Terms and Conditions

1. Scope and Acceptance

These Terms and Conditions (“Terms”) govern the use of the Historical Reels service (“Service”) operated by Mario Ottmann, Sperberkamp 12a, 22175 Hamburg, Germany (“we”, “us”, or “Provider”).

By creating an account or using the Service, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree to these Terms, you may not use the Service.

2. Service Description

Historical Reels is an AI-powered service that transforms black and white images into colorized video reels. Users upload historical photographs, which are then processed using artificial intelligence to add color and create short video animations.

The Service uses third-party AI providers (Google AI/Gemini) for image processing and video generation. Results may vary and are dependent on the quality and content of the uploaded images.

3. User Accounts

To use the Service, you must create an account using a valid email address or through an authorized OAuth provider (Google). You must be at least 18 years old to create an account.

You are responsible for:

• Providing accurate and current account information
• Maintaining the security of your account credentials
• All activities that occur under your account
• Notifying us immediately of any unauthorized access

4. Pricing and Payment

The Service operates on a credit-based pricing model. Credits are required to process images and generate videos. Current pricing tiers are:

• 1 Credit: €4.99
• 5 Credits: €19.99 (Save 20%)
• 20 Credits: €74.99 (Save 25%)

Payments are processed securely through Stripe. We do not store your payment card details. All prices are in Euros.

Tax Information: According to § 19 UStG (German VAT Act), as a small business (Kleinunternehmer), no value-added tax (VAT) is charged or displayed on our prices.

Credits are non-transferable and have no cash value. Purchased credits do not expire and remain available until used.

5. Refund Policy

Due to the digital nature of the Service, credit purchases are generally non-refundable. Once credits are purchased, they remain available for use until consumed. No refunds will be issued for unused credits.

If a technical error on our part prevents you from using purchased credits, please contact us at historicalreels@marioottmann.com and we will work to resolve the issue.

6. Right of Withdrawal (EU Consumers)

As a consumer in the European Union, you have the right to withdraw from the contract within 14 days without giving any reason. The withdrawal period expires 14 days from the day of the conclusion of the contract.

To exercise your right of withdrawal, you must inform us of your decision by a clear statement (e.g., an email sent to historicalreels@marioottmann.com).

Loss of Right of Withdrawal: Your right of withdrawal expires prematurely if you begin using purchased credits before the 14-day period ends. By using credits to generate content, you acknowledge that the digital service has been fully provided and that your right of withdrawal for those services is lost.

If you do not use the credits during the 14-day withdrawal period, you retain your full right of withdrawal and may request a full refund of the purchase price.

7. Contract Term and Cancellation

This agreement begins when you create an account and continues until terminated by either party.

You may cancel your account at any time through your account settings or by contacting us. We strongly recommend that you use any remaining credits before canceling your account.

Upon cancellation:

• Your account will be deactivated
• Any remaining unused credits will be forfeited, and the Provider is not obligated to provide a cash refund for user-initiated cancellations
• Your uploaded images and generated content will be deleted within 30 days

Note: During a reasonable notice period following your cancellation request, you will retain the ability to use your purchased credits before final account closure.

8. Termination by Provider

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate your account immediately if you:

• Violate these Terms
• Use the Service for illegal purposes
• Upload prohibited content (see Section 9)
• Attempt to abuse, exploit, or circumvent the Service

9. User Obligations and Prohibited Content

You agree to use the Service only for lawful purposes. You must not upload or process:

• Images depicting illegal activities
• Child sexual abuse material (CSAM)
• Images that violate the rights of third parties
• Content that infringes copyrights or trademarks
• Hateful, violent, or discriminatory content
• Images used for fraud or deception

You represent that you have the legal right to upload and process any images you submit.

10. User Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the Provider, its affiliates, officers, directors, employees, and agents from and against any and all third-party claims, liabilities, damages, losses, costs, expenses, or fees (including reasonable attorneys' fees and legal defense costs) arising from or relating to:

• Your breach of these Terms
• Your violation of any law or the rights of a third party
• Your use of the Service
• Any content you upload, including claims of intellectual property infringement or violation of third-party rights

This indemnification obligation includes, but is not limited to, situations where you upload images without proper authorization or in violation of third-party copyrights, trademarks, or other intellectual property rights.

11. Intellectual Property

Your Content: You retain all ownership rights to the original images you upload. You grant us a limited license to process your images solely for the purpose of providing the Service.

Generated Content: AI-generated content may lack sufficient human authorship to qualify for traditional copyright protection under German and EU law. Therefore, instead of claiming ownership, the Provider grants you an exclusive, perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free, and irrevocable right to use the AI-generated colorized images and videos for personal and commercial purposes. You may use, reproduce, modify, distribute, and publicly display such content without restriction.

Our Service: The Service, including its technology, design, and branding, remains the exclusive property of the Provider.

12. Content Retention

Uploaded images and generated videos are stored temporarily and automatically deleted within 24-48 hours after processing. It is your responsibility to download your generated content before it is deleted.

We do not maintain long-term archives of user content and cannot recover deleted files.

13. Disclaimer

The Service is provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis without warranties of any kind, either express or implied. We do not guarantee:

• Uninterrupted or error-free operation
• Specific quality or accuracy of AI-generated results
• That the Service will meet your specific requirements

AI-generated colorizations are interpretations and may not reflect historical accuracy. Results depend on input image quality and AI model capabilities.

14. Limitation of Liability

Our liability is tiered as follows:

• Unrestricted Liability: We are fully liable for damages arising from intent, gross negligence, or any injury to life, body, or health, regardless of the fault of the Provider or its legal representatives or agents.
• Limited Liability: For simple negligence regarding essential contractual obligations (Kardinalpflichten—duties whose fulfillment is essential for the proper performance of the contract and on which you may rely), our liability is limited to the foreseeable, contract-typical damage at the time of contract conclusion.
• Excluded Liability: For simple negligence regarding non-essential contractual obligations, liability is excluded.

We are not liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, including loss of profits, data, or goodwill, except where mandatory statutory liability applies.

The above limitations do not affect your statutory rights as a consumer under mandatory consumer protection laws.

15. Data Protection

Your privacy is important to us. Please review our Privacy Policy to understand how we collect, use, and protect your personal data in accordance with GDPR and other applicable data protection laws.

16. Changes to Terms

We may modify these Terms at any time. We will notify you of material changes by email or through the Service. Continued use of the Service after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the modified Terms.

17. Governing Law and Jurisdiction

These Terms are governed by the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany, excluding its conflict of law provisions.

For consumers within the EU, mandatory consumer protection laws of your country of residence will apply where they provide greater protection.

Any disputes shall be resolved in the courts of Hamburg, Germany. Consumers may also bring claims in the courts of their place of residence.

18. Severability

If any provision of these Terms is found to be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions will continue in full force and effect. The invalid provision will be replaced with a valid provision that most closely reflects the original intent.

19. Contact

For questions about these Terms, please contact us at:

Mario Ottmann
Sperberkamp 12a
22175 Hamburg, Germany
Email: historicalreels@marioottmann.com