Terms of Service

I. Scope of Application, Contracting Parties

1.   These General Terms and Conditions (hereinafter the “GTC”) apply to all contracts for the provision of certification and assessment services in connection with the award of the “TET – Trusted Euro Technology” quality seal (hereinafter the “TET Seal”), as well as to any other related advisory and ancillary services of Trusted E-Technology GmbH, Favoritenstraße 60/1/5, 1040 Vienna, Austria (hereinafter “TET”).

2.   These GTC form an essential part of every contract concluded with TET, unless expressly agreed otherwise in writing in an individual case. They also apply to future business relationships with the same customer without requiring renewed express incorporation.

3.   Deviating, conflicting, or supplementary terms and conditions of the customer shall not become part of the contract unless TET expressly consents to their application in writing. This shall also apply if TET renders the service without reservation while aware of such terms.

4.   “Customer” within the meaning of these GTC means exclusively the entrepreneur (Unternehmer) who applies to TET for a TET Seal or makes use of other services provided by TET. These GTC are not directed at consumers.

II. Subject Matter of the Contract, Criteria Catalogue

1.   TET provides certification services on the basis of the “TET – Trusted Euro Technology” criteria catalogue published by TET, in the version applicable at the time the application is filed (hereinafter the “Criteria Catalogue”). The Criteria Catalogue is divided into Module 1 (European Ownership), Module 2 (European Sovereignty), Module 3 (Built in Europe), Module 4 (Operated in Europe), and Module 5 (Full Sovereignty), and is made available on TET’s website in its respective current version.

2.   The subject matter of the respective individual contract is the assessment of whether the product or service registered by the customer for certification meets the requirements of the module or combination of modules selected by the customer, and, in the event of a positive assessment result, the award of the corresponding TET Seal.

3.   TET is obligated to render the services specified in more detail in the respective individual contract and/or order confirmation. A particular outcome – in particular the award of a TET Seal or the successful completion of certification – is not owed.

4.   TET is entitled to further develop the Criteria Catalogue with effect for the future. For TET Seals already awarded, the version of the Criteria Catalogue in force at the time of the award shall remain applicable until the next regular re-certification, unless mandatory legal or security-related reasons require earlier adjustment.

III. Application Procedure, Conclusion of Contract, Automation

1.   Registration for certification takes place via the online portal provided by TET on TET’s website. In doing so, the customer selects the desired module or combination of modules and provides the information, self-disclosures, and evidence required for the assessment electronically.

2.   The contract for the certification service is concluded upon TET’s electronic order confirmation or upon actual commencement of the assessment service, whichever occurs first.

3.   For Module 1 (European Ownership), the assessment of the submitted information and evidence, as well as the award of the TET Seal, is carried out entirely on an automated basis using the information provided by the customer; TET reserves the right to conduct random checks and plausibility reviews.

4.   For Modules 2 to 5, the assessment is automated to the extent technically possible for the respective criterion; otherwise, a manual assessment is conducted by auditors commissioned by TET or by expert third parties (see Section IV.4).

5.   The customer may request a manual review by TET within 14 days of being notified of an automatically generated assessment result. Section XI remains unaffected.

IV. Conduct of the Assessment, Customer’s Duties to Cooperate

1.   TET treats the information, documents, and evidence submitted by the customer as complete and accurate. A review is carried out only in the case of obvious inaccuracies or within the scope of random checks provided for under the contract.

2.   The customer is obligated to provide TET, completely, accurately, and in a timely manner, with all information, documents, and evidence required for the assessment, and to inform TET without delay of any circumstances that may affect compliance with the certification requirements during the validity period of the TET Seal.

3.   If the customer breaches its duties to cooperate, TET is entitled to suspend the assessment or to decide on the basis of the most recently available information.

4.   TET may engage expert third parties, in particular external auditors, to fulfil its obligations.

5.        Where the assessment service is provided in written or electronic form (assessment report, certification decision), only these documents are binding. Verbal or otherwise informally given information from TET staff outside the scope of the engagement is non-binding.

V. Award, Validity Period, and Withdrawal of the TET Seal

1.   The TET Seal is awarded for the specific product or service assessed, in the version existing at the time of certification.

2.   Unless otherwise agreed in the individual contract, the TET Seal is valid for a period of 12 months from the date of award, or for another period agreed in the contract of up to a maximum of 3 years. Before this period expires, the customer may apply for re-certification.

3.   TET is entitled to revoke an awarded TET Seal with effect for the future if it subsequently becomes known that the requirements for the award were not, or are no longer, met – in particular in the event of incorrect information provided by the customer, material changes to the certified product, or a breach of these GTC. Before revocation, the customer will be given the opportunity to comment, insofar as the circumstances of the individual case permit.

4.   Upon expiry of the validity period, upon revocation, or upon termination of the underlying contract, the customer’s right to use the TET Seal shall lapse; Section VIII remains unaffected.

VI. Use of the TET Seal; References; Seal Register

1.   For the duration of the validity of the TET Seal, TET grants the customer a simple, non-transferable, and non-sublicensable right to use the TET Seal for the certified product in accordance with the usage guidelines published by TET.

2.   TET is entitled to reference the customer’s name and logo, as well as the fact and scope of the certification, in TET’s own promotional activities (e.g., on its website, in sales materials, reference lists, PR activities, and other presentations), unless the parties have agreed otherwise.

3.   TET maintains a publicly accessible register of awarded, suspended, and revoked TET Seals on its website (the “Seal Register”). The customer consents to being included in this register with respect to name, product, module, and validity period. TET is not obligated to list an awarded seal in the Seal Register.

4.   TET regularly informs customers by e-mail about current developments in the field of digital sovereignty as well as about TET’s services. Customers may object to this at any time without observing any particular form.

VII. Dates, Deadlines

1.   Unless expressly confirmed in writing, dates specified by TET are non-binding and represent only an approximate processing period.

2.   If a service confirmed in writing is delayed beyond the confirmed period, any rights arising therefrom may only be asserted after a written deadline of at least two weeks has been set, together with a warning that performance will be refused thereafter.

VIII. Copyright and Trademark Rights, Ownership

1.   The Criteria Catalogue, the Assessment Catalogue (Prüfkatalog), all assessment reports, templates, and the TET Seal (word/figurative mark) are works or signs of TET protected under copyright law and/or trademark law.

2.   Use of these works and signs by the customer is permitted exclusively within the scope of the purpose of the contract and in accordance with Section VI. Any use, adaptation, reproduction, or disclosure to third parties going beyond this requires TET’s prior written consent.

3.   Assessment reports and other documents prepared in the course of certification may be used by the customer only for its own purposes and only in unaltered form, unless TET expressly consents to a different use.

IX. Confidentiality

1.   TET undertakes to treat as confidential all business and trade secrets of the customer that become known in the course of the cooperation, and to use them only for the purpose of the contract.

2.   This obligation does not apply to information that is or becomes publicly known through no breach of this agreement, nor to the publication in the Seal Register governed by Section VI.3.

3.   TET is entitled to impose equivalent confidentiality obligations on expert third parties engaged to fulfil its obligations.

X. Remuneration and Payment Terms

1.   The prices published by TET at the time the application is filed, or individually quoted prices, shall apply, in each case plus statutory value added tax.

2.   Upon application for a TET Seal, a down payment of 35% of the agreed fee becomes due; the down payment is payable immediately upon invoicing.

3.   The amount, due date, and any instalment structure of further payments shall be determined by the type of seal applied for (module or combination of modules) in accordance with the price list applicable at the time the application is filed, or TET’s individual quotation. For seals awarded on an automated basis (Module 1), the entire fee becomes due upon conclusion of the contract; for seals whose assessment includes manual assessment steps, billing according to project progress or assessment stages may be agreed.

4.   Unless otherwise agreed, invoices are payable in full within 14 days of the invoice date without any deduction. Upon expiry of this period, the customer shall be in default without further reminder; the statutory consequences of default shall apply.

5.   If a certification is not completed for reasons attributable to the customer (e.g., failure to fulfil the duties to cooperate, or withdrawal of the application), TET’s claim to remuneration that has already become due, in particular the down payment under Section X.2, shall remain unaffected.

6.   Set-off against counterclaims and the assertion of a right of retention by the customer are permitted only if the counterclaim has been acknowledged by TET or established by a final and binding court decision.

XI. Liability

1.   TET is liable without limitation for intent (Vorsatz) and gross negligence, as well as under the mandatory provisions of the Austrian Product Liability Act (Produkthaftungsgesetz).

2.   For slight negligence, TET is liable only for breach of material contractual obligations (wesentliche Vertragspflichten), i.e. obligations the fulfilment of which is essential to the proper performance of the certification and on whose observance the customer may regularly rely; in this case, liability is limited in amount to the remuneration agreed for the respective individual order.

3.   The customer acknowledges that the award of a TET Seal reflects TET’s professionally founded assessment on the basis of the Criteria Catalogue and the information submitted by the customer. This does not constitute any assurance that a court, supervisory authority, or comparable institution dealing with the same question would reach the same result. TET is not liable for the certification being recognised in any particular manner by third parties (e.g., the customer’s own customers, authorities, or courts).

4.   To the extent permitted by law, claims for damages against TET shall become time-barred within two years of knowledge of the damage and of the party causing it, but in any case no later than three years after the event giving rise to the damage.

XII. Contract Term, Termination

1.   The term of the respective individual contract results from the individual contract or the order confirmation, as well as from the validity period of the respective TET Seal pursuant to Section V.2.

2.   Any termination must be made in writing (e-mail suffices).

3.   The right of either party to terminate for good cause (aus wichtigem Grund) without notice remains unaffected.

XIII. Final Provisions

1.   Austrian law applies, to the exclusion of its conflict-of-laws rules and to the exclusion of the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG).

2.   The exclusive place of jurisdiction for all disputes arising out of or in connection with a contract concluded under these GTC shall be the court having subject-matter jurisdiction in Vienna, provided the customer is an entrepreneur (Unternehmer) within the meaning of Section 1 of the Austrian Consumer Protection Act (KSchG), a legal entity under public law, or a special fund under public law.

3.   The invalidity of individual provisions of these GTC shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions. An invalid provision shall be replaced by a provision that comes as close as legally possible to the economic purpose of the invalid provision.

4.   Amendments and supplements to these GTC must be made in writing; this also applies to any waiver of this written form requirement.

Legal contact

Operator

Trusted E-Technology GmbH

Address

Favoritenstraße 60/1, 1040 Wien, Austria

Email

info@trusted-euro-technology.eu

Register court

Commercial Court of Vienna

Register number

FN 684866g

VAT ID

ATU83560479