Terms and Conditions

Last updated: 2026-03-20 — Effective date: [EFFECTIVE_DATE] — Version 1.1-draft — English (legally binding version) — Applicable law: German law

§ 1 — Scope and Applicability

1.1 These Terms and Conditions ("Terms") govern the use of the online platform available at farmlovers.org (the "Platform"), operated by Farmlovers UG (haftungsbeschränkt) ("Farmlovers", "we", "us", or "our").

1.2 These Terms govern the use of the Platform by visitors, registered users, and organizations. Provisions concerning registration, paid services, and contractual use apply once a user registers, subscribes, or otherwise expressly accepts these Terms.

1.3 The Platform serves the following types of users:

Visitors: persons who browse publicly available content;
Users: registered natural persons holding a user account;
Organizations / Sellers: farms, cooperatives, stores, processors, and other businesses using the Platform to present themselves and list products or services;
Buyers: persons or entities interested in contacting Sellers or purchasing from them.

1.4 Where these Terms apply to both business users ("B2B") and private consumers ("B2C"), any section specifically protective of consumers is clearly marked. Private consumers retain all mandatory consumer protection rights under applicable law, including the withdrawal rights set out in § 14, regardless of any other provision of these Terms.

1.5 Any terms or conditions of the User that conflict with or supplement these Terms do not apply, even if Farmlovers has not expressly objected to them, unless Farmlovers has explicitly agreed to them in writing.

1.6 By completing registration or by continuing to use the Platform after these Terms are made available, Users confirm that they have read, understood, and agree to these Terms.

§ 2 — Platform Operator

2.1 The Platform is operated by:

Farmlovers UG (haftungsbeschränkt)
Framheinstrasse 19
22083 Hamburg
Germany

Email: legal@farmlovers.org
Managing Director (Geschäftsführerin): Silvia Pavic Jovic
Commercial Register: Amtsgericht Hamburg, HRB 196298

2.2 Further mandatory provider information is available in our Legal Notice (Impressum), accessible at all times from the Platform.

§ 3 — Description of the Service

3.1 Farmlovers is an online marketplace platform that connects farmers, agricultural producers, food cooperatives, processors, and other food-sector organizations ("Sellers") with buyers and other interested parties ("Buyers").

3.2 Farmlovers is an intermediary only. Farmlovers provides digital platform services only. Farmlovers is not itself the seller, producer, reseller, importer, carrier, warehouse operator, or contracting party for products offered by Sellers on the Platform, unless expressly stated otherwise for a specific service.

3.3 The services provided by Farmlovers may include profile hosting, listings, search and discovery, messaging/contact initiation, and other platform tools made available from time to time.

3.4 All contracts for the purchase, sale, supply, or exchange of products are concluded exclusively between the Buyer and the Seller. Farmlovers is not a party to any such contract.

3.5 The Platform is currently offered primarily in English. Farmlovers may provide additional language versions for convenience. Unless expressly stated otherwise, the English version remains controlling.

§ 4 — Registration and User Accounts

4.1 Use of the core features of the Platform requires registration and the creation of a personal user account ("Account").

4.2 Age requirement. You must be at least 18 years old to register. By registering, you confirm that you are at least 18 years of age.

4.3 Accurate information. You must provide accurate, complete, and up-to-date information during registration and keep it current throughout your use of the Platform. Providing false information is a breach of these Terms.

4.4 One account per person. Each natural person may maintain one personal User Account, unless Farmlovers expressly permits additional accounts for legitimate reasons. Unauthorized duplicate or misleading accounts are prohibited.

4.5 Registration methods. You may register using an email address and password, or via the Google OAuth single sign-on service. When using Google OAuth, certain data (name, email address, Google user ID, and profile picture) is shared with Farmlovers by Google as part of the authentication process. See our Privacy Policy for details.

4.6 Account security. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your login credentials. You must notify Farmlovers immediately at legal@farmlovers.org if you become aware of any unauthorized use of your Account.

4.7 Terms acceptance tracking. When you register or when these Terms are updated, Farmlovers records the version of the Terms you accepted and the date of acceptance. This record is stored on your Account.

4.8 Farmlovers may refuse registration or suspend an Account where there are objective grounds to believe that the information provided is inaccurate, incomplete, misleading, unlawful, or indicative of misuse or security risk.

§ 5 — Organization Accounts

5.1 Users who represent a farm, cooperative, store, processor, or other food-sector business may create an Organization Account ("Organization") on the Platform. An Organization is a separate entity within the Platform that can list products, manage a public profile, and interact with Buyers.

5.2 Organization types. The Platform currently supports the following organization types: farm, cooperative, store, processor, and other. Each Organization must be accurately categorized.

5.3 Organization Admin. The User who creates an Organization becomes its administrator ("Organization Admin"). The Organization Admin is responsible for:

The accuracy of all information in the Organization profile;
The content and accuracy of all product listings created under the Organization;
All activity by team members they invite to the Organization;
Compliance with all applicable laws relevant to the Organization's activities, including food safety and labeling requirements.

5.4 Invitations and team members. The Organization Admin may invite other registered Users to join the Organization using the Platform's invitation system. Invited Users who accept an invitation will have access to manage the Organization's profile and listings according to the permissions assigned to them. By inviting a user to an Organization, the Organization Admin confirms that they are authorized to grant that user access to the Organization account.

5.5 Responsibility for invited users. The Organization Admin is responsible for granting, reviewing, and revoking access rights for invited users and for activity carried out through permissions assigned within the Organization account. Farmlovers does not conduct independent verification of the relationship between invited users and the Organization.

5.6 Organization profile. Organization profiles are publicly visible on the Platform. Information entered into the Organization profile — including name, contact details, location, and product listings — will be displayed to the public. Organizations should not include information they do not wish to be publicly visible.

5.7 An Organization Account that is suspended or terminated in accordance with § 19 will result in the removal of that Organization's product listings from public view. The Organization Admin and associated team members retain their personal User Accounts unless those are separately suspended.

§ 6 — Contract Formation Between Buyers and Sellers

6.1 No contract with Farmlovers for products. When a Buyer expresses interest in a product or contacts a Seller through the Platform, no purchase contract is formed between the Buyer and Farmlovers. Farmlovers is not a contracting party for any product transaction.

6.2 Product listings are invitations to treat. Product listings published by Sellers generally constitute an invitation to submit an inquiry or offer and are not binding offers unless expressly stated otherwise by the Seller. A binding contract is concluded exclusively between Buyer and Seller when they reach legally sufficient agreement on the relevant contractual terms.

6.3 Direct contracting. Buyers and Sellers are responsible for negotiating and agreeing on the terms of their transaction, including price, quantity, quality specifications, delivery arrangements, and payment. Farmlovers does not participate in these negotiations and bears no responsibility for the outcome.

6.4 Consumer protection in B2C transactions. Where a private consumer (Buyer) purchases from a business (Seller), the transaction is a distance selling contract subject to German consumer protection law (§§ 312 ff. BGB) and, where applicable, the consumer protection law of the Buyer's country of habitual residence. It is the Seller's responsibility to comply with these rules, including providing the required pre-contractual information, the withdrawal notice, and a withdrawal form. Farmlovers may provide general informational materials to Sellers regarding legal obligations, but does not provide legal advice and does not assume responsibility for any Seller's compliance.

6.5 Club members and direct orders. Users of the paid Club subscription tier may have access to features that facilitate direct order placement or request-for-quotation (RFQ) functionality. Any order placed through such features is still a contract between the Buyer and the Seller only. Farmlovers is not a party to the resulting contract.

§ 7 — Platform Role and Liability Distinction

7.1 Farmlovers as intermediary. Farmlovers provides intermediary digital services for third-party content and communications on the Platform. To the extent applicable, Farmlovers operates as a hosting service / online platform within the framework of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 (Digital Services Act).

7.2 What Farmlovers is not responsible for. Except as expressly set out in § 17 and without prejudice to mandatory law, Farmlovers does not assume responsibility for and does not make any representations or warranties regarding:

The accuracy, completeness, or truthfulness of any product listings, descriptions, prices, or availability information posted by Sellers;
The quality, safety, fitness for purpose, or legality of any products offered or sold by Sellers;
Compliance by Sellers with food safety law, labeling requirements, allergen disclosure obligations, or any other regulatory requirements applicable to their products;
The ability of a Seller to fulfill an order or deliver goods as described;
Any communications, agreements, disputes, or transactions between Buyers and Sellers;
The delivery, condition upon delivery, or non-delivery of any goods;
Any personal injury, property damage, financial loss, or other harm arising from products purchased through the Platform.

7.3 Buyer-Seller relationship. Any dispute arising from a transaction between a Buyer and a Seller must be resolved between those parties. Farmlovers may, at its discretion, assist in facilitating communication but is under no obligation to do so and does not act as a mediator or arbitrator.

7.4 No endorsement. The presence of a Seller, product, or verification badge on the Platform does not constitute an endorsement, recommendation, guarantee of quality, or certification of legal compliance by Farmlovers.

7.5 The limitations in this § 7 apply subject to the liability provisions set out in § 17 and do not limit Farmlovers' liability where such limitation is prohibited by mandatory law.

§ 8 — User Obligations

8.1 By using the Platform, all Users agree to:

Use the Platform only for lawful purposes and in accordance with these Terms;
Provide accurate, complete, and current information in all interactions on the Platform, including during registration, in profiles, and in communications with other users;
Not use the Platform to engage in any activity that is fraudulent, deceptive, misleading, or harmful to other users;
Not post, upload, or transmit any content that is illegal, defamatory, obscene, harassing, discriminatory, or that infringes the intellectual property rights of any third party;
Not use automated tools, bots, scrapers, crawlers, or similar software to access, collect, or copy content from the Platform without the prior written consent of Farmlovers;
Not attempt to circumvent or interfere with the Platform's security measures, technical systems, or data integrity;
Treat other users with respect and not engage in harassment, threats, or abusive behavior;
Not create duplicate accounts or use an account on behalf of another person without their authorization.

8.2 Compliance with law. Each User is responsible for ensuring that their use of the Platform complies with the laws reasonably applicable to their activities on the Platform.

8.3 No scraping. Mass extraction of data from the Platform using automated means, regardless of whether such data is publicly visible, is prohibited without the prior written consent of Farmlovers. This includes but is not limited to price data, product information, contact details, and listing content.

8.4 Farmlovers may remove content or take account measures under § 19 where there are objective grounds to believe that these obligations have been seriously or repeatedly breached.

§ 9 — Seller Obligations

9.1 Organizations that use the Platform to list and offer products ("Sellers") have the following additional obligations, in addition to the general User obligations in § 8.

9.2 Accuracy of listings. Sellers must ensure that all product listings are accurate, complete, and not misleading. Listings must include:

An accurate description of the product, including its type, characteristics, and condition;
The current price per unit or per the listed quantity, including any applicable taxes;
Accurate information about availability (products no longer available must be removed or marked as unavailable promptly);
Accurate information about the geographic delivery area, if applicable.

9.3 Food safety and labeling. Sellers who list food products must comply with all applicable food-information, labeling, hygiene, and food-safety laws, including Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 and Regulation (EC) No 852/2004, to the extent applicable to their products and sales model.

9.4 Allergen information. Sellers must provide allergen and other mandatory consumer information where required by applicable law.

9.5 Legal compliance. Sellers are solely responsible for ensuring that their business operations, products, and listings comply with all laws applicable to them in their jurisdiction, including business licensing, trade regulations, tax obligations, and consumer protection law.

9.6 B2C compliance. Sellers who sell to private consumers through the Platform are responsible for fulfilling all obligations of a distance seller under §§ 312 ff. BGB and applicable EU consumer protection law, including providing pre-contractual information, a right of withdrawal (where applicable), and a withdrawal form. Farmlovers does not fulfill these obligations on behalf of Sellers.

9.7 Timely updates. Sellers must keep their product listings, pricing, and availability information up to date. Farmlovers may remove or deactivate listings that are demonstrably inaccurate or stale.

9.8 Compliance with Platform policies. Sellers must comply with any additional Seller guidelines or policies published by Farmlovers on the Platform from time to time. In the event of a conflict between such guidelines and these Terms, these Terms prevail.

§ 10 — Food Safety and Perishable Goods

10.1 Seller responsibility for food safety. The Platform is used to list and discover food products. All responsibility for compliance with food safety law rests exclusively with the Seller. This includes compliance with:

EU Regulation 1169/2011 (LMIV) on food information to consumers;
Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 on the hygiene of foodstuffs;
All applicable national food safety, hygiene, and inspection requirements;
Accurate disclosure of allergens, ingredients, and product origin.

10.2 Platform not liable for food safety. Farmlovers does not inspect, test, certify, or verify the safety, quality, freshness, or suitability of products listed by Sellers and, subject to § 17 and mandatory law, does not assume responsibility for defects or harm arising from such products.

10.3 Labeling accuracy. Sellers are solely responsible for the accuracy of all labeling information included in their product listings. Farmlovers does not verify the accuracy of nutritional claims, organic certifications, origin designations, or any other product attributes listed by Sellers.

10.4 Allergen disclaimer. Persons with food allergies or intolerances should contact the Seller directly before purchasing to verify allergen information. Farmlovers cannot guarantee the accuracy or completeness of allergen information displayed on the Platform.

10.5 Perishable goods and right of withdrawal.

Important for Consumers:

The 14-day right of withdrawal that consumers normally have for distance purchases does not apply to perishable goods — that is, goods that can spoil or expire quickly by their nature.

Contracts for the supply of goods that are liable to deteriorate or expire rapidly are excluded from the statutory right of withdrawal under § 312g Abs. 2 Nr. 2 BGB. This may apply in particular to fresh produce, meat, fish, dairy products, eggs, baked goods, and similar perishable food items.

For non-perishable goods (such as dried goods, preserves, or non-food products) offered on the Platform, the standard 14-day withdrawal right may apply. In those cases, the Seller is responsible for providing the required withdrawal notice and form — see § 14 and § 15 for details of the withdrawal right as it applies to Farmlovers' own subscription service. The Seller must provide equivalent information for their own product sales.

10.6 The withdrawal rules set out in § 14 apply only to the subscription contract between the User and Farmlovers. They do not govern withdrawal rights in product purchases between Buyers and Sellers.

§ 11 — Subscription and Paid Services

11.1 Subscription tiers. Farmlovers offers two subscription tiers for Organization Accounts:

Free tier (no charge): Includes a public Organization profile, up to 5 product listings, the ability to browse the Platform, and the ability to receive messages from Buyers.

Club tier (paid): Includes all Free features plus: unlimited product listings, a verification badge, access to direct order and request-for-quotation (RFQ) functionality, price insights, CRM tools, priority placement in search results, and access to educational resources.

11.2 Future features. Farmlovers reserves the right to introduce additional paid features in the future, including but not limited to top positions in search results and advertising placements. Any such features will be described at the time of their introduction and subject to separate terms or pricing, as applicable.

11.3 Club tier pricing. Current pricing for the Club tier is displayed on the Platform at the time of subscription. All prices include applicable taxes (VAT) where required by law.

11.4 Billing cycles. The Club tier is available on a monthly or yearly billing cycle. The chosen billing cycle is confirmed at the time of subscription.

11.5 Auto-renewal. Monthly subscriptions renew monthly until cancelled. Yearly subscriptions run for the selected initial term and thereafter continue only in the legally permissible renewal form applicable to the user category. For consumers, any automatic renewal mechanism shall apply only to the extent permitted by mandatory law. Farmlovers reserves the right to structure consumer renewals differently from business-user renewals.

11.6 No free trial. There is no free trial period for the Club tier.

11.7 Cancellation. You may cancel your Club subscription at any time. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period. You will retain access to Club tier features until the end of the paid period. After cancellation, your Organization Account reverts to the Free tier. Products in excess of the Free tier limit (5 listings) will be automatically moved to draft status and will not be publicly visible until the count is reduced.

11.8 Cancellation method. You may cancel your Club subscription via the account settings in your dashboard, or by sending a cancellation request to legal@farmlovers.org. Cancellations submitted by email will be confirmed within 2 business days.

11.9 Refunds. Subscription fees are non-refundable after the start of a billing period, subject to withdrawal rights and mandatory law, including the consumer withdrawal right set out in § 14, where it applies.

11.10 Downgrade. If your Club subscription expires or is cancelled, your account will be automatically downgraded to the Free tier. Content and data associated with Club-only features will be retained for 30 days after downgrade to allow you to re-subscribe or export your data.

§ 12 — Prices and Payment

12.1 Currency. All subscription prices are displayed and charged in Euros (EUR).

12.2 Tax inclusion. Prices shown to consumers include applicable VAT where required by law. Treatment of VAT for business users depends on the legal and tax status of the customer and the place of supply.

12.3 Payment methods. Payment for the Club subscription is processed via [PAYMENT_METHODS]. By subscribing, you authorize Farmlovers to charge your chosen payment method on a recurring basis in accordance with § 11.5.

12.4 Payment failure. If payment cannot be processed at the renewal date, Farmlovers will notify you and may suspend Club tier access until payment is successfully processed. Repeated payment failure may result in cancellation of the subscription and reversion to the Free tier.

12.5 Invoices. Upon each successful payment, Farmlovers will provide you with an invoice or payment confirmation sent to the email address on your Account.

12.6 Price changes. Farmlovers reserves the right to change subscription pricing. Existing subscribers will be notified of any price change at least 30 days before the change takes effect. If you do not agree to the new price, you may cancel before the next renewal date. The new price will apply only from the next billing period onward. Continued renewal after that date constitutes acceptance, subject to mandatory consumer law.

§ 13 — Intellectual Property and Content License

13.1 Farmlovers' intellectual property. The Platform itself — including its design, code, user interface, branding, logos, and all content created by Farmlovers — is the intellectual property of Farmlovers UG (haftungsbeschränkt) and is protected by German and international copyright law. Nothing in these Terms grants Users any right to use Farmlovers' intellectual property beyond what is necessary to use the Platform.

13.2 User-owned content. All content uploaded or submitted by Users and Organizations to the Platform — including text descriptions, photographs, logos, and other materials ("User Content") — remains the intellectual property of the User who submitted it (or of the rights holder whose content the User has permission to use).

13.3 License grant to Farmlovers. By submitting User Content to the Platform, you grant Farmlovers a non-exclusive, royalty-free license, limited to the duration and scope necessary to operate, display, technically reproduce, and promote the Platform and your presence on it.

13.4 Scope of marketing use. This license is limited to Farmlovers' own platform-related marketing and communications and does not permit sublicensing for unrelated third-party commercial use.

13.5 Revocation of license. Deletion revokes the license for future use, except to the extent retention is technically necessary, legally required, or already embodied in published materials that cannot reasonably be withdrawn.

13.6 Your warranties. By submitting User Content, you represent and warrant that:

You own the User Content or have all necessary rights and permissions to upload it and to grant the license in § 13.3;
The User Content does not infringe the intellectual property rights, privacy rights, or any other rights of any third party;
The User Content does not violate any applicable law.

13.7 Responsibility for third-party IP. Farmlovers does not pre-screen User Content for intellectual property compliance. If you believe that content on the Platform infringes your intellectual property rights, please contact us at legal@farmlovers.org with a description of the alleged infringement. We will investigate and take action in accordance with § 21.

§ 14 — Right of Withdrawal for Consumers

Note: The right of withdrawal described in this § 14 applies only to the subscription contract between you (the User) and Farmlovers (for the Club tier). It does not apply to any product purchase you may make from a Seller through the Platform. For product purchases, the applicable withdrawal right (if any) is governed by the terms of the Seller. As explained in § 10.5, most food products are perishable goods excluded from the withdrawal right under § 312g Abs. 2 Nr. 2 BGB.

Withdrawal Notice (Widerrufsbelehrung)

Right of Withdrawal

You have the right to withdraw from this contract within fourteen days without giving any reason.

The withdrawal period is fourteen days from the day on which the contract is concluded (i.e., the day you subscribe to the Club tier).

To exercise your right of withdrawal, you must inform us:

Farmlovers UG (haftungsbeschränkt)
Framheinstrasse 19
22083 Hamburg
Germany
Email: legal@farmlovers.org

by means of a clear statement (e.g., a letter sent by post, or an email) of your decision to withdraw from this contract. You may use the model withdrawal form in § 15, but it is not obligatory.

To meet the withdrawal deadline, it is sufficient for you to send your communication concerning the exercise of your right of withdrawal before the withdrawal period has expired.

Consequences of withdrawal

If you withdraw from this contract, we shall reimburse to you all payments received from you, without undue delay and in any event not later than fourteen days from the day on which we are informed about your decision to withdraw from this contract. We will carry out such reimbursement using the same means of payment as you used for the initial transaction, unless you have expressly agreed otherwise; in any event, you will not incur any fees as a result of such reimbursement.

Commencement of service before withdrawal period expires

If you have requested that the performance of services begin during the withdrawal period, you shall pay us an amount which is in proportion to what has been provided until you have communicated your withdrawal from this contract, in comparison with the full coverage of the contract.

Special note on commencement of service: If you subscribe to the Club tier and request immediate access to the Club features (i.e., before the 14-day withdrawal period expires), your right of withdrawal is not lost, but you may be required to pay for the pro-rata value of the service already received if you later withdraw.

Withdrawal button. If and to the extent required by applicable law from 19 June 2026, Farmlovers will provide an electronic withdrawal function for contracts covered by the statutory withdrawal right.

§ 15 — Model Withdrawal Form

The following is the EU standard model withdrawal form (Muster-Widerrufsformular) as required by Annex 2 of the BGB-Informationspflichten-Verordnung (BGB-InfoV). You are not required to use this form — any clear written statement of your withdrawal is sufficient.

Model Withdrawal Form

(Complete and return this form only if you wish to withdraw from the contract)

To:
Farmlovers UG (haftungsbeschränkt)
Framheinstrasse 19
22083 Hamburg
Germany
Email: legal@farmlovers.org

I/We (*) hereby give notice that I/We (*) withdraw from my/our (*) contract of sale of the following goods (*)/for the provision of the following service (*):

Ordered on (*)/received on (*): _______________

Name of consumer(s): _______________

Address of consumer(s): _______________

Signature of consumer(s) (only if this form is notified on paper): _______________

Date: _______________

(*) Delete as appropriate.

§ 16 — Warranty

16.1 Warranty for products is between Buyer and Seller. Farmlovers does not sell products itself and does not assume contractual warranty obligations for products listed or sold by Sellers.

16.2 Consumer warranty rights cannot be waived. For private consumers, statutory warranty rights under German law (§§ 434–442 BGB and related provisions) apply to the Buyer-Seller relationship. These rights cannot be excluded or limited by Sellers in consumer contracts. Any such exclusion in a Seller's terms is void.

16.3 Platform availability. Farmlovers warrants that it will make reasonable efforts to keep the Platform operational and available. However, Farmlovers does not guarantee uninterrupted, error-free, or secure access to the Platform at all times. The Platform may be temporarily unavailable due to maintenance, upgrades, or circumstances beyond Farmlovers' control.

16.4 No warranty for third-party content. Farmlovers makes no warranty that the information, descriptions, or content provided by Sellers on the Platform is accurate, complete, or current. Users rely on such information at their own risk, subject to the liability provisions in § 17.

§ 17 — Liability of Farmlovers

17.1 Unlimited liability. Farmlovers is fully liable without limitation for:

Damages caused by intent (Vorsatz) or gross negligence (grobe Fahrlässigkeit) on the part of Farmlovers, its legal representatives, or its agents;
Damages resulting from injury to life, bodily integrity, or health;
Liability under the German Product Liability Act (Produkthaftungsgesetz);
Fraudulent misrepresentation;
Any other liability that cannot be excluded or limited under mandatory German law.

17.2 Limitation for slight negligence. For damages caused by slight negligence (einfache Fahrlässigkeit), Farmlovers is only liable if a material contractual obligation (wesentliche Vertragspflicht / Kardinalpflicht) has been breached. A material contractual obligation is one whose fulfillment makes the proper performance of the contract possible in the first place and on whose compliance the User can regularly rely. In such cases, liability is limited to the foreseeable, typical damage at the time the contract was concluded.

17.3 No liability for Buyer-Seller transactions. Except as expressly provided in this § 17 and under mandatory law, Farmlovers is not liable for losses arising primarily from the acts, omissions, products, listings, communications, or contractual performance of Buyers or Sellers, including:

Any products or services offered, sold, or delivered by Sellers;
The accuracy or completeness of product listings, descriptions, prices, or availability information submitted by Sellers;
Any damage, loss, or harm arising from a transaction between a Buyer and a Seller;
Failure by a Seller to comply with food safety, labeling, or consumer protection obligations;
Any allergic reaction, illness, or harm caused by a food product listed on the Platform;
Non-delivery or late delivery of products;
Any dispute between a Buyer and a Seller.

17.4 Limitation for other damages. Farmlovers is not liable for indirect loss, loss of profit, loss of data, or consequential damage caused by slight negligence, except where caused by the breach of a material contractual obligation as described in § 17.2.

17.5 Application to legal representatives and agents. The limitations and exclusions in this § 17 apply equally to Farmlovers' legal representatives, employees, and agents.

17.6 B2C consumers. Nothing in this § 17 limits or excludes any mandatory liability protection that applies to private consumers under German law or the mandatory consumer protection law of the consumer's country of habitual residence.

§ 18 — Data Protection

18.1 Farmlovers processes personal data in connection with the operation of the Platform. The basis, purposes, scope, and storage periods of this data processing are described in our Privacy Policy, which is available at all times from the Platform.

18.2 By using the Platform, you confirm that the Privacy Policy has been made available to you.

18.3 For cookie-related data processing and web analytics, please see our Cookie Policy, available at all times from the Platform.

18.4 The legal basis for processing personal data in connection with the performance of the contract formed by these Terms is Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR. Other legal bases applicable to specific processing activities are described in the Privacy Policy.

§ 19 — Suspension and Termination

19.1 Termination by Users. You may delete your User Account at any time through your account settings or by sending a deletion request to legal@farmlovers.org. Account deletion takes effect immediately and results in the anonymization of your personal data in accordance with our Privacy Policy (30-day soft-delete period, followed by permanent anonymization or deletion).

19.2 Cancellation of subscription. Cancellation of a paid Club subscription is governed by § 11.7.

19.3 Termination by Farmlovers — ordinary. Farmlovers may terminate an Account on reasonable notice for objective operational, legal, compliance, or security reasons, provided no mandatory law requires a different approach.

19.4 Termination by Farmlovers — extraordinary. Farmlovers may suspend or terminate your User Account immediately, without prior notice, if:

You seriously or repeatedly breach these Terms;
You post or distribute illegal content on the Platform;
There is reasonable suspicion of fraudulent activity on your Account;
A court or regulatory authority requires the suspension or removal of your Account or content;
Continued access poses a risk to the security, integrity, or reputation of the Platform or to other users.

19.5 Suspension (temporary restriction). Before terminating an account, Farmlovers may impose a temporary suspension that restricts access to some or all Platform features. Farmlovers will notify you of any suspension and the reasons for it, except where notification is not possible due to emergency circumstances or legal obligations.

19.6 Consequences of termination.

Upon termination, your right to access and use the Platform ceases immediately.
Product listings and Organization profiles associated with a terminated Account will be removed from public view.
Personal data is handled in accordance with the Privacy Policy. Farmlovers retains data for 30 days after account deletion before permanently anonymizing or deleting it, except where retention is required by law (e.g., financial records: 10 years under commercial law).
Content licenses granted to Farmlovers under § 13.3 for content that has been published are revoked upon deletion, subject to the exception in § 13.5.

19.7 DSA statement of reasons. In accordance with the Digital Services Act, Farmlovers will provide a statement of reasons when suspending or terminating an account or removing content, except where doing so would compromise an ongoing investigation or is otherwise prohibited by law.

§ 20 — Seller Verification

20.1 Purpose of verification. In accordance with the Digital Services Act (DSA Art. 30), Farmlovers collects and may verify identity and contact information from Organizations (Sellers) before and during their use of the Platform. This is to ensure the transparency and accountability of Sellers and to protect Buyers.

20.2 Information collected from Sellers. Sellers must provide all information required by applicable law for trader traceability and marketplace transparency, including any business-registration or identification details required by Farmlovers for compliance purposes. At minimum, Sellers are required to provide when creating an Organization Account:

Organization name and legal form (if applicable);
Full postal address;
Email address and phone number;
Organization type (farm, cooperative, store, processor, etc.);
Contact details for the Organization Admin.

20.3 Verification badge. Sellers subscribed to the Club tier may apply for a verification badge displayed on their Organization profile. A verification badge indicates only that specified checks were completed under Farmlovers' verification process. It is not a guarantee of product quality, legal compliance, or commercial reliability. The specific verification steps and evidence required are described in the verification process available in the account settings.

20.4 Right to refuse or suspend. Farmlovers reserves the right to refuse to activate an Organization Account, remove an Organization's listings, or suspend an Organization's access to the Platform if:

Required information is not provided or appears to be inaccurate;
There is reasonable suspicion that the Organization is not a legitimate business;
The Organization violates these Terms or applicable law.

20.5 Buyer access to Seller information. Farmlovers will make reasonable efforts to ensure that Buyers can access key information about Sellers (name, location, contact details) before entering into a transaction, in accordance with DSA Art. 30(7).

§ 21 — Content Moderation and Notice-and-Action

21.1 Notice of illegal content. Farmlovers maintains a mechanism for Users and third parties to report content on the Platform that they believe to be illegal or in violation of these Terms. Reports may be submitted to legal@farmlovers.org with the subject line "Content Report", including a description of the content, its location on the Platform, the reason for the report, and (if applicable) the legal provision alleged to be violated.

21.2 Processing of notices. Farmlovers will assess notices in a timely, diligent, non-arbitrary manner and take measures it considers appropriate under applicable law and these Terms. Reports alleging clearly illegal content will be prioritized. Farmlovers will notify the person who submitted the report of the outcome of their report within a reasonable time, subject to legal limitations (e.g., if notifying could compromise an investigation).

21.3 Possible actions. Upon review, Farmlovers may take proportionate measures including removal, restriction, warning, suspension, or no action where the notice is not substantiated.

21.4 Counter-notice. If Farmlovers removes your content following a report, Farmlovers will inform you of the removal and provide a brief explanation. You may submit a counter-notice to legal@farmlovers.org if you believe the removal was made in error. Counter-notices will be reviewed, and Farmlovers will provide a reasoned decision.

21.5 Abuse of reporting. Submitting repeated or manifestly unfounded reports is an abuse of the notice-and-action mechanism and may result in suspension of reporting access for the submitting User.

21.6 DSA compliance. This notice-and-action mechanism is provided in accordance with the Digital Services Act (DSA Arts. 14–16). Farmlovers publishes transparency information about content moderation actions in accordance with its DSA obligations.

§ 22 — Ranking Transparency

22.1 Search and listing rankings. The order in which Organizations and products appear in search results and on the Platform is determined by a ranking algorithm. The main parameters influencing ranking include relevance, recency, verification status, engagement signals, and profile completeness. Their relative importance may vary depending on the context of the search or display.

22.2 No undisclosed paid ranking. Farmlovers does not accept payment from Sellers in exchange for improving their position in organic search results without disclosure. Future paid placement features (e.g., top positions or advertising) will be clearly labeled as "Sponsored" or "Advertisement" and distinguished from organic results.

22.3 Non-exhaustive. The parameters listed in § 22.1 represent the main factors. Farmlovers may adjust ranking algorithms over time for quality, safety, or business reasons. Material changes to ranking parameters will be communicated in accordance with § 23.

§ 23 — Changes to These Terms

23.1 Right to amend. Farmlovers may amend these Terms at any time for legitimate reasons, including but not limited to: changes in applicable law, new platform features, changes in business model, or to correct errors.

23.2 Notice of changes. Farmlovers will notify registered Users of any material changes to these Terms by email to the address on their Account, at least 30 days before the changes take effect. A summary of the key changes will be included in the notification.

23.3 Right to object and terminate. You have the right to object to any change. If you object to a change, you may terminate your User Account at any time before the effective date of the change without penalty. Cancellation of a paid subscription in these circumstances will be handled in accordance with § 11.7.

23.4 Deemed acceptance. For consumers, material changes will become effective only where permitted by law and, where required, after express acceptance. Continued use may be treated as acceptance only to the extent permitted for non-material changes or for business users.

23.5 No retroactive changes. Changes to these Terms do not affect transactions already concluded before the effective date of the change.

23.6 Minor and non-material changes. Farmlovers may make non-material changes to these Terms (e.g., typographical corrections, clarifications that do not alter meaning) without advance notice. Such changes will be noted in the version history of this document.

§ 24 — Dispute Resolution

24.1 Direct resolution. Farmlovers encourages Users to resolve any disputes arising from use of the Platform by contacting us directly at legal@farmlovers.org. We will make reasonable efforts to respond within 10 business days and to find an amicable solution.

24.2 Consumer arbitration board (VSBG). In accordance with § 36 VSBG (Verbraucherstreitbeilegungsgesetz), Farmlovers UG (haftungsbeschränkt) is neither willing nor obliged to participate in dispute resolution proceedings before a consumer arbitration board.

24.3 Disputes between Buyers and Sellers. Disputes arising from transactions between Buyers and Sellers must be resolved directly between those parties. Farmlovers is not a party to such disputes and has no obligation to mediate or resolve them.

§ 25 — Applicable Law

25.1 These Terms and any non-contractual obligations arising out of or in connection with them are governed by the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany, excluding the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG).

25.2 Consumer protection reservation. If the User is a consumer, this choice of German law does not deprive the consumer of mandatory protections of the law of the country of the consumer's habitual residence.

§ 26 — Jurisdiction

26.1 For business users (B2B). For disputes between Farmlovers and Users acting in the exercise of a trade, business, craft, or profession, the courts of Hamburg, Germany have exclusive jurisdiction, provided this is permitted by applicable law.

26.2 For consumers (B2C). For consumers, statutory jurisdiction rules apply. Consumers may bring claims in the courts of their domicile or of Farmlovers' domicile, where applicable law so provides. Farmlovers may bring claims against consumers only in the courts of the consumer's domicile, unless mandatory law provides otherwise.

§ 27 — Severability

27.1 If any provision of these Terms is or becomes invalid or unenforceable, the validity of the remaining provisions remains unaffected. In place of the invalid provision, the relevant statutory rules apply.

Farmlovers UG (haftungsbeschränkt) — Terms and Conditions — Version 1.1-draft — Effective: [EFFECTIVE_DATE]
These Terms are provided in English, which is the legally binding version. German law applies.
Last reviewed: 2026-03-20