for users on fluid-ip.com and noventive.io.

Introduction

Thank you for taking the time to read our Terms and Conditions (“T&C”). You – hereinafter also referred to as “User” – will find below your rights and obligations for the use of our “fluid connect" platform (hereinafter also referred to as “Platform” or “Software Platform”). For reasons of readability, the masculine form is used throughout. The terms “User,” “Lawyer,” “Patent Attorney,” and “Service Provider” also include female users, female lawyers, female patent attorneys, and female service providers.

In addition, you will find valuable and important information on existing data protection and our currently applicable Privacy Policy: https://www.fluid-ip.com/privacy.

Your contractual partner is always fluid GmbH, Nördliche Münchner Str. 9 c, 82031 Grünwald (hereinafter also referred to as “fluid” or “we”). In Q1/2025, fluid GmbH acquired the Software Platform as part of a partial transfer of business operations pursuant to § 613a BGB from noventive Managementgesellschaft mbH (Riesstr. 16, 80992 Munich). Further information about our company can be found in our https://www.fluid-ip.com/legal.

1. Registration with fluid connect

1.1 To register with fluid connect, we generally require that, if you are a consumer, you are a fully legally competent natural person over the age of 18, and if you are registering on behalf of a company, regardless of its legal form, you are duly authorized to represent that company. Furthermore, it is mandatory to provide your contact and address details for registration with fluid connect. You must provide all personal details and addresses requested by fluid connect completely and accurately (no P.O. boxes or similar) and guarantee their correctness.

1.2 Registration with fluid connect is free of charge. Registration only takes place if you have previously and bindingly accepted these Terms and Conditions and the Privacy Policy. There is no entitlement to registration. By registering, a contractual usage relationship is established between you and fluid connect. Your user account will remain valid until you terminate it or upon proof of your death by third parties.

1.3 For registration, please choose your email address and a password. You may change the password at any time, but it must always be kept strictly confidential. After successful registration, you will receive a member account containing all relevant data for the use of the platform.

1.4 Registration is permitted only once per member. Multiple registrations under different names are expressly prohibited. User accounts are non-transferable to other persons. They may also not be used by others, e.g., by sharing your password.

1.5 Violations of the above provisions entitle fluid GmbH to terminate the contractual relationship without notice and immediately delete the user account from the platform.

2. Use of fluid connect

2.1 We always require successful registration as a user in order for you to use our fluid connect platform.

2.2 As a user, you may at any time use various forms and input fields on our website or on our partner sites to submit your potential legal matters to us by entering all necessary data or describing the respective individual case. You must provide complete and correct information; otherwise, we cannot process your request.

2.3 You may also log into your user account at any time with your login details to review submitted legal matters, supplement them with data, and communicate with us, the lawyer, or one of our service partners.

3. Services

3.1 Services of Authorized Lawyers/Patent Attorneys/Service Providers

3.1.1 Via our fluid connect platform, you as a user have the opportunity to obtain a free initial assessment of your submitted matter by authorized lawyers, patent attorneys, or other service providers. There is no legal entitlement to referral to a lawyer, patent attorney, or service provider, nor to the provision of a free initial assessment. It may occur that no suitable lawyer, patent attorney, or service provider can be found, and therefore the initial assessment cannot be carried out.

3.1.2 Our platform offers the possibility that an independent lawyer, patent attorney, or corresponding service provider may provide you with a consulting and service offer tailored to your legal matter at a fixed price or on a time-spent basis via our platform. Such an offer is binding for the lawyer, patent attorney, or service provider and may be legally accepted by you.

3.1.3 The services of the registered lawyers in the field of legal services are invoiced directly by them. We provide support in the billing process.

3.1.4 You are under no obligation to accept any offer or to engage a lawyer, patent attorney, or service provider.

3.1.5 Once you have chosen an offer from a lawyer, patent attorney, or service provider, you will receive the contact details of the lawyer or patent attorney on our platform in your legal matter for review, as well as an email confirmation of the engagement. The lawyer, patent attorney, or service provider will likewise receive your contact details and a notification of the engagement by email. A contractual relationship is established exclusively between you and the lawyer, patent attorney, or service provider. We are in no way responsible for the conclusion of a contract between you and the lawyer, patent attorney, or service provider, nor for its content and performance. In particular, fluid connect is not liable for the services of lawyers, patent attorneys, or service providers and is not obliged to provide warranties or compensation.

3.1.6 Should contact be made outside the portal before acceptance of an offer, and a contract between you and the lawyer, patent attorney, or service provider regarding the submitted matter is concluded, you are obliged to inform us immediately. If such information is not provided, we are entitled to block you permanently and terminate the usage relationship without notice.

3.2 Own Services

3.2.1 fluid GmbH itself does not provide legal advice.

3.2.2 We assist you in finding the appropriate solution to your submitted legal matter. This also requires that we may always, with the help of our technology, preselect potential legal and non-legal service providers for you.

4. Term / Termination

4.1 The contractual usage relationship between fluid and you is concluded for an indefinite period and may be terminated by either party with due notice. Termination must be communicated in written or text form (e.g., email, fax, or letter) to be effective.

4.2 Upon termination of the usage contract, fluid connect is entitled and obliged to irrevocably delete your member account. Personal data and other information transmitted to a lawyer, patent attorney, or service provider during a free initial assessment or in an existing or concluded engagement are then the responsibility of the respective lawyer, patent attorney, or service provider.

4.3 fluid connect reserves the right to terminate the usage relationship with immediate effect and to block the user account if there is good cause, in particular in the event of violations of these T&C and other contractual obligations, or in the event of disruptions, misuse, or reputational damage to the platform.

5. Data Protection

5.1 We collect your personal data, as well as, if applicable, the personal data of the opposing party, for the purpose of performing the contract and fulfilling our contractual and pre-contractual obligations. The collection and processing of data is necessary for the performance of the contract and is based on Article 6(1)(b) GDPR.

5.2 The transfer of data takes place through the forwarding of your request to a lawyer, patent attorney, or service provider. From that point in time, the lawyer, patent attorney, or service provider is equally responsible for data protection as we are. This constitutes joint processing pursuant to Article 26 GDPR. We have concluded an agreement on joint responsibility with each lawyer, patent attorney, and service provider.

5.3 Any further transmission of data to third parties generally does not take place – unless there is a legal obligation or it is necessary for the performance of the contract. This may, for example, be the case if you instruct us to submit a coverage request to your legal expenses insurance or if payment for an accepted offer is processed via a payment provider. In such cases, we transmit the data as instructed to your respective contractual partner. Please note that these service providers are independently responsible for data processing and maintain their own contractual relationship with you.

5.4 Data will be deleted as soon as it is no longer required for the purpose of processing, unless statutory retention obligations prevent deletion. As long as a contractual usage relationship exists between you and us, we will also store the data you have saved on our platform. However, it may be necessary to retain data even after termination of our contractual relationship. Statutory retention obligations arise, for example, from § 50 Federal Lawyers’ Act, according to which case-specific data must be retained for 6 years. Accounting records (billing documents) must be retained for 10 years in accordance with § 147 German Fiscal Code. As long as the lawyer, patent attorney, or service provider also maintains a usage contract with us, we are correspondingly obliged to store the data in line with these retention periods. If both parties, i.e., you and the lawyer/patent attorney, terminate the usage relationship, your data will be deleted no later than 6 months thereafter.

5.5 You have the right to receive information free of charge about all your stored personal data. Furthermore, you have the right to data portability, deletion, rectification, restriction, or blocking of your personal data.

5.6 Corresponding questions and requests can be directed to fluid GmbH, email: contact@fluid-ip.com.

5.7 You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority, without prejudice to any other administrative or judicial remedy, if you believe that the company’s data processing violates data protection regulations.

6. Payment Processing and Payment Services

6.1 For easy and convenient payment of services ordered via the fluid connect platform, we provide billing services and, in the future, the option to use various payment service providers and methods. You may initiate this use by clicking the corresponding button of the payment service provider during the binding order process for services. This will direct you to the respective provider’s page.

6.2 We merely provide access to the page of the respective payment service provider; we do not become a contractual party in the payment process.

6.3 All payment claims arising from possible fee agreements and services become due after completion of the purchase process and before the respective consultation service – unless the lawyer, patent attorney, or service provider has specified otherwise in the offer.

6.4 In the future, if multiple payment options are available, the user may be able to choose between advance payment (invoice), PayPal®, Stripe and other payment providers. We reserve the right to exclude or subsequently add specific payment options individually.

6.5 It may be necessary to enter into a contractual relationship with the relevant payment service provider in order to use its services. The corresponding information will be provided at the beginning of the payment process.

7.1 Right of Withdrawal

7.1 This cancellation policy applies exclusively to contractual relationships between you and us. For contractual relationships with lawyers or third parties via our platform, please use the respective cancellation policies provided elsewhere.

7.2 Right of Withdrawal: Consumers have the right to withdraw from this contract within fourteen days without giving any reason. The withdrawal period begins on the day the contract is concluded. To exercise your right of withdrawal, you must notify us of your decision to withdraw from this contract by means of a clear statement (e.g., a letter sent by post or email). You may use the attached model withdrawal form, although this is not mandatory. To meet the withdrawal deadline, it is sufficient for you to send the notification before the withdrawal period has expired.

7.3 Consequences of Withdrawal: Since no payments are made in the contractual relationship between you and us, you are not entitled to any refund. The only consequence of withdrawal is the deletion of your access. For offers from lawyers, patent attorneys, or service providers, you will receive separate cancellation policies.

7.4 Sample Withdrawal Form

If you wish to withdraw from the contract as a consumer, please fill out this form and send it back to:

To:

fluid GmbH
Nördliche Münchner Str. 9c
82031 Grünwald
E-mail: support@fluid-ip.com

I/we (*) hereby revoke the contract concluded by me/us (*) for
the provision of the following service:
This service was ordered on:
This service was received on:
Name of the consumer(s):

Address of the consumer(s):


Signature of the consumer(s) (only for notification on paper)
Date
(*) Delete as appropriate.

8. Special Rights of fluid

8.1 We reserve the right to modify titles and/or requests in whole or in part – provided the basic meaning of the request remains unchanged – for example, to improve the display quality when presenting it to a lawyer or service provider, or to correct obvious spelling, grammar, argumentation, or expression errors.

8.2 We are entitled to exclude or delete requests from processing, particularly in the following cases:

• incorrect and/or missing address details,

• missing email confirmation within 48 hours,

• incomplete or incomprehensible requests,

• use of unlawful, offensive, untrue, violence-glorifying, youth-endangering, unobjective, racist, discriminatory, sexist, or comparable language and expressions,

• user is unreachable,

• no lawyer, patent attorney, or service provider available for the relevant area of expertise.

8.3 You grant us the right, for the purposes of contract performance, to reproduce the data you upload to the platform to the extent necessary to provide the contractual services. We are also entitled to store the data in a backup system or separate backup data center. To remedy disruptions, we are also entitled to make changes to the structure or format of the data.

8.4 We do not obtain any further rights of use or exploitation and, in particular, will not publish or make accessible to third parties any content you upload to the platform, unless this is necessary for contractual purposes.

8.5 We are entitled to temporarily or permanently block use or access to the software if there are concrete indications that you are violating contractual terms or applicable law. In making such decisions, the legitimate interests of the user will be taken into account.

8.6 We are entitled at any time, without giving reasons, to modify, remove, or add functions of connect.noventive.io, or to make the use of functions available only under certain conditions.

9. User Data and Indemnification

9.1 You are solely responsible for the content you upload to the platform. We generally do not review such content.

9.2 You undertake not to post any content or data that is criminal or otherwise absolutely or relatively unlawful towards individual third parties, and not to use programs containing viruses or other malware in connection with the software. In particular, you undertake not to use the software to offer unlawful services or goods.

9.3 You are obliged to indemnify us against any liability and costs, including potential and actual costs of legal proceedings, if we are held liable by third parties as a result of your actions or omissions. We will inform you of such claims and, where legally possible, give you the opportunity to contest the claim. At the same time, you are obliged to provide us immediately with all available information relating to the matter underlying the claim.

9.4 Further claims for damages by fluid remain unaffected.

10. Availability

10.1 The availability of the website depends on the users’ various technical equipment. To use the website in full and access connect.noventive.io, appropriate technical means are required (PC, tablet, mobile phone, and, crucially, internet access).

10.2 For technical reasons, uninterrupted availability of digital content cannot be guaranteed. Availability may be impaired by regularly required maintenance and security work, as well as by unforeseen events beyond our control. Planned work affecting availability will, where possible, be carried out during low-traffic periods. The display quality of digital content may also vary from device to device and depend on the user’s internet connection speed and other factors. We cannot be held liable for such variations.

10.3 You are obliged to report functional failures, disruptions, or impairments of the software to the provider immediately and as precisely as possible. Failure to comply may result in the loss of your warranty rights (§ 536c BGB).

10.4 If damages arise on your part due to data loss, we are not liable to the extent that such damages could have been avoided by regular and complete data backups on your part. You are responsible for performing regular and complete data backups yourself or having them performed by a third party.

11. Reviews

11.1 In the future, you may voluntarily review lawyers, patent attorneys, law firms, and service providers.

11.2 The review system is intended to help assess the quality and reliability of the lawyers, patent attorneys, and service providers referred through the platform. Each review is solely a subjective opinion of the user. We generally do not verify the truthfulness of reviews.

11.3 Reviews must be submitted objectively and truthfully. You also undertake to handle published reviews carefully and refrain from posting reviews that are offensive, insulting, or injurious.

11.4 We reserve the right to delete reviews if they are untrue, offensive, or defamatory.

11.5 We are free to decide whether to publish reviews. You have no right to the publication of your review.

12. Dispute Resolution

We declare our willingness to participate in consumer dispute resolution proceedings under the German Consumer Dispute Resolution Act (VSBG) in the event of legal conflicts with consumers (§ 13 BGB).

The competent consumer dispute resolution body for us is:

Universalschlichtungsstelle des Bundes
Zentrum für Schlichtung e.V.
Straßburger Straße 8, 77694 Kehl am Rhein
Phone: +49 (0)7851 / 795 79 40
Fax: +49 (0)7851 / 795 79 41
Email: mail@universalschlichtungsstelle.de
Website: www.verbraucher-schlichter.de

General information obligations on alternative dispute resolution under Art. 14(1) ODR Regulation and § 36 VSBG:

The European Commission provides a platform for online dispute resolution (ODR), available at: https://consumer-redress.ec.europa.eu/index_de

13. Final Provisions

13.1 We reserve the right to unilaterally amend these T&C – to the extent that they have been incorporated into the contractual relationship with you – at any time, insofar as significant reasons beyond the control of the provider, which lead to an unforeseeable change in the contractual balance and therefore necessitate an amendment taking into account the interests of the contracting party, make this necessary. Amendments are only permissible if they do not unreasonably disadvantage you or violate good faith. We will inform you of any adjustments 6 weeks in advance by email, including the content of the amended provisions. This email will include the amended T&C as well as a reference to the right of objection, the objection period, and the consequences of failing to object. The amendment becomes part of the contract if you do not object in written or text form within 14 days of receipt. After this period, the amended T&C shall apply to you. The previous version of the T&C shall cease to be effective upon expiry of the consent period.

13.2 In the event of deviations and/or contradictions, the provisions of the electronic offer shall take precedence over those of the Terms and Conditions. This does not affect any expressly deviating written provisions agreed by the contracting parties, which shall only be valid if they expressly refer to the provision to be amended.

13.3 We reserve the right to assign this contract to a company of our choice. The transfer shall take effect 30 days after notification to you. In such case, you shall have a special right of termination, which must be exercised independently by you within one month of notification.

13.4 This agreement is subject to the law of the Federal Republic of Germany, excluding the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) of 11.04.1980 as amended, and private international law (in particular German conflict-of-law provisions).

13.5 If you are not a consumer within the meaning of § 13 BGB, the exclusive place of jurisdiction for all disputes arising from this contract, including its annexes, shall be Munich.