Update: November 15th 2020
GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS
1. Definitions
In these General Terms and Conditions are defined:
A. “Applicant”: an authorized person or representative acting in his own name but for the account of the Advertiser, and who as an authorized person and/or representative accepts the applicability of these General Terms and Conditions also for himself;
B. “Advertiser”: the (legal) person who directly or either represented by, or by power of attorney to an Applicant, contracts with DPG MEDIA or otherwise enters into a relationship with DPG MEDIA or has notified the intention to do so;
C. “Advertisement”: (i) an advertisement in a newspaper or magazine, on a website or mobile device (“printed Media - also in their electronic form”), or (ii) a Spot, Online Advertisement or Non-spot Advertisement on radio and/or television (“airtime”), a website or mobile device (“audiovisual and online media”);
D. “General Terms and Conditions”: DPG MEDIA’s General Terms and Conditions of Sale;
E. “Digital Platform”: the websites, mobile websites, applications, players and/or other digital platforms and interactive applications of DPG MEDIA and/or the Media Companies, or of which the commercial management has been transferred to DPG MEDIA;
F. “Non-spot Advertisement”: a form of Advertisement, consisting of visual/audio material that is appropriate and intended to be broadcast outside the Advertising Blocks, such as but not limited to sponsor messages, billboarding, tags, product placement and overlays;
G. “Online Advertisement”: a form of Advertisement that is appropriate and intended - for the benefit of the Advertiser and without any editorial responsibility of DPG MEDIA - to be placed on a Digital Platform, such as but not limited to banners, buttons, video advertising (pre-rolls, post-rolls, mid-rolls, ...), homepage takeovers, display ads, etc.;
H. “Advertising Block”: a total of Spots combined for a specific period of time;
I. “Spot”: a form of Advertisement, consisting of visual/audio material, intended to be broadcast on behalf of the Advertiser in Advertising Blocks around the programs of and/or on the television channels and/or on the radio stations of the Media Companies;
J. “Technical Regulations”: the most recent technical requirements of DPG MEDIA for the delivery of Advertisements;
K. “DPG Media”: NV DPG Media with registered office at B-2018 Antwerp, Mediaplein 1, registered in the legal entities register (Antwerp District Court) with company number 0432.306.234;
L. “Medium”/“Media”: the television, radio, mobile and/or online channel carrier (“audiovisual and online Media”) and/or the newspaper or magazine (together “printed Media - also in their electronic form”) for which the Advertisement is booked, and which are owned by DPG MEDIA NV and/or DPG MEDIA SERVICES NV and/or companies that are part of their group of companies, or of another third party for whom DPG MEDIA acts as external director (hereinafter together referred to as “Media Companies”);
2. General stipulations
2.1 These General Terms and Conditions apply to the entire cooperation between DPG MEDIA and the Advertiser and/or Applicant with regard to the sale of Advertisements and any related work and services carried out by DPG MEDIA in the context of the cooperation.
In addition, the most recent rate card(s) provided to the Advertiser and/or Applicant, and the stipulations and (delivery) conditions stated therein, as well as the explanatory notes and the Technical Regulations and/or other brochures issued by DPG MEDIA also apply to the quotations, agreements and activities of DPG MEDIA. For Advertisements on printed Media (newspapers and magazines - also in their electronic form), discounts and premiums are never valid on sponsorship and exchange agreements, creative formulas and premium placements, and cannot be combined with other premiums, discounts or package formulas.
2.2 The applicability of any general terms and conditions and/or other conditions of the Advertiser or his Applicant is hereby expressly excluded. Deviation from the General Terms and Conditions towards DPG MEDIA can only apply if such a deviation has been accepted in advance, explicitly and in writing by a valid representative of DPG MEDIA.
2.3 These General Terms and Conditions shall be deemed to be permanently applicable conditions of DPG MEDIA and declared applicable to any (future) follow-up and/or additional offers as well as to agreements and/or the formation and/or performance thereof.
2.4 If one or more separate provisions in these General Terms and Conditions or in the agreement between DPG MEDIA and the Advertiser prove to be invalid, then this does not affect the validity of other provisions of the General Terms and Conditions, nor of those of the agreement itself, which includes the General Terms and Conditions. The parties will replace the relevant provision(s) with one or more new provisions, the scope of which corresponds as far as possible to the original provision(s).
2.5 These General Terms and Conditions can be consulted by any interested party via https://www.advertising.dpgmedia.be/en/general-conditions
The commercial policy is available at https://www.advertising.dpgmedia.be/en/commercial-policy-2020
2.6 Programmatic advertising deals are not covered by these General Terms and Conditions.
2.7 These General Terms and Conditions are the only official version. Translations in languages other than Dutch are unofficial and are always subordinate to the Dutch version, in case of any discussion/interpretation problems.
3. Application and planning
3.1 Applications for an Advertisement on audiovisual and online Media must be submitted in writing, per the same advertising message, with indication of the duration of the Advertisement, the desired time or the desired times of the broadcast, as well as the frequency.
3.2 The application shall clearly state the name, the place of residence or the registered office, and if applicable the company designation of the Applicant. The Applicant is together with the Advertiser jointly and severally liable for payment to DPG MEDIA.
If it concerns a foreign Applicant, DPG MEDIA may request that the name, the place of residence or the registered office and if applicable the company designation of a representative established in Belgium must also be stated, who is also jointly and severally liable for payment to DPG MEDIA, and who accepts this joint and several liability by co-signature of the application.
The application also mentions the identity of the ulterior Advertiser, with designation of the brand or the trade name of the product or service advertised, together with the confirmation from the Applicant that he is authorized to request broadcasting by DPG MEDIA of the advertisement of the thereby disclosed Advertiser.
3.3 DPG MEDIA will discretionarily process and organize the requests for Advertisements on audiovisual and online Media, subject to full and valid completion, according to the available broadcasting time, and will send a quotation to the Applicant or Advertiser, stating the broadcasting schedule as well as the price or pricing.
The quotation must be returned for confirmation signed by the Advertiser or Applicant, and if it concerns a foreign Applicant also co-signed by his Belgian representative:
within 10 working days after receipt
within 8 working days after receipt if the campaign starts within 4 weeks
For the purposes of this article, it is considered that the quotation was received on the third working day after the date of sending, the day of sending being understood in this period.
For quotations to be sent abroad, the fifth working day applies.
3.4 For the applications for an Advertisement on audiovisual and online Media, a confirmation of quotation is only valid if it concerns the totality of the quotation, is without any reservation, and has been signed by all parties that are required to sign, and has been dated and returned within the applicable period. Otherwise, the quotation will lapse and DPG MEDIA can freely dispose of the relevant broadcasting time or advertising space. If the Advertiser or Applicant confirms the quotation, a definitive agreement is as such created.
Applications for an Advertisement on printed Media (newspapers and magazines - also in their electronic form) are only definitive from the receipt of an order form that has been duly filled in and signed by the Advertiser or returned for agreement. Bookings depend on the availability per medium.
3.5 Each agreement has been entered into intuitu personae with the Applicant, his Belgian representative, and the ulterior Advertiser. It applies specifically to the product or service, brand, trade name or business concerned, and it may not be transferred in whole or in part, under penalty of non-opposability to DPG MEDIA.
3.6 If the confidence of DPG MEDIA in the creditworthiness of the Applicant, his Belgian representative and/or the Advertiser is violated by acts of judicial execution against the Applicant, his Belgian representative and/or the Advertiser and/or other demonstrable events, which call into question the confidence in the proper execution of the commitments made by the Applicant and/or Advertiser and/or make it impossible, DPG MEDIA reserves the right to demand appropriate guarantees from the Applicant, his Belgian Representative and/or the Advertiser.
3.7 In case of non-payment or in case of contractual default as set out in Article 3.6, DPG MEDIA reserves the right, with written notification and without prior notice, to:
• cease the execution of the agreement in question
• cease the execution of other agreements
• postpone other agreements to be started
• demand full or partial prepayment of other agreements
• immediately and unilaterally compensate all credit notes issued to the Applicant, his Belgian Representative and/or the Advertiser with the outstanding invoices. In all the aforementioned cases, the Applicant, his Belgian Representative and/or the Advertiser will not have any right to compensation.
3.8 The agreement obliges the Applicant and/or Advertiser to deliver the Advertisements in accordance with Article 6 of these General Terms and Conditions.
4. Postponement, cancellation and suspension
4.1 Cancellation of an Advertising campaign on audiovisual and online Media, or a part thereof, is only possible by means of a registered letter that must reach DPG MEDIA at least 60 days before the first broadcast of the Advertisement, and on condition that at the same time 5% of the agreed amount is paid, to be increased by the VAT. In case of cancellation between 60 and 30 days before the broadcast of the first Advertisement, 50% of the agreed amount is due. From 30 days before the broadcast of the first Advertisement of a campaign, cancellation is no longer possible, and the original agreement remains binding. For Non-spot Advertisements, however, other terms apply which are defined in Article 4.2
4.2 Cancellation of an agreement on a Non-spot Advertisement or part thereof is only possible by means of a registered letter that must reach DPG MEDIA at least 90 days before the first broadcast, and on condition that at the same time 5% of the agreed amount is paid, to be increased by the VAT. In case of cancellation between 90 and 60 days before the broadcast, 50% of the agreed amount is due. From 60 days before the broadcast, cancellation is no longer possible, and the original agreement remains binding.
4.3 Postponement or transfer of a specific Advertisement on audiovisual and online Media to another time slot or another date are only possible within the same semester, by means of a registered letter which DPG MEDIA must receive at least 5 working days before the date of the original broadcast. A request for postponement or transfer is treated discretionarily by DPG MEDIA within the possibilities of the planning. In any case, the Applicant and/or Advertiser remain bound to the original amount of the agreement, without prejudice to the application of higher rates if the request leads to this.
4.4 For printed Media (newspapers and magazines - also in their electronic form) the Advertiser and/or Applicant cannot cancel an order or ongoing commission in the period of 14 days before the reservation deadline of the medium concerned. If a cancellation occurs in a period between 28 and 15 days before this reservation deadline, 50% of the budget will be invoiced. Orders for premium placements or creative formulas cannot be canceled. Changes in an ordered campaign can be communicated at the latest 3 working days before the reservation deadline of the relevant medium. DPG MEDIA can, however, always refuse substantial changes.
4.5 DPG MEDIA can always suspend the broadcasting or placement of an Advertisement without giving reasons, provided this is communicated in advance to the Applicant or Advertiser.
4.6 DPG MEDIA reserves the right to consider the agreement to be annulled without prior notice of default, in the event of bankruptcy, manifest insolvency as well as any change in the legal situation of the Applicant and/or his Belgian representative and/or Advertiser.
5. Placement of Advertisement
5.1 The indications provided by DPG MEDIA are only indicative, and reservations relate to the place of an Advertising Block in the broadcasting schedule, and not to the exact time.
If DPG MEDIA and/or one of the Media Companies are obligated to adjust the broadcasting schedule due to topical matters or for programming reasons, the planning can be revised by DPG MEDIA, without any right to compensation on the part of the Applicant and/or Advertiser and without this revision serving as a basis for cancellation or dissolution of the agreement by the Applicant and/or Advertiser.
5.2 Any request to place a Spot at a specific location within a Advertising Block implies an increase of the applicable rate by 20% for first, second, penultimate and last position, 20% for countdown spot and 30% for single spot.
Any request for successive placement within the same Advertising Block and any request for specific other Spots not to be placed within the same Advertising Block also implies an increase of the applicable rate by 20%.
5.3 For Advertising on printed Media (newspapers and magazines - also in their electronic form) reference is made to the specific agreements in the commercial policy.
6. Advertisement
6.1 Each Advertisement must exclusively relate to only one brand, trade name, product, service or company.
6.2 Only in exceptional cases can other advertisers/brands be mentioned in the Advertisement, though only as a simple visual or auditory mention and the application must specify this mention of other advertisers/brands. For such multiple entries, price increases apply as provided for in the applicable commercial policy.
Only in exceptional cases can other products be listed under one and the same product name. For each visual and/or auditory mention with argumentation and/or product descriptions of additional mentions, a surcharge will be charged as provided for in the applicable commercial policy.
For the mention of sponsors (of events, fairs, etc.) certain fees also apply as provided for in the applicable commercial policy. The size of the logo is limited to a maximum of 60 lines. In all cases, the duration of the presence of the mention shall be limited to the ratio of max. 5” in a spot length of 30”. Longer durations of such mentions entail an additional increase.
6.3 The Advertiser and/or Applicant shall be fully liable for the content and the form of the Advertisement (incl. towards all third parties, including all authorities). The Advertiser and/or Applicant also guarantee the conformity of the Advertisement with all applicable legal, regulatory and deontological requirements (including the Flemish Media Decrees), and indemnify DPG MEDIA and the Media Companies irrevocably and without restriction against all claims or demands of third parties against DPG MEDIA and the Media Companies, for instance because of alleged or actual violation of the current legislation, or for the compensation of any damage or potential damage caused by the broadcast.
In addition, DPG MEDIA reserves the right to refuse an Advertisement without stating reasons, or to request a change to it, whereby the Applicant and/or Advertiser shall, at the first request by DPG MEDIA, timely submit the Advertisement for inspection by DPG MEDIA, while this inspection in no way releases the Applicant and/or Advertiser from their full liability and obligation of indemnification towards DPG MEDIA and the Media Companies.
6.4 The Applicant, or his ulterior Advertiser, or the Belgian representative, are prohibited from making any use of or referring to DPG MEDIA or the Media Companies, as well as their programs/websites and/or logos and brands, in any way whatsoever, in any text, on penalty of immediate termination of the agreement, without prejudice to the right to compensation for DPG MEDIA and/or the Media Companies involved.
All Advertisements in which employees, contractors, permanent or occasional or freelance employees of DPG MEDIA and/or the Media Companies occur, whether audibly, visually or otherwise explicitly or implicitly, are prohibited and will be refused.
Exceptions to this can only be granted through prior written and explicit agreement.
6.5 The Applicant and/or Advertiser will also fully indemnify DPG MEDIA and the Media Companies against all third-party claims regarding copyrights and all intellectual and/or industrial property rights relating to the content and/or the form of the Advertisement.
The Applicant and/or Advertiser guarantee that if any text or visual material is used in the Advertisement, all necessary consents are obtained and fees paid to all parties entitled (including authors and depicted persons).
The Applicant and/or Advertiser also guarantee the settlement of all fees that will be due to third parties (including rightful claimants of copyrights and neighboring rights) in connection with the disclosure and multiplication by DPG MEDIA on the Media, of the material supplied by the Advertiser and/or the Applicant. The Advertiser and/or the Applicant furthermore guarantee that no compensation relating to the publication and multiplication of the material by DPG MEDIA will be claimed by them or by any claimants of the aforementioned third parties (or the collective management companies representing them).
6.6 DPG MEDIA has the right to terminate or suspend the broadcasting of a particular Advertisement, if serious objections have arisen or are to be expected against further broadcasting. DPG MEDIA will inform the Applicant and/or Advertiser of this measure.
The enforcement of this measure shall be at the expense of the Applicant and/or Advertiser, without liability by DPG MEDIA or the relevant Media Company for any form of damages and without such claim being invoked by the Applicant and/or Advertiser as grounds for dissolution or termination of the agreement.
6.7 The Advertiser and/or Applicant shall indemnify and, if appropriate, compensate DPG MEDIA and the Media Companies against any claim, including a claim based on a procedure, a request for damages, sanction, compensation, etc., resulting from a breach by the Advertiser and/or Applicant of his obligations, statements and guarantees under the Agreement. If DPG MEDIA and/or the Media Companies are summoned in connection with such claim, the Advertiser and/or Applicant will, at the request of DPG MEDIA and/or the Media Companies, voluntarily intervene in the proceedings.
6.8 DPG MEDIA reserves the right to not accept Advertisements that do not have the agreed length/size, or Advertisements that do not comply with the Technical Regulations. If the Advertisement is longer/larger than expected and would still be accepted, the price will be rounded to the higher unit. If the Advertisement is shorter/smaller than anticipated, the previously agreed price applies.
6.9 The spoken and/or written message of the Advertisement on audiovisual and online Media is in Dutch. For printed Media (newspapers and magazines - also in their electronic form), Advertisements drawn up in a language other than that of the relevant edition may be refused by DPG MEDIA and are not translated by DPG MEDIA unless explicitly requested and funded by the customer.
Any deviation from these rules will first be submitted to DPG MEDIA for approval.
6.10 By concluding the agreement, the Advertiser and/or Applicant grant DPG MEDIA and the Media Companies a non-exclusive right to broadcast/place/publish the Advertisement in/on the Media, via all possible transmission systems and on all possible devices, whether linear or non-linear and regardless of whether the viewer/reader/surfer/listener pays for this Advertisement or not.
6.11 The Advertiser and/or Applicant accept that the content or quality of the Media itself can never be a reason not to comply with their obligations arising from the Agreement (including the General Terms and Conditions), nor to invoke the liability of DPG MEDIA or the Media Companies in that regard.
6.12 DPG Media has the right to overwrite linear campaigns with uncompetitive addressable spots for complementary target audiences. The performances of these linear campaigns are properly measured and re-weighted according to a CIM-approved methodology.
7. Digital Platform(s)
7.1. The Applicant and/or Advertiser are not permitted to use the Digital Platforms in a way that violates the provisions of the agreement, the General Terms and Conditions and the relevant and applicable regulations (including but not limited to the Electronic Communications Act, the future ePrivacy Regulation and the Privacy Act).
7.2 The Applicant and/or Advertiser are not permitted to resell the advertising space on the Digital Platforms to which they have received access under this agreement, to third parties.
7.3. Furthermore, the Applicant and/or Advertiser are not permitted to use the Advertisements for:
- sending e-mails (including spam and advertising) to third parties, with or without a commercial purpose; and/or
- sending e-mail messages or uploading files containing viruses or similar software programs that may damage the operation of the Digital Platforms offered by DPG MEDIA and/or the Media Companies, the Internet or the computers and/or software of third parties;
7.4 DPG MEDIA and/or the Media Companies strive to ensure that the Digital Platforms, on which online advertising space is offered, are available to visitors. DPG MEDIA and the Media Companies do not guarantee that the Digital Platforms are at all times uninterrupted or fully available, and reserve the right to, without notice, block the Digital Platforms or to take them out of service for maintenance, adjustment or improvement, or to modify, expand, delete or otherwise change a Digital Platform. The Applicant and/or Advertiser cannot claim any compensation as a result of such interruptions.
8. Technical characteristics
The material must be delivered in accordance with the Technical Regulations that are available on request. For advertising material for printed Media (newspapers and magazines - also in their electronic form), the publicity material to be used must be delivered in time by the Advertiser in accordance with the channels stated on www.advertising.dpgmedia.be.
The Advertiser is solely responsible for the quality of the material.
9. Delivery and quality control
9.1 The complete publicity material, which shall comply with the characteristics referred to in Article 5, will be delivered to DPG MEDIA no later than 5 working days before the scheduled broadcasting date.
9.2 If, in the opinion of DPG MEDIA, an Advertisement is not delivered on time and/or not in accordance with the technical and quality standards, DPG MEDIA may refuse it, without prejudice to the full liability of the Applicant and/or Advertiser and without this being grounds to limit or reduce their commitments towards DPG MEDIA.
10. Distribution media
Neither DPG MEDIA nor the Media Companies accept any liability in connection with the quality or continuity of the distribution of the media, such as the transmission of television and/or radio signals to the subscribers of the cable distribution company or the distribution via any other means, and have completely freed themselves from their commitments by including the Advertisements in listed signals.
11. Termination
11.1 Each party has the right to terminate the agreement by registered letter, with immediate effect and without judicial intervention, if the other party breaches this agreement, and the other party does not rectify or end this violation within ten (10) days after receipt of a written warning sent by registered mail, explaining the nature of the violation and requesting the defaulting party to correct or end this violation.
DPG MEDIA has the right to terminate the Agreement by registered letter, without any compensation, with immediate effect and without judicial intervention, if the Advertiser and/or Applicant: (i) act contrary to Article 6.3 of these General Terms and Conditions; or in violation of Article 17 of these General Terms and Conditions; if the Advertiser and/or Applicant do not abstain from an act, statement or declaration that could cause damage to (the reputation of) DPG MEDIA and/or the Media Companies, including their activities (programs, events, brands, etc.).
11.2 Each party has the right to terminate the agreement with immediate effect by registered letter, without prior notice of default and without judicial intervention when (i) the other party becomes insolvent or goes into liquidation, (ii) a petition for bankruptcy is filed, (iii) when the other party has been declared bankrupt or has become insolvent, (iv) when conservatory or executory attachment is placed on a substantial part of the assets of that party and this attachment has an adverse effect on the fulfillment of the obligations of this party; party, or (v) in the event of any reorganization under the Law of 31 January 2009 (if applicable, in compliance with Article 35 of this Act) or any similar (foreign) procedure by this party.
11.3 If DPG MEDIA or the Media Companies decide to cancel the event or the program to which an Advertisement is linked, the relevant agreement shall terminate immediately and legally without DPG MEDIA or the Media Companies being bound to pay any compensation (for damages). If it concerns a partial cancellation, the agreed value of the Advertisement will be adjusted pro rata.
12. Liability
DPG MEDIA carries out the agreement with the Applicant and/or Advertiser as well as its other activities and services as carefully as possible. DPG MEDIA, nor the Media Companies, can be held liable for any damage, of whatever nature, incurred by the Applicant and/or Advertiser and/or a third party as a result of or due to the execution by DPG MEDIA of the order or agreement (whether or not in cooperation with the Media Companies), unless in case of intent or fraud by or from DPG MEDIA and/or the Media Companies.
The liability of DPG MEDIA and the Media Companies is in any case expressly limited to the repair of foreseeable, direct and personal damage, to the exclusion of all indirect or immaterial damage such as, but not limited to, business loss, loss of income and profits, loss of customers, loss or damage of data, loss of contracts and additional costs. In all cases, the total liability of DPG MEDIA and the Media Companies is additionally limited to an amount for which the agreement, or the part of the agreement that has not been executed or not correctly executed, has been adopted.
13. Force majeure and unforeseen circumstances
13.1 DPG MEDIA is at all times entitled to suspend the fulfillment of one or more obligations from the agreement with the Applicant and/or Advertiser in case of force majeure on the part of DPG MEDIA and/or the Media Companies, without DPG MEDIA and/or the Media Companies being liable to pay any compensation.
If DPG MEDIA is unable to fulfill its obligations under the agreement, as a result of a force majeure situation, for a period of one month or longer, the Applicant and/or Advertiser shall be entitled to dissolve the agreement with DPG MEDIA without the parties being mutually obliged to pay any compensation.
13.2 Force majeure on the part of DPG MEDIA exists if DPG MEDIA is prevented from fulfilling its obligations under the agreement or preparations to these obligations, due to circumstances outside the direct sphere of influence of DPG MEDIA, including circumstances at the Media Companies. Unforeseen circumstances or force majeure within the meaning of this article also include the situations in which DPG MEDIA is no longer able to execute an agreement as a result of a decision by itself or taken by the Media Companies to stop broadcasting a particular channel or Digital Platform and/or that DPG MEDIA and/or the Media Companies are in fairness no longer free to execute the agreement due to a government decision and/or court order.
13.3 In the event that DPG MEDIA is prevented from carrying out the assignment of the Applicant and/or Advertiser due to unforeseen circumstances or force majeure by itself or by the Media Companies, DPG MEDIA has the right to suspend the execution of the assignment for the duration of the impediment or to cancel the agreement without being liable to pay any compensation towards the Applicant and/or the Advertiser. In these cases, DPG MEDIA is obligated to inform the Applicant or Advertiser as soon as possible of the impediment and to declare the aforementioned choice.
14. Complaints
14.1 Any complaint about a non-conformable performance by DPG MEDIA of its obligations will only be dealt with if it is received by DPG MEDIA in writing and by registered mail within 8 days of the day of the broadcast.
14.2 If the Applicant and/or Advertiser claim that DPG MEDIA and/or the Media Companies did not broadcast an Advertisement, DPG MEDIA must provide evidence of its inclusion in the programming, otherwise the price will not be invoiced.
14.3 If another Advertiser's Advertisement was programmed, DPG MEDIA will reimburse the resulting damage to the maximum of that Advertisement's price, on condition that the Applicant and/or Advertiser demonstrate and prove that the Advertiser has suffered damage as a result of the replacement.
14.4 In all cases, the obligation to compensation by DPG MEDIA and/or the Media Companies is jointly limited to the refund of the amount for the Advertisements for which the complaint was found to be legitimate.
15. Payment terms
15.1 All invoices for Advertisements in printed media (newspapers and magazines – also in their electronic form) and for Advertisements on audiovisual and online media are at least payable in cash, unless otherwise indicated on the invoice.
15.2 DPG MEDIA always reserves the right to demand full or partial prepayment.
15.3 All applicable taxes are for the account of the Applicant, his Belgian representative, or the ulterior Advertiser.
The Applicant and/or his Belgian representative and/or the Advertiser are/is liable to pay for the Advertisements. The Applicant remains responsible for payment of the Advertisement, even if the invoices are drawn up in the name of the client of that Applicant.
15.4 Objections are only admissible if they are submitted to DPG MEDIA by registered letter within 8 days of the invoice date. An objection does not suspend the obligation to pay.
15.5 The due date of the invoice must in any case be strictly observed.
In the event of non-payment by the due date, the invoice amount is automatically and without notice increased by a fixed compensation that is hereby conventionally set at 1% of the invoice amount per started calendar month. In addition, DPG MEDIA has the right to immediately cease the execution of the current assignments and to increase the amounts of the outstanding invoices with a fixed conventional compensation of 10%, with a minimum of 50 EUR, due to the additional administrative costs of non-payment, without prejudice to DPG MEDIA's right to claim any compensation for any resulting damage.
15.6 Non-payment on the due date of an invoice, after unavailing notice of default by registered letter, makes the due balance of all other, even non-expired, invoices legally due and payable.
16. Agreement
16.1 DPG MEDIA is only bound by what has been established in writing and acknowledged by a valid representative of DPG MEDIA, and that alone is enforceable.
17. Confidentiality
17.1. The Applicant and/or Advertiser expressly commit themselves to the following with regard to Confidential Information:
- use any Confidential Information only and exclusively for the implementation of this agreement;
- keep secret and confidential and thus not grant any other party access to that Confidential Information, or communicate this Confidential Information to any third party or allow any third party to use it or have it used in any other way.
The Applicant and/or Advertiser are therefore in particular not permitted to pass on Confidential Information to other media centers, advertising agencies, service providers or other buyers of advertising services, for any use or purpose, including the processing or recording in a database or the 'pooling' of Confidential Information.
As the only and exclusive exception, the Applicant and/or Advertiser are entitled to provide an audit firm with access to the Confidential Information in the context of an audit of their activities, but subject to the following conditions:
- the inspection is solely intended for the evaluation of the implementation of this agreement;
- the Confidential Information is only provided to the audit firm and the Confidential Information as well as the result of the audit cannot be disclosed to anyone other than the Applicant and/or Advertiser;
- the Applicant and/or Advertiser are convinced that the audit firm will commit to the same confidentiality with regard to the Applicant and/or Advertiser and DPG MEDIA;
Confidential Information is understood to mean: the offered and/or agreed conditions, including all information regarding fees, discounts, business and commercial matters, financial forecasts and budgets, strategic plans, marketing and advertising plans (if applicable also of the Media Companies involved).
17.2. The aforementioned commitments are essential. The Applicant and/or Advertiser expressly accept this essential character, as well as the fact that any violation of this would entail significant damage to DPG MEDIA. In the event of a violation, DPG MEDIA has the right to discontinue the cooperation between the parties and/or to claim compensation for the damage suffered by DPG MEDIA, whereby the parties agree that these damages will never be less than the highest of the following amounts: i) the discounts granted by DPG MEDIA to the Applicant and/or Advertiser; or ii) 20% of the gross advertising spending by the Applicant and/or Advertiser with DPG MEDIA, during the twelve months prior to the breach of contract.
The provisions of this article will remain in force for a period of three (3) years after the end of the agreement, unless the Confidential Information would fall into the public domain, other than by breach of this article.
18. Personal data
18.1. Concepts such as “personal data”, “processing”, “data subject” and "controller" have the meaning given to them in the Belgian Privacy Act and its implementing orders, as these will be amended on the basis of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and rules relating to the free movement of personal data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (hereinafter “Privacy Act”).
18.2 Personal data that are collected, obtained or otherwise processed in the context of the agreement are and remain at all times the property of the original controller, unless the parties make deviating written agreements about the processing of these personal data.
18.3 The processing of personal data by DPG MEDIA in its capacity as controller is subject to its Privacy and cookie Statement.
18.4 The Advertiser is explicitly not permitted to collect, via cookies, scripts or other methods, personal data from users on the websites or apps of De Persgroep. More specifically, the collection of personal data for retargeting, audience targeting and behavioral targeting, and information about the behavior of users on De Persgroep's websites or apps is not permitted without prior permission from De Persgroep.
The Advertiser is only allowed to collect the following metadata in a completely anonymized form that makes it impossible to identify the user:
- how often the advertisement has been viewed (i.e. number of views)
- how often the advertisement has been clicked on (i.e. number of clicks)
- which part or percentage of the advertisement the user or viewer has seen
- the screen resolution used
- the browser used
- the operating system used
18.5 Each Party is liable, in its capacity as controller for the personal data that the respective party collects and processes, towards the data subjects for damage caused by violations of their rights under the Privacy Act.
18.6 The Advertiser/Applicant is liable for all damage incurred by DPG MEDIA and/or the Media Companies in case of non-fulfillment of the obligations under this Article 18, and indemnifies these parties against all third-party claims in this respect.
In the event of non-compliance with this Article 18, DPG MEDIA and/or the Media Companies also reserve the right to terminate the campaign or to take the Advertisement offline, without this affecting the obligation of the Advertiser and/or Applicant to full payment of the campaign.
19. Applicable law and disputes
19.1 Belgian law applies to this agreement.
19.2 In case of disputes about the interpretation or the execution thereof, only the courts in Antwerp are competent.