General conditions
DISCLAIMER This English-language version of the General Terms
and Conditions is intended to serve only an informative purpose.
The only legally binding General Terms and Conditions are those in
the original Dutch, which can be found on your purchase order and
invoice, as well as at algemenevoorwaarden.
Article 1. Applicability
These General Terms and Conditions apply to Schrijf.be, a trading
name of Copy & Content BVBA. They take precedence over those of the
client and, apart from in specific, well-described circumstances, the
client waives his or her own general terms and conditions.
Article 2. Signed quote
To avoid any possible disputes, work shall only start after Schrijf.be
receives, by fax or by letter, a copy of the purchase order — as issued
by Schrijf.be as part of its quote — signed by the client.
All prices are exclusive of VAT. All offers and quotes, in whatever
form, are non-binding, unless otherwise expressly agreed. Offers or
quotes are not automatically valid for future assignments. Where a
price has been quoted for an assignment, there is no obligation on the
part of Schrijf.be to deliver a part of the quoted assignment at a
partial price that is in direct proportion with the price quoted for the
total assignment.
Article 3. Quality guarantee
Three copywriters shall process each text: the copywriter assigned to
the project, the quality control manager who checks whether the text is
satisfactory in terms of its content and the editor who performs a
linguistic check.
Article 4. One round of revision/correction
The client is entitled to request a round of revision and/or correction
for each text. Any additional corrections are seen as authorial
corrections and are charged as such, in line with the quoted hourly
rate. The following are also considered authorial corrections: any
fundamental changes to content and style with respect to the original
briefing, unless otherwise expressly agreed in the quote.
Article 5. Transfer of intellectual property rights
Schrijf.be remains the rightful holder of the intellectual property rights
for all supplied texts until the invoice issued to the client by Schrijf.be
has been paid in full. As soon as this payment has been made, the full
and unconditional intellectual property rights of the supplied product
shall be transferred by Schrijf.be to the client. No further
compensation is required to be paid by the client in the event of
future reuse of the supplied product, nor in the event of reuse by third
parties, whether in the same medium or in other media.
Article 6. Mutual confidentiality
Schrijf.be undertakes to maintain the confidentiality of the client
towards third parties, with respect to all information and data of which
cognizance has been taken during the performance of the work.
Schrijf.be shall take all possible precautions to protect the interests of
the client. The client shall not communicate with third parties, nor
make available any report, with respect to the approach, working
methods or quote of Schrijf.be, without the express permission of
Schrijf.be.
Article 7. Indemnification by the client
It is the duty of the client to check the supplied texts and services for
any errors or inaccuracies, and the client accepts the accountability
arising from this duty. The client indemnifies Schrijf.be of any
accountability, including claims of third parties with respect to
intellectual property rights relating to the materials or details provided
by the client and used in the performance of the agreement, including
any damage arising from this.
Article 8. Invoicing
Schrijf.be issues invoices upon delivery to the client of the final
version of the text. In the event that the round of corrections,
mentioned in Article 4, is delayed for longer than 15 days due to the
fault of the client, Schrijf.be is entitled to invoice the full amount
before the corrections take place. For assignments lasting more than
30 days, Schrijf.be is entitled to issue a monthly invoice for the
services rendered. Schrijf.be is entitled to issue a separate invoice for
each partial delivery (delivery of parts of a complete assignment).
Article 9. Complaints within 8 days
Each invoice is seen as being accepted by the client if, within a period
of eight days after issue of the invoice by Schrijf.be, no written
protest has been returned to Schrijf.be by the client by means of a
registered letter. Complaints are only accepted insofar as the services
or products supplied by Schrijf.be have not been used, processed,
edited or otherwise disposed of by the client.
Article 10. Payment within 15 days
All invoices are required to be paid within 15 days of the invoice date
and this without the deduction of any discount/reduction.
Article 11. Compensation and default interest
Any late payment or non-payment shall be considered a contractual
infringement under Art. 1147 of the Belgian Civil Code. In such an
event, the invoiced amount payable shall be increased without further
summons or notice of default by a fixed rate of compensation of 12%
with a minimum increase of €150. Furthermore, default interest shall
be charged at a rate of an additional 1% with each passing month.
Incomplete months shall be included in the calculation as complete
months. Compensation and interest shall be payable irrespective of
any legal interest and costs.
Article 12. Changes to the assignment
The client accepts that the scheduling of the assignment may be
influenced in the event that, in the intervening period, parties develop
or make changes to the approach, working methods or scope of the
assignment and/or the activities arising therefrom. In the event that
this should lead to the requirement of additional work, this shall be
confirmed with the client as a supplementary assignment. Should the
parties agree to a phased implementation, Schrijf.be is entitled to
suspend the completion of the parts of subsequent phases until the
client has approved the prior phase in writing.
Article 13. Client neglect
Should the progress of the implementation or the supply of the work
be delayed by the neglect of the client or by force majeure on the side
of the client, Schrijf.be may charge the full agreed amount. This
includes but is not limited to: the costs already incurred of the
materials for the present assignment and this notwithstanding
Schrijf.be's right to claim further costs, damages and interest.
Article 14. Court of Mechelen
The present agreement in its entirety is governed by Belgian law. Any
disputes are to be settled under the authority of the courts of
Mechelen.
Unchanged and in effect since 1 June 2008