General Terms and Conditions (GTC)

for the use of the cloud service „PortiQ start“

Provider and Contracting Party

SecCommerce Informationssysteme GmbH
Otto-Wels-Straße 49
22297 Hamburg – Germany
E-mail: info@seccommerce.com
Commercial Register: Amtsgericht Hamburg (Local Court of Hamburg), HRB 69920
VAT identification number: DE 201628902
Managing Directors: Falk Goossens, André Damm-Goossens

Preamble

These General Terms and Conditions (hereinafter „GTC“) govern the provision of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) services of the „PortiQ start“ application by SecCommerce Informationssysteme GmbH (hereinafter the „Provider“) to its customers. The application enables users to integrate trust services of third parties (e.g., qualified electronic signatures of D-Trust GmbH / sign-me) into their own digital processes. These GTC take into account the statutory requirements of the EU GDPR as well as German law on electronic commerce.

§ 1 Subject Matter of the Contract & Scope of Services

1.1 The Provider makes the software „PortiQ start“ available to the customer as a cloud-based Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution. Access is provided via common web browsers.

1.2 The software provides a technical platform through which users can manage digital documents and make use of third-party trust services for the creation of electronic signatures. The Provider is expressly not itself a trust service provider within the meaning of the eIDAS Regulation (Regulation (EU) No 910/2014).

1.3 The specific scope of functions, storage capacities, and tariffs are determined by the package description selected in the online portal at the time the contract is concluded.

§ 2 Conclusion of the Contract (Online Payment)

2.1 The presentation of the tariffs and SaaS services on the website or in the portal does not constitute a legally binding offer, but rather an invitation to submit an order.

2.2 As part of the online ordering process, the customer selects the desired package, provides their data as well as the desired payment method (e.g., credit card, PayPal), and accepts these GTC as well as the Data Processing Agreement (DPA) appendix.

2.2a Free trial month: The Provider may enable the customer to use PortiQ start for a free trial month. No payment data is required for registration for the free trial month. During the registration process, the customer provides the data required to set up the account and accepts these GTC as well as the Data Processing Agreement (DPA) appendix.

2.3 By clicking the payment button (e.g., „Order now subject to payment“ or „Buy now“), the customer submits a binding offer to conclude the SaaS contract.

2.3a Conclusion of contract for the free trial month: By clicking the correspondingly designated button, e.g., „Start free trial month“, the customer submits a binding offer to conclude a contract for free trial use. The contract for the free trial month is concluded as soon as the Provider provides the account or confirms the registration by e-mail.

2.4 The contract is concluded as soon as the Provider accepts the customer’s offer by providing the account or by sending an express order confirmation by e-mail.

§ 2a Free Trial Month

2a.1 The Provider may enable customers to use PortiQ start free of charge for testing purposes for a period of one month from the provision of the account („trial month“).

2a.2 The trial month serves exclusively for the evaluation of the software by the customer. The specific scope of functions and any usage, storage, signature, participant, or other restrictions are determined by the trial version described in the online portal or in the offer.

2a.3 No basic fees apply for the trial month. The registration and use of the trial month do not require the provision of payment data.

2a.4 The trial month ends automatically upon expiry of the trial period, without the need for termination. There is no automatic renewal or automatic transfer into a paid contract.

2a.5 A paid contract for PortiQ start is only concluded after or during the trial month if the customer separately orders paid use and expressly completes the contractual steps provided for this purpose.

2a.6 The customer may end the trial month at any time before the expiry of the trial period via the user account or in text form. The right to terminate without notice for good cause remains unaffected.

2a.7 The Provider may refuse to set up a trial month or end an existing trial month if there are indications of misuse, multiple registrations to circumvent the trial restriction, impermissible use, or breaches of these GTC.

2a.8 After the expiry of the trial month, access to the portal may be deactivated. The customer is responsible for exporting or otherwise backing up any required data before the expiry of the trial month, insofar as the software provides an export option. The deletion of personal data is governed by the DPA.

§ 3 Rights of Use & Restrictions

3.1 For the term of the contract, the customer receives a simple, non-exclusive, non-transferable right, limited to the contract term, to use the software via the internet for their own business purposes.

3.2 The customer is prohibited from reproducing, modifying, decompiling (except within the scope of § 69e UrhG [German Copyright Act]), or transferring the software to third parties for their own independent use, whether for a fee or free of charge.

3.3 External persons who are invited by the customer to sign a document within the scope of contractual use („participants“) do not require their own paid license and do not become contracting parties of the Provider merely by signing.

§ 4 Availability & Support

4.1 The Provider guarantees an availability of the SaaS infrastructure of 99.9% on an annual average. Excluded from this are scheduled maintenance windows (which are announced to the customer in advance by e-mail or in the portal) as well as outages based on force majeure or circumstances beyond the Provider’s control.

4.2 Support for technical malfunctions is available to the customer by e-mail on working days (Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays in Hamburg) during normal business hours.

§ 5 Remuneration & Payment Terms

5.1 The fees incurred for the use of PortiQ start are determined by the selected tariff model. Billing takes place either monthly or annually in advance.

5.2 Payment is made via the electronic payment methods offered in the online ordering process. The customer must ensure sufficient funds for the selected payment method.

5.3 If the customer is in default of payment, the Provider is entitled to temporarily block access to the portal after prior warning by e-mail until the outstanding claims have been settled. The obligation to pay the basic fee remains unaffected by this. Otherwise, the statutory default provisions remain unaffected.

5.4 Free trial month: During an agreed free trial month, no basic fees apply for the use of PortiQ start. Since no payment data is collected for the trial month, there is no billing and no automatic charging of a payment method.

5.5 Paid subsequent use: Costs only arise if the customer separately orders paid use after or during the trial month. In this case, the prices, payment terms, and contract terms shown in the ordering process apply.

§ 6 Term & Termination

6.1 The contract term is determined by the selected tariff (e.g., monthly or annual term). If the contract is not terminated by the end of the respective current contract period, it is extended for an indefinite period. After such an extension, the contract may be terminated by either party at any time with one month’s notice.

6.2 Termination may be declared by the customer at any time directly in the user account of the portal via the corresponding termination function or in text form (e.g., by e-mail).

6.3 The right to terminate without notice for good cause (§ 314 BGB [German Civil Code]) remains unaffected for both parties.

6.4 Term of the free trial month: The free trial month has a term of one month from the provision of the account, unless a different period is stated in the online portal or offer.

6.5 Automatic end of the trial month: The free trial month ends automatically upon expiry of the trial period. Termination by the customer is not required for it to end.

6.6 No automatic contract renewal: The provision on automatic renewal under § 6.1 does not apply to the free trial month. The trial month is not automatically renewed and is not automatically transferred into a paid contract.

§ 7 Right of Withdrawal for Consumers

Consumers are entitled to the following statutory right of withdrawal. A consumer is any natural person who concludes a legal transaction for purposes that can predominantly be attributed neither to their commercial nor to their independent professional activity (§ 13 BGB). For entrepreneurs (§ 14 BGB), there is no right of withdrawal.

Withdrawal Instructions

Early expiry of the right of withdrawal: In the case of a contract for the provision of services, your right of withdrawal expires prematurely if we have fully provided the service and only began performing it after you gave your express consent and at the same time confirmed your acknowledgement that you would lose your right of withdrawal upon complete performance of the contract by us (§ 356 (4) BGB).

Model Withdrawal Form

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

§ 8 Liability

8.1 The Provider is liable without limitation for damages arising from injury to life, body, or health based on an intentional or negligent breach of duty, as well as for other damages based on intent or gross negligence.

8.2 In the event of slightly negligent breach of material contractual obligations (cardinal obligations), the Provider is liable only for the foreseeable damage typical for the contract. Cardinal obligations are those whose fulfillment makes the proper performance of the contract possible in the first place and on whose compliance the contracting party may regularly rely.

8.3 Liability for data loss is limited to the effort that would have been required for recovery in the case of regular and proper data backup by the customer.

§ 9 Data Protection & Data Processing (DPA)

9.1 The parties undertake to comply with the provisions of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

9.2 Since the Provider processes personal data on behalf of and according to the instructions of the customer in the course of providing the services, the parties conclude a Data Processing Agreement (DPA) pursuant to Art. 28 GDPR. This DPA is an integral part of the contract and is accepted by the customer in the online ordering process together with these GTC. The DPA also applies to free trial use within the scope of a free trial month and is accepted by the customer during the registration process together with these GTC.

§ 10 Reference Naming

The customer agrees that the Provider may name them as a reference customer within the scope of B2B business dealings. This includes naming the company name and showing the company logo in sales documents and on the Provider’s official website. A descriptive account of the project content shall only take place after prior agreement. The customer may withdraw this consent at any time with effect for the future by e-mail to info@seccommerce.com.

§ 11 Final Provisions

11.1 The law of the Federal Republic of Germany applies, to the exclusion of the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG).

11.2 If the customer is a merchant, a legal entity under public law, or a special fund under public law, the exclusive place of jurisdiction for all disputes arising from this contract is Hamburg.

11.3 Should individual provisions of these GTC be or become invalid or unenforceable, the validity of the remaining provisions shall remain unaffected (severability clause).

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Version of these GTC: 08.06.2026