Terms & Conditions

1.1 Applicability of the GTC

These General Terms and Conditions (GTC) apply to all contractual and business relationships between Lightwaves LP, Dominikanergasse 4/19, 1060 Wien, registered in the commercial register of the Commercial Court of Vienna under FN 659524 p, VAT ATU82427367 (hereinafter referred to as »Lightwaves«), and its contractual or business partners (hereinafter referred to as the »Client«). The version valid at the time of contract conclusion shall apply.

These GTC apply exclusively; any conflicting terms and conditions of the Client shall not become part of the contract unless expressly confirmed in writing by Lightwaves. Mere acceptance of an order or performance of services does not imply acceptance of the Client’s terms. Any conflicting provisions in the Client’s GTC or purchasing conditions are hereby expressly rejected.
Unless explicitly agreed otherwise, these GTC apply to all services and work steps provided by Lightwaves. By entering into a contract, the Client expressly acknowledges the validity of these GTC.





1.2 Notification of Address and Contact Details

The Client is obliged to provide current contact details (e.g., postal address, telephone number, email address) when placing an order, and to immediately notify Lightwaves of any changes during the contract term as well as throughout warranty and compensation periods. If such notification is omitted, communications sent to the last provided address or contact details shall be deemed legally effective.

2.1 Offers and Contract Conclusion

All offers issued by Lightwaves are non-binding and, unless stated otherwise, valid for 14 days. Offers are generally prepared free of charge; for consumers, always without cost.





A contract is concluded only when the Client provides written order confirmation within the offer period, pays the deposit stated in the offer (at least 50% of the gross order amount), or when Lightwaves begins providing services at the Client’s express request.





Oral side agreements or special conditions are valid only if confirmed in writing by Lightwaves. Reasonable changes or improvements to the agreed services may be made by Lightwaves provided they do not result in material disadvantages for the Client.





2.2 Order Processing

Upon receipt of the Client’s written confirmation, Lightwaves starts working and prepares an initial draft.
Websites or other design-related deliverables are submitted to the Client for review and approval. The Client is entitled to request changes or corrections or, in the event of fundamental dissatisfaction, a second draft.





Any further modifications or additional services are billed separately according to the agreed hourly or daily rate.





2.3 Delivery Time and Deadlines

Lightwaves tries to process orders as quickly as possible. Desired completion dates must be explicitly stated in the order confirmation; otherwise, the timeframes communicated during the offer phase apply. The completion period begins only once the Client’s confirmation has been received, all technical and legal requirements clarified, and the agreed deposit paid.





If changes requested after order confirmation affect processing or completion, the delivery time will be extended accordingly. In cases of force majeure or circumstances beyond Lightwaves’s control – such as supplier failures or technical disruptions – Lightwaves is entitled to extend the completion period reasonably without being considered in default or liable for damages.
Exceeding the agreed scope of services due to special requests will be invoiced separately. Minor deviations in execution and quality are permissible. If Lightwaves lawfully withdraws from the contract, it is entitled to payment for services already rendered as well as preparatory work performed, even if the contract is only partially fulfilled.
The Client’s damage claims are – to the extent permitted by law – limited to cases of intent or gross negligence by Lightwaves. In cases of slight negligence, liability is limited to breaches of essential contractual obligations (»cardinal obligations«), and capped at foreseeable, typical damages. Liability for pure financial losses, loss of profit, or consequential damages is excluded.
The services provided by Lightwaves typically constitute contracts for work and services involving the design, development, and implementation of websites and digital solutions, as well as corporate design elements such as logos, business cards, or print materials. These are always tailored to the Client’s specifications and may include both digital drafts and physical outputs. Such contracts are excluded from statutory withdrawal rights – for both consumers and business clients. This also applies under § 18 (1) Z 1 of the Austrian Distance and Off-Premises Transactions Act (FAGG) to services individually customized for the Client (»refined services«). Where Lightwaves begins work at the express request of the Client before the statutory withdrawal period expires, the Client confirms the waiver of its withdrawal right under § 18 (1) Z 11 FAGG.
For non-customized standard products (e.g., software licenses, unmodified templates), the statutory 14-day withdrawal right applies.





2.4 Acceptance

Lightwaves shall notify the Client once the contractual deliverables are complete and ready for acceptance.
The Client is obliged to accept the deliverables immediately upon receipt of completion notice. Acceptance may not be refused on purely aesthetic grounds, as artistic and creative discretion is part of the contract.
Complaints regarding obvious defects must be submitted in writing immediately, but no later than 10 calendar days after receipt of the completion notice. If no acceptance or feedback is provided within 10 business days (including electronic notice), the deliverables are deemed contractually accepted and will be invoiced accordingly.

3.1 Payment Terms and Usage Rights

The agreed remuneration is due in full without deductions within one day of the invoice date, unless otherwise stipulated in the price list, the individual offer, or a written agreement.
In case of default, Lightwaves is entitled to charge default interest at 6% above the applicable European Central Bank base rate per annum. The right to claim higher proven damages remains reserved, as does the Client’s right to prove lesser damages.
All services provided by Lightwaves – including websites, layouts, logos, texts, graphics, illustrations, and programming – together with related copyrights and usage rights, remain the property of Lightwaves until full payment of the agreed remuneration. Drafts, sketches, interim results, or test versions may not be used or shared with third parties. Only the approved final version passes into the agreed usage rights of the Client after full payment.
Unless otherwise agreed in writing, the Client receives a simple, non-transferable, unlimited right of use for its own business purposes. Any transfer, sublicensing, modification, or use beyond this scope requires explicit written consent from Lightwaves.
Until full payment is received, any use, distribution, or modification of deliverables is prohibited. In the event of payment default, Lightwaves may prohibit further use of the deliverables and withdraw from the contract.





3.2 Retention of Title

Until all claims arising from the ongoing business relationship are fully settled, all deliveries and services, as well as related rights, remain the property of Lightwaves. In case of payment default, Lightwaves is entitled – without prejudice to other rights – to withdraw from the contract and demand return of the deliverables.

4.1 Client Obligations

The Client undertakes to provide Lightwaves with all information, documents, and data required for the proper fulfillment of the order in a timely and suitable form. This includes, in particular, the content to be integrated into websites as well as other materials such as texts, images, or logos.
The Client is responsible for ensuring that they hold all necessary usage and exploitation rights to the materials provided, and shall indemnify and hold harmless Lightwaves from any third-party claims, including all related legal costs and expenses for defense and enforcement.
If Lightwaves delivers drafts or test versions for review within a reasonable timeframe, they shall be deemed approved unless Lightwaves receives a written correction request within the set deadline.





4.2 Third-Party Rights, Set-off, and Assignment

The Client warrants that the materials they provide do not violate statutory provisions, public decency, or third-party rights. In the event of a breach, Lightwaves is entitled to terminate the contract with immediate effect. The Client shall be liable for all resulting direct and indirect damages, including financial losses, and shall indemnify and hold Lightwaves harmless from third-party claims, including all legal prosecution and defense costs (e.g., attorney and court fees).
The Client is not entitled to set off their own claims against claims of Lightwaves unless such claims are undisputed or have been legally established by a final judgment. The Client is likewise not entitled to assign claims against Lightwaves to third parties; any such assignment shall be invalid vis-à-vis Lightwaves.





4.3 Warranty and Defects

Lightwaves undertakes to perform orders with the utmost care and to handle all materials, documents, and templates provided with due diligence.
Upon delivery of the performance (e.g., release of drafts, transfer of files, website go-live, or delivery of print materials), the risk of loss or damage passes to the Client, provided Lightwaves is not responsible for such loss or damage. The work shall be deemed accepted at the latest upon full payment.





Lightwaves provides warranty for defects existing at the time of delivery, initially by remedying them free of charge or by replacement. If rectification fails – for example due to impossibility caused by negligence – the Client may only claim a reasonable reduction in price, or, in cases of impossibility without fault, rescission of the contract. Compensation claims exist only in cases of intent or gross negligence.





Where services are based on Client specifications (e.g., texts, images, logos, drafts, sketches, layouts, or other directions), liability is limited solely to the proper execution of such specifications. Lightwaves assumes no liability for substantive errors, in particular for materials provided by the Client, illegible templates, subsequent changes, or oral instructions.
The warranty becomes void once modifications to the deliverables are made without Lightwaves’s approval. Warranty periods are not extended by remedial work performed under warranty. Defects must be reported in writing immediately, but no later than one week after discovery. The burden of proof for all prerequisites of warranty claims lies with the Client.





If defects occur only in parts of the deliverables, this does not entitle the Client to reject the entire performance. Lightwaves is not liable for consequential damages caused by defects. The statutory duty to warn under § 1168a Austrian Civil Code (ABGB) is expressly excluded.
Claims for damages against Lightwaves expire six months after the Client becomes aware of the damage and the liable party, and in any case three years after delivery. Liability is limited to intent and gross negligence and applies equally to employees and agents. A reversal of the burden of proof under § 1298 ABGB in favor of the Client does not apply. Notices of defects do not entitle the Client to withhold due payments.





Lightwaves expressly points out that software products used may contain security risks. Lightwaves accepts no liability for damages or defects caused by third-party software. The Client is solely responsible for ongoing maintenance, updates, and security of the systems used (e.g., CMS, plugins, server configurations). If such measures are not carried out or delayed, Lightwaves assumes no liability for resulting damages, security gaps, or functional impairments. Liability for pure financial loss is likewise excluded.

5.1 Copyrights

All drafts and works created by Lightwaves are protected by copyright. Upon payment of the agreed remuneration, the Client receives the contractually agreed right of use. Unless otherwise agreed, this constitutes a simple, non-exclusive, unlimited right of use for the Client’s own business purposes. An extension of usage rights may be agreed upon individually.
Suggestions, input, or collaboration by the Client do not establish co-authorship. All copyright notices and protective markings (e.g., copyright statements) must be retained without alteration.





5.2 Use as Reference

Lightwaves is entitled to use the services created for the Client – such as websites, layouts, logos, or print materials – including the Client’s logo and a brief project description, as references in its own media (e.g., website, portfolio, social media, presentations). Such work may also be published for press purposes or submitted to professional competitions.
Any legitimate interest of the Client in confidentiality remains unaffected and must be communicated to Lightwaves in writing in advance.





5.3 Confidentiality and Agency Notice

The Client undertakes to treat all information and data received from Lightwaves in the course of the collaboration as confidential and not to disclose it to third parties. This obligation continues beyond the termination of the contractual relationship.
Lightwaves is entitled to include a discreet agency reference on the deliverables it creates (e.g., company or brand name inclucing link in the imprint or website footer).

6.1 Data Protection and Confidentiality

If the Client provides Lightwaves with data – in any form – the Client is obliged to create its own backups. Lightwaves assumes no liability for the loss of transmitted data.





Personal data are processed and stored for the purpose of contract performance. Processing is carried out in accordance with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) as well as applicable national data protection laws. Further information on data processing can be found in Lightwaves’s privacy policy.
The Client undertakes to transmit only such personal data to Lightwaves whose processing is lawful under the GDPR. The Client bears sole responsibility for the legality of the data and content provided and shall indemnify and hold Lightwaves harmless in the event of third-party claims.





Lightwaves undertakes not to exploit or disclose to third parties any business or trade secrets or confidential information of the Client or its customers obtained during the cooperation without prior consent. The same applies to documents handed over and knowledge acquired in the course of the collaboration.
The parties also agree on confidentiality with respect to the contents of the contract and all knowledge gained during the collaboration. This confidentiality obligation continues beyond the termination of the contractual relationship.
Despite applying recognized technical and organizational security measures, Lightwaves cannot guarantee complete protection against data loss, unauthorized access, or misuse of data. Liability for such risks is excluded to the extent permitted by law.





6.2 Domain and Hosting Mediation

If Lightwaves arranges domain names or hosting services on behalf of the Client, the general terms and conditions of the respective hosting provider or registrar apply additionally. In such cases, Lightwaves acts solely as an intermediary and assumes no liability for actual availability, registration, or continued existence of domain names or hosting services.
If the Client requests registration of an .at domain, the Client agrees to comply with the allocation rules of nic.at GmbH (Austrian domain registry), available at www.nic.at. For all other domain registrations, the allocation rules of the respective registry apply, which the Client must review in advance and whose validity is accepted upon registration.
In the event of termination of the contractual relationship between Lightwaves and the Client, the Client assumes all costs and obligations associated with the continued operation of domain or hosting services. Lightwaves is entitled to transfer the relevant access and administration rights to the Client or to a provider designated by the Client, but only after full settlement of all outstanding claims.





6.3 Maintenance and Service Levels

Unless expressly agreed otherwise, Lightwaves is not obliged to provide ongoing maintenance, support, or updates of websites, software, plugins, or servers after delivery and acceptance of the deliverables. Such services may be provided under a separately concluded maintenance or service agreement.
A maintenance agreement may include, in particular, regular updates, backups, security measures, bug fixes, as well as defined support and response times (service levels). The specific scope of services and remuneration must be agreed in writing on a case-by-case basis.
Without such an agreement, responsibility for ongoing technical maintenance, updates, and security of the systems used lies solely with the Client. In such cases, Lightwaves assumes no liability for damages or malfunctions resulting from missing updates, neglected maintenance, or insufficient security.

7.1 Jurisdiction and Applicable Law

All contracts are governed by Austrian law. In the event of disagreements, the parties will first seek an amicable solution. If legal proceedings become necessary, the court with subject-matter jurisdiction at the registered office of Lightwaves shall have exclusive jurisdiction.





7.2 Severability Clause

Should any provision of these GTC – in particular with respect to consumer transactions – be or become invalid, the validity of the remaining provisions shall remain unaffected. The invalid provision shall be replaced by a regulation that most closely reflects the economic purpose of the original provision, taking into account the interests of Lightwaves.
All notifications, communications, deadlines, notices of defects, as well as agreements deviating from these GTC, must be made in writing in order to be effective. Oral side agreements are not binding. This also applies to any waiver of the written form requirement itself.