General Terms And Conditions
Last updated: April 19th 2023
1. General
Scope
These General Terms and Conditions (hereinafter referred to as “GTC”) apply to the use of the online study platforms
www.hermetic-academy.com,
member.hermetic-academy.com,
www.hermetik-akademie.org (hereinafter referred to as “Hermetic World”),
as well as for all contracts concluded via these websites between Hermetic World LTD, Limnaria 1, Westpark Village, Shop 20, 8042 Paphos, Cyprus (hereinafter referred to as “we”, “us”, “Academy” or “Hermetic Academy”) and you as our user (hereinafter referred to as “user”). Insofar as we only use the male form for reasons of easy legibility, we naturally include the female form of expression, as well.
These General Terms and Conditions shall apply to all business relations between us and the user in the version valid at the time of conclusion of the respective contract.
Should users wish to use conflicting general terms and conditions or additions, these are hereby expressly rejected.
2. Conclusion of the Contract
Ordering subscriptions or products from our online study platforms constitutes a contract of sale. If the user places an order (offer) via our online platform, an e-mail is sent to the user (acceptance) confirming receipt of the order by us, if we wish to accept the conclusion of the contract. Only with this, our order confirmation, the conclusion of the contract takes place.
After the financial institution remits payment in full, the user receives an e-mail confirming the receipt of payment.
The electronic activation of the online study platform will then take place, but may take several days.
Invoices will be sent electronically in PDF format to the e-mail address last provided by the user.
3. Service Description
General
We make an online study platform, over various web pages, for the support of the personal philosophical and spiritual development in the way of the self study and the self practice, available to adult, contractually capable and mentally healthy users over different web pages. The online study platform includes teaching content such as texts, videos and audio as well as instructions for spiritual and meditative exercises. The contents are sequentially released to users according to their study progress and are available via subscriptions. The basic prerequisite for the activation of content or the sequential activation of content is an active and paid basic subscription of a user as well as measurable progress in the development of the user.
The entitlement to participate in certain courses or subscriptions presupposes the existence of any specified qualifications, previous performance and minimum duration of studies as well as corresponding progress in studies. We have sole discretion to determine whether these requirements are met.
Service Provision
We are entitled to have the contract or parts of the contract performed by third parties. We only owe the provision and availability of carefully selected and prepared teaching content on philosophical, ideological, religious and spiritual topics, but provide no guarantee of success.
Service Interruptions
We shall not be responsible for disruptions or delays in the performance of services due to force majeure and due to extraordinary and unforeseeable events which cannot be prevented by us even by exercising due care. The user authorizes us to postpone the service for the duration of the obstructive event. Technical problems that cannot be controlled by us and thus cannot be foreseen by us, such as a failure or slowing down of the Internet or telecommunications and their consequences, release us from the obligation to fulfil our contractual obligation to provide services for as long as these events continue.
Right of withdraw
al If the online study platforms are not available for a longer period of time (more than 14 days of continuous total unavailability), both we and the user may withdraw from the contract. We undertake to inform the user of the unavailability and to refund any compensatory measures already paid.
Users who are fall under the definition of consumer according to the Consumer Protection Act may withdraw from the distance contract within 14 days of activation of access to the online study platform without stating reasons by means of an informal, but reception-needy declaration.
Service Period, Suspension and Extraordinary Notice of Termination
Unless expressly agreed otherwise, we shall commence service provision after conclusion of the contract within a few days of confirmed receipt of payment. We keep our services available until either we or the user cancels the subscription or a payment default has been established.
In the event of non-payment, we are initially entitled to temporarily block access until payment has been received. In the event of a qualified default in payment despite a reminder and the setting of a grace period, we may unilaterally terminate the contractual relationship with immediate effect.
After termination of the contract, access will be finally suspended by us. The contents, including the already consumed and paid lessons, are no longer available during a suspension.
Right of Retention
Users shall only be entitled to assert a right of retention for counterclaims which are due and based on the same legal relationship as their obligation.
Contract Cancellation
The contract may be terminated by either party with immediate effect on the last day of each month.
4. Responsibility of the User
Essential conditions of use on the part of subscribers
Self-study on our online study platforms that users be of legal age, posses full legal capacity and good mental health, as well as the assumption of personal responsibility by the user. We cannot check certain factors that are decisive for the safe handling of our teaching content due to a lack of direct personal knowledge of the user. However, we expressly advise against using our teaching content under the influence of alcohol, drugs, psychotropic drugs, mental illness or mental instability, and warn against negative consequences for the mental health of the user. Should we become aware of these or similar factors, we are entitled to suspend the user and/or withdraw from the contract. Users who have doubts about their suitability for studying via our platforms are requested to obtain professional advice in advance (e.g. doctor, psychologist).
General
The user is solely responsible for the content and correctness of the data and information transmitted to us. They must not violate any applicable laws or these General Terms and Conditions. The user also undertakes not to transmit any data whose contents infringe upon the rights of third parties (e.g. personal rights, name rights, trademark rights, copyrights, etc.). In particular, contributions with criminal content or false information may not be published.
Indemnity
The user shall indemnify and hold us harmless against all claims asserted against us by third parties due to violations of the user’s obligations.
Obligation to Cooperate
The user is obliged to provide the necessary co-operation services so that we can perform the contractual service.
Profil Data
In particular, the user is obligated to keep the content and profile details posted by him up to date at all times and to inform us immediately of any misuse of his profile.
Any correspondence from us to the user will be sent to the user’s current e-mail address listed in the user profile.
Special Note
We do not guarantee any success whatsoever resulting from the execution of the contract in the sense of e.g. an actual improvement in the quality of life or an e.g. financial or spiritual enlightenment or the like. We are also not liable for the improper use and/or application of the recommendations contained in our services or in the content provided. The legally responsible and healthy user must inform himself in advance whether and to what extent our suggestions for action are suitable for him and whether these entail further risks for him. We merely make our content and products available to users. The proper understanding, correct handling and individual implementation is the sole responsibility of the user.
5. Digital Products
The products offered for sale or subscription on our websites are digital. These digital products may not be reproduced, modified, distributed, disassembled, decompiled, adapted, translated, made available to third parties in any way or combined with other digital products without our express written consent.
The user shall be liable for misuse and shall indemnify and hold us harmless in any and all claims asserted against us by third parties due to violations of the user’s obligations.
6. Prices
The respective price is determined at the moment of purchase. All prices are quoted in USD and include sales tax. We reserve the right to change prices. A notification of price increase will be provided on pur part, which entitles the user the option for immediate termination of the contract.
The total fee to be paid by the user is due in each case before the provision of our service.
7. Terms of Payment
The user has the following payment options:
- Payment via PayPal
- Payment by credit card
We reserve the right to exclude or add certain payment methods.
The payments are not processed by ourselves but by third party payment providers commissioned by us. The respective data protection declarations of the payment provider concerned therefore apply in this case with regard to data protection.
If the user buys a course of study or orders a subscription via one of our order forms, then he also grants us or the payment provider a direct debit authorisation. In this case, this direct debit authorisation applies to the payment method used in each case.
In the case of a declaration of revocation of contract by the customer, or in the case of a reversal of the contract for other reasons, we will refund the purchase price already paid. For this refund we use the same means of payment that was used in the original transaction.
8. Copyright and Right of Use
Copyrights
The contents as well as the structure of the products and services offered by us and the related texts, videos, audios and files including all authorized copies, are our intellectual property or we are properly licensed from a third party.
Any use extending beyond online study requires the express written consent of the author or authorised user. In particular, the texts, videos, audio content and files may not be passed on to third parties without such consent, nor may they be copied, converted, made publicly accessible, duplicated or stored on data carriers or other media. User are responsible for taking all requisite measures for protecting their login data (e-mail address/password) according to the currently available technology and not to pass them on to third parties.
9. Availability of Services
We endeavour to adapt our services to current technical developments. We therefore reserve the right to make changes to the agreed services, insofar as such changes do not impair the core services and are reasonable for the user, taking the interests of the user into account. We are also entitled to interrupt the operation of the website partially or completely within a reasonable timeframe for updating and maintenance purposes. Furthermore, we do not guarantee the availability of the services offered at all times and do not guarantee that the services offered or parts thereof will be made available and can be used from any location.
The use of the website or our services requires compatible devices. It is your responsibility to procure or maintain the device in a condition that enables you to use our services.
10. Liability
Disclaimer and Limitation of Liability
Our liability is – insofar as this is not contrary to statutory regulations and with the exception of damage to the body or person – limited to intentional or grossly negligent acts or omissions.
We assume no liability for the websites of third parties to which reference is made by hyperlinks.
The responsibility for data and content that the user stores, publishes, uses or transmits using our services lies exclusively with the user himself.
Improper Use and Application
We are not liable for the improper use and/or implementation of the recommendations contained in our services or in the courses or online studies. Users must inform themselves in advance in a suitable manner (e.g. by consulting a physician if there is a corresponding clinical indication) whether our recommendations for action are suitable for them. The remaining liability clauses are not affected by this.
11. Final Provisions
Place of Jurisdiktion
The exclusive place of jurisdiction for all legal disputes arising from this contract shall – to the extent permitted by law – be the competent court for our registered office in 3030 Limassol, Cyprus.
Choice of Law
For this contractual relationship, Cypriot law shall apply exclusively to its jurisdictional norms, unless mandatory statutory provisions contradict this. The applicability of the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods shall be excluded by mutual agreement in all cases.
The user is not entitled to assign claims from the contractual relationship to third parties without our consent.
Severability Clause
The invalidity, ineffectiveness or unenforceability of individual provisions of these General Terms and Conditions shall not affect the existence and validity, effectiveness and enforceability of the other General Terms and Conditions. In this case, the invalid, ineffective or unenforceable provision in question will be reinterpreted according to the nature and purpose of the contract into a valid, effective and enforceable provision.