Terms & Conditions

§ 1 Scope

(1) These Terms & Conditions apply to all contracts between LokalSkribe UG (haftungsbeschränkt), Zirler Straße 4, 82194 Gröbenzell, Germany (hereinafter "Provider") and the customer (hereinafter "Customer") regarding the purchase and use of the software "LokalSkribe".

(2) Deviating terms of the Customer will not be recognised unless the Provider expressly agrees to them in writing.

§ 2 Subject Matter

(1) The Provider grants the Customer, in exchange for payment of the agreed purchase price, a time-unlimited, non-exclusive, non-transferable licence to use the software "LokalSkribe" on a single Windows operating system (single-device licence).

(2) The software is provided as a digital download. No physical delivery takes place.

(3) The actual transcription processing runs locally on the Customer's machine. Audio and transcription content is not transmitted to servers of the Provider or third parties. Purchase- and licence-related processes (checkout, licence activation, updates) are not affected by this.

(4) System requirements: Windows 10 or Windows 11, at least 8 GB RAM, 5 GB free disk space. An NVIDIA GPU (RTX 3060 or better) is recommended for GPU acceleration.

§ 2a Contract Formation

(1) The presentation of the software on the website does not constitute a legally binding offer, but an invitation to submit an offer (invitatio ad offerendum).

(2) The Customer submits a binding purchase offer by completing the Stripe checkout. The contract is concluded when the Provider accepts the offer by sending the confirmation email containing the licence key.

(3) The contract text is not stored by the Provider and is no longer accessible after conclusion. The Customer receives confirmation by email. These Terms & Conditions apply in the version valid at the time of the order.

(4) The contract language is German.

§ 3 Prices and Payment

(1) The price displayed on the website at the time of the order applies. All prices are final prices including applicable statutory VAT.

(2) Payment is processed via the payment service provider Stripe. Available payment methods are displayed during the checkout process.

(3) After successful payment, the Customer receives a licence key by email to the address provided during the order process.

§ 3a Contract Term, Automatic Renewal, and Cancellation (Annual Licences)

(1) Initial term. Annual licences ("Standard", "Team", "Office", "Student") have an initial term of twelve (12) months, starting on the day of successful payment of the first annual fee.

(2) Transition to monthly subscription after initial term. If the licence is not cancelled at least one (1) month before the end of the twelve-month initial term, the contract is automatically converted into a monthly subscription at the then-applicable monthly price (see price list at www.lokalskribe.eu). The current monthly prices are: Student €3.90/month, Standard €14.90/month, Team €24.90/month, Office €49.90/month. The monthly prices include a surcharge of approximately 20% over the pro-rata share of the annual subscription (flexibility surcharge for monthly billing). Customers booking twelve months in advance therefore save compared to the ongoing monthly subscription. During the monthly subscription, the customer — whether consumer (§ 13 German Civil Code) or business customer (§ 14 German Civil Code) — may ordinarily terminate the contract at any time with a notice period of one (1) month to the end of the current billing month.

(3) Renewed annual subscription. During the ongoing monthly subscription, the customer may at any time book a new annual subscription at the then-applicable annual price, either through the customer account in the Stripe Customer Portal or directly from within the software. The portion already paid for the current billing month is credited day-accurately against the new annual fee. With the conclusion of the new annual subscription, a new twelve-month initial term begins; paragraph 2 applies accordingly for the subsequent course of the contract.

(4) Reminder before transition. The Provider will notify customers in text form (typically by email) at the earliest four (4) months and at the latest two (2) months before the end of the twelve-month initial term about the upcoming transition to the monthly subscription, the then-applicable monthly price, the notice period, and the cancellation channels.

(5) Cancellation channels. The customer may declare cancellation informally, optionally:
a) via the online cancellation button "Cancel contracts here" on www.lokalskribe.eu pursuant to § 312k German Civil Code,
b) by simple email to [email protected],
c) by post to the address listed in the Legal Notice.
No particular form (in particular no written or text form) is required. The Provider confirms receipt of the cancellation and the date of contract termination without undue delay by electronic means in text form (§ 312k para. 4 German Civil Code).

(6) Cancellation button pursuant to § 312k German Civil Code. For consumers, the Provider maintains a permanently available, directly and easily accessible cancellation button on its website labelled "Cancel contracts here", which leads to a confirmation page with a confirmation button ("Cancel now"). No prior login to a customer account is required.

(7) Plan changes and pro-rata accounting.
a) Upgrade during the twelve-month initial term: The customer may upgrade to a higher-tier plan at any time. The pro-rata remaining value of the previous annual fee is credited day-accurately against the price of the new plan; the twelve-month initial term continues to run from the original contract start.
b) Upgrade from the monthly extension phase (§ 3a para. 2): A switch back to a new annual subscription is possible but creates a new twelve-month initial term. For such a binding to be effective, the customer is shown price, term, renewal logic and notice period in the ordering process immediately above the payment confirmation button in a highlighted manner and must actively accept them (§ 312j para. 2 German Civil Code). The pro-rata remaining value of the current billing month is credited day-accurately against the new annual fee.
c) Downgrade: A downgrade to a lower plan takes effect at the end of the current contract period or — in the monthly extension phase — at the end of the current billing month; no pro-rata refund is granted in this respect.

(8) Payment default and grace period. If the automatic collection of the annual fee fails, the Provider will request payment from the customer and grant a grace period of fourteen (14) days. The right of use remains fully active during this grace period. If no settlement is made within the 14-day grace period, the Provider is entitled to block the licence for further use. Contract periods already rendered remain unaffected. § 543 German Civil Code and the right to terminate for good cause (§ 314 German Civil Code) remain unaffected.

(9) Exception "Professional". The perpetual licence "Professional" is granted for an unlimited time and is not subject to the rules on contract renewal and ordinary cancellation in paragraphs 1 to 8. The optional maintenance pass is governed by § 5 paragraph 2.

§ 4 Licence Scope, Device Activation, and Trial

(1) Right of use and number of devices. The Provider grants the customer a simple, non-sublicensable right to install and use the software on computers running Microsoft Windows 10 or Microsoft Windows 11. For subscription plans, this right is limited to the duration of the contract; for the perpetual licence "Professional", it is unlimited in time. The number of permitted concurrent activations depends on the plan purchased: "Standard" and "Student" one (1) device each, "Team" three (3) devices, "Office" four (4) to ten (10) devices. Higher seat counts may be added for an additional fee (see current price list).

(2) Trial mode. Installing the software without a purchased licence automatically starts a free trial mode. This is limited to processing of ten (10) minutes per input file, export only in TXT format, and binding to one (1) device. The trial mode constitutes a gratuitous gift arrangement within the meaning of §§ 516 et seq. German Civil Code; §§ 327 et seq. German Civil Code do not apply (§ 327 para. 6 No. 3 German Civil Code). The Provider may change or discontinue the trial mode at any time. Liability for the trial mode is limited to intent and gross negligence (§§ 521, 524 German Civil Code).

(3) Technical device binding (HWID). The technical limitation of activations is implemented via an anonymous device identifier ("hardware hash", HWID), which is formed locally from several device characteristics as a SHA-256 hash and transmitted to the Provider's licence servers. The HWID serves exclusively to enforce the licence and to prevent abuse. The legal basis for processing is Art. 6 (1) lit. b GDPR (contract performance) and additionally Art. 6 (1) lit. f GDPR. Details on the frequency and operation of the online licence check are set out in § 6b. Further data protection information is provided in the Privacy Policy.

(4) Device change. The customer may transfer the licence to another device themselves by releasing the activation on the old device via the software function "Deactivate licence". In the event of hardware failure, support is available at [email protected].

(5) Usage restrictions. The customer may not reproduce, distribute, rent, lend, or make the software available to third parties. This does not apply to the concurrent multi-device use within the "Team" and "Office" plans in accordance with the number of devices specified in paragraph 1. Decompilation and reverse engineering are only permitted within the limits of applicable law (§§ 69d, 69e German Copyright Act).

§ 5 Updates, Maintenance, and Support

(1) Updates for annual licences. For annual licences ("Standard", "Team", "Office", "Student"), all feature, compatibility, and security updates published during the contract term are included in the licence fee and provided to the customer at no further charge (§ 327f para. 1 sentence 3 No. 1 German Civil Code).

(2) Updates for the perpetual licence "Professional".
a) The purchase price includes feature and security updates for the major version current at the time of purchase as well as all subsequent minor versions during the first 24 months from the date of purchase.
b) Security and compatibility updates necessary to maintain the conformity of the major version current at the time of purchase will also be provided by the Provider at no additional charge after the 24-month period for the period of reasonable expectation under § 327f para. 1 German Civil Code. For the perpetual licence, this period is at least five (5) years from the date of purchase, in line with Article 13 (8) of Regulation (EU) 2024/2847 (Cyber Resilience Act).
c) Access to new major versions (feature upgrades) requires the customer to purchase an optional maintenance pass from the 25th month after the date of purchase. The maintenance pass costs €79.00 per year and grants access to all new major versions as well as to all feature, compatibility, and security updates during its term. A unilateral increase of the maintenance pass price during ongoing contract periods is excluded.

(3) Statutory update obligation (§ 327f German Civil Code). Regardless of the plan chosen, the Provider provides updates required to maintain the conformity of the software, including security updates. The applicable period is governed by § 327f para. 1 sentence 3 German Civil Code.

(4) Information about updates. The Provider informs the customer about the availability of updates and the consequences of not installing them via (i) an in-app notification at program startup and (ii) an email to the address on file in the customer account. If the customer fails to install a properly provided update within a reasonable period, the Provider is not liable for product defects that result solely from the absence of this update (§ 327f para. 2 German Civil Code).

(5) Support. Support is provided by email at [email protected]. The Provider aims for an initial response within two (2) business days. There is no entitlement to telephone support or to a specific response time. The customer's warranty rights under §§ 327i et seq. and §§ 434 et seq. German Civil Code remain unaffected.

§ 6 AI Transparency Notice (EU AI Act Art. 50)

(1) The software uses AI models (OpenAI Whisper) for automatic speech-to-text conversion. All generated transcripts are AI-generated content and should be treated as such.

(2) AI-generated transcripts may contain errors. The customer is required to review all transcripts for accuracy before further use. We are continuously working on improvements.

(3) Transcripts serve as documentation aids and do not replace professional, medical, or legal judgement.

§ 6a Licence Verification (Heartbeat)

(1) The software periodically verifies the validity of the licence. This verification occurs at each program start and at 30-day intervals during use.

(2) An internet connection is required for licence verification. Only the licence key and an anonymous device ID are transmitted. No audio content, transcription texts, or personal data are transmitted.

(3) The software can be used offline for up to 30 days without an internet connection. After this period, a one-time online verification is required to continue use.

(4) Licence verification serves to protect against unauthorised use and to enforce the single-seat licence (§ 4 para. 1).

§ 7 Warranty

(1) The Provider warrants that the software substantially corresponds to the functions described on the website.

(2) The statutory warranty periods apply. For consumers, the warranty period is two years from the time the digital product is made available (under German Civil Code (BGB), § 327 et seq.).

(3) The quality of transcription results depends on the Customer's hardware, audio file quality, and other factors. The Provider does not guarantee a specific transcription accuracy.

§ 8 Limitation of Liability

(1) The Provider is liable without limitation for intent and gross negligence, as well as for damages arising from injury to life, body, or health.

(2) For slight negligence, the Provider is only liable for breach of material contractual obligations (cardinal obligations). Liability in this case is limited to the typical, foreseeable damage.

(3) Liability under the German Product Liability Act (Produkthaftungsgesetz) remains unaffected.

§ 9 Right of Withdrawal

Consumers are entitled to a statutory right of withdrawal. The full cancellation policy is available at Cancellation Policy. The right of withdrawal expires early if the Customer has expressly agreed, before the withdrawal period expires, that delivery of the digital content begins before the end of the withdrawal period, and has acknowledged that they thereby lose their right of withdrawal (under German Civil Code (BGB), § 356(5)). For EU consumers: the 14-day right of withdrawal applies under EU Distance Selling Regulations (Directive 2011/83/EU).

§ 10 Privacy

For information on the processing of personal data, please refer to our Privacy Policy.

§ 11 Miscellaneous

(1) These Terms are governed by the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany, excluding the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG).

(2) For merchants, legal entities under public law, and special public-law funds, the place of jurisdiction is Munich, Germany. For consumers within the EU, mandatory consumer protection provisions of their country of residence apply (EU consumer law takes precedence).

(3) Should individual provisions of these Terms be invalid, the validity of the remaining provisions shall not be affected.