Terms of Use

1. Copyright

All content and functionality on the Site, including text, graphics, logos, icons, images, videos and their selection and arrangement, together with the concepts, know-how, tools, frameworks, software, applications, methodologies, algorithms, models, processes, workflows and industry perspectives underlying or embedded in the foregoing, together with any enhancements or derivative works thereof (the "Site Content"), is the exclusive property of SONKO Consulting GmbH or its licensors and is protected by German and international copyright law, in particular by the German Copyright Act (UrhG). Neither the Site Content nor the functionality of the Site may be copied, reproduced, modified, reverse-engineered, altered (including by removing or disabling security or technological safeguards, disclaimers or legends), uploaded, published, posted, transmitted or distributed in any way without our prior written consent, except for the uses expressly permitted in Section 3 (Use of Site Content). All rights not expressly granted are reserved.

2. Trademarks

The trademarks, service marks, designs and logos (collectively, the "Trademarks") displayed on the Site are registered or unregistered Trademarks of SONKO Consulting GmbH or its licensors. Except as we expressly permit in writing, you agree that you will not refer to or attribute any information to SONKO or its licensors in any public medium (such as press releases, websites or public social media) for advertising, promotional or endorsement purposes, or in order to inform or influence any third party. You further agree not to use or reproduce the Trademarks in any manner likely to cause confusion, take unfair advantage of SONKO or its licensors, or that could imply any endorsement by or relationship with SONKO or its licensors.

3. Use of Site Content

Subject to your continuing compliance with these Terms, SONKO grants you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable licence to access, view, download and print one copy of the Site Content on a single device solely for your internal, non-commercial use, provided that (i) you do not modify the Site Content in any way (including by creating derivative works), (ii) you retain all copyright and other proprietary notices displayed on the Site Content, and (iii) you otherwise comply with these Terms. You may not otherwise reproduce, modify, reverse-engineer, distribute, transmit, post or disclose the Site Content without SONKO's prior written consent. In addition:

• You may not access, search, collect, mine or extract data from the Site or the Site Content by any means (automated or otherwise), including by crawling, scraping or systematic reproduction, without SONKO's express written permission.
• You may not use the Site or Site Content to develop any software program, model, algorithm or other generative-AI tool, including using the Site Content to train, fine-tune, evaluate, ground or otherwise develop or operate any machine-learning or artificial-intelligence system (including retrieval-augmented generation). This restriction reflects our reservation of the machine-readable opt-out under Article 4 (3) of Directive (EU) 2019/790 and § 44b (3) UrhG.
• You may not "mirror" the Site or the Site Content, in whole or in part, without SONKO's express written consent.
• You may not use the Site in violation of applicable laws, including export controls, sanctions and third-party intellectual-property or other rights.

Nothing on the Site should be construed as granting any licence or right to use SONKO's intellectual property beyond what is expressly set out here. The licence granted in this Section terminates automatically if you fail to comply with these Terms. Where we reasonably suspect non-compliance we may suspend your access to the Site and take any further steps we consider appropriate, including seeking injunctive relief.

4. SONKO OS · Client platform

Certain areas of the Site (in particular the SONKO OS platform at /app/) are only available to registered users. When you register you agree that (i) the information you provide is truthful and complete, (ii) you keep your access credentials confidential and do not share them with third parties, (iii) you are responsible for all activity that takes place under your account, and (iv) you use SONKO OS only for the purposes for which we make it available (assessment tools, mandate delivery, document exchange under NDA, workflow features).

Access to individual tiles or modules inside SONKO OS may require an explicit release ("Grant Access") from SONKO. Release of access is at our sole discretion and can be withdrawn at any time, for instance if the account was created with false information, if it is used contrary to these Terms, or if the underlying advisory relationship ends. We may also modify, add or remove features of SONKO OS at any time.

5. Free tools · No professional advice

SONKO makes certain self-service tools freely available (in particular the Fit-Check, the Positioning Sanity-Check, the Leadership Mindset Audit and any calculators or downloadable playbooks). These tools are informational aids only. They are not a validated psychometric instrument, do not constitute legal, tax, regulatory, medical or financial advice, and do not create an advisory or client relationship with SONKO. Results may be based on your inputs, on assumptions, and on models that we consider useful but that we do not warrant to be complete, accurate or fit for any specific purpose. Any decisions you take on the basis of results generated by these tools remain solely your responsibility.

6. User postings

Where the Site or SONKO OS allows you to submit content (for example NDA-preparation details, questionnaire answers, uploaded documents, notes or messages), you retain ownership of the content you submit. However, you grant SONKO a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sublicensable licence to use, reproduce, store, transmit, display, and adapt such content strictly for the purpose of providing our services to you, protecting our services and our clients, and complying with legal obligations.

You agree not to submit any content that:

• is threatening, defamatory, obscene or otherwise unlawful;
• constitutes, or encourages conduct that would constitute, a criminal offence, give rise to civil liability, or otherwise violate law;
• infringes the intellectual-property, privacy, or other rights of any third parties;
• contains a virus, worm or other harmful component;
• contains advertising or is intended for the mass solicitation of other users;
• contains false or misleading statements; or
• otherwise violates these Terms.

We do not systematically review information submitted by users and are not obliged to monitor stored third-party information under §§ 7 to 10 TMG. We nevertheless reserve the right to refuse or remove any submission, in whole or in part, for any reason and without prior notice, in particular where we consider it to be in breach of these Terms or of applicable law.

7. Notice of infringement (§ 10 TMG)

SONKO prohibits any use of the Site that infringes the copyright, trade-mark, privacy, personality or other rights of any person or entity. If you believe that content on the Site infringes a right that you hold or are responsible for enforcing, please write to us at the address in the Imprint with the following information: (a) identification of the protected work or right claimed to be infringed; (b) identification of the allegedly infringing material on the Site and where it appears; (c) your name, postal address, telephone number and email address; (d) a statement that you have a good-faith belief that the use complained of is not authorised by the rights-holder, its representative or by law; (e) a statement that the information in the notice is accurate and, so far as it relates to authority to act on behalf of the rights-holder, is true; and (f) your signature or that of a person authorised to act on your behalf. Upon receipt of a substantiated notice we will remove or disable access to the affected material without undue delay in accordance with § 10 TMG. Repeat infringers may be barred from posting further submissions and reported to the competent authorities.

8. Disclaimers

The Site is provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis. To the extent permitted by mandatory law, SONKO makes no warranties or representations, express or implied, in respect of the Site or the Site Content, including as to ownership, accuracy, completeness, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, uninterrupted availability or freedom from errors, viruses or other harmful components. In particular, the Site Content, including any free tools, insights, articles or downloadable materials, is provided for general information and does not constitute investment, legal, tax, accounting, medical, regulatory or other professional advice. You remain solely responsible for your use of the Site Content and for any decisions taken in reliance on it.

Nothing in these Terms limits any liability that cannot be excluded by mandatory German law, including liability under the German Product Liability Act (ProdHaftG), liability arising from an assumed warranty, liability for personal injury or damage to health, or liability for intent or gross negligence.

9. Limitation of liability

Subject to Section 8, and to the extent permitted by law, SONKO's liability towards you in connection with the Site is limited as follows:

• SONKO is liable without limitation for intent, gross negligence and for damages resulting from injury to life, body or health.
• In cases of slight negligence, SONKO is only liable for the breach of a material contractual obligation (Kardinalpflicht), i.e. an obligation the fulfilment of which is a prerequisite for the proper performance of the contract and on whose observance you may regularly rely. In such cases liability is limited to the foreseeable damage typical for this type of contract.
• Any further liability, in particular for indirect damages, loss of profit, loss of savings, loss of data or loss of business opportunities, is excluded to the extent permitted by law.
• The above limitations apply equally in favour of SONKO's legal representatives, employees, agents and vicarious agents.

10. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless SONKO Consulting GmbH and its officers, employees, agents, representatives and legal advisers from and against any and all claims, damages, losses, liabilities, costs and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising out of or in connection with (i) your use of the Site in breach of these Terms or of applicable law, or (ii) your infringement of any third-party rights through content you submit to the Site. SONKO reserves the right to assume, at its own expense, exclusive defence and control of any matter otherwise subject to indemnification by you.

11. Third-party websites and providers

The Site may contain links to third-party websites or services (for example Cal.com, LinkedIn, e-signature providers, or AI-service providers used for on-platform features). These are provided for your convenience only. SONKO does not control and has no responsibility for the content, availability, security or privacy practices of any third-party website or service. Your use of any third-party website or service is subject to that provider's own terms and privacy policy.

12. Suspension and termination

We may suspend or terminate your access to the Site or to SONKO OS at any time and with immediate effect where you (i) materially breach these Terms, (ii) create an account with false information, (iii) use the Site to violate law or the rights of others, or (iv) fail to maintain your account. On termination the licence granted in Section 3 ends immediately. Statutory rights of both parties, in particular the right to extraordinary termination for cause, remain unaffected.

13. Changes to the Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time to reflect changes to our services, to the law, or to reflect the introduction of new features. The date at the top of this page states the version in force. Material changes will be notified to registered users of SONKO OS by email or via the platform. If you do not agree with the updated Terms, please stop using the Site.

14. Governing law and jurisdiction

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). If you are a consumer with habitual residence in another Member State of the European Union, the protective effect of mandatory provisions of the law of that Member State remains unaffected.

For contracts with merchants (Kaufleute), legal persons under public law or special funds under public law, the exclusive place of jurisdiction for all disputes arising from or in connection with these Terms is the court competent for the registered office of SONKO Consulting GmbH (currently Köln, Germany). SONKO retains the right to bring proceedings at your general place of jurisdiction.

15. Severability

If any provision of these Terms is or becomes invalid, illegal or unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall remain in full force and effect. The invalid, illegal or unenforceable provision shall be replaced by a provision which most closely reflects the economic purpose intended by the parties.

16. Contact