Terms and Conditions

1. Scope of application

1.1. The following terms and conditions apply between the company of

Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH
Alter Markt 1-2
24103 Kiel,

represented by the managing director Dr. med. Johannes Müller-Steinmann, registered in the Commercial Register of the Local Court of Kiel under HRB 13157 KI (henceforth referred to as “Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH”), for its website www.kiel-medical-academy.com, and the user of the information and services offered on this website including all sub-pages, insofar as the use of it requires a registration of the user (henceforth referred to as “services”), as well as the purchaser of goods and services offered (henceforth referred to as “user”).

If special conditions for special cases of usage deviate from the following terms and conditions, this will be indicated at the appropriate place on the internet platform. In these special cases the special terms and conditions shall then apply in addition.

1.2. The Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH provides the internet platform kiel-medical-academy.com (hereinafter referred to as “Kiel Medical Academy”), on which online services and content are offered in particular for physicians and other medical professions (in particular medical assistants and dentists) as well as for persons who are in training for a medical profession.

Some of the content and services provided by the Kiel Medical Academy can only be accessed after registration. In addition to various other free services, the Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH also offers registered users paid services, in particular further training in the form of online seminars and face-to-face seminars.

1.3. The Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH provides the aforementioned services exclusively on the basis of these terms and conditions. Deviating terms and conditions will not be accepted unless expressly confirmed in writing by the Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH.

The following terms and conditions are structured as follows:

• General rules for the use of our offers
• Special rules – part 1 for registration and use of the member area
• Special rules – part 2 for the booking and use of services for a fee (in particular online and face-to-face seminars)
• Further rules on liability, privacy, mediation

2. General rules for the use of our offers

2.1. The Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH provides its users with the Kiel Medical Academy, an internet platform for the training of medical specialists and for the exchange of knowledge among these medical specialists in the form of a communication forum.

2.2. The contents made available by the Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH – regardless of whether they are publicly accessible or can only be accessed by registered users in the member area – are of a professional nature and serve information and further training purposes. They are intended for doctors and other medical professionals.

Within the framework of the internet platform of the Kiel Medical Academy, Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH expressly does not provide any diagnoses, advice or recommendations regarding the therapy of specific diseases. The internet platform of the Kiel Medical Academy is not suitable for use in the treatment of real cases and in no way replaces a visit to the doctor. For medical concerns, including the choice of medication and other medical treatments, patients should always consult a doctor. While all professional information made available by Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH has been prepared and reviewed by professionals, it is not a substitute for individual advice or treatment.

For doctors and other medical professionals, the content may serve informational purposes, but it may not be used exclusively as a basis for diagnoses or for the selection of treatments. Physicians are solely responsible for the application and evaluation of the content made available and for compliance with all laws and standards relevant to their professional practice.

2.3. In order to use the contents and services of the Kiel Medical Academy, it is sometimes necessary to use certain technical systems such as multimedia-terminals, software programs, transmission paths, telecommunications and other services of third parties, due to which further costs may arise, e. g. connection charges. Such connection and data transmission costs, such as the fees for the Internet connection, are billed and collected by the respective telecommunications provider. The user must pay them separately to the respective provider. Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH is not involved in this in any way.

The creation of the technical prerequisites for the use of the contents and services is the sole responsibility of the user.

2.4. The Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH is entitled to temporarily interrupt or completely discontinue the Internet platform of the Kiel Medical Academy. In particular, content or services offered free of charge may be terminated or interrupted at any time, in whole or in part, or changed to a chargeable offer or otherwise, at the Kiel Medical Academy’s own discretion. In the event of a foreseeable interruption or discontinuation of an offer, the user will be informed by the Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH in good time by sending a message to the e-mail address provided. An interruption of the service lasting longer than two (2) weeks entitles the user to a written termination (by e-mail or letter) of a chargeable offer. In this case, services already paid for and not yet provided by the Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH will be refunded pro rata temporis.

2.5. The Kiel Medical Academy is entitled, in exceptional cases, to replace announced speakers with others and to make necessary changes to the event programme, including the date and location of the event, while maintaining the overall character of the course (in particular to adapt the structure and content to the state of development).

3. Special rules – part 1: Member area

3.1. Access to the majority of the content and services provided by the Kiel Medical Academy requires registration of the user. This is done by creating a member account. During registration all mandatory fields must be completed by the user. Registration is only possible if the terms and conditions are accepted.

3.2. After registration, users receive a confirmation to the e-mail address provided. By confirming the link contained in the e-mail, the registration is completed. By completing the registration process, users make an offer to conclude a contract for the use of the Kiel Medical Academy on the basis of these terms and conditions. Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH accepts this offer by activating the user account. This acceptance creates a contractual relationship between the user and Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH.

3.3. The user warrants that all data provided by him/her during registration is true and complete.

3.4. Registration requires the selection of a password. The secrecy of the password as well as all activities carried out under his/her account are the sole responsibility of the user. Passing on the password to third parties is not permitted. If Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH has reason to suspect that the user account is being used by more than one person, it has the right to block the user account without prior notice.

3.5. There is no entitlement to registration. Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH expressly reserves the right to refuse registration requests by not activating the respective user account. In addition, Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH is entitled to revoke the access authorisation at any time by blocking the access. Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH is not obliged to inform the user of the reasons for the rejection or revocation of the access authorisation.

3.6. The user can request deletion of his/her registration at any time in writing or via the corresponding function in the online user profile. In this case, Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH will delete all user data and all stored personal data of the user as soon as these are no longer required.

3.7. The user assures that he/she behaves lawfully when using the services of the Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH, in particular that he/she does not pursue any illegal purposes, does not violate any copyrights or other property rights and does not violate any personal rights. Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH is entitled to block user accounts in the event of violations of these terms and conditions.

3.8. Some of the services provided by Kiel Medical Academy enable users to post, upload, transmit, store, send or receive their own content (“user contributions”). Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH is not liable for the accuracy and/or legality of user contributions.

3.9. Due courtesy must be observed towards other users. The use of the interactive areas offered for advertising purposes is prohibited. It is the responsibility of each user to observe the rights of third parties with regard to content and materials used and, if necessary, to obtain any rights of use. Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH is entitled to remove offensive, illegal or off-topic contributions from users from the site at any time. Complaints in this regard can be directed to the support at any time.

3.10. By posting, uploading, transmitting or storing content, the user irrevocably and free of charge transfers to Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH the unlimited, worldwide, non-exclusive and transferable rights of use to this content for the duration of the statutory protection periods. This includes in particular the right to publish, reproduce, store, edit or link to the content in any form. The user is expressly prohibited from posting, uploading, transmitting, storing or sending user contributions anonymously. Content that is not visible to other users, i.e. own additions as well as content uploaded and linked in connection with own additions, is excluded from this regulation. Whether this content is visible to other users depends on the type of content and/or the corresponding settings of the user.

4. Special rules – part 2: Paid Services

4.1. Various fee-based contents and services are available. The content and functional scope provided by Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH depends in each case on the services selected by the user. The prerequisite for the use of chargeable services is registration of the user on the internet platform of the Kiel Medical Academy. Sections 3.1 to 3.10 of these terms and conditions apply accordingly.

4.2. The user will be informed about the scope of a paid service, the price and the payment modalities before concluding a chargeable contract. Before the order process is completed, Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH will display the entries made by the user in a confirmation window and give him/her the opportunity to check his/her entries and correct them if necessary.

4.3. By confirming the button “book now” in the checkout area, the user declares that he/she wishes to conclude a contract for the chargeable services selected by him/her. Confirmation of the “book now” button constitutes an offer by the user to conclude a contract. This is binding for a period of 7 working days. Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH expressly reserves the right to accept or reject the user’s contractual offer within this period. There is no entitlement to the conclusion of the contract.

Receipt of the contract offer is confirmed by e-mail by Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH. The contract is accepted and thus concluded with the dispatch of the invoice from Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH to the user. Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH saves the text of the contract and sends the order data and these terms and conditions to the user with the confirmation e-mail. The user can view the contract data at any time in his personal area.

4.4. When booking face-to-face courses, the contract can also be concluded without registration on the internet platform. In this case, the user declares his offer to conclude a contract by completing the booking form by hand, which is sent to him together with these terms and conditions. This is binding for a period of 7 working days. The Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH expressly reserves the right to accept or reject the user’s contract offer within this period. There is no entitlement to the conclusion of the contract.

The contract is accepted and thus concluded by written or verbal confirmation by the Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH to the user.

By booking without registering on the Internet platform of the Kiel Medical Academy, the user expressly waives the ability to use the additional content and services of the Internet platform associated with a user account.

4.5. The Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH reserves the right to change the usage costs for new users and to introduce new usage models within the framework of special promotions. The usage costs of registered users will not change within the contractually agreed usage period.

4.6. The user has the right to revoke this contract within fourteen days from the day of the conclusion of the contract without giving reasons. In order to exercise the right of withdrawal, the user must inform Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH (Alter Markt 1-2, 24103 Kiel, telephone number: +49 431 3801833, fax number: +49 431 3801811, e-mail address: info@kiel-medical-academy.com) by means of a clear declaration (e.g. a letter sent by post, fax or e-mail) of the decision to withdraw from this contract. The model withdrawal form (https://www.kiel-medical-academy.com/dokumente/widerruf.pdf) can be used for this purpose. To comply with the withdrawal period, it is sufficient that the notification of the exercise of the right of withdrawal was sent before the expiry of the withdrawal period.

The user shall immediately provide all information necessary for the refund, in particular on the means of payment to be used. If the user revokes the contract, all payments received by Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH will be refunded immediately, at the latest within fourteen days of the day on which the notification of the revocation of this contract and the information on the means of payment to be used was received. Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH does not charge any fees for the repayment. Should the payments have been made via external payment service providers who charge fees on them, the fees retained by these payment service providers are excluded from the repayment. If the user has requested that the services begin during the withdrawal period, the user is obliged to pay Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH a reasonable amount, which corresponds to the proportion of the services already provided up to the point in time at which the user informed Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH of his/her wish to revoke the contract, compared to the total scope of the services intended in the contract.

4.7. If it is not possible to hold the face-to-face seminar due to force majeure or unforeseeable events (e. g. illness of a lecturer, disruptions at the venue), the user will be informed by the Kiel Medical Academy as soon as possible. The user can choose a free and available seminar date as an alternative date (rebooking) or withdraw from the contract. In this case, a withdrawal from the contract can also be announced by the Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH. A possible refund of the fee will be made analogous to the refund modalities in case of withdrawal as laid out in section 4.6.

Rebookings require written form and a confirmation by the Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH.

4.8. The prices stated are final prices including the statutory (German) value added tax (VAT). Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH reserves the right to make price changes in the event of printing errors and mistakes.

The usage fees are due immediately upon conclusion of the contract. Access to the Internet-based services will be activated after receipt of payment. Participation in face-to-face seminars is only guaranteed after receipt of payment and subsequent confirmation. A delay in payment by the user entitles Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH to exclude the user until due claims have been settled.

Users can cancel their participation free of charge up to 14 calendar days before the start of a presence seminar. Any refund of fees will be handled the same way as the refund modalities in the event of cancellation as laid out in section 4.6. After this period the full fee is due. If a service is not used (e. g. missed courses), the fee will not be refunded.

Cancellation of a face-to-face seminar must be made in writing by post or e-mail, stating the full name of the participant and the date of the booked seminar. In the event of a free cancellation, the fee shall be refunded within 4 weeks of confirmation of the free cancellation.

4.9. The due fee can only be paid using the means of payment specified in the registration process.

Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH is responsible for payment transactions via the internet platform and carries out transactions exclusively via SSL-secured connections.

4.10. In the event of default of payment by the user, default interest in the amount of 15% p. a. are due. In the event of default in payment, the user agrees to reimburse Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH for all costs and expenses associated with the collection of the claim, in particular reminder fees, collection fees or other costs of appropriate legal action. This includes in any case the costs of a formal notice in the customary amount as well as of a lawyer commissioned with the collection. The assertion of further rights and claims shall remain unaffected.

Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH is not obliged to provide services before payment of the fee (right of retention). The obligation to pay the fee remains unaffected by this.

4.11. In cases where the use of usually chargeable services is free of charge (e.g. within the framework of test or special campaigns), only a limited scope of services may be available. A claim to permanent use is not justified in these cases. In these cases, Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH also reserves the right to limit the scope of services at any time. In deviation from section 4.10, in the case of free use both contracting parties are entitled to terminate the contractual relationship with immediate effect without giving reasons.

4.12. The duration of the contract of use of services depends on the selected model of use. The duration of the contract begins with the activation of the user account for the use of the respective chargeable service and ends after the expiry of the period of time provided for in the model of use. The contract ends after expiry of the duration defined by the model of use without separate declaration. The entitlement to use the chargeable service ends with the expiry of the contract period.

The mutual right to extraordinary termination for good cause remains unaffected. Such a reason exists in particular if one contracting party intentionally violates essential obligations from the contract and thereby significantly infringes the interests and legal interests of the other party. On the part of the Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH, a reason for extraordinary termination exists in particular if the user is either more than 10 working days in arrears with a due payment after receipt of a payment reminder or warning or if Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH permanently ceases operations. Extraordinary termination is possible with immediate effect. The termination can only be made in written form, e.g. by e-mail or letter. In the event of extraordinary termination, there is no entitlement to refund of the usage fees already paid.

Statutory rights of rescission shall remain unaffected by the rights of termination regulated above.

4.13. In the event of termination, Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH will delete all stored personal data of the affected user account with regard to the relevant chargeable service.

4.14. The Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH is obligated to keep all services offered by the Kiel Medical Academy ready for use via the Internet and to make them accessible. The contents are to be stored on a server in such a way that they are accessible to the user at all times via the internet for the duration of his/her selected period of use. The user acknowledges that the service may be temporarily unavailable. This may be due to force majeure, technical circumstances or malfunctions and may be caused by Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH or third parties.

5. Copyright & liability

5.1. The contents published by the Kiel Medical Academy – in particular texts, images, videos, software, websites, other multimedia creations and the underlying programming – are subject to German copyright law. Any use not permitted by German copyright law requires the prior written consent of the respective rights holder. The rights owners are the Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH or third parties associated with the Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH, for example through licence agreements. This applies in particular to the copying, editing, translation, storage, processing or reproduction of content in databases or other electronic media and systems. The unauthorised reproduction or dissemination of individual contents or complete pages is not permitted and is punishable by law. This also applies to commercial use, further distribution and imitation of the services offered as well as use for advertising purposes.

5.2. All brand names and trademarks mentioned on this internet platform and possibly protected by third parties are subject without restriction to the provisions of the applicable trademark law and the ownership rights of the registered owners. The mere mention of brands and trademarks within our internet platform does not imply that the contents mentioned are not protected by the rights of third parties.

5.3. If the user paid the required user fees in accordance with section 4, Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH grants him/her the necessary rights of use (licence) for the contractual use of the service and the learning content contained, in particular to the texts, images, graphics and tables. The granting of rights is limited in time to the duration of the respective contract of use. It is non-exclusive and non-transferable. The contractual use includes the loading, display and visualisation of the contents on the platform for exclusively own learning or information purposes. A print function for other content offered on the online learning platform may be available; printing is permitted exclusively for the user’s own learning or information purposes.

5.4. The user is not entitled to any use or exploitation that goes beyond sections 5.1 to 5.3. Any further exploitation, in particular the lending, renting or other sale, duplication, distribution, broadcasting, making available to the public, transfer and processing of the software, database or content on which the service is based, is excluded and requires the prior consent of the Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH. Otherwise, it constitutes an infringement of property rights, which will be prosecuted under civil and, if applicable, criminal law.

5.5. It is expressly pointed out that the acquisition of the rights of use for all services offered by the Kiel Medical Academy includes use by one user. Making the contents accessible to other persons is not permitted.

The user is responsible for all actions taken via his/her user account. In addition, the user is obliged to inform Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH immediately if he/she becomes aware of any unauthorised use of his/her access.

5.6. The Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH is liable for itself, its vicarious agents and employees – irrespectively of the legal grounds – only for intent and gross negligence. Claims for damages against the Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH, which are linked to the existence of slight negligence, only exist in the case of violation of essential contractual obligations, default of the debtor or impossibility for which the Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH is responsible. Except in the case of intent or gross negligence on the part of the Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH, its vicarious agents or employees liability is limited to the amount of damages typically foreseeable at the time of conclusion of the contract. Claims for damages due to impossibility and delay are limited to the amount of the contract value.

The aforementioned limitations of liability do not apply to damages resulting from injury to life, body or health. The limitations of liability shall also not apply in the event of the assumption of express guarantees and in the event of claims due to the lack of warranted characteristics. Liability in accordance with the German Product Liability Act (Produkthaftungsgesetz) remains unaffected by the above limitation of liability.

5.7. The contents of this internet platform are created with the greatest possible care. However, the Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH does not assume any liability for the correctness, completeness and up-to-dateness of the contents provided.

The Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH does not assume any liability for information on medical procedures, applications, forms of application and dosages. Any use, application or dosage is at the user’s own risk. Such information must be checked for accuracy by the user in each individual case on the basis of other literature (manufacturer’s information, package inserts, etc.).

Insofar as laws, standards, regulations or the like are quoted, Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH assumes no liability for the correctness or up-to-dateness of the information. In cases of doubt, the original sources should be consulted.

5.8. Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH endeavours to present all relevant sources in an appropriate form at the rightful position. Medical literature was used to create the content made available. Enquiries regarding copyright claims by third-party authors can be sent by mail to Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH (Alter Markt 1-2, 24103 Kiel, e-mail address: info@kiel-medical-academy.com). Justified claims will be implemented immediately, the relevant author named in the appropriate place or the relevant content removed.

5.9. Despite careful checking of any links or embedding, the Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH accepts no liability for the content of external sites. The operators of external sites are solely responsible for their content and availability.

5.10. The Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH is not liable for the infringement of third party rights by user contributions. The user undertakes to indemnify the Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH on demand against all claims made by third parties against the Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH due to infringements of rights culpably (negligently or intentionally) committed by the user.

6. Final provisions

6.1. Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH is aware of its responsibility in handling the data transmitted by its users and complies with all relevant laws and standards when processing personal data. Details on data protection can be found in the privacy regulations of Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH (https://www.kiel-medical-academy.com/en/privacy).

The user always has the right to information, correction, deletion or blocking of his personal data.

6.2. The Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH expressly reserves the right to amend these terms and conditions at any time and without stating reasons with effect for the future. The Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH will notify the user of any changes to the terms and conditions at least two weeks before they come into force by e-mail to the e-mail address stored by the user in his user account. If the contractual relationship existing between the respective user and the Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH is affected by the change, the user has the right to object to the changes within two weeks of receiving the e-mail. If the user does not object within two weeks after receipt of the email, the amended terms and conditions are deemed accepted. The Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH will separately point out the significance of the two-week period to the user entitled to object in the e-mail containing the changes.

6.3. These currently valid terms and conditions can be called up, downloaded and printed out at any time after the business relationship has been established on the internet platform under the link https://www.kiel-medical-academy.com/agb.

6.4. The contractual language for contracts concluded via the offers of the Kiel Medical Academy is German. German law applies to the exclusion of the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods.

The place of jurisdiction for all disputes of a pecuniary nature arising directly or indirectly from the contractual relationship is the registered office of Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH (Kiel, Germany). Any exclusive place of jurisdiction remains unaffected by this. The place of performance is the registered office of the Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH.

6.5. Verbal subsidiary agreements do not exist.

6.6. Alternative dispute resolution in accordance with Art. 14 (1) ODR Regulation and § 36 VSBG: The European Commission provides a platform for online dispute resolution (OS), which can be found at https://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr. The Hautarztzentrum Kiel GmbH is not obliged or willing to participate in dispute resolution proceedings before a consumer arbitration board.

6.7. Should individual contractual provisions be or become invalid in whole or in part, the remainder of the contract shall remain valid. In the event of such ineffectiveness, the contractual partners shall agree on a legally effective individual provision that comes as close as possible to the ineffective provision in economic terms. The same shall apply in the event of a loophole.

Stand: February 28, 2023