Terms & Conditions

Courtesy translation of the DWD’s Allgemeine Geschäftsbedingungen für Lieferungen, Leistungen und Produkte des Deutschen Wetterdienstes aus dem DWD-WetterShop
English translation for information only. Only the German version is binding.

General Terms and Conditions of Business
for deliveries, services and products offered by the Deutscher Wetterdienst in its WetterShop

Last updated: April 2022

1. Scope of application

The present General Terms and Conditions shall contain the exclusive provisions applicable between the Customer and the Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD), Frankfurter Straße 135, 63067 Offenbach am Main, provided that these have not been expressly changed by written agreement of the parties. The present General Terms and Conditions shall apply to the deliveries, services and products offered in the DWD's WetterShop (http://www.dwd-shop.de). As to the ordering of products on data carriers (hereinafter referred to as CD-ROM Products), reference is made to the additional Terms and Conditions for CD-ROM Products specified under clause 5.

2. Inclusion of the General Terms and Conditions in the contract; exclusion of other terms and conditions

These General Terms and Conditions shall form an integral part of the contractual agreement concluded between the DWD and the Customer. Differing customer terms and conditions, which the DWD has not expressly accepted in writing, shall not be binding on the DWD, even if it has not explicitly objected to them or has unconditionally accepted or executed orders from the Customer despite being aware of the fact that there exist conditions which contradict these General Terms and Conditions or differ from them.

3. Conclusion of the contract

The presentation of the DWD's products shall not constitute a binding offer on the part of the DWD. Only when the Customer has submitted the order, the DWD's offer shall become binding pursuant to section 145 German Civil Code (BGB). The contract shall come into effect the moment that the Customer receives the order confirmation e-mail. The contract text including the General Terms and Conditions can be downloaded and saved in full after the contract has been concluded. The contract shall be written in German.

4. Right of withdrawal

Customers are entitled to withdraw from a contract pursuant to section 355 of the German Civil Code (BGB). The preconditions and legal effects of the right to withdraw from a contract shall be governed by the following rules:

5. Additional Terms and Conditions for CD-ROM Products

The ordering of products on data carriers (hereinafter referred to as CD-ROM Products) shall be ruled by the following Additional Terms and Conditions for CD-ROM Products. CD-ROM Products shall be copyrightable database systems and databases (section 4, subsection 2, phrase 1 and section 87a, subsection 1 German Copyright Law (UrhG)) or software (section 69a ff. German Copyright Law). The maker of the database or the software is the DWD (section 87a, subsection 2 German Copyright Law) and the Customer explicitly acknowledges this.

The Customer shall be granted the non-exclusive and non-transferable right to use the CD-ROM Products on one computer workstation and only for the Customer's own purposes. The use of the CD-ROM Product on more than one workstation shall only be allowed upon prior request and written consent by the DWD. The Customer may create a back-up copy of the CD-ROM Product for data protection purposes and usage on one workstation – but only if this is necessary for its usage as stipulated by the contract. Storing the data on a hard disk shall also be deemed a copy as defined by the German Copyright Law. It is not permitted to copy the CD-ROM Products – or parts thereof – to make them (or the parts) available for third-party use, on an intranet or the Internet, pass them (or the parts) on to third parties or use them (or the parts) for commercial purposes. It is also not permitted to alter, reverse, further develop, decompile or disassemble the data of the CD-ROM Product or parts thereof.

CD-ROM Products which are returned will only be accepted in their original packing and without any signs of damage. We explicitly point out that CD-ROM Products on which the seal has been removed are excluded from the right of withdrawal or return.

6. Terms of payment

The payment for the subscription(s) shall be due and payable at the beginning of the subscription and later, after the end of the initial subscription period, annually in advance unless otherwise agreed. If the subscription is terminated before the end of the respective billing period, the amount paid in excess will be reimbursed to the Customer. If payment by invoice has been chosen, unless otherwise agreed, the Customer will receive the invoice by e-mail at the beginning of the subscription and later, if the subscription continues, annually.

The deliveries, services and products provided by the DWD shall be liable to fees. The purchase price shall become due immediately upon acceptance of the order. The applicable price shall be the price as indicated in the offer published in the DWD WetterShop. The prices shall be indicated in euros (€) and, where applicable in accordance with German law, include value added tax at the rate valid in Germany at the time of ordering. A cash discount shall not be granted. The settlement of fees shall be handled through ePayBL, the online payment system of the Federal Government and the German Länder. ePayBL shall issue the invoice in our name and for our account according to the Customer's use of chargeable contents.
The DWD reserves the right to correct the invoice and subsequently claim the payment of VAT if there are legal reasons for such belated VAT demand.
If, in the case that direct debiting is used for paying, the debit process fails for reasons for which the Customer is responsible (insufficient funds on account/unlawful withdrawal from contract), the DWD shall charge a fee of €3.00 to cover a minimum of damage caused by the chargeback. The DWD shall, if the case requires it, have the right to provide proof of a higher damage. The Customer shall be allowed to prove that the failure to debit has caused no or a  lesser damage than is claimed by the DWD.

7. Customer's declaration of entrepreneurial use

1. Specification of VAT identification number:
   By specifying the VAT identification number when purchasing a product, the Customer affirms that the service bought through this purchase is intended for entrepreneurial use. The provider or providers of the DWD WetterShop can therefore consider the fact that the Customer has indicated his/her VAT identification number to be his/her due declaration of entrepreneurial use as defined by value added tax legislation.

2. Non-EU customers who register with the DWD WetterShop as a company by specifying the company name in the corresponding "Company" data field thereby declare that the service bought through this purchase is intended for entrepreneurial use.

8. Retention of title

All products shall remain the property of the DWD until the purchase price and postage charges have been paid in full. Until the transfer of ownership is complete, the Customer shall be obliged to handle the products with care and to immediately notify the DWD of any change of residence, attachment, transfer of securities, loss of the article, change of possession or insolvency.

9. Delivery

Upon submission of the order, the product shall be offered to the Customer for direct download. The DWD shall not be obliged to verify the actual receipt of the services by the Customer. In the case of products that, for a given period of time, give the Customer access to certain information, the Customer shall be given a username and a password which are sent to him/her by e-mail. After expiry of the agreed period of use, the Customer's access will be automatically deleted without the Customer having to take any further action.

Articles ordered for delivery (CD-ROM Products) shall be posted to the shipping address indicated by the Customer. The products shall be delivered subject to their availability. If there is any unavailability of products, the Customer shall be informed immediately Any consideration already received in return for the product will be reimbursed without delay.

10. Rights of use

The Customer shall be entitled to use the information provided for his/her own use and download it on his/her computer system. The Customer shall be entitled to make copies (e.g. print-outs) for his/her own purposes only. These rights shall apply only under the condition that protection notices, such as copyright notes, etc., as well as brands and names mentioned remain unaltered in the reproduced copies.

Any further distribution of the services to third parties or their publication by the Customer – in whole or in part or in processed versions – shall not be permissible.

11. Copyrights

In as far as the services provided by the DWD contain copyrights, neighbouring rights or other rights, the Customer shall respect the rights of the DWD ensuing therefrom.

12. Damages for violation of rights of use or property rights

In the case of non-compliance with clauses 10 and 11 of these General Terms and Conditions, the DWD reserves the right to claim for damages to the amount of the fees lost. The sum of damage shall at least equal the amount of the fees lost. The Customer shall be allowed to prove that no or a much lesser damage or loss of value has occurred. The DWD, in turn, reserves the right to provide proof of a higher damage.

13. Warranty

The Customer can complain about any deficiency in the products delivered. The DWD shall ensure that the meteorological information is gathered with the standards of prudence customary for the sciences. The DWD shall provide its services in compliance with the generally accepted rules of science and technology. In the case of meteorological briefings and forecasts, a discrepancy between the forecast and the actual weather conditions cannot be completely excluded and shall not be considered as a deficiency.

If a delivered CD-ROM Product shows defects that obviously result from defective material or a manufacturing fault or were caused by transport, the Customer shall report this immediately to the DWD. Omitting this, however, shall not affect the Customer's right for claims. All deficiencies that might occur in the purchased item during the 2-year standard warranty period shall be covered by the Customer's statutory rights.

14. Liability

Any claims for compensation in lieu of performance or for compensation of other direct or indirect damage, including concomitant or consequential damage, for whatever legal reason, shall be excluded.
This shall not apply, if
(i) the DWD has fraudulently concealed a defect of title or a material defect, has given the guarantee that such do not exist or has guaranteed the properties of a product;
(ii) the damage is due to intent and gross negligence or a negligent breach of material contractual duties on the part of the DWD, one of its legal representatives or agents in performance, whereby material contractual duties shall be understood as obligations whose fulfilment is necessarily required for the proper implementation of the contract and on whose fulfilment the other party usually relies and may reasonably rely;
(iii) a culpable breach of obligations by the DWD or one of its legal representatives or agents in performance has caused someone's death or an injury to limb and health;
(iv) the liability is governed by product liability law. 

15. Subscription period and cancellation of product subscriptions

In absence of other agreements, subscription contracts can be terminated either by the Customer or the DWD by giving notice one month before the end of the initial subscription period. If no notice is given, the contract renews automatically for an indeterminate period of time, but may be terminated by either party with one month's notice unless otherwise agreed. For fixed-term products, there shall be no automatic renewal of the subscription beyond the term indicated in the product description. If because of the purchase of such a product (such as certain forecast products) the Customer has been provided with an online access (including a password) to be able to use the information, this access shall be deleted automatically after expiry of the term indicated in the product description without the Customer having to take any further action. Customers who wish to continue to use a fixed-term product shall have to place a new order via the WetterShop.

16. Online dispute resolution

With effect from 15 February 2016, consumers who have a complaint about an online purchase have the right to use the European Commission's Online Dispute Resolution site in order to reach an out-of-court settlement. The site is accessible at http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr/.

In the event of a dispute between you and us about a contract made between us, the DWD will always endeavour to find a mutual resolution. Beyond this, however, there is no obligation for us to take part in a dispute settlement procedure and we also currently do not offer the possibility of participating in any such procedure.

17. Obligations of the Customer

The Customer shall be allowed to use the service provided by the DWD or the payment system provider in an appropriate manner only. In particular, he/she/it

• shall not make any illegal use of the access to the service, in particular not use it in breach of these General Terms and Conditions, and shall respect the law as well as the rights of third parties;
• shall, with a view to protecting the data, observe the generally accepted principles of data security;
• shall check his/her e-mails or retrievals for viruses using state-of-the-art anti virus software;
• shall keep confidential and not disclose his/her username and password, shall not tolerate or allow that they become known to any other person and shall take all measures necessary to ensure confidentiality and, in case of misuse or loss of these data or the suspicion of such, shall immediately report this;
• shall report to the DWD any evidence of abusive use of the service or product.

18. Final provisions

Amendments and supplements to these General Terms and Conditions shall be made in text form (i.e. a declaration on a durable medium pursuant to section 126b German Civil Code (BGB)).

This contract shall be governed by German law alone, UN Sales Law (CISG) excluded. The legal rules of the country where you have your place of residence remain unaffected.

For all disputes arising from or in connection with contracts concluded between the Customer and the DWD, the place of jurisdiction shall be Offenbach am Main if the Customer is a registered trader, a public legal person or a public special funds. In this case, the DWD shall equally be entitled to take legal action at the Customer's principal place of business.

Registered traders are subject to the following rule: if you have no place of jurisdiction in Germany or have moved abroad after the contract was concluded or your place of residence is not known at the time when the proceedings are brought to court, the place of jurisdiction shall be Offenbach am Main.

If any of the provisions of these Terms and Conditions are or will become ineffective, the standard legal provisions shall apply. This shall not affect the validity of the other parts of these Terms and Conditions.

19. Approval

By ticking the check box below the Customer declares that he/she accepts the validity of our General Terms and Conditions (including the information on the right of withdrawal). (Extract from the payment declarations:

[x] I accept the General Terms and Conditions.*

[x] I hereby consent to you beginning the performance of the contract before the end of withdrawal period. I am aware of the consequences of my consent, in particular that my right of withdrawal expires as soon as the digital content is available for download.*)

All prices are inclusive of VAT at the standard German rate.