General Terms and Conditions
Casual Continent Ltd, Eerikinkatu 40, 00180 Helsinki, Finland, (hereinafter referred to as “Casual Continent”) provides the online game “Crown of Byzantus” (hereinafter referred to as “Byzantus”) as well as additional services on the Internet. These additional services include, but are not limited to, the creation of a user profile, participation in a forum and the purchase of virtual goods, as well as other services. Players of Crown of Byzantus will hereinafter be referred to as “Users”.
These Terms of Service (hereinafter referred to as “Terms”) apply to Byzantus as well as other services provided by Casual Continent. The Terms do not address any questions which may arise with regards to any services provided by third parties – including internet service providers.
§ 1 Scope of Application
1.1. These Terms apply for all contracts, offers and services of Casual Continent.
1.2. In addition to these Terms, the rules of the game applicable in the individual case as well as the game instructions for Byzantus listed on the website for the game Byzantus, shall apply.
1.3. These present Terms will only be published on the websites of the game Byzantus. They can be downloaded into the random access memory, stored on a permanent data carrier or printed out.
1.4. The Terms apply for all users of the game Byzantus. Upon registration for the game (i.e. at the time the application for the opening of a game account for Byzantus has been sent) and upon log-in to the gaming platform in each case, the user accepts the present Terms as binding. Upon registration for the game, the user will be asked to accept the Terms. They shall apply for any use of the game Byzantus.
1.5. Using Byzantus for commercial purposes is excluded. Only such persons who have reached the age of 18 at the time of registration are entitled to participate in the game. Minors are only entitled to participate if their legal representative’s approval has been given prior to registration for the game. Upon registration for the game, the user expressly asserts his/her age of majority and legal capacity or – for minors – the existence of their legal representative’s approval.
1.6. Casual Continent reserves the right to modify or amend these Terms with effect for the future at any time and provided that this does not discriminate against the user in bad faith. The user shall be informed of any modifications of these Terms in a suitable way by notification, either by e-mail to the e-mail address provided by the User or using another message or notification in Byzantus website.
1.7 The user can object to the modifications to the Terms within one (1) month after the notification and the accessibility of the information. For reasons of conservation of evidence, the user is advised to direct the objection in writing or via e-mail to Byzantus. Should the user not object to the modified Terms within the period of one (1) month after the notification and the accessibility of the information, or should he continue to use the game Byzantus, the modified or amended Terms shall become binding for him. Should the user object within the period of notice, both parties shall be entitled to cancel the contract under observation of a period of notice of one month, provided that a right of cancellation at all times does not already exist pursuant to § 10 (II). Up until the time of the termination of the contract, the original Terms shall continue to be valid. Any remuneration paid up front and exceeding the duration of the contract shall be reimbursed to the user on a pro rata basis. Any further claims by the user are excluded. In the notification on the modifications, Casual Continent shall especially indicate the possibility of an objection and cancellation, the period of notice and the legal consequences, in particular the consequences of a failure to object.
1.7 The user is recommended to continuously keep up to date with the applicable version of the Terms and the rules of the game.
§ 2 Content of Byzantus
2.1 Casual Continent offers the participation in the online game Byzantus and the use of additional services related to the game, within the scope of the existing technical and operational possibilities. Casual Continent provides the Users with certain information and enables the Users to display certain data and information on the Internet and to create personalized profiles within the game, which may be visible to other Users. Furthermore, the Users will have the opportunity to take part in discussion forums. Casual Continent will provide the Users with the necessary applications for participating in Byzantus online.
2.2 Use of Casual Continent in its basic version is free of charge. However, there is a charge for certain additional services and applications. Any additional services and applications which must be paid for will be shown separately on the Website.
2.3 Byzantus will be constantly enhanced, updated and modified in order to provide its Users with an optimal gaming experience. Therefore, the Users will only be granted the right to participate in the then current version of Byzantus. Casual Continent reserves its right to cease operation of Byzantus, or certain features thereof, without giving reasons or prior notice. In such a case, the User can request a refund of any payments already made in respect of services provided by Casual Continent, which have not been utilized. The User's right to terminate the contract with immediate effect remains unaffected. Any other claims are excluded.
§ 3 Membership and conclusion of the contract
3.1 Membership commences upon successful registration for the game, i.e. upon the opening of a game account by Casual Continent
3.2. Upon filling in the registration form, the user makes a binding offer for the conclusion of a game user contract (also “application for the opening of a game account”). For this purpose, all data fields in the registration form must be filled in completely and correctly. Each game user contract refers to the participation in a specific game world of the game Byzantus with a specific account.
3.3 The contract between Casual Continent and the User on services and supplies is concluded by the acceptance of the application for the opening of a game account by Casual Continent.. This acceptance can be made by Casual Continent either expressly or by carrying out the first implementation measure. Casual Continent shall immediately confirm the receipt of the application for the opening of a game account using electronic means to the e-mail address stipulated by the user. The confirmation of receipt does not represent a binding acceptance of the user’s application. However, the confirmation of receipt can be combined with the declaration of acceptance.
3.4 The user can at any time terminate his/her membership for the use of the basic functions using the delete function installed in the game.
§ 4 Right of revocation
4.1 The user can revoke his declaration for the conclusion of the game user contract (i.e. his/her application for membership and opening of a game account in a specific game world) and for the order of features within the framework of premium memberships in text form (for instance by letter, telefax, e-mail) within a period of two weeks without having to state reasons for this. The period of notice commences at the earliest at the time this information is received, but not before the contract is concluded and not before Casual Continent has fulfilled its duty to inform. The timely dispatch of the revocation shall be deemed sufficient to adhere to the revocation deadline.
4.2.Any revocation is to be directed to: Casual Continent Ltd, Eerinkinkatu 40, 00180 Helsinki, Finland. E-Mail: info@byzantus.com
4.3 In case of a revocation via e-mail, the user’s name and the game account are to be indicated in the reference line.
4.4 In case of an effective revocation, any benefits provided mutually are to be reimbursed and any obtained benefits from the use are to be restored. This means that any remuneration paid previously will possibly not be reimbursed entirely if the user has obtained benefits from the use prior to the declaration of revocation. If the user cannot reimburse Casual Continent for the benefits obtained in whole or in part, or if he can only reimburse the benefits in a degraded state, the user is obliged to compensate Casual Continent, as the case may be. Any obligation for monetary reimbursement has to be fulfilled within 30 days. The time period commences for the user at the time he issues his declaration of revocation, for Casual Continent. at the time of receipt of the respective declaration.
4.5 The right of revocation expires for services offered by Casual Continent. once Casual Continent. has started to perform the services with the user’s express consent before the end of the revocation period, or if the user has authorized this himself/herself. This is to be assumed if the user has made use of the game or of the premium membership features.
§ 5 Prices and Payment Conditions; Payment dates
5.1Upon payment of a fee, the User will be granted the opportunity to obtain additional services which are not available in the basic version of Byzantus (especially Pearls). Type, function and price of such additional services are displayed on the Byzantus Website. Depending on their function, such additional services may be purchased either by a one-off payment or by paying a subscription fee. These additional services with costs allow the User to use certain additional functions for a specified time and in accordance with Byzantus’s game rules. Since Byzantus will be developed and enhanced from time to time, Casual Continent reserves its rights to offer new additional services or to stop offering certain additional services or to offer certain additional services in the basic version of Byzantus. In the event that the User has made payments for additional services for a period of time in the future, and cannot make use of these, because they are no longer offered and/or are offered in the free basic version of Byzantus as well, Casual Continent will at the choice of the User offer other additional services as a substitute or refund the User on a pro rata basis. In the aforementioned cases, the User has the right to terminate the contract with immediate effect. Any other claims of the User are excluded.
5.2 The fees for additional services are payable in advance and become due upon activation of the services by the User. The fees will be collected from the bank account or credit card account provided by the User or effected via appropriate payment methods.
5.3 Casual Continent is entitled to lower its prices permanently or temporarily and to permanently or temporarily offer new products, services or invoicing methods. Casual Continent is further entitled to change the prices at any time with six weeks prior written notice or by informing the User via e-mail to the e-mail address provided by the User. If the User does not object to the price changes within six weeks of being informed of the price change, the new price will become effective. The contractual relationship will then continue with the new conditions / prices. Casual Continent will inform the User about the potential to object and the legal consequences, especially the legal consequences arising from a failure to object, when notifying the User about the changes. If the User objects in time, each party may terminate the contract with one month’s prior notice. Until termination, the former tariffs and prices will remain in effect. Any payments for services in respect of the period after the termination takes effect, will be reimbursed on a pro rata basis. Any other claims of the User against Casual Continent are excluded.
5.4 In case the User causes reversal debits and / or cancellation fees for the cancellation of debits through the User’s fault, or a lack of backing of the User’s bank account, the User shall reimburse Casual Continent for any such cancellation fees and costs. Casual Continent shall have the right to debit these cancellation fees and costs, along with the original fees, from the User’s account. If payment of the fees is made through debit or through credit cards and reversal debits occur, Casual Continent charges a service fee of EUR 9,00 per debit / credit card transaction plus banking fees, unless the User proves that no damage or only a substantially lower damage has been caused.
5.5 The User may only offset if he has a claim against Casual Continent which Casual Continent has not disputed or which has been declared legally binding by a court decision. The User may only withhold payment if he has a claim against Casual Continent which has its origin in the same contractual relation. The User is not entitled to assign his claims against Casual Continent to a third party.
§ 6 User’s duties
6.1. The User may only hold one account for one game world at the same time. A violation of this provision may lead to immediate freeze or deletion of all of the player’s accounts. However, it is possible to have one account each in various game worlds at the same time.
6.2 The user must ensure that the password he/she has received for his/her access is being kept secret and must change it regularly for reasons of security.
6.3 With its websites, Casual Continent only provides a platform for the communication among the players. The user himself is responsible for the contents of this communication.
6.4 The users undertake to keep the communication and any other statements free from racist, pornographic or abusive contents, from contents glorifying violence and from other offensive or prohibited contents. Disregard of this provision may, after a prior warning notice, lead to an immediate freeze or deletion of the account.
6.5 The user is only entitled to use the game through normal web browsers. Any further use of additional programs, scripts or other supporting tools is expressly prohibited. Disregard of this provision may, after a prior warning notice, lead to an immediate freeze or deletion of the account concerned, as well.
6.6 It is prohibited to use errors in the programming (so-called bugs) for one’s own advantage. No measures may be taken either which lead to an overload of the servers, as this may massively affect the operation of the game for all players.
6.7 The Casual Continent games and games worlds are intended to bring long term fun for a large number of users. Casual Continent is therefore interested in enabling the users to enjoy the Casual Continent games and games worlds by preventing other users from breaching their contractual obligations by using additional programs, scripts or other supporting tools. Casual Continent has the right to use adequate programs that enable Casual Continent to become aware of the user’s breach of contractual obligations and to identify the respective user in case Casual Continent has well founded grounds to believe that the user acts in breach of his contractual obligations.
6.8 Unless otherwise stipulated in these Terms or in other agreements with the user, Casual Continent shall as a principle communicate with the user via e-mail. The user shall ensure that e-mails sent by Casual Continent to the e-mail address stipulated by the user at the time of registration, or at a later time, actually reach him. This shall be ensured by corresponding settings of spam filter preferences and by regular checks of this address. Casual Continent. reserves the right of choosing freely the form of correspondence for any other written communication.
6.9 Whenever contacting Casual Continent., the user shall provide information on his player’s name, the game world and the account to which the inquiry refers.
§ 7 Claims for defects
7.1 Casual Continent shall provide access for the user to the game in its version existing at the respective point of time. The user cannot request that a certain state and/or functional scope of the game be maintained or set up.
7.2 The user is aware that the game offered by Casual Continent. – like any software – cannot be completely fault-free. This means that the game shall only be deemed to be defective if its playability is affected severely and permanently.
7.3 The user shall always document in a diligent way any possible defects in the game or in other services or supplies by Casual Continent, and shall report them in particular by listing any shown error messages.
7.4 Before reporting a possible error, the user shall consult the game instructions and, if applicable, any other ways of support provided by Casual Continent for the elimination of the problem (in particular FAQ lists, discussion forums on the problem). The user shall give Casual Continent his/her full support in a possible elimination of the defect.
7.5 The user shall give notice of a defect to Casual Continent immediately after its detection. In case of obvious defects in goods – also in virtual goods – notice of defects is to be made to Casual Continent within two weeks after receipt of the goods. The timely dispatch shall be sufficient to adhere to the deadline. In other cases, notice of defects is to be made immediately after their detection. After the deadline has expired without submission of a notice of defect, the assertion of claims based on the defect shall be excluded.
7.6 For the user’s own protection, and in particular for reasons of securing evidence, the user is recommended to direct any notices of defect to Casual Continent in writing (via letter or e-mail).
7.7 On principle, errors caused by external conditions (force majeure etc.) for which Casual Continent is not responsible, or by operating errors which the user is responsible for, or by modifications or other manipulations which have not been carried out by Casual Continent or cannot be attributed to Casual Continent, are excluded from any claims based on a defect.
7.8 Casual Continent shall not assume warranties in the legal sense, unless expressly agreed otherwise in writing.
§ 8 Liability and liability for links
8.1 Under no circumstances shall Casual Continent be liable for any damages other than those caused in a grossly negligent or intentional way.
8.2 The obligation to compensate for violations of basic or essential contractual duties shall in all cases be limited to the foreseeable damage.
8.3 The foreseeable damage is limited to an amount of € 30.00 per account.
8.4 The above-mentioned disclaimers and limitations of liability shall also apply with regard to the liability of Casual Continent’s employees, workers, staff members, representatives and vicarious agents, in particular in favor of the shareholders, employees, representatives, organs and their members with regard to their personal liability.
8.5 Casual Continent shall endeavor to assure a continuous accessibility of the servers, however, does not assume any warranty in this respect.
8.6 This game is a gratuitous game in its basic version. Therefore, Casual Continent shall not assume any liability for the failure of servers, for programming errors and damage caused in any other way.
8.7 In particular, there is no right to request restoration of the original condition of the account before such interruption took place.
8.8 Casual Continent hereby expressly dissociates itself from the contents concealed behind the links listed on the Casual Continent site, the servers behind them, the links following on from them and any other visible or invisible contents. Casual Continent does not assume any responsibility for the contents of these websites, nor does Casual Continent adopt these websites and their contents. Casual Continent will not control the linked information. Casual Continent is not aware of any violations of the external contents against applicable laws. In case of corresponding notifications, the links will naturally be deleted immediately.
§ 9 Duration of the contract, cancellation
9.1 The contracts between the user and Casual Continent on the use of the game worlds are concluded for an indefinite period of time, unless otherwise determined in Casual Continent’s specific offer.
9.2 Should a fixed duration not have been agreed upon for the game user contract, the game user contract may be canceled by Casual Continent at any time, under observation of a four week period of notice, by the user at any time without observation of a period of notice (ordinary right of cancellation). The express relinquishment of an account by the user shall be deemed to be a cancellation of the game user contract for this account.
9.3 It is not necessary to specify reasons for an ordinary cancellation.
9.4 The parties’ right to cancel the game user contract, or the contract on the use of features due to an important reason remains unaffected by the aforementioned provisions.
9.5 Should Casual Continent be responsible for the extraordinary cancellation of the game user contract or the contract on the use of features, the user shall be reimbursed on a pro rata basis for the remuneration effected (in particular for premium features) for a period of time which exceeds the time of termination. Any further claims by the user are excluded, unless otherwise agreed in these Terms. In case of an ordinary cancellation, irrespective of the question which party carries out the cancellation, and in case of an extraordinary cancellation by Casual Continent for which the User is responsible, any remuneration paid (in particular for premium features) shall be forfeited upon effectiveness of the cancellation.
9.6 Casual Continent shall be entitled to cancel the contract due to an important reason if the user falls in delay with payment of the remuneration with an amount of at least 15.- EUR and does not pay in spite of two reminders, if the user culpably violates the rules of the game and does not cease the violation in spite of a cease- and-desist letter; a cease-and-desist letter is not necessary if special circumstances justify an immediate cancellation without prior submission of a cease-and-desist letter, taking into account both parties’ interests, and/or if the user has not used his account for a period of time of four weeks in spite of a warning letter.
9.7 Should Casual Continent have issued a justified cancellation due to an important reason, Casual Continent shall be entitled to request payment of a sum amounting to 50% of the remuneration the user would have had to pay (in particular for premium features already ordered) during the term of the contract in case of a cancellation under observation of a period of notice issued at the same time. The user’s right to provide proof that no damage has been incurred or that the incurred damage is considerably lower, remains unaffected.
9.8 Should the game world concerned not provide the possibility of a cancellation (delete function), all cancellations must be effected in writing, the written form also being fulfilled by submission as an e-mail. All extraordinary cancellations must be effected in writing, stating the reasons for the cancellation.
9.9 For technical reasons, the definite deletion of the user data and the account will be carried out with a few days’ delay.
§ 10 Data protection, Advertisement
10.1 Casual Continent shall handle all personal data which the user submits during his contractual relations strictly confidential and shall adhere to all relevant data protection regulations.
10.2 For technical reasons, participation in the game and the game related services is not possible without storage of the user data. The user agrees to the electronic storage and processing of his user data by applying for the opening of a game account or by using the game or game related services respectively.
10.3 Should a player request complete deletion of his data, this shall automatically result in a deletion of his account. In such cases, there is no right to re-claim any paid remuneration, unless otherwise determined in these Terms. This does not apply should Casual Continent be responsible for the premature cancellation of the game user contract or for the reasons for the request for the deletion of data.
10.4 Upon deletion of the account, Casual Continent shall delete the user’s data from its system. Casual Continent. shall be entitled to continue to inform the user of innovations via e-mails also after the deletion of the account. The user can object to this at any time and request deletion of his data from the mailing list in written form (e.g. via e-mail). The user will not be charged for such request, but he will have to pay for the costs of transmitting such request (at basic tariffs). The user will be informed about his right to object and he will be given the right to transmit his objection in each information and in each newsletter sent by Casual Continent..
10.5 The user is aware that the Websites operated by Casual Continent, especially Byzantus, may be partially financed through advertisements. Therefore, the user agrees to Casual Continent possibly enabling third parties to contact the user for advertising purposes. As long as the user does not object, his user data may also be used for sending him advertisements which reflect his interests (based on the information he has submitted to Casual Continent and on his actions within the games and Websites operated by Casual Continent). The user can object to this at any time in written form (e.g. via e-mail). The user will not be charged for such objection, but he will have to pay for the costs of transmitting his objection (at basic tariffs). The user will be informed about his right to object and he will be given the right to transmit his objection in each information and in each newsletter sent by Casual Continent.
10.6 For purposes of handling of payments, Casual Continent shall be entitled to transfer user data to external service providers assigned with the collection of the remuneration, in as far as this is necessary for the determination of the remuneration and settlement of accounts with the user. Casual Continent. shall further be entitled to transfer user data to such thirds parties to whom Casual Continent. has assigned its claims against the user, in as far as this is necessary for the collection of the assigned claims. Casual Continent shall inform the user of the names of such third parties.
§ 11 Final provisions
11.1 These Terms and all contracts concluded on the basis of these Terms shall be subject to the laws of Finland.
11.2 As far as this is admissible, the place of jurisdiction for all disputes arising from these contracts shall be at Casual Continent’s registered office. This also applies if the user’s place of residence or usual place of abode at the time a law suit is filed is outside Finland or unknown.
11.3 Any modifications of, amendments to, or abrogation of these Terms must be in writing. This also applies for the abrogation of the requirement of the written form.
11.4 Should individual provisions of these Terms be invalid, this shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions.