General business conditions (GBC) for use of protegas® services

The male gender used in the GBC also implies the female gender. The use of both forms of gender was dispensed merely with a view to better legibility of the text.

protegas^® offers a physical library (Technical Library in Liechtenstein) and an electronic database (www.protegas.com) for the disclosure of “prior art”. 
A publication in this sense is the publication of descriptions, texts, drawings, sketches, films or the like (hereinafter “description” or “publication”) with the objective that this is deemed to be prior art in the legal sense from the publication date. The content thereof, at any rate the innovation contained therein, is therefore known to the public and is usually not protectable (as, for example, a patent, a utility model or registered design) as a result of the lack of novelty (prior art). Some countries allow exceptions in this respect.
In addition an independent confirmation partner issues the customer a confirmation of the availability of the publication in the technical library or on the online database.

1. Field of application, contractual partners

• protegas^® is represented by the managing director Adrian Gertsch

• VAT No.: 58 307; contact: library(at)protegas.com    

The present GBC between the customer and protegas® as operator of the online database and of the technical library are valid in the version at the time of concluding the contract. 
The content of the GBC also includes information which protegas^® is obliged to communicate in accordance with provisions for consumer protection when concluding contracts in long-distance transactions (distance selling act; FAG).

2. Contract

German and English are available as contractual languages.
When ordering the various services of protegas^®, the customer irrevocably recognises the validity of these general business conditions which are made available to him and confirmed when placing the order. Any conflicting or deviating business conditions of the customer are expressly not recognised. Conditions differing from these GBCs are only part of the contract if a corresponding annex to the GBCs is compiled in writing by protegas^® and the customer. Unless these are in writing and signed by both sides, the GBCs listed here apply exclusively.

3. Expiry and services

Following the personal registration on www.protegas.com, protegas^® platform enables innovations to be deposited in the technical library or published in the online database and enables existing publications to be searched in the database. According to the conditions of use of the technical library, publications can also be inspected on site. The conditions of use can also be inspected on site. An anonymous use of the database or the technical library without registration is only possible to a limited extent.
The company protegas^® guarantees the confidentiality of the customer data entered into the database at all times. The registration on www.protegas.com is made by setting up a user account, hereinafter called “account”. An account is only activated after confirmation of the correctness of the requested data. From this time the creator of the account is a “customer” of the company protegas^®.
The various protegas^® services are subject to fees which and are displayed to the customer in each case. The customer completes the transaction by a credit card payment.

Publication of an Innovation

According to the customer’s requirements, the publication is disclosed electronically in the prepared form and/or in physical form such as in paper, a book, a compendium etc. in the technical library. The publication remains available on the database or in the technical library for five years if not extended or deleted. The customer has the possibility to delete a publication at any time. The customer has the possibility of extending the publication period at any time (see also “deletion and removal of a publication and expiry of the publication time”).
After sending the innovation to be published, the customer is required to electronically confirm the correctness of the content or the additional information which he has entered via the protegas^® database. Neither the protegas^® company nor the independent confirmation partner checks the accuracy or the completeness of the publications, this is solely in the responsibility of the customer. In cases of doubt, protegas^® recommends consulting a patent attorney. The customer incurs the publication fee only after his positive confirmation, ordering and the completition of the payment.

Credit card payment and credit card details are necessary for this procedure.  The company protegas^® relays the payment details to the Schweizerische Post AG (Postfinance) and does not store or process any credit card details.
The company protegas^® guarantees the confidentiality of the contents of an innovation to be published up to the publication date.

Independent confirmation of the availability of the innovation

After publication, an independent confirmation partner confirms that the publication is available on the online database or in the technical library. This confirmation by stamping includes the time and location of the inspected publication.
In the case of publication on the online database, this confirmation is available in the user account of the customer as a copy or in the case of publication in the technical library, it is additionally returned to the customer together with the document as an original hardcopy. 
If the customer desires an original hard copy of the confirmation, this can be ordered by e-mail at library(at)protegas.com. For a fee the customer is then sent a hard copy of the confirmation. 
The company protegas^® ensures that the original of the confirmation, or a certified copy, is available at protegas^® during the publication period. 
If a specific delivery company is not expressly requested by the customer, such confirmations including any publications are sent in physical form by registered letter. The company protegas^®  is only obliged to take out transport insurance if instructed to do so by the customer expressly in writing; the customer pays the fees for taking out such insurance.
If the company protegas^®, at the request of the customer, sends confirmations, disclosed publications or the like in physical form, the risk is carried by the customer as soon as the documents are collected by the relevant delivery company.

Searchability and inspection of publications

All customer’s publications can be inspected when logged on the customer’s user account. Otherwise the disclosed publications can be searched via the search terms.
The use of this protegas^® search is subject to a fee.

Fee based search

After the customer has registered on www.protegas.com or personally on site in the technical library and has paid the search fees according to the requested scope of use, the customer gets access to the technical library or electronic database for searching purposes for the duration of three hours in the technical library and one hour in the electronic database. Here the customer can download existing publications against payment of a download fee or can have them copied on site in the technical library. The respective fees are displayed to the customer.

Additional conditions of use of the technical library

The protegas^® technical library is located in the Büro und Gewerbezentrum (BGZ), Rotenbodenstrasse 12, 9497 Triesenberg, Liechtenstein. The technical library is open every Tuesday and Thursday from 08:30 to 11:30 or by appointment via library(at)protegas.com.

The guidelines for access and use are provided in detail on site. In each case protegas^® requires the submission of photo identity, completion of a visitor form and payment of the appropriate usage fee. If required, copying fees are charged.

Deletion and removal of a publication and expiry of the publication period

The platform protegas^® offers the possibility of deleting a publication before the publication period of five years expires.If a customer deletes his publication an entry giving the publication number and the period of availability in the database and/or in the technical library is shown instead of the publication.
Five years after the publication date, protegas^® can automatically delete the publication.
In the case of deletion or expiry of the publication period, the contract between protegas^® and the customer expires as does any obligation.
The customer can at any time extend the publication period with a payment of an extension fee.

4. Rights to the publication

All rights to the graphical or written content of the publications remain with the customer. However the company protegas^® acquires the copyright to the content of the publications as long as these are in the safekeeping of the company protegas^® (whether this be in the data inventory of the database or the technical library). The company protegas^® is not authorised to pass the copyright on to third parties. Customers who carry out searches must take account of the full copyright of the authors to the searched contents. 
Searched text passages may be used by the searching customer for comparison purposes only. They must not be published. If the customer should have wishes, in relation to the copyright or to the allocation of these rights (utilisation of ideas, public use of the content of a publication), these wishes can be declared to the platform protegas^®. In these cases the company protegas^® will attempt to ask the author and to mediate.

5. Availability and terms

All time frames for the availability of a service, dispatch or delivery of a service given on www.protegas.com and in the publications of the platform protegas^® are merely provisional details and approximate guide values. They do not constitute any binding or guaranteed dispatch or delivery deadlines. 
If the company protegas^® through no fault of its own cannot provide the desired scope of use, the services or the technical library because third party suppliers do not fulfil their contractual obligations, the company protegas^®  is authorised to withdraw this contract with respect to the customer. In this case, the customer will be informed and the fee already payed will be reimbursed.
The Company protegas^® accepts no liability for short-term interruptions or problems with the availability of the database or the library for technical reasons.

6. Reservation of proprietary rights

The company protegas^® reserves the right to the ownership of its database services until the fees incurred have been paid in full. 
During the period of use of the database, the customer must notify the platform protegas^® without delay of any change in ownership of the publications or change of registered office of his own company or address.

7. Liability of the company protegas^®

The Company protegas^® is only liable for damage caused by deliberate or grossly negligent behaviour of the company protegas^®, its employees, legal representatives and vicarious agents or which are based on infringement of principal obligations (cardinal obligations) essential to the contract. Such an obligation which is essential to the contract will always exist if its attainment is only made possible by the correct execution of the contract and when the customer would normally expect to be able to rely on its completion. If the company protegas^®, its employees, legal representatives and  vicarious agents negligently infringe an obligation essential to the contract, liability is restricted to the extent of damage which must typically be expected with its occurrence at conclusion of the contract on the basis of known circumstances at this time. The preceding limitation of liability applies to contractual and non-contractual claims.
The platform protegas^® exclusively collects and discloses publications of third parties and can therefore accept no liability for the respective contents.

8. Data protection

The personal or company-related data which the customer passes on to the platform protegas^®  when creating an account (e.g. name, contact and contact data) are only processed for correspondence with the customer and only for the purpose for which the customer of the platform protegas^® has made the data available. The platform protegas^® only names the requestor of the publication in cases where he also associates the publication with his name. For transaction of payments the platform protegas^® passes on payment data of the customer to the credit institute instructed to handle the payment.
The company protegas^® ensures that personal data is not passed on to third parties in any case unless the company protegas^® is legally obliged to do this or the customer has previously expressly consented to this. If the platform protegas^® uses services of third parties to execute and complete transactional processes, the provisions of the data protection act will be adhered to.

If illegal or immoral actions come to the attention of protegas^®, protegas^® is entitled to pass customer data on to the competent authorities. The customer is also aware that protegas^® might be obliged by courts and competent authorities to hand over customer data.

Further information about our privacy policy can be seen here: Privacy policy

9. Rights of the customer

If the customer no longer agrees to the storage of his personal or company-related data or said data has become incorrect and the platform protegas^® has been informed by the customer, in response to an appropriate instruction within the framework of the legal provisions, the company protegas^® will instigate the deletion, correction or blocking of the said data. If desired, the customer receives free of charge information about all personal data which the platform protegas^® has stored about him and  which is accessible. For questions on the collection, processing or use of personal data, for information, correction, blocking or deletion of data the customer should apply to: 
library(at)protegas.com

10. Applicable law, competent court

The competent court is Vaduz, Liechtenstein, and Liechtenstein law applies unless relevant consumer protection laws for customers specify something else. If the customer is a company, the exclusive competent court for all disputes arising from this contract is the court responsible for the registered official location of protegas^®. 
The customer only has offsetting rights if his counterclaims are legally determined or acknowledged in writing by the company protegas^®. 
If a condition of these general business conditions should be ineffective, this does not affect the effectiveness of the other conditions. The parties undertake to adopt an effective regulation which comes as close as possible to any ineffective condition.