Terms of service
OVERVIEW
Welcome to Clownfish Studio!
The terms “we”, “us” and “our” refer to Clownfish Studio. Clownfish Studio operates this online store and website and offers the products and services available through it (the “Services”). Our store is powered by Shopify, which provides the ecommerce platform we use to offer our products to you.
These Terms of Service (“Terms”) govern your use of our website and purchases made through our online store.
Please read these Terms carefully. Mandatory statutory rights, including consumer rights that cannot legally be excluded or restricted, remain unaffected by these Terms.
SECTION 1 - ACCESS AND ACCOUNT
You may browse our website without creating a customer account.
When placing an order, you must provide accurate and complete information necessary to process your purchase and delivery.
If you are not legally capable of entering into a binding contract on your own, you may place an order only with the consent of your legal representative where such consent is required.
If you create a customer account, you are responsible for keeping your account access secure and for notifying us if you become aware of unauthorised use.
SECTION 2 - OUR PRODUCTS
We make every reasonable effort to describe and display our products accurately.
Colours and appearance may vary slightly depending on your screen, device settings, materials and production process. Some of our products are individually produced after an order is placed, and minor production variations may occur.
These reasonable variations do not affect your statutory rights where a product is defective or does not conform to the contract.
Product descriptions, availability and ranges may be changed or discontinued for future orders at any time.
SECTION 3 - ORDERS AND CONTRACT FORMATION
The presentation of products in our online store does not itself constitute a binding offer to sell.
By submitting your order through checkout, you make a binding offer to purchase the products in your order.
We will send you an electronic confirmation after your order has been placed. A contract is concluded when we accept your order, including through an order confirmation or other clear confirmation of acceptance.
If we are unable to accept an order, for example because a product is unavailable, payment cannot be processed, delivery to the selected destination is not possible, or there is an obvious error affecting the order, we will inform you and refund any payment already received.
If your order has not yet been fulfilled, you can submit a cancellation request through your customer account. Whether a cancellation can still be completed depends on the status of the order.
Any statutory right of withdrawal or other mandatory consumer right remains unaffected by this cancellation process. Please see our Return & Refund Policy for details.
SECTION 4 - PRICES AND PAYMENT
The prices displayed in our online store are the total product prices applicable to your selected market.
Any taxes or other price components that must legally be included in the displayed price are treated accordingly. Any additional shipping charges are shown before you submit your order.
For deliveries to countries outside the European Union, customs duties, import taxes or similar charges may be imposed by the destination country unless they are expressly included or collected during checkout. Where applicable, these charges are the responsibility of the recipient.
Discounts and promotions may be subject to separate conditions and may be changed or withdrawn for future orders.
You agree to provide accurate billing and payment information and to use only payment methods that you are authorised to use.
SECTION 5 - SHIPPING AND DELIVERY
Available shipping methods, estimated delivery times and applicable shipping charges are described in our Shipping Policy and shown where applicable during checkout.
Delivery estimates are provided in good faith but may be affected by circumstances outside the normal delivery schedule.
If a delivery is delayed, your statutory rights remain unaffected.
For purchases by consumers, the risk of accidental loss or damage remains with us until the goods are delivered to you or to a person designated by you, except where applicable law provides otherwise because you independently arranged a carrier not offered by us. This reflects the German consumer-goods rule in §475 BGB.
SECTION 6 - RETURNS, WITHDRAWAL AND DEFECTIVE GOODS
Returns, cancellation requests and the statutory right of withdrawal are governed by our Return & Refund Policy.
Nothing in these Terms limits mandatory consumer rights relating to defective, damaged, incorrect or non-conforming goods.
For consumers, statutory warranty rights apply. Under German law, claims relating to defects in new goods generally have a two-year limitation period beginning with delivery, subject to the applicable statutory rules.
Where goods are defective, statutory remedies may include repair or replacement and, where the legal requirements are met, a price reduction, withdrawal from the contract or damages.
SECTION 7 - INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Unless otherwise stated, the artwork, illustrations, photographs, graphics, product designs, written content, logos and other original content appearing on the Clownfish Studio website are owned by or licensed to Clownfish Studio and are protected by applicable intellectual property laws.
Purchasing a physical Clownfish Studio product does not transfer intellectual property rights in the artwork or design.
You may not reproduce, copy, distribute, modify or commercially exploit our artwork, designs or website content without prior written permission, except where permitted by law.
Nothing in these Terms restricts any statutory right you may have to sell or otherwise dispose of a lawfully purchased physical product.
Clownfish Studio names, logos and branding may not be used in a way that suggests affiliation, endorsement or authorisation without our permission.
The content of this website, including artwork, photographs, designs and written material, may not be systematically scraped, collected or used to train artificial intelligence or machine-learning systems without our express written permission, except where such use is permitted by applicable law.
SECTION 8 - THIRD-PARTY TOOLS AND SERVICES
Our Services may include functions or services provided by third parties, including payment providers, fulfilment partners and other ecommerce tools.
Those services may be subject to their own terms and privacy policies.
We are not responsible for third-party services to the extent that responsibility legally lies with the third-party provider. Nothing in this section excludes liability or consumer rights that cannot legally be excluded.
SECTION 9 - THIRD-PARTY LINKS
Our website may contain links to websites or services operated by third parties.
We do not control those websites and are not responsible for their independent content, availability or privacy practices.
If you purchase goods or services directly from a third party, the terms applicable to that transaction are between you and that third party unless expressly stated otherwise.
SECTION 10 - RELATIONSHIP WITH SHOPIFY
Clownfish Studio uses Shopify as its ecommerce platform.
Your purchase contract for products sold through the Clownfish Studio store is with Clownfish Studio, not Shopify.
Shopify may process information and provide technical functions necessary to operate the store, as explained in our Privacy Policy.
SECTION 11 - PRIVACY
Our collection and processing of personal data is governed by our Privacy Policy.
Because our store is hosted and operated using Shopify and other service providers, personal data may also be processed by those providers where necessary to provide the Services.
Please refer to our Privacy Policy for details about the purposes, legal bases, recipients and other aspects of the processing of your personal data.
This replaces the current clause that directs customers to Shopify's app-users privacy page, which is not an appropriate substitute for your own store privacy information.
SECTION 12 - REVIEWS, FEEDBACK AND CUSTOMER CONTENT
If you voluntarily submit a review, comment, photograph or other content to us, you retain ownership of your content.
You grant Clownfish Studio the rights reasonably necessary to display, reproduce and use that content in connection with our store, products and marketing, subject to applicable law and any separate consent requirements.
You must not submit content that infringes the rights of another person or is unlawful, misleading, abusive or malicious.
We may remove content where reasonably necessary to comply with the law, protect third-party rights or maintain the proper operation of our Services.
SECTION 13 - ERRORS AND CORRECTIONS
We try to ensure that product descriptions, prices, availability, shipping information and other information on our website are accurate.
If we discover an obvious error before a contract has been concluded, we may correct it.
If an error is discovered after a contract has been concluded, we will contact you where necessary and will deal with the matter in accordance with applicable law.
Nothing in this section gives us an unrestricted right to cancel an already concluded contract.
SECTION 14 - PROHIBITED USES
You may use our website only for lawful purposes.
You may not use the Services to infringe intellectual property rights or other legal rights, introduce malicious software, gain unauthorised access to systems or accounts, fraudulently impersonate another person, collect personal information unlawfully, send unsolicited communications, interfere with the security or operation of the website, or otherwise use the Services in an unlawful manner.
Where reasonably necessary and legally permitted, we may restrict or terminate access to the Services in response to serious or repeated misuse.
SECTION 15 - WEBSITE AVAILABILITY
We aim to keep our website and customer services available and functioning correctly, but we cannot guarantee uninterrupted or error-free availability at all times.
Temporary interruptions may occur due to maintenance, technical problems or circumstances outside our reasonable control.
This does not affect obligations relating to contracts already concluded or any statutory rights you may have.
SECTION 16 - LIABILITY
We are liable without limitation where liability arises from:
- intent or gross negligence;
- injury to life, body or health caused by negligent or intentional breach of duty;
- mandatory product-liability law;
- fraudulent concealment of a defect;
- an expressly assumed guarantee; or
- any other liability that cannot legally be excluded or limited.
In cases of ordinary negligence affecting an essential contractual obligation, our liability may be limited to the foreseeable damage typical for this type of contract, to the extent permitted by law.
Otherwise, liability for ordinary negligence may be excluded to the extent permitted by law.
Nothing in these Terms limits statutory rights or remedies that cannot legally be limited.
This replaces the current blanket exclusion of virtually all direct and indirect damages. German AGB law expressly prohibits exclusions for personal injury caused by negligence and for other loss caused by gross negligence or intent.
SECTION 17 - CUSTOMER RESPONSIBILITY
You are responsible for losses caused by your unlawful use of the Services only to the extent provided by applicable law.
Nothing in these Terms creates a broader obligation for consumers to indemnify or defend Clownfish Studio, Shopify or other third parties beyond liability arising under applicable law.
I would remove the present US-style obligation requiring the customer to “indemnify, defend and hold harmless” Clownfish Studio and Shopify, including legal fees.
SECTION 18 - SEVERABILITY
If any provision of these Terms is invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain unaffected where legally possible.
The invalid provision will be dealt with in accordance with the applicable statutory rules.
SECTION 19 - NO WAIVER
If we do not immediately exercise a right available to us, this does not mean that we permanently waive that right.
Mandatory statutory rules governing the interpretation of these Terms remain unaffected.
I would completely remove the current sentence stating that ambiguity must not be construed against the drafting party. German law provides precisely the opposite rule for ambiguous standard terms.
SECTION 20 - GOVERNING LAW
These Terms and contracts concluded with Clownfish Studio are governed by the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany.
If you are a consumer habitually resident in another country, this choice of law does not deprive you of mandatory consumer protections that would apply to you under the law of your country of habitual residence.
That second sentence matters for your international EU sales: Article 6 of the Rome I Regulation prevents a contractual choice of law from stripping a consumer of mandatory protections applicable in their home country.
SECTION 21 - CHANGES TO THESE TERMS
The current version of these Terms is available on this page.
We may update these Terms from time to time, for example to reflect changes to our Services, business practices or applicable law.
Changes do not retrospectively alter the terms governing an order that has already been concluded unless this is legally permitted or separately agreed.
Where legally required, we will provide appropriate notice of material changes.
SECTION 22 - CONTACT INFORMATION
Questions about these Terms of Service can be sent to:
Clownfish Studio
Florien Wildeman
Dreihausen 2
21266 Jesteburg
Germany
Email: hello@clownfishstudio.com
Phone: +49 (0)175 04074236