General Terms and Conditions of Participation of bsh medical communications GmbH
in business transactions with physicians / med. professionals / participants / entrepreneurs
(Last updated: July 2026)
Section 1 Scope and Contracting Parties
1.1 These Terms and Conditions of Participation exclusively govern the participation of entrepreneurs within the meaning of Section 14 of the German Civil Code (BGB) (“Participants”), i.e. natural persons or legal entities who purchase the goods or services for commercial or professional use and to persons/entities under public law and special funds under public law, attending physical and online events (congresses, conferences, seminars, courses) of bsh medical communications GmbH (hereinafter referred to as “Organiser” or “we/us”).
1.2 General terms and conditions of the Participant shall not apply; deviating terms and conditions shall only apply if the Organiser has expressly acknowledged them in writing [In this document, “in writing” does not mean mandatorily with a handwritten signature, i.e. it can be by e-mail or the like (note of translator)]. In particular, our silence on such deviating terms and conditions shall not be considered as acknowledgement or consent, even in the case of future agreements.
1.3 Our GTC shall apply instead of any Terms and Conditions of Purchase of the Customer, even if according to these the acceptance of an order shall be deemed to be an unconditional recognition of the Terms and Conditions of Purchase, or if we deliver or provide after the Customer has informed us that their General Terms and Conditions of Purchase apply, unless we have expressly waived the application of our General Terms and Conditions. The exclusion of the General Terms and Conditions of Purchase of the Customer shall also apply if the GTC on individual points do not contain any separate regulation.
Section 2 Registration, conclusion of contract and terms of payment
2.1 Registration is made exclusively via the Organiser's online booking portal (www.medical-communications.de); written or telephone enquiries are only considered as non-binding enquiries.
2.2 Upon completion of the booking process, the Participant shall submit a binding offer to us; the contract will be concluded upon receipt of the Organiser's electronic or written booking confirmation.
2.3 Subject to a different agreement, the participation fee must be paid within Germany by SEPA direct debit; the direct debit is regularly collected about six weeks before the start of the event. If a direct debit fails for reasons attributable to the Participant (e.g. insufficient account coverage, incorrect or illegible information), the Organiser can charge the actual returned debit cost to the Participant.
2.4 The participation fees are based on the applicable value-added tax; amendments that are beyond the control of the Organiser (in particular tax amendments) are reserved.
Section 3 Participation in courses and limited number of participants
3.1 In the case of events in the form of courses, the number of participants per course is limited to the extent announced by the Organiser to the Participant before the conclusion of the contract; the available course places will be awarded in the order of receipt of the complete registration and payment.
3.2 The Organiser shall be entitled to reject course registrations or offer alternative courses with the same content if the maximum number of participants has already been reached; there is no entitlement to participate in a specific course unless this is expressly agreed. On site, course places can only be allocated if available.
Section 4 Cancellation by the Participant
4.1 The Participant may cancel their participation in writing by e-mail or by post.
• If the Organiser receives the cancellation not later than six weeks before the start of the event, the Organiser will refund 50% of the participation fee; the remaining 50% shall be considered as liquidated damages for already incurred planning costs, quota reservation and engagement of service providers. However, if the Participant is able to prove that the Organiser has suffered no or considerably less damage/loss, the flat-rate cancellation fee shall be reduced accordingly. The Participant shall reserve the right to prove that the Organiser has suffered no or less damage/loss.
• If the cancellation is received by the Organiser after this time, the Participant has in principle no right no claim for refund, as the Organiser can usually not reallocate the places due to duty-rosters of medical staff. However, if the Participant is able to prove that the Organiser has suffered no or considerably less damage/loss, the flat-rate cancellation fee shall be reduced accordingly.
4.2 The Participant may appoint a substitute participant from the same company or from their professional environment who shall enter the contract in full; for this purpose, the Organiser may demand a reasonable processing fee, which will be calculated on the basis of the typical effort for transcribing the documents and, if necessary, making changes to the invoice. Special requests for invoicing (e.g. cost centres, deviating invoice recipients) must be notified when registering; subsequent changes can be billed by the Organiser to the Participant with a reasonable processing fee based on the actual additional expenditure.
Section 5 Amendments, relocation and cancellation by the Organiser
5.1 The events and courses shall only take place if the minimum number of participants set by the Organiser and notified to the Participant on request prior to conclusion of the contract is reached; if this number is not reached, the Organiser may cancel the event or individual courses concerned or move them to another date or venue (including virtual forms).
5.2 The Organiser shall be entitled to exchange individual speakers, to change the order or time schedule of individual programme items and to move the event to another venue or to another date insofar such changes are reasonable for the Participant, provided that there is an objective reason for this and the overall character, the essential content and the contractual purpose of the event are preserved.
Objective reasons include in particular the case of illness, hindrance or cancellation of a speaker, in the case of organisational or technical disruptions, in the case of the unavailability of the intended venue, due to official orders or other circumstances that cannot or not significantly be controlled by the Organiser.
The Organiser will take due account of the legitimate interests of the Participants when exercising their right of change. Changes shall be admissible only to the extent that they are reasonable for the Participant, taking into account the interests of both parties.
The Organiser will inform the Participant immediately in writing about any material change of the event programme, the venue or the event date.
If a change is unreasonable for the Participant or if it affects substantial elements of the event that were decisive for their booking decision, the Participant shall be entitled to withdraw from the agreement free of charge within 14 calendar days after receipt of the notification of change, but at the latest before the start of the changed event. In this case, participation fees already paid will be fully refunded. Further legal claims remain unaffected.
If the event has to be cancelled as a whole, the Organiser will inform the Participant immediately. Participation fees already paid will be fully refunded.
Claims by the Participant for reimbursement of travel, overnight or other expenses as well as further claims for damages shall be exclusively governed by the statutory provisions and according to Section 7 of these General Terms and Conditions. A limitation of liability provided for in Section 7 shall not apply if liability is mandatory by law.
5.3 If the event cannot be held or cannot be held as agreed due to an event of force majeure, an official order or a significant safety risk that cannot be prevented by other means, the Organiser shall be entitled to make the necessary adaptations that are reasonable for the Participant to hold the event or to cancel the event.
Events of force majeure means external events that are not foreseeable at the time of conclusion of the contract and cannot be avoided by due diligence, which are beyond control of the Organiser. This may include, in particular, natural disasters, epidemics or pandemics, war, terrorist attacks, major disturbances, widespread failures of transport, energy or communications infrastructure and similar serious events.
A significant safety risk only exists if, due to specific factual circumstances, a serious risk to the life, limb, health or other important legal assets of the participants, speakers, employees or other persons involved in the event is to be expected and this risk cannot be eliminated by reasonable organisational or technical measures.
Adaptations according to paragraph 1 may relate in particular to the venue, the date of the event, the time schedule, individual programme items or – if appropriate according to the type and content of the event – the shift to a digital or hybrid version. An adaptation is only permissible if it is reasonable for the Participant, taking into account the interests of both parties to the contract, and the overall character, the essential content and the contractual purpose of the event are maintained.
The Organiser will inform the Participant about any substantial adaptation or the cancellation of the event immediately after becoming aware of it in writing.
If a substantial adaptation is unreasonable for the Participant or if it affects circumstances which were clearly of substantial importance for their booking decision, the Participant may withdraw from the agreement free of charge within 14 days of receipt of the notification, but at the latest before the start of the modified event. In this case, participation fees already paid will be fully refunded.
If the event is cancelled in full, the Organiser's right to claim to the participation fee will be waived. Participation fees already paid will be fully refunded immediately. If the event service due is only partially provided, the refund of the participation fee is based on the extend of the non-provided part.
The preceding paragraphs do not limit the Participant's statutory claims, insofar as the event leading to the adaptation or cancellation is attributable to the Organiser.
Section 6 Venue and external service providers
The Organiser themself is not a venue; the events take place in external conference venues or virtually chosen by them. Third party services (in particular hotel accommodation, travel services, gastronomic offers) are provided by the respective external service provider in its own name and on its own account; their contractual conditions apply additionally and must be observed by the Participant. The Organiser is only liable for the organisation and execution of the technical conference and course contents inherent in the contract; any claims in connection with external services are to be asserted directly against the respective service provider.
Section 7 Liability
7.1 The contractual and legal liability of the Organiser as well as of the legal representatives and vicarious agents of the Organiser for damages and compensation of expenses, irrespective of the legal basis, shall be excluded or limited as follows:
(a) In the event of a minor negligent breach of Material Contractual Obligations arising from the contractual relationship, the liability of the Organiser shall be limited to the typical and foreseeable damage/loss.
“Material Contractual Obligations” are those obligations whose fulfilment is fundamental of the agreement and upon which the cooperation partner was entitled to rely.
(b) The Organiser shall not be liable for (i) minor negligent breaches of obligations arising from the contractual relationship that are not Material Contractual Obligations, and (ii) force majeure.
7.2 The aforementioned limitation of liability shall not apply (i) in cases of mandatory legal liability (in particular according to the German Product Liability Act), (ii) if and to the extent that the Organiser has assumed a guarantee or a guarantee-equivalent procurement risk according to Section 276 of the German Civil Code (BGB), (iii) for culpably caused injuries to life, limb and/or health, also by representatives or vicarious agents, and (iv) in the case of delay concerning a fixed performance date.
7.3 The above provisions do not lead to the burden of proof being reversed.
Section 8 Co-operation of the Participant and responsibility
The Participant is obliged to provide all information necessary for the organisation of the event in good time and to fulfil any access and system requirements for online events. If the Participant does not comply with their co-operation obligations, this may impair the organisation; in this case, the obligation to pay remains in place insofar as the Organiser offers the service in accordance with the contract and the Participant is responsible for the non-use. It shall be the responsibility of the Participant that content provided by them or their personnel (e.g. case studies, presentations) does not infringe the rights of third parties and does not contain confidential patient data without appropriate anonymisation.
Section 9 Assignment, transfer of contract and joint and several liability
If, at the request of the Participant, a third party enters into the contract, they shall be jointly and severally liable for the participation fee and any processing fees in addition to the original Participant. The assignment of claims arising from the agreement by the Participant requires the written consent of the Organiser; this does not include assignment within the scope of a group of companies, which is only to be notified to the Organiser. Section 354a of the German Commercial Code (HGB) remains unaffected.
Section 10 Written form and communication
Oral collateral agreements shall only be effective if they are confirmed in writing by the Organiser. Amendments and supplements of the agreement, including these Terms and Conditions of Participation, shall be in writing, with no handwritten signature being necessary (including e-mail), unless a stricter form being prescribed by law. Legally relevant declarations of the Participant (e.g. withdrawal, cancellation, change of booking) must be made to the contact address of the Organiser specified in the booking portal or in the booking confirmation. Section 305b of the German Civil Code (BGB) (priority of individually agreed terms) remains unaffected.
Section 11 Data Protection
In connection with participation in events, personal data are processed on the basis of the respective privacy policy of the Organiser in the currently valid version, which is available on the booking portal and on the company website and is continuously updated by an external data protection expert. The privacy policy contains information in particular about purposes, legal bases, retention period, and rights of the data subjects; within the framework of B2B traffic, the Organiser processes above all contact information of the Participants and invoice data for the execution of the contract.
Section 12 Final provisions
12.1 The law of the Federal Republic of Germany shall apply, with the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) being excluded.
12.2 Exclusive place of jurisdiction for any and all disputes arising from and in connection with these Terms and Conditions of Participation and the agreements concluded hereunder shall be the registered office of the Organiser in Dusseldorf.
12.3 Should any provision of this agreement be or become invalid or unenforceable in whole or in part due to laws governing General Terms and Conditions according to SS. 305 to 310 of the German Civil Code (BGB), the statutory provisions shall apply.
If the invalidity of a provision of this agreement is based exclusively on another reason, the following shall apply:
Should one or more provisions of this agreement be invalid or unenforceable, this shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions of this agreement. The same applies in the event that the agreement does not contain a provision which is necessary per se. In such a case, the parties shall replace the invalid or unenforceable provision or fill the contractual gap with a legally permissible provision and enforceable which come closest to the economic objectives and purposes of the invalid, unenforceable or missing provision according to the intention of the parties. The legal concept of Section 139 of the German Civil Code (BGB) shall not apply – neither in the sense of a burden of proof rule.