MEMBERSHIP TERMS M&A COMMUNITY BELGIUM BV
A privacy statement provides information about how we handle your data during our events.
Article 1. Definitions
1.1. In these general terms and conditions, the following terms with initial capital letters are used, both in singular and plural. These terms shall mean:
Membership: the agreement between Member and M&A Community, pursuant to which Member obtains access for a certain period against payment to one or more Platform(s) and
Event(s) of M&A Community and the Content available thereon, as described in the agreement;
Member: a natural person or legal entity that subscribes to a membership with M&A Community;
Membership Terms: these general terms and conditions; Content: all material published by M&A Community, or a third party on behalf of M&A Community, on a Platform or Event, including – but not limited to – news articles, articles, backgrounds, photos, games, videos, and other materials;
Intellectual Property Rights: all intellectual property rights, such as copyrights, trademark rights, patent rights, design rights, trade name rights, database rights, neighboring rights, as well as domain names and know-how;
Party(ies): M&A Community and/or Member;
Platform: a website operated by M&A Community where a Member can access content in accordance with a Membership;
M&A Community: M&A Community Belgium BV, located at Lange Nieuwstraat 29e, 2000 Antwerpen, registered with the Chamber of Commerce under number 1005.057.283 or an affiliated company concluding a Membership with a Member – as indicated in the Membership.
Article 2. General
2.1. These Membership Terms apply to all offers made by M&A Community and every Membership it concludes with a Member. Deviations from and additions to the Membership Terms are only valid if agreed upon in writing by the Parties.
2.2. The specific terms of use of that Platform also apply to the use of a Platform. These terms are presented to the Member when requesting access to the Platform for the first time.
2.3. The general terms and conditions of the Platforms remain applicable to these Membership Terms. In case of contradiction between the general terms and conditions of the Platforms and these Subscription Terms, these Subscription Terms shall prevail.
2.4. M&A Community is entitled to amend these Membership Terms. Substantive changes shall take effect one (1) month after publication.
2.5. Offers and other proposals by M&A Community are non-binding and should be considered as an invitation to make an offer to enter into a Membership, unless otherwise indicated in writing by M&A Community. If a Member makes a request for a Membership in accordance with an offer from M&A Community, M&A Community is free to refuse that request without stating reasons.
2.6. A Membership is concluded at the moment M&A Community confirms the content and conditions of the Membership in writing or electronically, or when the execution of the Membership begins.
Article 3. Platforms
3.1. During the term of the Membership, M&A Community shall use its best efforts to grant Member access to the Platform(s) taken as part of the Membership. Member understands and accepts that the Platforms are made available on a 'as is' basis and that Member cannot rely on guarantees regarding the availability, accessibility, and/or proper operation of a Platform.
3.2. M&A Community is free to determine functionality, design, and content – including the available Content – at its own discretion.
3.3. M&A Community may, without prior notice and without being liable to Member, modify (the content of) a Platform and perform maintenance on the Platform without prior notice. M&A Community is not liable for any damage suffered by a Member if the Platform is not available or partially available due to the exercise of a right as stated in this article.
3.4. With login credentials, Member can access a Platform and the available Content thereon. Unless otherwise specified, login credentials are strictly personal: Member may not share them with a third party without M&A Community' permission. Member is responsible for keeping his login credentials confidential and is fully responsible for all use made with his login credentials of a Platform. If Member is a professional party, the specified number of employees may also be granted access to a Platform as part of a Membership. This will be done in a manner determined by M&A Community.
3.5. On a Platform, M&A Community may offer Content consisting of games. Additional terms and conditions may apply to the use of these games. Member guarantees that they will act in accordance with these additional terms and conditions.
3.6. Member is responsible for the peripheral equipment and internet connection necessary to use a Platform.
Article 4. Intellectual Property Rights
4.1. The Intellectual Property Rights vested in the Magazines, Platforms, and Content, as well as in all other materials provided by M&A Community to Member as part of a Membership, are held by M&A Community and/or its licensors.
4.2. If and to the extent Member is entitled to access a Platform and Content under a Membership, that right is strictly personal. Without permission from M&A Community, Member is not allowed to make the Content public or reproduce it beyond what is permitted in the Membership or these Membership Terms.
4.3. Member is not allowed to remove or modify any indication regarding the confidential nature or regarding copyrights, trademarks, trade names, or any other Intellectual Property Right of M&A Community.
4.4. Any Intellectual Property Rights that are vested in Member before or during the performance of a Membership shall remain vested in Member. In the event that Member places materials on a Platform during the use of which Intellectual Property Rights are vested, such as texts, images, and/or audio fragments, Member grants M&A Community a license to make these materials public and reproduce them to the extent necessary for the performance of the Membership. Member guarantees that the materials they place do not infringe on the Intellectual Property Rights and other rights of a third party and indemnifies M&A Community from all damages and costs, as well as from claims by third parties, arising from or related to the assertion that materials placed by Member infringe Intellectual Property Rights or other rights of this third party.
Article 5. Prices and Payment
5.1. The costs owed by the Member for the concluded Membership will be invoiced periodically by M&A Community and in accordance with the agreed payment terms.
5.2. Unless otherwise agreed in a Membership, the Member shall pay invoices from M&A Community within fourteen (14) days from the date of the invoice. If the Member has authorized M&A Community to automatically debit the due fee, the Member ensures that there are sufficient funds available at the time of collection to fulfill the payment obligation.
5.3. M&A Community is entitled to change the rates for the Membership, including (but not limited to) based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the previous year.
5.4. If the Member does not pay the amounts due on time, the Member, without any reminder or notice of default being required, shall owe statutory interest on the outstanding amount - or, if the Member is a professional party, commercial interest - If the Member remains negligent in paying the claim after notice of default, M&A Community may assign the claim to a debt collection agency. In such a case, the Member - if the Member is a professional party - shall, in addition to the total amount then due, also be liable for compensation for all judicial and extrajudicial costs with a minimum amount of € 40.
5.5. M&A Community is entitled to suspend its services, including providing access to an Event or Platform, if the Member does not meet its payment obligations on time.
5.6. If the Member objects to the content of an invoice, the Member must report this to M&A Community within 14 days; failing which, the Member shall be deemed to have waived its right to complain.
5.7. Complaints regarding access to a Platform do not entitle the Member to suspend payment of the amount due for a Membership in whole or in part.
Article 6. Force Majeure
6.1. There is no attributable failure in the performance of a Membership by the Parties if force majeure occurs.
6.2. Force majeure includes, among other things, interruptions in the supply of electricity, strikes, riots, government measures, fire, natural disasters, floods, failures of a Party's suppliers, failures of third parties engaged by a Party, including a delivery service provider, disruptions in internet connection, hardware malfunctions, disruptions in (telecommunication) networks, and other unforeseen circumstances.
6.3. If a force majeure situation lasts at least thirty (30) days, the Parties are entitled to terminate the Membership, without being obliged to compensate for any damage, reversal or compensation in respect of such termination.
6.4. If M&A Community is still able to partially perform its obligations under a force majeure situation, then M&A Community is entitled to perform this obligation and invoice separately, as if it were a separate agreement.
Article 7. Liability
7.1. The liability of M&A Community for an attributable failure in the performance of its obligations and/or on account of tort is limited to compensation for direct damage suffered by the Member, up to a maximum of the amount of the last invoice sent by M&A Community to the Member.
7.2. Direct damage within the meaning of Article 9.1 shall exclusively mean:
a) reasonable costs that the Member would have to incur to ensure that a performance of M&A Community complies with the content of the Membership; however, this substitute damage is not compensated if the Membership is terminated by or at the request of the Member;
b) reasonable costs incurred to determine the cause and extent of the damage, insofar as the determination relates to direct damage within the meaning of these Membership Terms and Conditions;
c) reasonable costs incurred to prevent or limit damage, insofar as the Member demonstrates that these costs have led to limitation of direct damage within the meaning of these Membership Terms and Conditions.
7.3. Any liability of M&A Community for other than direct damage ("indirect damage"), including - but not limited to - consequential damage, loss and/or damage of data, loss of profit, and loss of revenue, is excluded.
7.4. A condition for the emergence of any right to compensation is that the Member reports the damage to M&A Community in writing as soon as possible after its occurrence. Any claim for compensation against M&A Community shall expire by the mere expiry of twelve (12) months after the claim arose.
Article 8. Privacy
8.1. In performing the Membership, M&A Community will process personal data of the Member. M&A Community will always do this in accordance with applicable laws and regulations (in particular the GDPR) and the applicable privacy statement of M&A Community, which the Member will receive in a timely manner.
Article 9. Duration and Termination
General
9.1. The Membership is entered into for the period stated in the Membership. If no specific duration is stated, the initial term of the Membership is one year, and the Membership will be tacitly renewed for periods of one year. The Member can terminate the Membership during the initial term in writing, by telephone, or by email, at the end of the current term, with one month's notice.
9.2. If a Membership is concluded for a trial period, the Membership ends automatically after this trial period. An extension of the trial subscription is considered a new Membership.
9.3. If a Membership is changed by the Member, this constitutes a new Membership, which is entered into for a new initial term.
9.4. Both Parties may terminate a Membership with immediate effect, without a notice period and without the terminating Party owing compensation to the other Party, in the following cases:
a. if a Party materially breaches an obligation of the Membership, and that Party does not remedy that breach within the period specified by the other Party in the written notice of default sent to the defaulting Party, which notice describes the breach as accurately as possible;
b. in the event that a Party applies for suspension of payments, winding-up of the business, a Party is declared bankrupt, a Party is declared in liquidation, or a trustee is appointed over the assets of a Party or any part thereof.
9.5. If, at any time, at such termination referred to above, performances have already been received by the Member in the context of the execution of the Membership, these performances and the related payment obligation of the Member shall not be subject to any undoing obligation. Amounts invoiced by M&A Community prior to the termination for the services properly performed or delivered by it in the context of the execution of the Membership shall remain fully due and payable and shall become immediately due and payable upon termination.
9.6. Upon termination of the Membership, for whatever reason, the Member's right to access the Events and Platforms and to use the Content ceases immediately. If and to the extent that the Member has possession of Content at the time of termination of the Membership, the Member shall immediately and permanently delete or destroy it.
9.7. Provisions aimed at surviving termination of the Membership shall continue to apply even after termination, including but not limited to the following Articles: Article 1, Article 6.4, Article 7, Article 9, Article 11, and Article 12.
Specific provisions for professional members:
9.8. A membership for a specified period automatically renews for the same duration as the initial term, under the same conditions. After the renewal of the membership, the member may terminate the membership at the end of the current contractual term, with a notice period of one month.
9.9. M&A Community reserves the right to terminate a membership at any time, with a notice period of one month.
Specific provisions for consumer members:
9.10. If a membership with a consumer member is concluded remotely (see art. 7:46a BW), the consumer member is entitled to terminate the membership within 14 days from the day of concluding the membership, without providing any reasons. The consumer member can contact the customer service of M&A Community for this purpose. This right of withdrawal does not apply if M&A Community has begun providing access to the platform with the express consent of the consumer member before the expiry of the 14-day period.
9.11. A membership for a specified period automatically renews for the same duration as the initial term, under the same conditions. After the initial renewal of the membership, the consumer member may terminate the membership monthly, at the end of the following month.
Article 10. Applicable law/disputes:
10.1. These Membership Terms and Memberships are exclusively governed by Belgian law. Any disputes arising from or related to these Membership Terms and/or a Membership shall be exclusively submitted to the competent court in Kortrijk.
