Last review: March 18, 2020

§ 1 Conclusion of Contract
Registration to participate in a training course or event (hereafter referred to as “event”) provided by the Versuchs- und Lehranstalt für Brauerei in Berlin (hereafter: VLB), must be in writing on the official VLB registration form (by letter, email, fax or online) and must be received by VLB by the deadline specified in the event documentation.

In the case an event is limited to a specified number of participants, registrations will be considered on a first come, first served basis. The registration is a binding agreement. The participant is the contracting party. If the participant is registered by a third party, this notifying third party is then the contracting party. Acceptance of registration will be confirmed in writing by VLB.

§ 2 Payment / Due Date
The contracting party specified in § 1 must pay the contractually agreed fee for the event in accordance with the invoice issued by VLB stating the full invoice number. The participant as the contracting party is liable for the payment even if the fee is to be paid by a third party (e.g. employer). If the fee is not paid, the participant can be excluded from further participation in the event. If the participant is in arrears and a reminder is issued, a dunning charge of € 2.50 per reminder is due.

§ 3 Event Venue
The event will take place on the premises of VLB, unless VLB specifies another venue in the confirmation.

§ 4 Revocation / Cancellation of Contract
The participant can, without prejudice to any possible statutory right of revocation, revoke their contractual declaration in writing within 14 days without giving reasons, providing VLB’s services have not been used. In this case, any payments made in advance will be fully reimbursed.

Cancellation fees are determined in the respective registration and contractual documentation. If not defined differently, the following regulations apply:

Cancellation by participants:

• Cancellation until 14 days before begin of the event: complete refund minus 90 € charge
• Cancellation 14 to 5 days before begin of the event: refund minus 30 % retention
• Cancellation from 4 days before begin of the event or non-appearance: total fee applies, no refund
• A transfer of a registration to another person is always possible

Cancellation by exhibitors & sponsors:

• Cancellation until 6 week before begin of the event: complete refund minus 150 € charge
• Cancellation between 6 weeks until 3 weeks before begin of the event: refund minus 30 % retention
• Cancellation from 3 weeks before begin of the event or non-appearance: total fee applies, no refund

The right to terminate the contract without notice for good cause according to § 626 BGB remains unaffected. In the case of an effective extraordinary termination on the part of the participant, he/she has to make a part-payment corresponding to the value of the services, which have already been provided by the event organiser.

§ 5 Alteration and Cancellation of Events
VLB reserves the right to cancel or postpone an event for reasons which lie within its responsibility, in particular in the absence of a sufficient number of participants to cover costs, non-availability at short notice of lecturers / speakers without the possibility of a replacement, or force majeure (incl. pandemic).

The participant will be informed of any changes using the contact data specified in his/her registration.

In the case of a cancellation, any participation fees already paid will be reimbursed.

The same applies in the case that a participant cannot attend the new appointment.

Any further claims on the part of the participant are excluded. VLB reserves the right to replace lecturers or change the schedule of an event. The contracting party cannot derive any claims from this, e.g. cancellation of the contract or a reduction of the fee.

§ 6 Data Protection
By concluding this contract, the participant agrees that VLB can record and save personal data, including name, address, telephone, fax, email address, training course data and payment data, and is permitted to use this for information purposes relating to the event. Personal data will only be used for course organisational purposes.

VLB respects the privacy rights of the participant and collects, processes and uses data only in accordance with current data protection laws to fulfil the purpose of the contract and only to the extent required. All VLB employees are obliged to maintain data confidentiality.

The participant will on request be able to access the saved data relating to his/her person.

§ 7 Copyright
The teaching material provided by VLB is protected by copyright; duplication, even in extracts, or any other distribution of contents is forbidden.

§ 8 Liability
VLB is only liable for damages relating to the organisation of events in the case of intent or gross negligence.

Limitation of liability does not apply to injury to life, body and health, which is based on a negligent or deliberate breach of duty by VLB or a deliberate or negligent breach of duty by a legal agent or vicarious agent of VLB.

Limitation of liability furthermore does not apply to damages, which rely on a violation of a so-called cardinal obligation (i.e. a contractual obligation whose fulfillment makes the due performance of the contract possible in the first place, and the observance of which the contracting party regularly trusts and can expect).

§ 9 Applicable Law
The law of the Federal Republic of Germany applies to business relations between VLB and its customers.

§ 10 Severability Clause
Should any provision of the contract agreed between VLB and the participant or of these General Terms & Conditions be or become invalid, this shall not affect the remaining provisions or General Terms & Conditions.

Right of Revocation

You have the right to cancel this contract within fourteen days without citing any reason for doing so. The revocation period is fourteen days from the day the contract was concluded. To exercise your right of revocation, you have to inform us of your decision to cancel this contract in the form of a clear declaration (e.g. a letter sent by post,  telefax or email) to:

Versuchs- und Lehranstalt für Brauerei in Berlin e.V.
Seestrasse 13, 13358 Berlin, Germany
Phone +49 (0)30 450 80-0, Fax +49 (0)30 453 60 69
Email brewmaster@vlb-berlin.org

You can use the enclosed cancellation form template for this purpose, but this is not mandatory. To observe the revocation deadline, it is sufficient for you to send the notification concerning the right of revocation before expiry of the withdrawal period.

Consequences of Revocation
If you cancel this contract, we have to reimburse all payments we have received from you, including any delivery charges, without delay and at the latest within fourteen days of receiving notification of your cancellation. For this reimbursement, we will use the same payment method that you used for the original transaction unless explicitly agreed otherwise. If you requested that the service / event should start during the withdrawal period, or if the service / event starts during the withdrawal period, you are required to pay us an appropriate contribution corresponding to the part of the service / event already provided in relation to the full scope of the intended service / event in the contract, up to the point when you notify us that you are exercising your right to cancel the contract.

In addition, our General Terms and Conditions apply.