As of 17 September 2026. These framework terms are intended solely for businesses acting in their commercial or independent professional capacity under section 14 of the German Civil Code, public-law legal entities and special public-law funds. They apply only where expressly incorporated by agreement. Publication does not create an order; individual agreements take precedence.
1. Parties and subject matter
The parties are EA European Atlantic GmbH, Neuer Wall 10, 20354 Hamburg, Germany, represented by Daniel Harbeck, registered with Amtsgericht Hamburg under HRB 168599, and the independent contractor identified in the individual order. This agreement covers services commissioned by EA from the contractor. It creates neither salaried employment nor pure intermediation between an expert and an end customer.
Admission to the EA Expert Network or a customer presentation is not an individual order. There is no obligation to offer or accept orders and no exclusivity. Individual agreements and specific orders prevail over this framework; special data-protection agreements prevail for their subject matter.
2. Individual order and independence
Each order specifies scope, services or result-based work, outputs, dates, remuneration and agreed cooperation. Acceptance criteria are expressly specified for result-based work; statutory acceptance and defect rights remain applicable.
The contractor organises work independently within agreed results, dates and necessary coordination. Customer security and access rules must be observed but do not create general employment-related instruction rights. Personal performance or substitution is specified in the order; additional people may not be engaged without prior coordination required for qualifications, confidentiality and data protection.
Actual delivery must fit the agreed independent-service model. If the parties identify inconsistent integration or instruction arrangements, they resolve them before continuing the affected work. The contract’s label does not remove statutory duties or status questions.
3. Performance, changes and records
The contractor exercises appropriate professional care, reports significant obstacles and meets agreed quality requirements. Changes to scope, effort or dates are agreed with EA before implementation. Additional customer requests create no payment obligation for EA unless commissioned by EA.
Verifiable service records are provided for time-based fees. Confirmation of time spent is not automatically acceptance under a work contract. Results and documentation are supplied in the agreed format.
4. Remuneration
The individual order specifies fees, hours per daily rate, budget, invoicing and approved expenses. Unless otherwise agreed, verifiable invoices are payable within 14 days of receipt; statutory prerequisites for payment under work contracts remain applicable. EA bears the risk of payment by its customer; contractor payment is not generally conditional on payment by a third party. VAT is stated where statutorily payable.
The contractor meets applicable tax, insurance and social-security duties imposed on it by law. This does not waive any statutory duty of EA.
5. Results and rights of use
Pre-existing methods, tools and materials remain allocated to their existing owners. The individual order specifies the rights of use required. Unless a broader agreement is made, after full payment for the relevant work the contractor grants EA a non-exclusive right, unlimited in time and territory, to use results and necessary incorporated background materials for the agreed project purpose, modify them for that purpose and grant corresponding rights to the named end customer.
Third-party and open-source materials with relevant restrictions must be disclosed and agreed before use. Only rights that can actually be granted may be promised. Exclusive rights, product exploitation or broader customer rights require express agreement; the chain of rights must be checked before customer commitments are made.
6. Confidentiality, data and AI
Both parties keep non-public information recognisable as confidential secret and use it only to perform the agreement. Necessary recipients are bound accordingly. Exceptions apply to information lawfully public, already lawfully known or independently developed, and legally required disclosures. Legally protected reporting remains permitted. The duty survives termination for as long as a legitimate confidentiality interest remains.
Personal and confidential data may be processed only within the agreed scope and in systems approved for the specific purpose. Before processing begins, data-protection roles and necessary agreements, including subprocessing where applicable, are established. Engagement does not permit independent reuse for other customers, advertising or model training.
Sending such data to external AI services or other additional recipients requires prior EA approval and a lawful legal and contractual basis. AI assistance does not remove the duty of professional review. Material data or security incidents are reported to EA without undue delay with information necessary for protection and handling; further agreed or statutory duties remain applicable.
7. Liability
The parties have unlimited liability for intent, gross negligence, injury to life, body or health, expressly assumed guarantees and mandatory statutory liability. For ordinary negligence, they are liable for essential contractual duties that enable proper performance and on which the other party may regularly rely, limited to foreseeable loss typical of the contract. Otherwise, liability for ordinary negligence is excluded. Mandatory data-protection claims remain unaffected. No blanket strict-liability indemnity is agreed.
8. Duration and completion
The framework is indefinite; either party may terminate on 14 days’ notice in text form. Existing orders continue under their own terms. Their agreed and mandatory statutory termination rights and termination for good cause remain unaffected.
When an order ends, results, necessary documentation and supplied materials are handed over in an orderly manner, access is ended and data is returned or deleted as agreed and required by law. Required statutory evidence remains purpose-limited. Ending a project does not permit new use of customer or profile data.
9. Final provisions
German law applies without prejudice to mandatory rules. Statutory court jurisdiction remains unchanged. Changes should be documented in text form for evidential purposes without restricting the precedence of individual agreements. Statutory rules apply where a provision is invalid.