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In these general subscription conditions, the following terms have the following meanings:

• 1.1 Service
  The possibility to obtain access to the Internet via the World Online system, or to make use of the technical facilities offered by World Online for the provision of information, and the use of e-mail or any other facility for the Subscriber, in a way as offered by World Online and agreed by the Subscriber and World Online.
• 1.2 Subscriber
  The natural or juristic person that World Online has agreed a subscription with.
• 1.3 Subscription or Annual Subscription
  The agreements, set out in a subscription form or in any other way, on the basis of which World Online makes the Service available to the Subscriber, and to which these conditions apply.
• 1.4 Access code
  Unique name ("log in") and password of the Subscriber that World Online gives to the Subscriber in order to provide access to the Service.
• 1.5 Software
  The Software provided by World Online to the Subscriber or otherwise provided in the framework of the Service.

• 2.1 All agreements and other relations between World Online and the Subscriber with regard to the Service are subject to these general conditions, unless expressly specified otherwise by World Online or agreed in writing between the parties.
• 2.2 These general conditions take the place of (any) earlier general subscription conditions.
• 2.3 Any general conditions used by the Subscriber are expressly rejected by World Online.
• 2.4 The Subscriber may only invoke a departure to these general conditions if the departure has been agreed in writing.
• 2.5 All offers made by World Online are entirely without obligation. An offer may be revoked by World Online up to one week after receipt of acceptance of the offer.
• 2.6 In all cases when an agreement with the Subscriber ends, these general conditions shall continue to govern the relations between the parties insofar as is necessary for the completion of them.
• 2.7 World Online is entitled to change these general conditions. Such changes shall also apply to agreements already concluded with the Subscriber. Changes shall come into effect 30 days after announcement, or at another point in time stated in the announcement.

• 3.1 A Subscription may be requested by means of:
  • telephone request,
  • subscription form,
  • online registration,
  • retail kit,
  • e-mail, or in any other way specified by World Online.
• 3.2 After requesting the subscription, juristic persons have to send in a copy of the registration(s) with the chamber of commerce to World Online. The request has to be made by a representative of the juristic person authorised to this effect (by the articles of association).
• 3.3 As soon as possible after receiving the subscription request, World Online shall provide the Subscriber with the Access Code, and if desired the user kit, and shall ensure that the Subscriber gets access to the Service.
• 3.4 The Subscription is not transferable and shall commence on the day of the Access Code being provided by World Online.
• 3.5 World Online reserves the right to refuse subscriptions, which the applicant will be informed of at the earliest opportunity.
• 3.6 If the Subscriber wants to change his type of subscription or Access Code, he may submit a written request to World Online. If the request is honoured by World Online, the change will take effect on the day of World Online sending confirmation of this to the Subscriber, or at another point in time specified by World Online.

• 4.1 After the Subscriber has satisfied all conditions for access to the Service, World Online shall grant him access to the Service.
• 4.2 World Online is entitled to make changes in or to the Service without prior notification to the Subscriber.
• 4.3 World Online is entitled to block access to (parts of) the Service and/or (parts of) its system and/or interfaces, whether or not temporarily, or to restrict the use of them, and/or take other measures, if such is necessary in its opinion, without informing the Subscriber of this beforehand.
• 4.4 World Online is entitled to make procedural and technical changes and/or improvements to the Service and/or the Access Code, if it appears to be necessary in its opinion. World Online shall inform the Subscriber of this promptly, if it has a detrimental effect for the Subscriber on the accessibility of the Internet and/or networks connected to it.
• 4.5 World Online is entitled to block access to the home page and/or e-mail account of the Subscriber, or to take other measures with respect to the Subscriber, his home page or his e-mail account, if such is necessary in its opinion. World Online shall inform the Subscriber promptly of such measures.
• 4.6 World Online is entitled to change the Access Code and e-mail address. It shall promptly inform the Subscriber of a change and inform him of the changed Access Code and changed e-mail address.
• 4.7 World Online may not be held liable for any damage or costs for the Subscriber as a result of any of the measures mentioned in this article. Such measures shall not affect the payment obligation of the Subscriber.
• 4.8 The Subscriber has access to the World Online helpdesk.

• 5.1 The usual payments and prices used by World Online shall apply to the agreements and other relations between World Online and the Subscriber, unless the parties have agreed otherwise. Information regarding the applicable prices will be sent by World Online on request to the Subscriber.
• 5.2 If the Subscriber exceeds the number of agreed hours of free use of the Service in a calendar month, World Online shall charge the Subscriber the applicable hourly rate for this. A part of an hour shall be rounded up to the nearest quarter hour.
• 5.3 If the Subscriber does not make full use of the agreed number of free hours of the Service in a calendar month, the claim of the Subscriber on the unused free hours shall lapse at the end of the calendar month concerned. The Subscriber shall not be given any compensation for unused free hours.
• 5.4 A Subscription shall come into effect on the first day of the next month. If a subscription starts during a calendar month, the fixed Subscription costs and the number of agreed hours of free use of the Service, as given in the Subscription, shall be charged pro rata (proportionally).
• 5.5 World Online is entitled to adjust the prices of all it products and services each year in accordance with the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) of the CBS.
• 5.6 World Online is also entitled to unilaterally raise the prices. It shall inform the Subscriber of this in writing, if possible one month before the changes come into effect.
• 5.7 All prices used by World Online are expressed in guilders or euros, excluding VAT for the business Subscriber and including VAT for the private Subscriber.
• 5.8 The payments to be made by the Subscriber are only for the services provided by World Online and do not relate to any telephone costs, costs of cable connections, or other costs for connecting to the World Online system incurred or to be incurred by the Subscriber, or for the transport of information between the World Online system and the Subscriber.
• 5.9 Registration costs may be attached to the subscription request depending on the subscription type and the ongoing actions.

• 6.1 The amounts due by the Subscriber to World Online shall be paid by direct debit from the bank or giro account of the Subscriber, unless agreed otherwise in writing. The Subscriber authorises World Online to make such direct debits and is required within 7 days of concluding an agreement, or after the first request of World Online, to provide all correct and complete data to World Online needed for this purpose. If the authorisation card has not been received within the said period, World Online shall be entitled to disconnect the Subscriber without further notice.
• 6.2 If the Subscriber has not paid promptly (through the direct debit), World Online shall grant him a further period for payment. If payment is not made within this period, then the Subscriber shall be in default, without a default notice being required, and he shall owe the legal rate of interest and a penalty of NLG 25 per day that he remains in default. Payment has to be made by the Subscriber without him being able to invoke stoppages, discounts or offsetting amounts.
• 6.3 If the Subscriber is in default, or fails in another way to observe one or more of the obligations of the agreement or of these general conditions, then without prejudice to the consequences that the law attaches to such default/failure, all reasonable costs to obtain settlement out of court shall be to his charge. These costs are set at 15% of the principal, with a minimum of NLG 50 (excluding VAT). If it is presumable that World Online has had to incur higher costs, then they shall also be paid by the Subscriber.
• 6.4 The payments made by the Subscriber shall always first be used to settle any interest and costs due, and only then will be used to settle the longest outstanding payable invoices, even if the Subscriber states that the payment relates to a later invoice.

• 7.1 World Online is required to do the utmost to securely protect the Service. World Online shall not be liable for any damage on the part of the Subscriber or third parties that is the result of inadequate protection.
• 7.2 If the Subscriber notices or suspects that third parties have gained improper access to the Service, for example by using his Access Code, he must inform World Online of this in writing within five working days. World Online may not be held liable for any damage that such improper use of the Service results in.

• 8.1 The Subscriber shall comply with all obligations, instructions and restrictions given by World Online, as set out in these general conditions and as communicated by World Online from time to time (on its web site, by written notice, or otherwise), including instructions on logging on, logging off, complying with the allowed quantity of data traffic through its home page, the cleaning of information, etc.
• 8.2 The Subscriber is bound to act in compliance with the applicable law and legislation and to behave according to what can be expected of a responsible and careful Subscriber. The Subscriber shall, when using the Service, endeavour as best he can to prevent the interests of World Online being damaged.
• 8.3 The Subscriber shall not use the Service in any way for unlawful purposes, to commit criminal acts and/or acts that are contrary to the Netiquette. This includes the following actions:
  • het plegen van inbreuk op intellectuele eigendomsrechten van derden (waaronder begrepen, maar niet beperkt tot: auteursrechten, merkenrechten, rechten uit hoofde van de Europese richtlijn 96/9 inzake de rechtsbescherming van databanken, octrooirechten, modellenrechten);
  • Infringing the intellectual property rights of third parties (including but not limited to: copyright, trademark rights, rights relating to European Directive 96/9 on the legal protection of databases, patent rights, registered design rights, etc).
  • Theft.
  • The unlawful and/or criminal distribution of secret or confidential information.
  • The unlawful or criminal distribution of text or images and audio material, including racist material, child pornography, criminal data traffic, offensive expressions, and so-called "mail bombs".
  • Hacking, via the Service or the Internet.
  • The destruction or damage of systems, automated works and software of others, or making them unusable.
  • The distribution of viruses or otherwise deliberately causing problems with communications or data storage.
  • Gaining access by using false keys, false codes, false personal capacities.
• 8.4 The Subscriber may not start up processes or let them continue in which he can reasonably assume that it will disturb the other users of the Internet or have a detrimental influence on the use of the Service.
• 8.5 Depending on the type of subscription, the Subscriber may store a maximum of 20 megabytes of information on the World Online server for his home page.
• 8.6 The Subscriber may not connect (parts of) a network or other users, whether or not within his organisation, with (parts of) the Service in any way, without the express written consent of World Online.
• 8.7 The Subscriber may not use his home page or e-mail account for commercial purposes. By commercial purposes is meant, for example:
  • The public endorsement, recommendation or offering of products or services.
  • Making offers or invitations to enter into agreements for the performance of commercial activities.
• 8.8 If the Subscriber acts contrary to one of the above paragraphs of this article, or if World Online suspects that the Subscriber has acted contrary to one of these provisions, World Online shall be entitled to deny him access to the Service, close his e-mail account and/or home page, terminate the agreement and/or take other measures that appear advisable to World Online, without the Subscriber being able to claim any refund of payments already made or compensation.
• 8.9 The Subscriber shall be responsible for all use of his Access Code and e-mail address. The Subscriber shall, moreover, be responsible for any material and all information on his home page.
• 8.10 The Subscriber shall ensure and be responsible for the necessary hardware and (the installation of) software and peripheral equipment, and the functioning of it for being able to connect with the World Online system.
• 8.11 The Subscriber hereby expressly consents to World Online processing and using his personal data needed for and to be included in databases that World Online has for the provision of its services.

• 9.1 For the duration of the agreement, the Subscriber is given a non-exclusive and non-negotiable licence to use the Software and the accompanying user documentation for the Service. The Subscriber accepts the licence conditions accompanying the Software and user documentation.
• 9.2 The Subscriber shall refrain from reproducing and/or publishing the Software and the accompanying user documentation, except with regard to the needs of the normal use of the Service.
• 9.3 The Subscriber shall refrain from making any changes or additions to or deleting (parts of) the Software and/or any trademarks, copyright notices or other indications.
• 9.4 The Subscriber may not allow third parties to use the software and/or accompanying documentation.

• 10.1 A Subscription is entered into for a period of indefinite duration unless agreed otherwise in writing.
• 10.2 A free subscription may be closed by World Online without notice, if no use is made of the Service for 4 months.
• 10.3 Subscriptions entered into for an indefinite duration may only be terminated in writing by either of the parties, by post or by fax and signed, stating reasons, by the end of a calendar month, with due observance of a period of notice of 15 days.
• 10.4 A Subscription entered into for a definite duration (for example one year) may only be terminated by the Subscriber by post (but not by fax), stating reasons, by the end of the subscription period, with due observance of a period of notice of 15 days, in the absence of which the Subscription shall be automatically extended for successive periods of one year, unless a different type of subscription has been agreed.
• 10.5 When changing the type of subscription, the request for doing so with a Subscription entered into for a period of definite duration must be made 15 days before the end of the Subscription period. When changing the type of subscription, the request for doing so with a Subscription entered into for a period of indefinite duration must be made 15 days before the end of the calendar month.
• 10.6 World Online is entitled to terminate the Subscription with immediate effect and/or entirely or partially block access to the Service, temporarily or otherwise, if the Subscriber has not properly or fully observed one or more of his obligations towards World Online.
• 10.7 In the event of a price increase as given in article 5.6, the Subscriber may terminate the Subscription with immediate effect in writing before the increase comes into effect.
• 10.8 World Online is entitled to terminate the Subscription and other agreements without a default notice or legal intervention with immediate effect in the event of the Subscriber being declared bankrupt, the bankruptcy of the Subscriber being applied for, the Subscriber having a payment moratorium or having applied for a payment moratorium, the Subscriber being placed in receivership, the Subscriber going into administration, the Subscriber qualifying for debt restructuring, or it being presumable that the Subscriber will not be able to satisfy the payment obligations arising from the Subscription.

• 11.1 World Online may not be held liable for any direct and/or indirect damage of the Subscriber as a result of an (attributable) failing in the observance of any agreement or any other obligation of World Online towards the Subscriber, as long as it is not wilful or due to gross misconduct on the part of World Online. Liability shall in any case be limited to direct material damage and direct damage by death or injury, and to a maximum amount equal to the amount that World Online has received for the services provided, with a maximum of ten thousand guilders.
• 11.2 World Online may not be held liable for any indirect damage, including secondary damage, nor is World Online bound to compensate for business damage, loss of profit, damage as a result of the failure and/or inaccessibility of the Internet, damage arising through the leakage of confidential information, damage caused my electronic payment or damage arising from the claims of third parties towards the Subscriber.
• 11.3 World Online may not be held liable for damage on the part of the Subscriber caused by third parties making use of the World Online Service or otherwise.
• 11.4 World Online accepts no liability for problems, damage and any costs arising from the so-called millennium bug (in the widest sense of the word) and this may not give rise to the subscription being terminated by the Subscriber.
• 11.5 The Subscriber indemnifies World Online against all claims of third parties relating to the use of the Service by the Subscriber and/or the inadequate observance by the Subscriber of any obligation towards World Online, whether or not arising from these general conditions.

• 12.1 World Online may not be held liable if a failing is the result of circumstances that are beyond its control, such as (but not limited to) international conflicts, violent or armed actions, measures of any public authority, industrial disputes among the staff of World Online or any third parties that provide services to World Online, boycott actions, delay or other imperfections on the part of third parties that World Online depends on in some way, interruptions to electricity supplies, interruptions to connections to the Internet, interruptions to the telephone network of the telecommunications company concerned, full use of the incoming lines, power cuts and other faults beyond the control of World Online, communications links or equipment of World Online or any third parties who provide services to World Online.
• 12.2 When World Online cannot satisfy its obligations for a period of more than two consecutive months due to a failing beyond its control, both World Online and the Subscriber will be authorised to terminate the agreement by means of a written statement.
• 12.3 The consequences of the failings of World Online in its obligations towards third parties, caused by or on account of the behaviour of the Subscriber shall always be to the charge and risk of the Subscriber.

• 13.1 All legal claims of the Subscriber against World Online for compensation, including claims for compensation, shall expire one year after the claim concerned arose.

Versie 1999-01, 9 september 1999