1) Scope of Application / Conclusion of Contract
1.1 These General Terms and Conditions (GTC) form part of all present and future contracts between Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH (FBB) and the client. Upon placing an order, these GTC are deemed to be tacitly accepted. Conflicting or deviating terms and conditions of the client shall only become part of the contract if FBB has expressly agreed to their validity in writing.
1.2 Unless a specific binding period is expressly guaranteed, offers by FBB are subject to change and non-binding.
1.3 Legally binding contracts with FBB are generally concluded only by handwritten signature of the managing director or a representative authorised in writing for this purpose. Digital orders, emails, telephone calls or payments without a corresponding written basis have no legally binding effect.
1.4 To be effective, contracts generally require written confirmation by FBB. However, a contract shall also be deemed concluded without express written confirmation if FBB actually renders the commissioned service.
1.5 Following the preparation of an offer, the transmission of project-related data or materials by the client — in particular 3D data (e.g. CAD data, Max or Maya files), 2D data (e.g. construction drawings), material samples, material scans or photos — shall be deemed the placing of an order, unless the client expressly declares otherwise.
1.6 External service providers, employees or other third parties are expressly not authorised to conclude contracts on behalf of FBB unless authorised to do so in writing. Repeated toleration of services or payments does not give rise to any claim to continuation of the contract, nor does it constitute approval of a contractual relationship.
1.7 Further agreements, in particular oral collateral agreements as well as subsequent amendments to the contract, require written form to be effective. This also applies to any waiver of the written-form requirement itself.
2) Cooperation / Duties to Cooperate
2.1 Each contracting party shall designate a responsible contact person as well as a deputy, who shall competently manage and coordinate the performance of the contractual relationship for the respective party. Changes to the designated persons must be communicated to the other party without delay in writing. In addition to the legal representatives, until receipt of such notification only the previously designated contact persons and/or their deputies, within the scope of their existing authority to represent, shall be deemed authorised to make and receive declarations.
2.2 The contracting parties shall inform each other at regular intervals about progress as well as any difficulties in the performance of the contract, in order to be able to intervene in a controlling manner in the performance of the contract if necessary.
2.3 Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH shall prepare a memorandum of the information exchange between the contact persons. This shall be presented to the client either at a personal meeting or transmitted no later than one week after the information exchange. Following presentation, the memorandum is to be signed by the client and returned to Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH. The client is entitled, within one week of presentation, to make additions or corrections where necessary. If no timely response, correction or addition is made, the content of the memorandum shall be deemed accepted. In the event of a correction or addition, Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH is entitled, within one week, to enter into renewed negotiations regarding the amended or newly added points.
2.4 The client undertakes to actively support Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH in the performance of the contract. The client shall provide all information, data, documents and materials required for carrying out the project in a timely, complete and technically suitable form.
2.5 The client bears sole responsibility for the accuracy, completeness and legal admissibility of the content, data and materials provided by it. Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH is not obliged to examine the content provided by the client from a legal or factual point of view. The client shall indemnify Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH against all third-party claims asserted on the basis of the content or information provided by the client. This also includes the costs of an appropriate legal defence.
2.6 Delays or additional expenses due to incomplete, faulty or delayed cooperation shall be borne by the client.
3) Duties of the Client to Cooperate
3.1 The client shall support Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH in the contractually agreed services. In particular, the client shall make available all information, data, hardware or software in a timely manner, insofar as its duty to cooperate so requires.
3.2 For the performance of the contractual relationship, the client shall provide the necessary number of its own employees who possess the required specialist knowledge.
3.3 Insofar as the client has undertaken to procure material or data for Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH in the course of performing the contract, the client shall provide these to Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH promptly in a common, directly usable and, where possible, digital format.
3.4 The client shall carry out all acts of cooperation at its own expense.
3.5 The client bears full responsibility and liability for the content of the materials and data made available by it to Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH, as well as for their accuracy. This applies in particular to content that infringes competition law and copyright as well as public morality, or is capable of doing so. The client shall ensure that Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH obtains the rights required to use these materials and data. By placing the order, the client declares that it holds all rights concerning the placing of the order and the exploitation of the service. Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH is released from any examination of these rights; the client is liable for the existence of these rights. This includes all rights required for the production, editing, reproduction and presentation of image and sound recordings for any purposes whatsoever. Furthermore, this includes the copyright and usage rights insofar as they concern the order. The client is also liable for all claims asserted against us by third parties as a result of the execution of the order, and further undertakes to hold us harmless and indemnified in this respect. This also applies to rights administered by collecting societies. Within the framework of statutory and/or contractual provisions, we are entitled to make reports to the collecting societies if they are required by them. The client expressly indemnifies us against any claims of the collecting societies.
4) Production Process / Project Interruption / Stop-Loss
4.1 In the event of delays or a lack of cooperation on the part of the client, Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH is entitled to suspend the provision of services.
4.2 If an interruption lasts longer than 5 working days, the project shall be deemed interrupted. All services rendered up to that point may be invoiced.
4.3 Resumption shall take place only after written confirmation as well as adjustment of the schedule and remuneration.
4.4 A lack of cooperation within the meaning of this provision shall be deemed to exist in particular where the client provides information, data, materials, approvals, decisions, contact persons or other bases required for carrying out the project in a delayed, incomplete, faulty or unusable manner.
4.5 In the event of a project interruption, in addition to the services rendered up to that point, project-related expenses, reserved production times, downtime, as well as obligations already entered into towards third parties may also be invoiced, insofar as these are caused by or affected by the interruption.
5) Production Risk
5.1 The economic risk of the production lies with the client.
5.2 This includes in particular:SchedulingFinancingCoordination of external suppliesProvision of data, materials, information and approvalsDecisions and coordination with third partiesTechnical, legal and organisational bases of the project
5.3 Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH is not liable for delays or additional costs outside its sphere of influence.
5.4 Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH bears responsibility for the economic success, the overall financing, the overall production, the exploitation or the marketing of the project only if this has been expressly agreed in writing.
6) Use of the Website / AI Content
6.1 The content of this website serves exclusively for information and acquisition purposes. No contracts are concluded via the website. Enquiries via forms or email do not constitute orders.
6.2 Content (texts, images, animations) may be created partly or entirely with the support of AI systems. FBB assumes no warranty for their accuracy or completeness. Any use is at the client's own risk.
7) Offers, Calculation and Additional Costs
7.1 Offers by FBB are non-binding calculations and not fixed prices, unless expressly designated as such.
7.2 Supplementary requirements, change requests or additional services shall be remunerated according to actual expenditure.
7.3 Delays caused by the client or its vicarious agents result in additional costs, which shall be charged separately.
7.4 Cost increases due to external circumstances (e.g. energy prices, inflation, levies) entitle FBB to adjust the remuneration.
7.5 If a payment schedule is postponed by the client, FBB is entitled to pass on any resulting financing and interest costs.
8) Deadlines
8.1 Deadlines for the provision of services may only be committed to on the part of FBB by the legal representatives, the designated contact person or their deputies.
8.2 Fixed delivery dates and deadlines are only valid if they are confirmed in writing and expressly designated as binding.
8.3 Compliance with deadlines and dates presupposes the possibility of rendering the service as well as the proper and timely fulfilment of the obligations incumbent on the client. FBB is not responsible for delays in performance due to force majeure or circumstances within the client's area of responsibility, and such circumstances entitle Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH to postpone the provision of the affected services by the duration of the impediment plus a reasonable start-up period. Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH undertakes to notify the client of delays in performance due to force majeure.
8.4 Delays caused by the client shall result in corresponding postponements of deadlines.
9) Involvement of Third Parties
The client shall be responsible, as for vicarious agents, for third parties who act for the client within the field of activity of Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH at the client's instigation or with the client's toleration. Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH is not responsible towards the client if Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH is unable to fulfil its obligation towards the client, in whole or in part or in a timely manner, due to the conduct of one of the aforementioned third parties.
10) Change of Services / Change Order
10.1 If the client wishes to change the contractually determined scope of the services to be rendered by Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH, it shall express this change request in writing to Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH. The further procedure is governed by the following provisions. In the case of change requests that can be quickly examined and implemented within 8 working hours, Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH may dispense with the procedure under clauses 10.2 to 10.5.
10.2 Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH shall examine what effect the requested change will have, in particular with regard to remuneration, additional expenditure and deadlines. If Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH recognises that services to be rendered cannot be carried out, or can only be carried out with delay, as a result of the examination, it shall notify the client of this and shall additionally point out to the client that the change request can only be examined if the affected services are postponed for an initially indefinite period. If the client declares its consent to this postponement, Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH shall carry out the examination of the change request. The client is entitled to withdraw its change request at any time. The change procedure that has been initiated shall thereby be terminated.
10.3 After examining the change request, Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH shall present to the client its effects on the agreement reached. The presentation shall contain either a detailed proposal for the implementation of the change request or particulars where the change request cannot be implemented. The contracting parties shall promptly coordinate on the content of a proposal for the implementation of the change request and shall add the result as an addendum to the text of the agreement to which the change relates.
10.4 If no agreement is reached, or if the change procedure ends for another reason, the original scope of services shall remain in place. The same applies in the event that the client does not consent to a deferral of the service for the further conduct of the examination under 10.2.
10.5 Deadlines affected by the change procedure shall be postponed, taking into account the duration of the examination, the duration of the coordination on the change proposal and, where applicable, the duration of the change requests to be carried out, plus a corresponding start-up period (where necessary). Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH shall notify the client of the new deadlines.
10.6 The client shall bear the expenses arising from the change request. This includes in particular the examination of the change request, the preparation of a change proposal and any downtime that may occur. In the event that an agreement on daily rates has been reached between the parties, the expenses shall be calculated according to these or according to the customary remuneration of Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH.
10.7 Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH is entitled to change or deviate from the contractually agreed services if the change or deviation is reasonable for the client, taking into account the interests of Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH.
10.8 Any deviation from the agreed scope of services results in additional expenditure.
10.9 This applies in particular to:Delayed suppliesIncomplete or faulty dataChange requests / additional requirementsAdditional rounds of correctionsChanges to services already approvedNew or amended technical specificationsAdditional formats, versions or delivery channels
10.10 The additional expenditure shall be remunerated, without separate consent, according to the agreed or customary daily rates, provided the additional service is rendered at the request, instigation or with the knowledge of the client.
10.11 The performance of additional services shall be deemed to be commissioned by the client, unless the client objects to these services without delay.
11) Remuneration / Payment Terms
11.1 Insofar as no lump-sum remuneration or express remuneration agreement has been reached between the parties, and the service of Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH could, in the circumstances, only be expected against remuneration, the client is obliged to pay the customary remuneration. In case of doubt, the remuneration rates customarily charged by Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH shall apply.
11.2 The calculation of time-based services is based on our work records. The client acknowledges the time records of Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH as binding upon it. When invoicing according to daily rates, a service day at our production workplaces comprises up to ten working hours. In the administrative area, a service day comprises eight working hours.
11.3 For firmly booked appointments that were not taken up by the client and could not be otherwise filled, the agreed order sum shall be charged, unless the cancellation was made at least 36 hours before the start of the appointment.
11.4 Our prices are exclusive of the applicable statutory value added tax, net from delivery, exclusive of packaging, freight, customs and shipping insurance. Travel costs, encodings, as well as the production of copies and material costs that may possibly arise shall each be invoiced separately.
11.5 Invoices of Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH are due for payment without deduction within 14 days of the invoice date.
11.6 In the case of longer-running projects, Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH is entitled to demand reasonable instalment payments.
11.7 Objections to fee statements or invoices must be asserted in writing without delay after receipt, but at the latest within two weeks of the invoice date. The due date of the invoice remains unaffected by this. If no timely objections are made, the statement shall be deemed approved.
11.8 If the client is a merchant or a legal entity under public law, the set-off or withholding of payments on account of counterclaims is only permissible if these have been acknowledged by Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH or established with legal effect.
11.9 Payments made without a valid contractual basis are made without acknowledgement of any legal obligation.
11.10 In the event of default in payment, Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH is entitled to charge default interest.
11.11 In the event of default in payment, Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH is entitled to suspend further services.
11.12 Payments are a prerequisite for further provision of services, delivery of results and the granting of usage rights.
12) Rights / Retention of Title
12.1 Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH grants the client, in respect of the final services rendered — in particular final image data — the simple, non-exclusive right, unlimited in space and time, to use these services in accordance with the contract. Insofar as software is the subject of the services, the statutory provisions of §§ 69d and 69e UrhG (German Copyright Act) shall apply additionally.
12.2 The production, editing and processing of the process data developed by Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH or made available by the client constitutes the specific know-how of Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH. All rights to non-final services, in particular to project files, working files, raw data, intermediate stages and other process data, remain exclusively with Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH.
12.3 Sound rights are generally the client's responsibility and are, as a rule, not provided by Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH. Deviations from this require a separate written agreement and are to be remunerated separately.
12.4 The use of the services rendered is permitted to the client only revocably until full payment of all due claims. Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH is entitled to revoke the use of such services for which the client is in default of payment, for the duration of the default.
12.5 Items delivered and/or processed by Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH remain the property of Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH until full payment of all claims arising from the business relationship against the client, including interest and ancillary costs. During the existence of the retention of title, any resale or other disposal of these items without the written consent of Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH is inadmissible and ineffective.
12.6 Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH is entitled to retain items that have been provided by the client, are stored with it, or have been produced for the client, as long as all claims arising from the business relationship have not been fully settled.
12.7 Usage rights are granted only after full payment of all due claims. Until then, any use is revocable.
13) Infringement of Intellectual Property Rights
13.1 Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH shall indemnify the client at its own expense against all third-party claims arising from infringements of intellectual property rights (patents, licences and other intellectual property rights). The client shall inform Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH without delay of any claims asserted by third parties. If the client does not inform Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH without delay of the asserted claims, the claim to indemnification shall lapse.
13.2 In the event of infringements of intellectual property rights, Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH may, without prejudice to any claims for damages by the client, at its own choice and at its own expense, in respect of the affected services and after prior consultation with the client, ensure that an infringement of intellectual property rights no longer exists, or acquire the necessary usage rights for the client.
14) Warranty / Duty to Inspect and Give Notice of Defects / Liability
14.1 Insofar as the client has not given precise, written instructions, features of artistic design subject to subjective assessment — in particular colours or tones — cannot be the subject of complaints about defects. For material-, process- or system-related colour or tone variations, the customary commercial tolerances apply.
14.2 Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH shall remedy any defects by way of subsequent performance following corresponding written notification by the client. As long as Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH fulfils its obligation to subsequent performance, in particular to remedy the defect or to deliver a replacement, the client is not entitled to reduce the remuneration or to withdraw from the contract.
14.3 The client may, at its choice, demand a reduction of the remuneration or withdraw from the contract if a defect cannot be remedied within a reasonable period, or if the rectification or replacement delivery has failed. A rectification shall only be deemed to have failed once Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH has been given sufficient opportunity for rectification or replacement delivery without the owed result having been achieved, or if it is impossible, is refused or unreasonably delayed, or if there are justified doubts as to the prospect of success.
14.4 The client is obliged to inspect the delivery without delay for obvious defects. Obvious defects are deemed to be in particular the absence of manuals, significant and easily recognisable defects, incorrect deliveries and quantity discrepancies. Such defects must be reported in writing at the latest within 21 days of delivery.
14.5 Defects that only become apparent later must be reported in writing within 21 days of discovery.
14.6 In the event of a breach of the duty to inspect or to give notice of defects, the delivery shall be deemed approved with regard to the defect in question.
14.7 Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH is liable for damages only in cases of intent and gross negligence. In cases of slight negligence, it is liable only for the breach of a material contractual obligation as well as for damage arising from injury to life, body or health.
14.8 In the case of slight negligence, liability is limited to the foreseeable damage typical of the contract, the occurrence of which typically had to be expected.
14.9 Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH is not liable for the loss of data and/or programs insofar as the damage is due to the client's failure to carry out regular and adequate data backups by means of which lost data could be restored with reasonable effort.
14.10 Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH is not liable for damage arising from the use of materials provided by the client or its vicarious agents, in particular within the meaning of the provisions on the client's duties to cooperate. The client alone is liable for the client's content and materials. In this respect, Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH is indemnified against all third-party claims.
14.11 The foregoing liability provisions also apply in favour of the legal representatives, employees and other vicarious agents of Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH.
14.12 Mandatory provisions of the Product Liability Act remain unaffected.
14.13 All claims of the client become time-barred within one year from delivery or acceptance of the service, unless longer limitation periods are mandatorily prescribed by law.
15) Items Provided / Data Material
15.1 Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH is not liable for provided items of any kind. Such items are stored with Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH at the cost and risk of the client. Following prior written notice, Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH is entitled to have such items stored with third parties at the client's expense. In the event of loss and/or damage to materials handed over for processing, the obligation of Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH to provide compensation is limited to the replacement delivery of raw material in the amount of the lost or damaged material.
15.2 There is no obligation on the part of Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH to insure this type of item.
15.3 After the end of the project, the transfer and/or working material created at Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH in the course of rendering a service (handover of the final data files) shall be retained at Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH for a period of up to one month. Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH reserves the right to delete transfer and working data, as well as transfer and working tapes, after the expiry of this period. At the client's request, this data can be secured in the internal data backup of Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH. It can then, in the event of a follow-up project, be restored. The costs for restoration are to be borne by the client according to the current price list.
16) Non-Solicitation
16.1 The client undertakes, for the duration of the parties' cooperation and additionally for a period of one year thereafter, not to solicit any employees of Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH or to employ them without consent.
16.2 In the event of a culpable breach, the client undertakes to pay a contractual penalty, to be determined in amount by Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH and, in the event of dispute, to be reviewed by the competent court.
17) Confidentiality / Press
17.1 All documents handed over by a contracting party, as well as findings, experience and other information communicated, may be used exclusively for the purposes of this contract. Disclosure to third parties is inadmissible, unless this information is by its nature intended to be made accessible to third parties or is already generally known.
17.2 Persons brought in to perform the contractual relationship — in particular freelancers, subcontractors or other vicarious agents — shall not be deemed third parties within the meaning of this provision, provided they are themselves bound to confidentiality.
17.3 The parties further agree to maintain confidentiality regarding the content of this contract and the findings obtained during its performance.
17.4 The confidentiality obligation also applies beyond the termination of the contractual relationship.
17.5 At the request of a contracting party, documents handed over — such as strategy papers, briefing documents, data, etc. — are to be returned to it after termination of the contractual relationship, insofar as the other contracting party cannot assert a legitimate interest in these documents.
17.6 Press releases, public announcements or other information in which one contracting party refers to the other require prior written coordination between the parties.
17.7 Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH is entitled to use the services rendered for reference and demonstration purposes, in particular for presentations, self-promotion, website or competitions, unless the client expressly objects on grounds of an overriding legitimate interest.
18) Data Protection & Consent
FBB uses a consent management tool that enables users to withdraw or adjust their consent at any time.
19) Termination for Good Cause
19.1 Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH is entitled to terminate the contractual relationship prematurely for good cause. Good cause shall be deemed to exist in particular in the case of:a material breach of contractdefault in paymentmissing, delayed, incomplete or insufficient cooperation by the clientrefusal of necessary approvalsfailure to provide required data, materials or informationa change in the company circumstances or a material deterioration in the financial circumstances of the client, in particular in the case of persistent, material default in payment or default with regard to other material obligationsnon-honouring or protest of cheques or bills of exchangeinsolvencyapplication for the opening of insolvency proceedings
19.2 In the event of termination by Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH for good cause, Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH is entitled to invoice the services rendered irrespective of their usability by the client. For services that were not rendered, § 649 sentence 2 BGB (German Civil Code) applies.
20) Termination & Contract Renewal
20.1 Notices of termination must be submitted in writing by letter with an original signature. Email, fax or telephone are not sufficient.
20.2 Automatic contract renewals without express written confirmation by the managing director are ineffective.
21) Miscellaneous
21.1 The assignment of claims is only permissible with the prior written consent of the other contracting party. Consent may not be unreasonably refused. The provision of § 354a HGB (German Commercial Code) remains unaffected.
21.2 The contracting parties may only set off with claims that are undisputed or have been established with legal effect.
21.3 Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH may name the client as a reference on its own website or in other media. In addition, Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH may publicly reproduce the services rendered for demonstration purposes (e.g. as part of a showreel) or refer to them, unless the client can assert an opposing legitimate interest.
22) Final Provisions
22.1 All amendments and additions to contractual agreements must be recorded in writing for evidentiary purposes. Any amendment of this written-form requirement itself likewise requires written form.
22.2 Notices of termination must be made in writing by registered mail.
22.3 Should individual provisions of the parties' agreements be or become wholly or partially invalid, the validity of the remaining provisions shall not be affected thereby. In this case, the parties shall replace the invalid provision with a valid provision that comes as close as possible to the economic purpose of the invalid provision.
22.4 The same applies to any gaps in the agreement.
22.5 The client's general terms and conditions shall not become part of the contract, even if they have not been expressly objected to.
22.6 The law of the Federal Republic of Germany shall apply exclusively, to the exclusion of private international law as well as the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG). The place of jurisdiction and place of performance is Munich.
22.7 The place of performance for all services is the registered office of Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH.
22.8 The exclusive place of jurisdiction for all disputes arising from or in connection with this contract is the registered office of Fish Blowing Bubbles GmbH, provided the client is a merchant or a legal entity under public law.
22.9 The contracting party bears the burden of proof that a valid contract was concluded by handwritten signature of the managing director or a representative authorised in writing for this purpose, insofar as a conclusion of contract is not already deemed to have come about under clause 1.4 or clause 1.5.
