General Terms and Conditions of GS1 Germany GmbH for the Allocation of Identification Numbers

I. General

  1. All services of GS1 Germany GmbH (hereinafter referred to as “GS1”) in
    connection with the use of the GS1 system – including the allocation of GS1 identification numbers and the use of associated services – shall be provided solely on the basis of the following General Terms and Conditions in conjunction with the General GS1 Specifications (LINK) in the version valid at the time the order is placed. Unless otherwise agreed explicitly in writing, no deviating terms and conditions shall apply.
  2. Should these Terms and Conditions contradict the General GS1 Specifications, the provisions of these Terms and Conditions shall have precedence. 
  3. Customers in the context of these Terms and Conditions are exclusively operators. These are natural or legal persons or partnerships with legal capacity who/which are exercising their commercial or independent professional activity at the time the Contract with GS1 is concluded. 

II. Services

  1. The services of GS1 covered by these Terms and Conditions are defined at (LINK).
    In connection with the agreed services, Customer shall receive a simple right of use for the duration of this Contract that enables it to use the GS1 system including GS1 identification numbers in accordance with the Terms and Conditions and in the scope described in the General GS1 Specifications. Any use beyond this scope and a transfer of rights of use to third parties shall not be permitted. 
  2. GS1 shall be entitled to transfer Customer data (including all web links) used in the GS1 Germany system via local and global GS1 services to data recipients (which may include consumers) for the purposes of operating the GS1 system. 
  3. Notwithstanding termination of the agreement between GS1 and Customer, GS1 may continue to use Customer data for the purposes of operating the GS1 system. GS1 shall also be entitled to inform third parties about the termination of Customer’s rights to use the GS1 identification numbers.  
  4. GS1 may amend services for cause if this does not restrict the services overall. Cause may be but is not restricted to 
  5. a necessary amendment to reflect new legislation or

    a. courts rulings 
    b. amended standards 
    c. amended technical framework conditions 

GS1 shall notify Customer in due time about any such amendment by e-mail, generally six weeks before it comes into effect.

  1. If there is any suspicion that Customer’s data in the GS1 system breach the provisions of this agreement, GS1 may exercise its discretion to restrict access to these data or remove the data permanently. 

III. Conclusion of contract

  1. Customer shall register to use the GS1 system either online at www.gs1.de or in writing using the paper form from GS1. Registration is considered an application for the provision of the services selected by Customer. 
  2. GS1 Germany shall decide within 14 days whether to approve the application for the provision of the services.
  3. If the application is approved, GS1 shall send Customer electronic application confirmation. This results in a contract between GS1 and Customer for the services requested.
  4. If the application is declined, GS1 shall send Customer an electronic notification to this effect.
  5. These Terms and Conditions shall also apply to all future relationships with Customer in connection with the services defined at (LINK), even if these services are not expressly named once more. 
  6. Pursuant to Section 312i (2) sentence 2 of the German Commercial Code (BGB), it is agreed that Customer shall waive compliance with the obligations to provide information pursuant to Section 312i (1) No. 1 to 3 BGB.    

IV. Registration in the GS1 system

After conclusion of the Contract, Customer shall be registered in the GS1 system and assigned the right to use the GS1 system. Customer shall be included in the GS1 Licence Registry.  GS1 identification numbers registered by Customer in the GS1 system and information generated with the aid of GS1 services may be recorded with the information provided by Customer in the GS1 databases and made available via the services and open APIs.

V. Obligations of Customer

  1. The GS1 system including identification numbers are documented in the General GS1 Specifications (LINK). When using the GS1 system, Customer shall take account of these Specifications – especially Section 4 “Application Rules” and Section 6 “Barcode Placement”. At its own expense, Customer shall create the technical framework conditions described for using the services.
  2. Non-compliant application of the GS1 system including GS1 identification numbers may result in termination of the Contract without notice and claims for damages by GS1 Germany. Such non-compliant application shall exist especially if: 

    - the GS1 identification numbers are passed on to third parties without the written consent of GS1 Germany. 
    - Customer defaults on payment of the fees.
    - Customer is included on one or several sanction lists.
     
  3. Customer undertakes to provide only truthful information. Any changes during the contract term shall be notified to GS1 without undue delay but at the latest 30 days after they become effective.
  4. Each year, at the request of GS1, Customer shall notify GS1 of its total annual sales for the previous year and present suitable verification thereof if required to do so. The total sales disclosed by Customer may have an effect on both the fees and on the right to use certain services. GS1 therefore reserves the right to make a subsequent amendment to the fees and services as described at (LINK). 
  5. Customer guarantees that: 

    (i) It is entitled to upload the data it uses to the GS1 system. 
    (ii) Its data do not breach any third-party rights or any applicable laws or regulations.
    (iii) Its data do not include any malware or other materials that could represent a risk to the GS1 system.
  6. Customer is responsible for ensuring that its data comply with the General GS1 Specifications.

VI. Obligations of Customer in respect of medical devices

  1. In order to comply with the Unique Device Identification (UDI) requirements of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Customer shall notify GS1 if a GS1 identification number is to be used to identify a medical device.
  2. If a GS1 identification number is to be used to comply with FDA UDI requirements, Customer shall notify GS1 of this fact within five working days of applying for the license. If Customer does not meet its aforementioned obligation to provide information within the due time, its data cannot be included in the annual report submitted by GS1 to the FDA.
  3. GS1 does not accept any liability for consequences arising therefrom (e.g. costs, administrative processes, queries from regulatory authorities).
  4. Customer is and remains at all times responsible for the information in respect of medical devices that it provides to GS1 and for compliance with all applicable legal and regulatory obligations and shall ensure that all information provided to GS1 is at all times correct and up to date.

VII. Obligations of GS1

  1. GS1 allocates the GS1 core or identification numbers it issues to just one user and shall ensure that there are no overlaps in allocation. GS1 shall ensure an adequate capacity of corresponding number allocations.
  2. During the contract term, GS1 shall guarantee the continuous uniqueness of the GS1 identification numbers through the maintenance and allocation of the number capacities.

VIII. Fees and payment

  1. Recurring services shall be invoiced annually in advance on the basis of the current price list (LINK). One-time services shall be invoiced immediately after the order is placed. 
  2. In derogation of the terms defined in 1 above, the first annual fee for recurring services shall fall due upon transmission of the application confirmation by GS1. No pro rata reimbursement shall be made.
  3. All prices are subject to the applicable VAT rate.
  4. All invoices shall be payable within 14 days of the invoice date.
  5. GS1 shall be entitled to amend the fee at least once annually to reflect additional functionality, inflation, increased operating costs, etc. Customer shall be notified of such increase in due time but at least one month before it comes into effect. Customer shall have the right to terminate the Contract with notice of six weeks after receipt of notification of an increase if the increase is more than 10 percent within a one-year period.

IX. Liability

  1. GS1 shall be liable without limitation for all damages caused by wilful intent or gross negligence by GS1 and its legal representatives or vicarious agents.  
  2. In all other cases, GS1 shall only be liable if GS1 has breached a material contractual obligation (cardinal obligation). In such cases, liability shall be limited to foreseeable damages that are typical for such contracts.   
  3. This shall be without prejudice to liability for culpable injury to life, limb or health, which shall apply mutatis mutandis to mandatory liability in accordance with product liability legislation. 
  4. Any further liability of GS1 shall be excluded. 
  5. GS1 shall assume no liability for data provided by Customer. 
  6. On first demand, Customer shall indemnify GS1 against all imminent damages (including appropriate legal costs) arising from the enforcement of third-party claims based on the assertion that Customer’s data breach third-party rights or statutory regulations.

X. Term and termination

  1. The Contract shall run until the end of a calendar year and shall be extended by a further year unless Customer gives notice of three months to the end of the contract term. Notice of termination must be made in writing and shall become effective upon receipt by GS1.
  2. With termination of this Contract, Customer undertakes to no longer use the GS1 identification numbers provided by GS1. This shall apply irrespective of the potential granting of appropriate use-by periods for materials. Individual GS1 identification numbers may be returned at any time with written notification to GS1 and without the need for termination of the agreement as a whole.
  3. GS1 may only terminate the Contract for cause, especially but not restricted to the non-payment of fees despite formal warning, the non-compliant application of GS1 identification numbers, a threat to the functioning of the GS1 system or any other serious breach of these Terms and Conditions.

XI. Force majeure

  1. GS1 shall be released from its obligation to execute this Contract if the non-performance of services is due to the occurrence of force majeure after conclusion of the Contract.  
  2. Such force majeure shall include, for example, war, strikes, unrest, expropriations, substantial changes in law, storms, floods, pandemics and other natural catastrophes as well as any other circumstances for which Provider shall not be held responsible.

XII. Place of jurisdiction and place of performance

The place of jurisdiction and place of performance will be the registered office of GS1 Germany. German law shall apply with the exclusion of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods.

Cologne, May 2024