Terms and Conditions

§ 1 - General

Hereinafter, EmeraldHost UG (limited liability) will be referred to as "EmeraldHost". EmeraldHost operates the internet offering "emeraldhost.de", where customers can rent server services. These services include internet domains, virtual private servers (VPS), and so-called gaming servers for individual provision of gaming content over the internet.

These General Terms and Conditions (also called "Terms") govern the basic contractual relationship between EmeraldHost and the customer who uses EmeraldHost's services for a fee or free of charge (for example, as part of a sponsorship).

§ 2 - Registration

To use EmeraldHost's services as a customer, free registration is necessary. Only natural persons with full legal capacity, partnerships, or legal entities can become customers with unlimited usage rights.

Minor customers from the age of 14 receive limited usage rights. With registration, minor customers assure that parental consent exists for using EmeraldHost's services. EmeraldHost is entitled at any time to request written consent from legal guardians.

Registration of customers who have not reached the age of 14 is prohibited. For youth protection compliance, EmeraldHost reserves the right at any time to take appropriate age verification measures and to request age verification even after customer registration. Registered accounts that were not created in accordance with these Terms may be restricted or blocked by EmeraldHost at any time.

Registration requires providing some personal data. Providing incomplete or incorrect data is prohibited. EmeraldHost is entitled to restrict or block registered accounts with incomplete or incorrect data and to contest and immediately terminate the contractual relationship with the respective customer. In case of contract termination by EmeraldHost, no refund of already paid fees will be made. Any credit in the customer account will be confiscated and not refunded.

§ 3 - Customer Account and Payments

Every registered customer receives a virtual customer account at EmeraldHost, which is maintained in Euro currency. This is required to obtain services. All services that can be booked at EmeraldHost are billed through the so-called prepaid method. For this, it is necessary that the customer shows sufficient coverage in their customer account before booking or renewing a service. The customer account can be topped up at any time by payment in Euros through various payment service providers, e.g., paysafecard or PayPal with a desired amount.

During a top-up process, fees charged by the respective payment provider may be deducted from the top-up amount. Further details are governed by the payment providers' terms. The exact top-up amount is shown to the customer during the payment process. Credit in customer accounts can only be used for paying for EmeraldHost services. The customer can view their current account balance at any time in their personal customer interface. No interest is paid on credit.

Customer accounts cannot be overdrawn. Existing credit unfortunately cannot be paid out according to the legal basis of the GwG (Money Laundering Act) and the terms of certain payment service providers.

The customer account can be deactivated or deleted without giving reasons and at EmeraldHost's discretion, e.g., if the customer's last login was more than one year ago.

§ 4 - Termination

The customer can terminate their registered account and associated customer account at any time by the expiration date of their booked services. EmeraldHost can terminate these at any time with 14 days' notice to the expiration date of the customer's booked services, without needing to provide reasons.

As part of a termination, all booked services will be ended and irrevocably removed. The customer is advised, if possible, to create timely backup copies of their server data stored at EmeraldHost in case of termination and will completely exclude EmeraldHost from liability for any data lost after service shutdown.

§ 5 - Fair Use Policy

EmeraldHost rents its services based on the so-called Fair Use Policy. This principle states, on one hand, that the customer may only use booked services for generally common purposes, i.e., within a framework that can be described as conventional in general perception (details are governed by § 6).

On the other hand, the Fair Use Policy states that the provided resources (CPU, memory, storage space, network, traffic, support resources, etc.) must not be used above average or excessively. This applies especially to those resources that EmeraldHost does not contractually limit. If exceptionally high resource usage by a customer is detected over a longer period, this violates the Fair Use Policy and authorizes EmeraldHost to temporarily or permanently restrict or block booked services, registered accounts, and associated customer accounts at its discretion, as well as to terminate immediately. Any credit in the customer account will be confiscated and not refunded.

The following non-exhaustive list describes uses that violate the Fair Use Policy:

• Permanent or regular full utilization of CPU or RAM resources
• Permanent or continuous, complete occupation of the provided storage space
• Permanent or regular full utilization of available network bandwidth
• Actions suitable for generating above-average network traffic
• Customer-initiated actions that motivate third parties to carry out network or hacking attacks on server or network technology of EmeraldHost or its commissioned partners
• Installation and operation of software suitable for damaging server or network technology of EmeraldHost or its commissioned partners, impairing other EmeraldHost customers, or generally not intended for legal or usual use
• Repeated, abusive use of discount vouchers in a form not intended by EmeraldHost for the respective discount campaign

§ 6 - Abusive Use

Abusive use occurs when the customer violates these Terms or applicable laws. If EmeraldHost detects abusive use, it is authorized to temporarily or permanently restrict or block booked services, customer accounts, and accounts at its discretion, and to terminate contracts immediately while retaining any credit.

The following actions are prohibited for customers in connection with using EmeraldHost services and are thus considered abusive (list not exhaustive):

• if the customer intentionally provides false, misleading, or incomplete information - especially about their person,
• if the customer opens a customer account at EmeraldHost without authorization,
• harming third parties, e.g., in the form of so-called DDoS attacks (or comparable harmful attacks) as well as hacking,
• setting up a VPN network with the intent to conceal illegal activities,
• operating so-called bot networks,
• storing and distributing copyrighted works, unless this serves exclusively private use (private copies),
• storing or distributing child or youth pornographic materials
• distributing pornographic materials,
• so-called mining of cryptocurrencies as well as using comparable technologies when they are highly resource-intensive,
• sending spam (emails, notifications, spamming programming interfaces (APIs), etc.),
• conducting so-called phishing,
• spreading so-called hate speech or targeted misinformation,
• abusive exploitation of security vulnerabilities (the customer is obligated to immediately inform EmeraldHost if they discover security vulnerabilities in EmeraldHost systems and commits to silence about vulnerability details until EmeraldHost has closed them),
• other actions with the intent to damage, slow down, or manipulate own or third-party IT infrastructure as well as actions that violate applicable German laws,
• attempting or preparing to undertake any of the above actions is also considered abusive use.

§ 7 - Liability

For liability questions, legal provisions apply for damages from violation of life, body, or health based on intentional or negligent breach of duty by EmeraldHost, as well as for other damages based on intentional or grossly negligent breach of duty and malice.

In case of slight negligence, EmeraldHost is only liable for violation of essential contractual obligations (cardinal obligations). EmeraldHost is not liable for indirect or consequential damages.

EmeraldHost assumes no liability for input, transmission, and/or evaluation errors, as these are outside EmeraldHost's sphere of influence. The customer is responsible for content they publish on the internet and is liable for any legal violations. EmeraldHost assumes no liability for customer content and is entitled to temporarily or permanently block services, customer accounts, and accounts as well as terminate contracts immediately without the customer having a right to payout of remaining credit if EmeraldHost becomes aware of such violations. The customer indemnifies EmeraldHost from any third-party claims in this context.

EmeraldHost has the right to correct obvious errors, especially in providing information and prices, even retroactively. A damage claim by the customer is excluded in these cases.

According to §280 BGB, EmeraldHost is not responsible for downtimes that are not within EmeraldHost's sphere of influence (force majeure, third-party fault, etc.). Liability by EmeraldHost for damages arising from unauthorized third-party interference is excluded.

§ 8 - Special Regulations for Domains

In procuring and/or maintaining internet domains, EmeraldHost acts merely as an intermediary between the customer and the respective registration authorities. EmeraldHost owes the creation and transmission of a completely filled application for registration of the customer's desired domain(s) according to the specifications of the respective registration authority (e.g., Denic eG).

No guarantee can be given for the transfer, allocation, or permanent existence of domains in your favor; the registration conditions of the registration authorities apply in this context.

The customer guarantees that the domain they applied for or already registered for them does not violate third-party rights. They are further obligated to immediately notify EmeraldHost of any loss of a domain.

EmeraldHost is entitled to activate a domain only after payment of the agreed fees. Likewise, EmeraldHost can refuse to release the domain after contract termination until the customer has met all payment obligations from the contract to EmeraldHost.

If the customer gives no clear instruction for transfer or deletion of the domain upon contract termination, EmeraldHost can return the domain to the responsible registration authority or have it deleted after contract end and expiration of a reasonable period.

The right of withdrawal does not apply to domains. Domains are not revocable.

§ 9 - Right of Withdrawal

Orders by private persons: The contract declaration can be withdrawn by a customer within two weeks without giving reasons in text form, including letter, email, or via contact form. The period begins at the earliest upon receipt of detailed instruction about the right of withdrawal in text form. Timely sending of the withdrawal is sufficient to meet the deadline.

Orders by entrepreneurs: If a customer acted in their commercial or independent professional activity, there is no right of withdrawal.

Consequences of withdrawal: In case of effective withdrawal, mutually received services must be returned and any benefits drawn must be surrendered. If the customer requested that services should begin during the withdrawal period, the customer must pay a reasonable amount corresponding to the proportion of services already provided by the time EmeraldHost is informed about exercising the withdrawal right regarding this contract compared to the total scope of services provided for in the contract.

If the received service cannot be returned wholly or partially or only in deteriorated condition, compensation must be paid to EmeraldHost accordingly. The right of withdrawal expires as soon as EmeraldHost has already provided the booked services, set them up for the customer, and made them available.

§ 10 - Amendment of Terms

EmeraldHost is entitled to change the content of these Terms with the customer's consent, provided the change is reasonable for the customer considering EmeraldHost's interests. Consent to the change is deemed given unless the customer objects within four weeks of receiving the change notification.

EmeraldHost commits to inform the customer with the change notification about the consequences of failing to object. If the customer objects within this period, EmeraldHost is entitled to terminate the contractual relationship with due notice and block their customer account and account.

§ 11 - Other Provisions

The place of jurisdiction for all claims based on this contractual relationship as well as all disputes arising between the parties regarding the conclusion, processing, or termination of the contractual relationship is Cologne, insofar as the customer is a merchant or has no general place of jurisdiction in Germany.

Should individual provisions of these Terms be wholly or partially invalid or become invalid, the validity of the remaining provisions is not affected. Instead of the invalid provisions, those are deemed agreed upon that come closest to the purpose of the invalid provision. These Terms are subject exclusively to the law of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Last updated: October 19, 2022