Terms of Service

General Terms and Conditions of Riddle Technologies AG

Riddle Technologies AG
Bleichstr. 3A
66111 Saarbrücken

§ 1 General, scope of application

(1) Riddle Technologies AG (hereinafter referred to as ‘Riddle’) distributes a software as a service application (hereinafter referred to as ‘Riddle Software’) via its platform (hereinafter referred to as ‘Platform’), which customers can use to create different formats of content and optionally embed this on their own website. Initially, customers can test the platform for a free period before they are obliged to subscribe for further use.

(2) The following General Terms and Conditions (hereinafter referred to as “GTC”) apply to all business relationships of Riddle concerning the Riddle Software with its customers in business transactions, as well as customers who are legal entities under public law or special funds under public law. In particular, these GTC apply to all contracts that a customer concludes for the use of the Software as a Service produced by Riddle.

(3) These GTC apply exclusively. Deviating, conflicting or supplementary general terms and conditions of the customer shall only become part of the contract if and insofar as their validity has been expressly agreed by Riddle.

(4) The platform contains data and information of all kinds that are protected by trademark and/or copyright law in favour of Riddle or, in individual cases, in favour of third parties. It is therefore not permitted to download, reproduce and/or distribute the platform as a whole or individual parts thereof. In particular, technical reproduction for the purpose of browsing is permitted, provided that this action does not serve any commercial purposes, as well as any permanent reproduction for personal use.

(5) The GTC are not applicable to consumers.

§ 2 Subject matter of the contract, conclusion of the contract

(1) Subject matter of the contract is the granting of non-transferable, non-sublicensable, simple licences for the current Riddle software with the rights of use from § 8 of these GTC, limited for the duration of the contract. Each user requires a separate licence.

(2) The customer must first register on the platform in order to use the offers.

(3) Once registration has been completed, the customer receives a free trial period and can choose between different subscription models for the Riddle software after expiration of the trial period. The exact content of the respective subscription can be found in the current service description on the platform at https://www.riddle.com/pricing.

The customer is guided through the check-out process until payment after selecting the appropriate offer. Once all the required data has been entered, the customer can check all the entries one last time. By clicking on the ‘Subscribe now’ button, the customer accepts Riddle's binding offer and the contract between the parties is concluded.

(4) Immediately after sending the order, the customer will receive a confirmation of the contract by e-mail.

(5) As long as no subscription has been concluded, the customer can delete his account at any time. If the customer has a current subscription, he must first terminate this subscription before he is able to delete his account after termination of the contract.

§ 3 Contract language, contract text storage

(1) The language available for the conclusion of the contract is German.

(2) Riddle saves the text of the contract and sends its order data and GTC to the customer by email.

§ 4 Prices, terms of payment and refund policy

(1) The prices for the Riddle software are based on Riddle's current offer at https://www.riddle.com/pricing. For customers in the European Union, all prices are quoted in euros, for customers in Great Britain in British pounds and for all other customers in US dollars and are exclusive of the applicable statutory value added tax.

(2) Payment for the service may be made in accordance with the payment methods proposed in the order process and under the conditions stated therein. Riddle reserves the right to exclude certain payment methods depending on the result of the verification of the customer's data (identity and credit check).

The following payment methods are generally available to the customer:

(a) Credit card

When placing the order, the customer provides his credit card details. After legitimisation as the legitimate cardholder, the payment transaction is carried out automatically and the card is debited.

(b) PayPal, PayPal Express

During the ordering process, the customer is redirected to the website of the online provider PayPal. In order to pay the invoice amount via PayPal, the customer must be registered there (or register first), authenticate with his login data and confirm the payment instruction to Riddle.

The payment transaction will be immediately and automatically carried out by PayPal. The customer will receive further instructions during the order process.

Payment processing by SEPA direct debit is carried out via the payment service provider Stripe. In this case, Stripe collects the invoice amount once a SEPA direct debit mandate has been issued, but not before the deadline for the advance information announcing a debit by SEPA direct debit has expired.

(d) Invoice

Riddle reserves the right to offer payment by invoice and bank transfer to a Riddle bank account in selected regions and for certain subscription types. Unless otherwise agreed, invoices are due for payment immediately and without deduction.

(3) Against Riddle's claim for payment, the customer is entitled to assert rights of retention to which he is entitled in accordance with § 320 BGB or which otherwise result from the same contractual relationship. The customer is not entitled to any other rights of retention.

(4) The customer is entitled to offset an undisputed or legally established claim against Riddle's payment claim. Furthermore, he is entitled to offset against a claim resulting from the fact that Riddle has not or not properly fulfilled its obligations, if these obligations are in a relationship with his payment claim against which offsetting is to take place. Furthermore, offsetting is excluded.

(5) Refund policy
For new sales only, Riddle offers a 30-day money-back guarantee without conditions. If the customer requests a refund within 30 days of making an initial purchase, Riddle will cancel the subscription and issue a full refund. This guarantee applies exclusively to new, first-time purchases and does not apply to renewals or customers who have previously had a subscription with Riddle.

§ 5 Provision of the Riddle Software

(1) If agreed in the contract, Riddle will provide the latest version of the Riddle software for use from the agreed date on a central data processing system rented from a third party and operated by Riddle (hereinafter also referred to as ‘server’) in accordance with the following provisions.

(2) Riddle owes an availability of the platform of 99% on an annual average of one calendar year. This does not include downtimes for which Riddle is not responsible due to necessary maintenance work, force majeure, technical faults in the Internet or other reasons for which Riddle is not responsible.

(3) Riddle is liable for the suitability of the Riddle software for the purposes set out in the product description of the contract, in particular that it is free from viruses and similar malware which would jeopardise the suitability of the Riddle software for use in accordance with the contract.

(4) If the provision of a new version or a change in the functionalities of the Riddle software is accompanied by significant and not merely temporary restrictions in the usability of previously generated data, Riddle will notify the customer of this in writing at least six weeks before such a change comes into effect. If the customer does not object to the change in writing within a period of two weeks from receipt of the notification of change, the change will become part of the contract. Whenever changes are announced, Riddle will draw the customer's attention to the aforementioned deadline and the legal consequences of its expiry if the opportunity to object is not exercised.

(5) The transfer point for the Riddle software is the router output of the server.

(6) Agreements on system requirements on the part of the customer are made contractually. For changes to Riddle's technical system, the objection solution in paragraph 4 applies accordingly. Riddle is not responsible for the quality of the required hardware and software on the part of the customer or for the telecommunications connection between the customer and Riddle up to the transfer point.

§ 6 Provision of storage space

(1) Riddle provides the customer with a defined storage space on a server for the storage of his data. The customer can store content on this server which is necessary or useful for the use of the Riddle software (hereinafter: “Application Data”).

(2) Riddle ensures that the stored Application Data can be accessed via the Internet.

(3) The customer is not authorised to transfer this storage space to a third party for use in part or in full, for a fee or free of charge.

(4) The customer undertakes not to store any content on the storage space whose availability, publication or use violates applicable law or agreements with third parties.

(5) Riddle is obliged to take suitable precautions against data loss and to prevent unauthorised access by third parties to the customer's Application Data. To this end, Riddle will carry out daily backups, check the customer's data for viruses and install state-of-the-art firewalls.

§ 7 Non-fulfilment of principal obligations

(1) If Riddle does not fulfil its contractually agreed main performance obligations in full, the following provisions shall apply.

(2) If Riddle is in default with the initial operational provision of the Riddle software, liability is governed by § 12. The customer is entitled to withdraw from the contract if Riddle does not comply within a two-month grace period set by the customer, i.e. does not provide the full agreed functionality of the Riddle software within the grace period.

(3) If the customer has not notified Riddle of a possible service failure, he must prove that Riddle has gained knowledge of this by other means.

§ 8 Rights of use and utilisation of the Riddle Software

(1) The customer is granted a non-exclusive (non-sublicensable and non-transferable) right to use the Riddle software for the contractually agreed number of users and the contractually agreed functionalities for the term of the contract in accordance with the following provisions.

(2) The customer may only use the Riddle software for the contractually agreed purposes.

(3) The customer is not authorised to make changes to the Riddle software. This does not apply to changes which are necessary for the correction of errors if Riddle is in default with the correction of the error, refuses to correct the error or is unable to correct the error due to the opening of insolvency proceedings.

(4) If Riddle makes new versions, updates, upgrades or other new deliveries with regard to the Riddle software during the term of the contract, the above rights also apply to these.

(5) The customer is not entitled to any rights that are not expressly granted above. In particular, the customer is not authorised to use the Riddle software beyond the agreed use or to have it used by third parties or to make the Riddle software accessible to third parties without the prior consent of Riddle. In particular, it is not permitted to reproduce, sell or transfer the Riddle software for a limited period of time, in particular not to rent or lend it.

§ 9 Type and scope of the service, barrier-free use, use of artificial intelligence by Riddle

(1) Riddle offers its customers the opportunity to create content in various formats via its platform. Access to the platform is restricted to only one user. Access may not be shared with other persons. For use with several persons, the customer can purchase licences for multiple users for the subscription selected by him.

(2) Riddle grants the customer a non-exclusive, irrevocable, non-transferable and non-sublicensable right to use the platform for the duration of the contract, limited in terms of territory and subject matter to the purpose of the contract. The scope of the rights of use is set out in the platform and offer description. The rights of use are only granted for the number of users specified and purchased by the customer and within the scope of the purpose of the contract. Any transfer to third parties, renting, leasing or providing the platform as a service to third parties is excluded.

(3) Riddle supports certain processes in the initiation and execution of the contractual relationship, as well as in ongoing customer support, using artificial intelligence systems ("AI"). This includes in particular the processing of personal data of contact persons employed by the customer (e.g. name, business contact details, contents of e-mails and support chats) for the following purposes:

Analysis of support chats and e-mails to identify recurring issues, to ensure and improve the quality of products and services, and to process support requests more efficiently;
Planning, management and optimisation of sales and marketing-related activities towards the customer (e.g. categorisation and assignment of enquiries, maintenance of the CRM system, creation and optimisation of e-mail communications and follow-up activities).

The customer expressly consents to this use and ensures that its employees and other contact persons employed by the customer whose data is processed in this context are informed to the legally required extent. The customer warrants that no third-party rights are infringed by the provider's use.

Content and data generated by the customer using the platform (e.g. Riddle) shall not be used for the training or instruction of AI systems of the provider or third parties. The provider has no substantive access to such customer-generated content and data and does not grant third parties, including AI systems, any such access.

§ 10 Obligations of the customer

(1) The customer may only use Riddle's services for the contractually agreed purposes.

(2) When registering, the customer undertakes to provide true and complete information and to keep this up to date during the term of the contract by adjusting or notifying Riddle.

(3) The customer is obliged to keep his access data secret and not to pass it on to third parties. It is prohibited to allow third parties to use the registration and/or a paid usage package.

(4) The customer is obliged to provide hardware and software as well as a broadband Internet connection for the use of Riddle's services at his own expense. In particular, an up-to-date browser/client must be used. Outdated versions of the browser/client may result in display errors.

(5) Customers shall not publish any inappropriate, offensive, racist, inflammatory, sexist, pornographic, false, misleading, erroneous, infringing, defamatory or libellous texts, content, images or other such information (hereinafter referred to as ‘inappropriate content’) and shall not incite such actions.

(6) In the event of the publication of inappropriate content within the meaning of paragraph 5 above, Riddle is entitled to immediately delete such content and to temporarily, in cases of recurrence and/or serious cases also permanently, block and delete the account of the customer concerned.

(7) Customers of the platform are obliged in particular to:

protect the usage and access authorisations assigned to them as well as identification and authentication safeguards against access by third parties and not pass them on to unauthorised users;
ensure that (e.g. when transferring texts and data from third parties to Riddle servers) all industrial property rights and copyrights are respected;
not use or allow the platform to be used improperly, in particular not to transmit any information or offers with illegal or immoral content or refer to such information that serves to incite hatred, incite criminal offences or glorify or trivialise violence, is sexually offensive or pornographic, is likely to seriously endanger children or young people morally or impair their well-being, or may damage the reputation of Riddle;
refrain from attempting to retrieve information or data without authorisation, either themselves or through unauthorised third parties, from interfering with programs operated by Riddle or having them interfered with, or from penetrating Riddle's data networks without authorisation;
not misuse the possible exchange of electronic messages for the unsolicited sending of messages or information to third parties for advertising purposes (spamming);
indemnify Riddle against all third-party claims based on unlawful use of the platform by the user or with the user's approval or which arise in particular from data protection, copyright or other legal disputes associated with the use of the platform;
check data and information for viruses before sending them and use state-of-the-art virus protection programs.

§ 11 Property rights

(1) The customer guarantees that he holds all rights (in particular copyrights, rights to images of persons, etc.) regarding the content published on the platform.

(2) The customer assures that the content is free from third-party rights and undertakes to keep it free from third-party rights. He must indemnify Riddle immediately against any claims asserted by third parties, in return for the assignment of any claims Riddle may have against these third parties arising from the circumstances alleged by the third parties.

(3) Riddle is obliged to use the accessible documents and files only within the scope expressly permitted here or permitted by mandatory statutory regulation and not to promote unauthorised use by third parties. This shall continue to apply after termination of the contract.

§ 12 Warranty and liability of Riddle

(1) Riddle ensures a general availability of the platform of 99% at the Internet exchange point closest to the Riddle servers on an annual average of one calendar year. This does not include outages for which Riddle is not responsible due to necessary maintenance work, force majeure, technical faults in the Internet or other reasons for which Riddle is not responsible.

(2) The customer must immediately notify Riddle in writing of any defects that have occurred.

(3) Riddle does not undertake to back up data for customers and does not assume any contractual assurances, guarantees or warranties that go beyond statutory regulations, unless otherwise agreed in individual cases.

(4) Riddle, its legal representatives and vicarious agents shall be liable without limitation in the event of intent or gross negligence for damage caused by them. Liability does not extend to damage caused by improper or incorrect use by the customer.

(5) In the event of slight negligence, Riddle shall be liable without limitation in the event of injury to life, limb or health.

(6) In all other respects, Riddle shall only be liable if it has breached a material contractual obligation. Essential contractual obligations are those obligations which are of particular importance for the achievement of the contractual objective, as well as all those obligations which, in the event of a culpable breach, could jeopardise the achievement of the contractual purpose. In these cases, liability is limited to compensation of the foreseeable, typically occurring damage.

(7) In the event of a defect of title due to the infringement of third-party rights, Riddle is only liable if these rights exist in the Federal Republic of Germany, if the customer uses the Riddle software in accordance with the contract and to this extent justified claims are asserted by the third party and the customer has immediately informed Riddle in writing of the claims asserted by the third party.

§ 13 Liability for third-party rights

(1) The customer shall be informed immediately by Riddle of the rights of third parties or of their assertion and of any resulting impairment of the provision of agreed services, and shall be given full access to the application data in a suitable manner.

(2) The customer is not obliged to pay compensation if and insofar as the rights of third parties impair his use of the Riddle software.

(3) Riddle is not liable for any infringement of the rights of third parties by the customer if and insofar as this infringement results from exceeding the rights of use granted under this contract. In this case, the customer shall indemnify Riddle against all third-party claims on first demand.

§ 14 Data protection

(1) Riddle will comply with the applicable data protection regulations valid in Germany and will require its employees deployed in connection with the contract and its implementation to maintain data secrecy, unless they are already generally obliged to do so.

(2) The customer shall remain the controller within the meaning of data protection law. If the customer collects, processes or uses personal data, he guarantees that he is authorised to do so in accordance with the applicable provisions, in particular those of data protection law, and indemnifies Riddle against claims by third parties in the event of a breach.

(3) Riddle will only collect and use the customer's personal data to the extent required for the fulfilment of this contract. The customer consents to the collection and use of such data to this extent.

(4) To the extent necessary, Riddle is authorised to pass on the necessary data to third parties if it commissions them to carry out work in relation to the customer order.

(5) In all other respects, reference is made to Riddle's privacy policy.

§ 15 Contract term and termination of contract

(1) The duration of the contract and the notice period for cancellation depend on the specific individual order.

(2) The customer can cancel their current subscription via the subscription portal in their account at any time with a notice period of 1 day to the next possible date. Unless the contract is cancelled, it shall be automatically extended by the originally agreed contract term.

(3) Both parties may terminate the contract for good cause. For Riddle, good cause arises in particular if the customer:

in the case of contracts in which a minimum term has been agreed or which have been concluded for a definite period, is in arrears with the payment of fees in an amount equal to a monthly fee,
is more than 20 calendar days in arrears with the payment of fees in the case of contracts concluded for an indefinite period,
culpably breaches the obligations of the contract or these GTC,
obviously violates the law by using the respective service, or
fails to change its use of the service to meet the requirements set out in the GTC within a reasonable period of time despite a warning.

In such cases, all rights of the customer to the service shall lapse.

(4) In the event of exceptional termination due to default of payment, Riddle may additionally demand a lump-sum compensation payment due immediately in one sum amounting to a quarter of the monthly basic flat rate remaining until the end of the regular contract term. The customer reserves the right to provide evidence of lower damages.

(5) Upon termination of the contractual relationship, Riddle will deactivate the customer's account on the platform and delete the data.

(6) Any use of the Riddle software after termination of the contractual relationship is not permitted.

§ 16 Secrecy and publications

(1) “Confidential information” is information expressly designated as confidential by the contractual partner providing the information and such information whose confidentiality is clearly evident from the circumstances of its disclosure. This includes in particular the prices and details of offers provided by Riddle to the customer. These may not be published. Confidential information is deemed not to exist if the contractual partner receiving the information proves that it:

was known or generally accessible to him before the date of receipt;
was known or generally accessible to the public before the date of receipt;
became known or generally accessible to the public after the date of receipt without the contracting party receiving the information being responsible for this.

(2) The contracting parties shall maintain secrecy about all confidential information that has come to their knowledge in the context of this contractual relationship and shall only use it with the prior written consent of the other contracting party vis-à-vis third parties, for whatever purpose.

(3) The obligations under paragraph 2 shall continue to exist beyond the end of the contract for an indefinite period of time, as long as an exception under paragraph 1 is not proven.

§ 17 Force majeure

(1) Neither of the contracting parties shall be obliged to fulfil their contractual obligations in the event of and for the duration of force majeure. In particular, the following circumstances are to be regarded as force majeure in this sense:

fire, explosion, or flooding for which the contractual partner is not responsible;
war, mutiny, blockade, embargo, pandemic;
industrial action lasting more than 6 weeks and not culpably brought about by the contractual partner.

(2) Each contracting party must inform the other immediately in text form of the occurrence of a case of force majeure.

§ 18 Final provisions

(1) Exclusively German law shall apply, to the exclusion of the provisions of international private law and the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG).

(2) In the event that individual provisions of these General Terms and Conditions are invalid, the validity of the remaining provisions shall remain unaffected. Instead of the invalid provision, the relevant statutory provisions shall apply.

(3) The conclusion of the contract and any subsequent amendments or additions to the contract must be made in writing in order to be valid. This also applies to amendments of this clause. No verbal side agreements have been made.

(4) The exclusive place of jurisdiction for all legal disputes is the registered office of Riddle Technologies AG.

Current version from April 8th, 2026