Terms of Use for the Bundesliga B2B Portal

1. Bundesliga B2B Portal

1.1 Description of the Bundesliga B2B Portal

The Bundesliga B2B Portal at the internet site b2b.bundesliga.com as well as its sub-domains (together, the “Bundesliga B2B Portal”) is operated by DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga GmbH (“DFL GmbH”) and serves as a product, services and information platform for licensees, sponsors and official partners as well as media partners of DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga e.V. („DFL e.V.“) and DFL GmbH, for media representatives, organizations and employees of DFL e.V., DFL GmbH and its subsidiaries, for the DFL Stiftung (“DFL Foundation”) as well as the associations and corporations (“Clubs”) of the football licensed leagues Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2. The Bundesliga B2B Portal is designed to centralize and facilitate providing and exchanging content, in particular digital assets and services.

1.2 Terms of Use for the Bundesliga B2B Portal

Under these Terms of Use for the Bundesliga B2B Portal (“Terms of Use”), the access and use of the Bundesliga B2B Portal by users which have been issued a user name and password by DFL GmbH as authorization to use the Bundesliga B2B Portal based on the activity of such users are regulated in a binding manner. These Terms of Use apply as a supplement to the Legal Notices ("Legal Notices"), as well as to the Privacy Statement and Cookie Policy (“Privacy Statement”). In the case of contradictions, the following priority applies:

Terms of Use
Privacy Statement
Legal Notices

The user declares that he/she has understood the above referenced terms and conditions and agrees with them. If the user no longer acknowledges the Terms and Conditions for Use and Data Protection, the user is not permitted to use the Bundesliga B2B Portal as well as its sub-domains.

2. Establishing the authorization for use, no charge, password and access

2.1 Establishing the authorization for use

The authorization for use between the user and DFL GmbH is established by

properly carrying out the registration process,
authentication with the user name and password issued by DFL GmbH, and
acceptance of these Terms of Use, the Privacy Statement and the Legal Notices.

The user confirms that all information given to DFL GmbH in the course of registration is complete and truthful. The user undertakes to notify changes in writing or in the form of text and, to the extent appropriate enter the changes in the user’s corresponding profile in the Bundesliga B2B Portal without undue delay.

2.2 No charge

The use of the Bundesliga B2B Portal by the user is free of charge unless compensation is agreed for certain content by concluding a separate contract.

2.3 Use of the user name and password

The user name and password are intended for the user personally and must be treated by the user in a confidential manner and protected against access by unauthorized third parties and cannot be disclosed to third parties unless permitted otherwise in these Terms of Use. The user acknowledges that as the party authorized for access, the user is responsible for all activities performed by the user or third parties using the access. The user is in particular responsible for content placed in the Bundesliga B2B Portal in the name of the user. If the user learns that unauthorized use of the user’s access authorization or other violation of these Terms of Use has occurred, the user must inform DFL GmbH without undue delay using the email address registration@bundesliga.de.

Subject to notification by DFL GmbH, the user is required to change the password transmitted by DFL GmbH and use a new, individual password which must contain at least eight (8) characters and at least one lower case and one capital letter as well as one numerical character.

The use of the password is for a limited time and expires at the latest after one year. A new password is required after expiration of this time, and the new password must also again contain at least eight (8) characters with one lower case and one capital letter as well as one numerical character. If this requirement is not complied with, DFL GmbH is authorized to block access to the Bundesliga B2B Portal.

2.4 Duty to provide information when stopping activity

Authorized access to the Bundesliga B2B Portal relates to activity. The user must inform DFL GmbH when the user stops the activity which formed the basis for the user receiving authorized access to the Bundesliga B2B Portal. This notification to DFL GmbH must be given without undue delay after learning about the pending stop of activity and at the latest two weeks prior to stopping the activity. The user is also required to inform DFL GmbH should he/she no longer need access to the Bundesliga B2B Portal for other reasons.

3. Authorization concept; services and content in the Bundesliga B2B Portal

Under these Terms of Use, DFL GmbH grants access to the user to the Bundesliga B2B Portal and its individual services as well as the content provided in accordance with the authorization concept prepared by DFL GmbH at its own discretion and the access rights granted at the discretion of DFL GmbH in accordance with that concept.

DFL GmbH expressly reserves the right to completely or partially modify, supplement, completely delete or temporarily or finally stop publication of the services and content of the Bundesliga B2B Portal without prior announcement. The user has no claim for permanent availability of all services and content. The possibility for use can be limited and/or temporarily interrupted as a result of maintenance work and/or the further development of the individual services and content. The possibility that user registrations may also be lost in extreme situations cannot be ruled out (loss of data).

4. Placing content by the user

4.1 Content placed by the user

The user is required to carefully research and examine content placed by the user in the Bundesliga B2B Portal in accordance with the authorization concept (Clause 3), and the user is responsible for the accuracy and completeness of the content placed by the user in the Bundesliga B2B Portal. DFL GmbH draws attention to the fact that content made available by the user in the Bundesliga B2B Portal generally cannot be checked unless there is an obligation to do so under mandatory law. The user will indemnify DFL GmbH against any claims of third parties asserted against DFL GmbH based on providing false or incorrect content in the Bundesliga B2B Portal by the user. Furthermore, DFL GmbH is authorized to delete content if the content violates the provisions of these Terms of Use.

4.2 Improper use of the Bundesliga B2B Portal

The Bundesliga B2B Portal must not be misused. The following points in particular are not permitted:

intentionally entering false data in the systems of the Bundesliga B2B Portal;
unauthorized actions in the Bundesliga B2B Portal;
violating regional, national or international law or applicable sports law; this also applies for any type of regulation having the nature of law which are applicable during the use of the Bundesliga B2B Portal in connection with the use of the Bundesliga B2B Portal;
placing, as well as storing, publishing or distributing content protected by copyright, media law, patent law, naming rights, trademarks or other legally protected content without the consent of the holder(s) or the rights; especially no content, descriptions and presentations protected by intellectual property rights can be placed, stored, published or distributed without the user having the required rights for this purpose.

Should suspicion of improper/prohibited use of the Bundesliga B2B Portal arise, the data privacy officer of DFL GmbH will conduct an examination. The data privacy officer will engage in further investigations, where necessary. A violation of the Terms of Use can result in termination of the use. DFL GmbH reserves the right in such situations to inform the association, Club or employer to which the user belongs about the termination and the underlying reasons.

The user will indemnify DFL GmbH against any third-party claims asserted against DFL GmbH based on the violation of rights of third parties by the user or content placed by the user in violation of the law or these Terms of Use.

5. Copyrights and intellectual property, grant of rights and use of content

5.1 Copyrights and intellectual property to the content provided in the Bundesliga B2B Portal

The content provided in the Bundesliga B2B Portal (Clause 3), in particular photographic and video material and the logos of DFL GmbH and the Clubs, are subject to German copyright and the laws protecting work product, brand and trademark rights as well as other laws protecting intellectual property. DFL GmbH reserves all available rights to the content in the Bundesliga B2B Portal, including especially the rights under § 87b of the German Copyright Act [Urheberrechtsgesetz, “UrhG”].

5.2 Content placed by DFL e.V. or DFL GmbH

The user is permitted to use the content in the Bundesliga B2B Portal only in the context of and in accordance with these Terms of Use, especially in accordance with the provisions on confidentiality and data privacy as well as the applicable provisions in the law. The content and scope of the user’s authorization for use and possible obligation to use are determined by

the (license) agreement concluded between the user and DFL e.V. or DFL GmbH, or
the specific intended purpose set forth for the respective individual content to be downloaded in the Bundesliga B2B Portal, or
express written consent of DFL e.V. or DFL GmbH granted to the user in advance (email is sufficient).

The use of content in the Bundesliga B2B Portal for other purposes is not permitted. In the case of a violation, DFL GmbH reserves the right to all forms of legal remedies, especially a claim for damages.

5.3 Content placed by the user

The user grants to DFL e.V. and/or DFL GmbH irrevocable, non-exclusive comprehensive rights of use, exploitation and rights concerning the protection of work product needed for using and exploiting the content placed by the user expressly for DFL e.V. and/or DFL GmbH in the portal, including all related intellectual property rights for all types of use without any restriction in terms of time , territory and content, if not expressly agreed otherwise between the user and DFL e.V./DFL GmbH in a specific case. DFL e.V./DFL GmbH are especially authorized to reproduce, distribute, process and apply this content to other forms of presentation and otherwise modify, update and supplement the content and to distribute the content in unchanged and changed form and to publically communicate the content through cable and wireless and to sublicense the content. The above grant of rights relates also to the types of use which are not yet known at the time the content is placed in the portal in accordance with § 31a UrhG and § 32c UrhG.

The scope of rights granted to a user to the content placed in the portal for the user by another user is determined by the agreements made by both respective users in the specific case.

The user waives all payments of royalties in any form and does not assert any claims for compensation with regard to the content placed by the user in the portal.

5.4 Communication by DFL GmbH

DFL GmbH is entitled to communicate the content placed by the user in the portal to third parties and/or to delete the content if this is permitted or required by provisions in these Terms of Use, agreements made with the users or statutory provisions or orders by courts or public authorities. This also applies for disclosing user data in accordance with the provisions in these Terms of Use.

6. Confidentiality

The content provided in the Bundesliga B2B Portal, also to the extent not specifically marked, must generally be treated as confidential to the extent that publication and/or other communication of the content to third parties has not been expressly approved in advance by DFL GmbH or the relevant content, based on its substance and purpose, is intended from the very beginning for publication and communication to third parties. All content provided in the Bundesliga B2B Portal and documents and data files provided by DFL GmbH must accordingly be carefully preserved. Care must be taken that third parties cannot obtain access and that the content will be deleted immediately as soon as it is no longer required for the intended purpose. Communicating accessed information, documents and records to users who have no access authorization for the relevant section of the Bundesliga B2B Portal and/or to third parties can only take place in accordance with provisions in data privacy law (Clause 6.2) and then only if DFL GmbH has expressly consented in writing to the disclosure.

7. Protocols and monitoring

DFL GmbH reserves the right to protocol the use of the Bundesliga B2B Portal for the purpose of monitoring and compliance with the provisions in these Terms of Use as well as for any correction of errors. The connection data for the access to the Bundesliga B2B Portal will be protocolled for this purpose using information about the date/time, address of the user and used content and pages. In addition to use for the purposes of this Agreement, the protocols will be only used for the following purposes:

analysis and correction of technical errors
guaranteeing system security
optimization for the user
statistical determination of total use volume, and
analysis in the course of monitoring misuse under Clause 11.

DFL GmbH reserves the right to view samples of the protocols. Access to the protocols is limited to the data privacy officer of DFL GmbH and the persons entrusted with administration of the system.

The legal basis for processing is Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 f) of the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”). DFL GmbH has a legitimate interest in evaluating this protocol data for the purposes of the optimization and security of the Bundesliga B2B Portal.

8. Liability of the user

The user is liable for all violations of these Terms of Use and the duties assumed in these Terms Use as well as for all violations of provisions in the law and resulting claims. The user is especially liable for the damages resulting from culpable unauthorized use of the Bundesliga B2B Portal by a third party using the user’s user name. The user undertakes to indemnify DFL GmbH and enterprises connected commercially with DFL GmbH against claims of third parties resulting from the user having violated these Terms of Use.

9. Liability of DFL GmbH

9.1 No guarantee for the accuracy of the content in the Bundesliga B2B Portal

All content provided in the Bundesliga B2B Portal is carefully researched. However, DFL GmbH does not assume any express or implied responsibility or guarantee for the timeliness, correct content, completeness or other quality of the provided content. This applies especially for the content placed by the users of the Bundesliga B2B Portal (Clause 4.1).

9.2 Links

The Bundesliga B2B Portal contains links to third party websites in the form of so-called “links” or “hyperlinks” (the “linked websites”). Since DFL GmbH has no influence on the current and future content of the linked websites, DFL GmbH hereby expressly distances itself from all content on the corresponding websites. This declaration expressly applies for all current and future links installed within the Bundesliga B2B Portal or by the users as well as links that have been installed or are installed in the future by third parties on the provider’s website.

Therefore, DFL GmbH cannot be held responsible either directly or indirectly for illegal, incorrect or incomplete content on linked websites. DFL GmbH is especially not liable for tangible or intangible damages resulting from the use or non-use of the content of a linked website or from merchandise or services procured from linked websites.

9.3 Other liability of DFL GmbH

The following provisions on liability apply for the performance rendered free of charge by DFL GmbH in the Bundesliga B2B Portal and content which is not the subject of a separately concluded contract involving remuneration.

The liability of DFL GmbH for damages, regardless of the legal basis and type, is excluded unless the damages are based on intentional or grossly negligent misconduct. This applies especially for damages of a tangible or an intangible nature which have been caused by the use or non-use of the information offered in the Bundesliga B2B Portal or by using obsolete, incorrect, incomplete information or information which otherwise has poor quality, and liability is excluded for indirect damages.

DFL GmbH assumes no liability for all content provided by users or other third parties. This also applies for the loss or misuse of data if this is the result of emissions or incorrect use of data protection by the user.

The limits on liability do not apply to any intentional or negligent injury to physical integrity, life, or health or liability under the German Product Liability Act [Produkthaftungsgesetz] for which DFL GmbH is responsible.

DFL GmbH assumes no warranty that the Bundesliga B2B Portal or the servers which make the Bundesliga B2B Portal available have no viruses or other harmful elements. The use of the Bundesliga B2B Portal is especially at the user’s own risk, and the user is especially solely responsible for any loss of data or damage to the user’s computer system. The user must provide for appropriate, problem-free and current virus protection on the user’s computer.

The extent to which the liability of DFL GmbH is excluded or limited also applies for the benefit of DFL e.V. and the enterprises affiliated with DFL GmbH under §§ 15 et seq. of the German Stock Corporations Act [Aktiengesetz, “AktG”] as well as against board members and members of other corporate bodies, the employees, representatives and/or agents of DFL e.V., DFL GmbH as well as the enterprises affiliated with DFL GmbH under §§ 15 et seq. of the AktG.

10. End of use

10.1 Regular termination by the user

Subject to duties to the contrary owed to the user’s association, club or employee, the user is entitled at any time to terminate the use in writing without stating reasons. Notice of termination by email must be addressed to the email address registration@bundesliga.de .

10.2 Regular right of termination for DFL GmbH

DFL GmbH can terminate the use by giving two weeks’ notice by email to the registered email address of the user. The use also ends when the association, club or employer to which the user belongs cancels the access authorization for the user and notifies this accordingly to DFL GmbH (Clause 2.3).

10.3 Extraordinary notice of termination of use for just cause [“wichtiger Grund”]

The right to give (immediate) notice of termination for just cause remains unaffected. This especially applies in the event that the user materially and/or in a sustained manner violates the rules on use of the Bundesliga B2B Portal and/or other duties of the user.

10.4 Right of DFL GmbH to provide information

DFL GmbH reserves the right to inform the association, club or employer to which the user belongs about the notice of termination and the reasons behind the termination. If a user’s access to the Bundesliga B2B Portal is blocked or cancelled by DFL GmbH, the user can no longer access the Bundesliga B2B Portal unless the user has received express approval from DFL GmbH in the form of text after the block was imposed.

11. Amendments to the Terms of Use; termination of use

11.1 Amendment of the Terms of Use

DFL GmbH reserves the right to amend these Terms of Use if the change in the Terms of Use is reasonable for the user after taking into account the interests of DFL GmbH. Amendments to the Terms of Use will be announced by DFL GmbH no later than two weeks prior to them taking effect using the internet domain of the Bundesliga B2B Portal at b2b.bundesliga.com.

11.2 Termination of use in the case of a change

If the user does not agree to the change in the Terms of Use, the user has the right to give immediate notice of termination of the use at any time. The change in the Terms of Use is deemed to have been approved if the user continues to use the service one month after the change takes effect. DFL GmbH will specifically point this out when announcing the change.

12. Final provisions

12.1 Jurisdiction; applicable law

Jurisdiction for disputes arising under or in connection with the use of the Bundesliga B2B Portal is in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, to the extent an agreement on jurisdiction is legally permissible. The law of the Federal Republic of Germany, excluding all norms which refer to another legal system, applies. The application of German rules of conflict [Internationales Privatrecht] as well as the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) is expressly excluded.

12.2 Severability clause

If parts or specific language in these Terms of Use are not consistent, no longer consistent or no longer completely consistent with the applicable law, the other parts of these Terms of Use remain unaffected by this with regard to their content and validity. Apart from the invalid part or the invalid language, language is supposed to apply which comes as close as possible to the original language.