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General Terms and Conditions (GTC) - Private use

Updated on 2024-11-05

Important information as of 05.11.2024:We have adapted our General Terms and Conditions (GTC)!

The following GTC apply to the private use ("Private" license) of sproof sign and are valid from 05.11.2024.

If you use sproof sign for business purposes ("Business" or "Enterprise" license), the following GTC apply: GTC for the business use of sproof sign

If you have concluded a contract before 05.11.2024, these GTC will continue to apply.

### 1. definitions

Electronic signature and electronic seal: refers to an electronic signature or an electronic seal that ensures the authenticity and integrity of the signed data. Electronic signatures are usually applied in PAdES format. The signed data are documents in PDF format.

Identification: refers to the identification of the person signing, which, depending on the required strength, can be done by registering with sproof, by confirming an e-mail address or telephone number or by identifying oneself with a trust service provider.

Quotas: refers to electronic signatures, qualified electronic signatures, seals, validations, etc., which are contractually agreed in an annual quota.

GDPR: refers to the European General Data Protection Regulation.

Business hours: means working days from Monday to Friday from 09:00 to 17:00. The business hours correspond to the support hours.

User: means the contractual partner itself or a natural person clearly designated by the contractual partner who is in an employee or other instruction relationship with the contractual partner and who is authorized to use the software on the basis of a license acquired by the contractual partner.

Qualified electronic signature: refers to an electronic signature that is legally equivalent to a handwritten signature. Qualified electronic signatures are issued by a sproof partner; identification is usually carried out via the telephone number and an official identification document of the respective user as part of an identification procedure.

sproof sign / software: is a service for creating digital signatures and seals and for mapping the associated workflows. Documents can be signed by one person or by several people who have been invited to provide a signature.

Update: refers to a version of the software that contains minor functional changes/improvements or the correction of errors.

Upgrade: refers to the addition of new modules or features to the software.

Contracting party/parties: are sproof and the contractual partner, individually or jointly.

Contractual partner: is the party that concludes a contract with sproof for the use of the software on the basis of these GTC.

Working day: means the days from Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays in Austria.

Access data: means the data assigned to a user, consisting of user name and password, by means of which the user can access or use the software.

Package: A package of purchased user licenses and signature quotas with a standard term of one year, which is managed by a specific user. A package can contain different user licenses, each with a different range of functions.

2. preamble

2.1 The following General Terms and Conditions (GTC) for the use of sproof sign apply to all business relationships between sproof GmbH (Urstein Süd 19/2, 5412 Puch b. Hallein, Austria), hereinafter referred to as "sproof", and its respective contractual partners from the date specified as the date of the GTC. Contractual partners of sproof are exclusively consumers within the meaning of Section 1 of the Austrian Consumer Protection Act (KSchG).

2.2. sproof offers a platform for signing digital documents. The services offered by sproof enable users to sign documents and invite other people to sign a document.

2.3 Within the scope of the GTC, sproof provides the contractual partner with the software and grants the contractual partner a non-exclusive, non-transferable and non-sublicensable right to use the software.

2.4 Provided that this is the case, the contracting parties agree as follows:

3 Subject matter

3.1 The subject of this contract is the provision of the software by sproof to the contractual partner free of charge, including the standard functions of sproof in accordance with the "fair use" principle, exclusively for private, non-commercial purposes.

3.2 The user is entitled to register with sproof free of charge by entering the relevant data.

3.3. sproof will inform the user whether a registration was successful or not. sproof may reject a user's registration at its own discretion without giving reasons.

3.4 By registering, the contractual partner is able to manage their account by using the corresponding functions.

3.5. sproof provides the contractual partner with the use of the software in question, which is hosted in a sproof data center, for the duration of the contractual relationship.

3.6 The internet connection of the contractual partner, its maintenance, the sufficient speed of the same, as well as hardware and software requirements to be fulfilled on the part of the contractual partner, are not the subject of this contract.

3.7. sproof shall keep the software performant and provide updates.

3.8 The software is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This excludes necessary or required maintenance work as well as hardware, software and infrastructure-related influences on the part of sproof. These will be announced in good time, if possible, in accordance with 9.1.

3.9 Services other than those expressly mentioned herein are not included in the scope of the contract and will only be provided by sproof in the event of a separate order on terms to be agreed by the contracting parties; these areas not included in the scope of services include in particular

  • Training and other consulting services in connection with the use of the software or
  • extensions of the scope of services.

4. principles of service provision

4.1. sproof undertakes to comply with the following principles in the course of fulfilling these GTC:

a) The provision of services shall be organized and carried out in accordance with the state of the art, in particular with regard to data security and security of the software against unauthorized interference by third parties (e.g. malware, hacker attacks);

b) Access to the software via the Internet shall be via a secure Internet connection (TLS, state-of-the-art version) using the transmitted access data;

c) sproof shall perform its services while ensuring the best possible continuity of the contractual partner's business operations and shall ensure that no unnecessary interruptions to the client's business operations are caused.

5. rights of use

5.1. sproof grants the contractual partner a non-exclusive, simple right of use, limited in time to the term of this contract, which cannot be further licensed, sublicensed or otherwise transferred, with regard to the contractual software.

5.2 This contract does not grant the contractual partner any further rights. The contractual partner may therefore not decompile, disassemble or otherwise break down the software into its components. The contractual partner may not remove any copyright or trademark notices from the software.

5.3 The right of use refers to the software and the associated documentation as well as other materials necessary for exercising the right of use, such as concepts and descriptions.

5.4 The contractual partner may only use the software for its own private, non-commercial purposes.

5.5 The contractual partner is not authorized to make changes to the code of the software.

6. validity of the signatures

Legal validity

6.1 The electronic signatures affixed by sproof technically comply with the legal requirements at the time of creation. sproof ensures in particular that the qualified electronic signatures created via its partners comply with the applicable standards of the eIDAS Regulation (EU) No. 910/2014 at the time of creation.

6.2 The signatures are suitable for various areas of use, including contracts, offers, orders and other legally binding documents. Both the decision between electronic signature and electronic seal as well as the selection of the type of electronic signature (simple, advanced, qualified) or electronic seal is the responsibility of the contractual partner.

Validity of the signature verification

6.3 sproof's software checks the validity of electronic signatures in accordance with the current technical standards. sproof guarantees that the validation is technically correct at the time of the check against the trust lists currently available to sproof.

6.4 The verification procedure includes the verification of the signature against the signed content and the validation of the certificates against the responsible certification authorities.

7. support

sproof does not offer the contractual partner any support. In the event of queries or problems, the sproof team can be contacted via email or the contact form.

8. range of functions and enhancements

8.1. sproof updates its software to provide new functions and improvements and to provide important security updates. These updates may be made without prior notice, especially in the case of important security updates. sproof reserves the right to restrict or limit the range of functions in the free version at any time.

9. security

Security measures

9.1. sproof uses state-of-the-art security measures to ensure the integrity, confidentiality and availability of customer data. This includes encryption, firewalls, intrusion detection systems and regular security checks.

Responsibility of the contractual partner

9.2 The contracting party is responsible for creating and maintaining backups of its data and documents. Although sproof implements extensive security measures, the final responsibility for data backup lies with the contractual partner. This refers in particular to the secure storage of backup codes and passwords, which are only available to the contractual partner and to which sproof has no access.

9.3 The contractual partner is obliged to take all necessary measures to protect all access data (in particular user name, password) from unauthorized access by third parties and to keep them secret. If the contractual partner becomes aware of any misuse of the access data or if the contractual partner even suspects such misuse, it is obliged to inform sproof immediately. Any action taken via the customer account shall be attributed to the contractual partner until the misuse is reported, provided that the action is attributable to misuse.

9.4 The contractual partner shall be fully liable for any third-party use of its user account caused by the contractual partner, as well as for any acts of misuse by other third parties attributable to the contractual partner, in accordance with mandatory law, and shall fully indemnify and hold sproof harmless in this respect. In particular, the contractual partner must accept responsibility for third-party use if the third party has enabled the unauthorized use of a user account even through negligence.

9.5 The contractual partner shall ensure that it is not subject to any sanctions. If the contracting party becomes aware of such or similar facts, it is obliged to inform sproof immediately and to stop using sproof

10. no fee

10.1 The fee for the use of the software by the contractual partner is to be taken from the prices stated on the website or in sproof sign or from a corresponding offer. The use of sproof by the contractual partner is free of charge, provided it is exclusively for private, non-commercial purposes.

11. data protection

11.1 sproof processes personal data in accordance with the applicable data protection laws and regulations, in particular the GDPR.

11.2 The details of data processing are described in the privacy policy and can be found at the following link: https: //www.sproof.com/de/unternehmen/datenschutzerklaerung-sproof-sign.

12 Confidentiality

12.1 The contractual partner undertakes to treat all information about the software received within the scope of this agreement, including, but not limited to, its functionality, technical specifications, business models, customer information and know-how (hereinafter "confidential information"), as strictly confidential. The contractual partner is not permitted to disclose, reproduce, use or make the confidential information accessible to third parties, either in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of the provider. This obligation of confidentiality shall continue to apply even after termination of the contractual relationship in question.

12.2. The only information that is exempt from confidentiality is information that is currently or in the future in the public domain for reasons other than a breach of this confidentiality agreement; that is generally known or was demonstrably already known to a contracting party when the contract was concluded; that a contracting party lawfully obtains knowledge of through a third party after the contract has been concluded; of which a contracting party can prove that they were developed independently and without the use of confidential information; or which are to be disclosed to authorities and courts or are transmitted to lawyers and accountants, unless and until they are released from their duty of confidentiality.

13 Liability

13.1. sproof warrants the proper operation of the platform and in particular the software under the regular conditions.

13.2 The contractual partner is responsible for backing up its data and documents. sproof is not liable for any loss of data or documents.

13.3. sproof is not liable for the correct entry of data; in particular, sproof accepts no liability for the correctness of email addresses entered by users for the purpose of sending documents.

13.4. sproof is not liable for any loss of data caused by a lack of backups on the part of the contractual partner.

13.5. sproof is liable for the technically correct validation of signatures at the time of verification. Errors that occur after the validation are outside sproof's area of responsibility. Incorrect or damaged files are outside sproof's area of responsibility.

13.6. sproof accepts no liability for unauthorized access or misuse by users of its contractual partners.

13.7. sproof is liable for possible damages in accordance with the applicable statutory provisions. However, sproof is not liable for damage caused by slight negligence or simply gross negligence, unless the damage in question results from a breach of the main contractual services. The limitation of liability does not apply to cases of culpable injury to life, limb or health of natural persons by sproof, nor does it apply to sproof's mandatory liability under the Product Liability Act. Liability for loss of profit is excluded. sproof accepts no liability for damages arising from third-party claims or for pure financial losses of any kind.

14 Contractual term and termination

14.1 The contractual relationship between sproof and the contractual partner begins upon successful registration by the contractual partner with sproof and is valid for an indefinite period.

Termination

14.2 Either party may terminate the contractual relationship at any time in writing (e-mail is sufficient) or delete the account without giving reasons. After termination of the contract, the user has no access to the information provided or generated by him. Legal rights (in particular data protection rights) of the user remain unaffected. Notwithstanding this, each party to the contract is entitled to terminate the contract for good cause (extraordinary termination). An important reason entitling sproof to extraordinary termination of the contract exists in particular if

a) the contractual partner violates official regulations or material provisions of these GTC and does not cease this behavior within 14 calendar days despite a written request to do so;

b) the contractual partner - for whatever reason - refuses or is no longer able to fulfill these GTC;

14.3. the contractual partner takes or has taken actions detrimental to sproof (see point 17 below).

14.4 The contractual partner does not have a right of withdrawal under the FAGG in view of the free use of sproof's services under these GTC. Notwithstanding this, the termination provision pursuant to this point 15 applies.

15 Rights and obligations of users

Users are obliged to use the software exclusively in accordance with the applicable laws and the provisions of these GTC. Unauthorized use is prohibited and will result in immediate blocking of access.

16. blocking and deletion of users

sproof reserves the right to refuse, block or delete a user's access to the platform at any time and thus terminate the contractual relationship; this applies in particular if sproof becomes aware or has justified concerns that

a) the user has provided incorrect or incomplete information, in particular with regard to their personal data

b) the information provided by the user cannot be verified or confirmed;

c) the verification of the user's legal compliance indicates irregularities

d) the user intentionally violates fundamental provisions of these GTC;

e) the user engages in behavior that is detrimental to sproof and could impair the use of the platform.

17 Intellectual property rights

The contracting party shall be liable in accordance with the statutory provisions for ensuring that the use of the documents uploaded to the platform does not infringe any intellectual property rights, including trademark, design, patent or any other industrial property rights, copyrights or business or trade secrets of third parties in Germany or abroad. Furthermore, the contractual partner undertakes to fully indemnify and hold sproof harmless in the event of an infringement of such (intellectual property) rights of third parties.

18 Applicable law and place of jurisdiction

18.1 These GTC and their legal validity, interpretation and fulfillment are subject to Austrian law to the exclusion of its conflict of law rules and the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods.

18.2 For all disputes arising from these GTC or relating to their conclusion, breach, dissolution or nullity, the competent court at the registered office of sproof shall have exclusive jurisdiction, unless this is contrary to mandatory provisions of the Austrian Consumer Protection Act (KSchG).

19. severability clause

Should any provision of these GTC be or become invalid or unenforceable in whole or in part, this shall not affect the validity or enforceability of the remaining provisions. The invalid or unenforceable provision shall be replaced by a valid or enforceable provision that comes as close as possible to the content of the invalid or unenforceable provision; the same shall apply accordingly to any loopholes in these GTC.

20. final provisions

20.1. sproof reserves the right to amend these GTC at any time. The contractual partner will be notified of the changes by email.

20.2 Deviating, conflicting or supplementary general terms and conditions shall not become part of the contract, even if sproof is aware of them. Deviations may be agreed if sproof gives its express written consent on the basis of individual agreements.

20.3 The headings used in these GTC are for convenience only and are not to be taken into account in the interpretation. Phrases introduced by the terms "including", "in particular" or similar expressions are to be understood as illustrative; they do not limit the meaning of the words preceding them. The use of a term in the masculine form is intended to make the GTC easier to read, but includes all genders.

Why sproof sign?Highest security and compliance paired with an "all-in-one" functionality make sproof sign the top European alternative on the e-signature platform market. 100% developed and hosted in Europe.
sproof sign is currently the highest-rated e-signature provider on the independent review platform OMR Reviews and has also been certified by CRIF GmbH with the 'ESG SCORE: A' for sustainability.