the VoD service, i.e. - with the exception of so-called buffering - without intermediate storage on the respective end customer’s terminal device, within a period of 30 days after conclusion of the usage agreement (online availability). If marked accordingly via the VoD service, the end customer can also download the content to a ContentScope-authorized terminal for the first time (offline availability) within the aforementioned 30-day period for the purpose of later viewing without an existing connection to the Internet. Even in the case of offline availability, the initial start of the playback process is only possible within a period of 30 days after conclusion of the user contract.
5.2.b After the initial start of a playback process, the end customer may replay the content as often as desired within a communicated period of 48 or 72 hours.
5.2.c After the expiry of one of the periods mentioned under a. and b. above, it is no longer possible to play the content.
5.2.d The end customer is only granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable right, limited in time to the periods listed under a. and b., to reproduce and store the content for private, non-commercial purposes (i) to the extent required for offline availability, and (ii) to make it perceptible. The customer shall not be granted any further rights of use. In particular, the end customer is not entitled to permanently store the contents in whole or in part, to duplicate or process them beyond the aforementioned scope or to use them for commercial purposes.
5.3 In the case of the conclusion of a user contract that entitles the end customer to retrieve content via EST, the end customer can use the content as follows:
5.3.a The retail customer can play back content for an unlimited period of time for the purpose of immediate viewing via the VoD service, i.e. - with the exception of buffering - without intermediate storage on a terminal of the respective retail customer (online availability).
5.3.b The end customer is only granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable right to reproduce and use the content for private, non-commercial purposes (i) in accordance with the above provisions and (ii) to make it perceptible. No further rights of use are granted to the end customer. In particular, the end customer is not entitled to reproduce, process or use the contents for commercial purposes beyond the aforementioned scope.
5.4 In the case of the conclusion of a usage contract that entitles the end customer to retrieve content by way of SVoD, the end customer can use the content as follows:
5.4.a The end customer may play all content available for SVoD, i.e. - with the exception of so-called buffering - without intermediate storage on the respective end customer’s terminal device, within a period of 30 days after conclusion of the usage agreement (online availability). If marked accordingly via the VoD service, the end customer can also download single content units available within the SVoD offer to a ContentScope-authorized terminal for the first time (offline availability) within the aforementioned 30-day period for the purpose of later viewing without an existing connection to the Internet. Even in the case of offline availability, the initial start of the playback process is only possible within a period of 30 days after conclusion of the user contract.
5.4.b After the first purchase of an SVoD subscription, the end customer can replay all content available within the purchase subscription package as often as desired within the respective subscription period purchased by the end customer.
5.4.c After the expiry of one of the periods mentioned under a. and b. above, it is no longer possible to download or play the content.
5.4.d The end customer is only granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable right, limited in time to the periods listed under a. and b., to reproduce and store the content for private, non-commercial purposes (i) to the extent required for offline availability, and (ii) to make it perceptible. The customer shall not be granted any further rights of use. In particular, the end customer is not entitled to permanently store the contents in whole or in part, to duplicate or process them beyond the aforementioned scope or to use them for commercial purposes.
5.5 The terminals authorized by ContentScope can be viewed via the VoD service: sooner.de or soonereurope.com
5.6 Geo-blocking is used to ensure that the territorial restriction on the use of the content made available by ContentScope on sooner is in compliance with all legal requirements (In addition, compliance to the EU regulation on ensuring cross-border portability of online content services in the single European digital market is upheld.).
5.7 User accounts are not transferable and may not be used by third parties.
6. System requirements of the end customer
6.1 To use the VoD service, the end customer requires an Internet connection and an Internet-capable terminal device such as devices capable of displaying moving image with sound such as desktop and notebook, phone, tablet, TV accessing content via internet-browser and/or specific apps provided by sooner.
6.2 It is the end customer’s responsibility to ensure that his terminal equipment meets the technical system requirements, in particular for the possible high-resolution display and download of content. The display quality of the content may vary from terminal to terminal and depend on various factors such as the up-to-dateness of the operating system, apps and browser, the location, the available bandwidth and/or the speed of the end customer’s Internet connection.
6.3 The use of the VoD service via the Internet may result in additional costs for the end customer, especially in the case of time or volume rates. To receive content in Standard Definition (SD), ContentScope recommends a broadband Internet connection with an (actual) download speed of at least 2 Mbits/s. For the reception of high-resolution content (HD), ContentScope recommends an (actual) download speed of at least 5.0 Mbit/s. Bandwidths below this recommendation allow only limited use of the VoD service with considerable losses in quality.
7. Obligations of the end customer
7.1 The end customer shall inform ContentScope immediately of any changes to the data provided by him/her, particularly within the scope of registration (§ 4.1) or the conclusion of a contract of use (§ 4.2), by changing the personal data stored in the user account. If a change cannot be made via the user account, the end customer will inform ContentScope via the contact form provided by ContentScope. The end customer assures that all information provided to ContentScope is always correct and up-to-date
7.2 If the end customer does not, not completely, or not truthfully provide the information required and requested by ContentScope to determine the EU-Member State of residence in accordance with the Regulation on ensuring the cross-border portability of online content services in the single digital market, or if he/she fails to perform any other cooperation acts required in this context with the consequence that ContentScope is unable to determine the end customer’s Member State of residence, the end customer shall not be entitled to use the content cross-border within the meaning of the aforementioned Regulation. For clarification: This does not affect any rights granted to the end customer under the concluded user contracts to use the content in countries other than his Member State of residence.
7.3 The end customer shall protect his user account from access by third parties. In particular, the end customer shall not pass on his access data (in particular passwords/passwords) to third parties and shall keep them safe from access by third parties. Passwords/passwords should be changed at regular intervals. If there is reason to suspect that third parties have obtained knowledge of the password/password or have gained access to the user account in any other way, the end customer must inform ContentScope of this immediately using the contact form provided by ContentScope and change the password/password immediately.
7.4 End customers may not misuse the VoD service; in particular, they may not
7.4.a not rent or resell the services of ContentScope to third parties on a commercial basis;
7.4.b not manipulate the digital key transmitted for decrypting and playing the Content;
7.4.c not circumvent the territorial limitation of the use (in particular by geo-blocking) of the provided contents (e.g. bypassing by means of VPN client or tunnel)
7.4.d Do not change copyright and property right notices;
7.4.e use the retrieved Content only in compliance with the applicable laws and within the scope of the rights granted under the respective Contract of Use and these Terms of Use, i.e. in particular do not (i) use the Content for commercial purposes, (ii) present it publicly, (iii) make it publicly accessible, (iv) broadcast it, (v) process it, (vi) reproduce it (beyond the extent permitted), (vii) disseminate it, (viii) distribute it
Only present, allow to be presented or otherwise make available to children or young people content that has been approved for the respective age group.
8. Contents of the user
Insofar as ContentScope enables the end customer to publish content (e.g. by means of a comment function) within the scope of the VoD service, the end customer is obligated not to publish and/or have published any content that is likely to violate the rights and/or honor of third parties, to insult or denigrate persons or groups of persons, or otherwise violate applicable law. The depositing of such content, in particular pornographic, violence-glorifying, discriminating, right-wing extremist or immoral content, in the end customer’s user account is inadmissible. In the event of an infringement, ContentScope is entitled to temporarily block the end customer’s access to the VoD service and to remove the corresponding content.
9. Restrictions of the obligation to perform
9.1 In the event of a material breach of duty on the part of the end customer (e.g. in the event of default of payment) as well as in the event of justified substantial suspicion of a material breach of duty, ContentScope shall be entitled to withhold the respective service or the availability of the functionality to which the breach relates within the scope of the statutory provisions.
9.2 ContentScope will immediately resume the service if it turns out that the suspicions were unfounded and/or there is no substantial breach of duty on the part of the Customer. In doing so, ContentScope ensures that the Customer can use the agreed service in accordance with the agreement in the usage contract. ContentScope’s right to terminate for good cause remains unaffected.
10. User fee/payment conditions
10.1 The end customer undertakes to pay the user fee shown on the respective offer page for the content and the respective type of use. The stated usage fee is the total price and includes the applicable statutory value added tax. The usage fee is due immediately upon provision of the service.
10.2 Various means of payment are available to the end customer, which are specified on the respective offer page. Payment of the user charges can only be made by these permitted means of payment.
10.3 The end customer shall only be entitled to a right of set-off if his counterclaim against ContentScope has been legally established, is undisputed or acknowledged. The right of retention, in particular the plea of non-performance of the contract, remains unaffected.
10.4 The obligation to pay the usage fee shall also apply if third parties use content via the end customer’s user account and the end customer is responsible for this use.
11. Right of revocation
Consumers are entitled to the following right of revocation in the revocation instruction. A consumer is any natural person who concludes a legal transaction for purposes that are predominantly neither commercial nor their independent professional activity.
A. Cancellation policy
Right of withdrawal
The end customer has the right to revoke this contract within fourteen days without giving reasons.
The revocation period is fourteen days from the date of conclusion of the contract.
In order to exercise the right of revocation, the end customer must inform us at ContentScope GmbH, Alte Jakobstraße 76, 10179 Berlin, e-mail support@sooner.de .de (for G-A-S) or support@soonereurope.com (all other territories) of his/her decision to revoke this contract by means of a clear statement (e.g. a letter or e-mail sent by post).
In order to comply with the revocation period, it is sufficient for the end customer to send the notification of the exercise of the right of revocation before the end of the revocation period.
Consequences of revocation
If the user/customer revokes this contract, ContentScope must refund all payments received from the user/customer, including delivery costs (with the exception of additional costs resulting from the fact that you have chosen a different type of delivery from the cheapest standard delivery offered by us), immediately and at the latest within fourteen days of the day on which the notification of revocation of this contract is received. For this repayment, ContentScope will use the same means of payment that was used for the original transaction, unless expressly agreed otherwise with the end customer; under no circumstances will fees be charged for this repayment.
If the end customer has requested that the services be commenced during the cancellation period, he shall pay us a reasonable amount corresponding to the proportion of the services already provided by the time he notifies us of the exercise of the right of cancellation in respect of this Agreement compared to the total scope of the services provided for in the Agreement.
Premature expiration of the right of withdrawal
The right of revocation expires prematurely in the case of a contract for the delivery of digital content that is not on a physical data carrier if the end customer has expressly agreed that we will begin executing the contract before the end of the revocation period and he has confirmed that he is aware that he will lose his right of revocation by agreeing to this before the end of the revocation period, or if ContentScope has provided the service in full.
12. Protection of minors
12.1 ContentScope is only intended for persons of full age. The retail customer shall ensure that, in particular, no persons under the age of 18 are granted access to the VoD service via their user account.
12.2 The VoD service is protected by a standard for voluntary age labelling of online content (also known as “age-de.xml labelling”). This technical age rating can be read by suitable software for the protection of minors, so that the end customer has an additional technical possibility to protect the content from unauthorized access by minors.
12.3 ContentScope reserves the right to offer offers with time restrictions that could impair the development of minors, to open the VoD service for other youth protection programs or to restrict their access by means of an AVS or a youth protection PIN.
13. Liability
13) ContentScope shall be liable for all contractual, quasi-contractual and legal, including tortious, claims for damages and reimbursement of expenses for any legal reason:
13.1 in case of intent or gross negligence,
13.2 in case of intentional or negligent injury to life, body or health,
13.3 on the basis of a guarantee promise, unless otherwise regulated in this respect,
13.4 due to mandatory liability, such as under the Product Liability Act.
13.5 If ContentScope negligently violates an essential contractual obligation, liability shall be limited to the foreseeable damage typical for the contract, unless unlimited liability is assumed in accordance with the above provisions. Material contractual obligations are obligations that the contract imposes on ContentScope in accordance with its content in order to achieve the purpose of the contract, the fulfilment of which is essential for the proper execution of the contract and on the observance of which the rights holder may regularly rely.
13.6 Any further liability on the part of ContentScope is excluded. The above liability regulations also apply with regard to ContentScope’s liability for its vicarious agents and legal representatives.
14. Term of contract
14.1 The framework agreement is concluded for an indefinite period. It can be terminated by the end customer at any time without giving reasons. Termination of the framework agreement by the end customer can be effected by canceling the user account and requesting deletion the user account or by notifying ContentScope via the contact form.
14.2 ContentScope is entitled to terminate the framework agreement at any time by giving two weeks’ written notice (email is sufficient).
14.3 The terms of use stated in § 5.2 and § 5.3 of these terms of use apply to contracts of use.
14.4 The right of termination for good cause remains unaffected. For ContentScope, good cause exists in particular if the Customer violates § 7.3 or § 7.4 of these Terms of Use.
15. Contractual language
The English language is available for the conclusion of the contract.
16. Amendment of the Terms of Use
16.1 ContentScope is entitled at any time and without stating reasons to change less important provisions of these Terms of Use, provided that this does not lead to a restructuring of the overall structure of the contractual relationship. The weighty provisions include, in particular, the regulations by which the type and scope of the contractually agreed services, the term and the termination are determined.
16.2 ContentScope is also entitled to amend provisions of these Terms of Use to the extent that this is necessary to eliminate difficulties in the implementation of the contractual relationship due to loopholes in the provisions that have arisen after conclusion of the contract. This may be necessary in particular in the event of new technical developments, changes in legislation, changes in case law or similar valid reasons.
16.3 The amended Terms of Use shall be sent to the end customer by e-mail no later than four weeks before they come into force. If the end customer does not object to the validity of the new terms of use within four weeks after receipt of the e-mail, the amended terms of use shall be deemed accepted. ContentScope will inform the end customer separately in the e-mail about the possibility of objection and the significance of this four-week period. If the customer exercises his right of objection, the request for modification is considered rejected and the contractual relationship is continued according to the original conditions.
17. Online dispute resolution
17.1 Due to a legal obligation we are obliged to inform you, irrespective of our participation in an alternative dispute resolution procedure, that the European Commission has set up an online platform for the extrajudicial settlement of consumer disputes. You can find the platform at http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr/.
17.2 We will not participate in any dispute resolution proceedings before a consumer arbitration board within the meaning of the CDBG (Consumer Dispute Resolution Act) and are not obliged to do so. Our e-mail address is: info@sooner.de (for G-A-S) and info@soonereurope.com (all other territories)
18. Final provision
18.1 The law of the Federal Republic of Germany shall apply to all legal relationships between the parties. The UN Sales Convention (CISG) shall not apply. In the case of consumers, this choice of law only applies insofar as the protection granted by mandatory provisions of the law of the state in which the consumer has his habitual residence is not withdrawn.
18.2 Amendments to the framework agreement, a contract of use or these Terms of Use must be made in writing; this also applies to amendments and additions to these Terms of Use, including this written form clause. Oral or written subsidiary agreements do not exist. § Section 126 (3) BGB (German Civil Code) shall apply.
18.3 Should individual provisions of these Terms of Use be or become void or ineffective in whole or in part, this shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions.