Terms of Use | Markant

Markant Marketplace Terms of Use

(Terms of Use)

Markant AG

Churerstrasse 166

8808 Pfäffikon SZ

Switzerland

Status: October 2025

Version: 2.0

Preamble

These Terms of Use apply to the online marketplace “https://m.markant.com/” and associated websites and portals (collectively, the “Markant Marketplace”) of Markant AG, Churerstrasse 166, 8808 Pfäffikon SZ, Switzerland (“Markant”). They govern the User Relationship and the conditions for the services offered on the Markant Marketplace (“Marketplace Services”). The addressees are natural or legal persons or partnerships with legal capacity, including legal entities under public law and special funds under public law (“Users”) who use the Markant Marketplace in the course of their commercial or independent professional activity. The General Section governs the basic principles; the Special Section contains deviating or additional, service-specific provisions and takes precedence in the event of contradictions.

General Section

Scope of Application

The user relationship with regard to the Markant Marketplace and all agreements concluded regarding Markant Marketplace Services are exclusively between the User and Markant.
These Terms of Use, in their agreed version, conclusively govern the rights and obligations relating to the use of the Markant Marketplace. Deviating provisions – in particular the User's general terms and conditions – shall not apply unless Markant has expressly confirmed their validity in writing.
The User is represented and bound by authorised representatives ("Participants"). If a Participant agrees to these Terms of Use or orders Marketplace services, they declare that they are authorised to do so by the User.
In the event of contradictions between these Terms of Use and other existing or future agreements relating to Marketplace Services, the latter shall take precedence. The order of priority specified therein for the respective Marketplace Service shall apply.

Registration, User Relationship and Termination

The use of the Markant Marketplace requires the registration of a company account for the User ("User Account") and at least one additional account for a participant ("Participant Account"; together with the User Account: "Account"). By accepting these Terms of Use and submitting the registration request, the User makes an offer to conclude the User Relationship. Markant will send an e-mail to verify the registration request (confirmation link and password assignment). Markant will then accept the request by sending a separate e-mail or by providing access to the Markant Marketplace, thereby concluding a user agreement. Markant decides at its own discretion whether or not to accept a registration request.
The personal Participant Account is assigned to one or more Users and is non-transferable; a shared account requires an agreement. The User can assign different roles with different authorisations to their Participants: (a) organisation administrator, who manages the User Account (e.g. managing Participants, ordering Marketplace Services subject to remuneration, managing contractual relationships, updating User data), and (b) organisation employee, who can use the Marketplace Services assigned to them and, if applicable, order free demo versions.
The User is obliged to ensure that all Participants assigned to them have taken note of these Terms of Use.
Users who have not appointed an organisation administrator and whose user account is managed by an organisation employee have limited use of the Markant Marketplace and, in particular, cannot order any chargeable services.
The User Relationship shall run for an indefinite period, but in any case, for as long as Marketplace Services are provided via the Markant Marketplace. The right to terminate without notice for good cause remains unaffected, whereby the validity of the agreements on Marketplace Services valid up to the time of termination remains unaffected, including any remuneration owed by the User for Marketplace Services.
If the User or a Participant grants third parties access to the Markant Marketplace via an account, the User shall be responsible to Markant for all actions that the third party performs on the Markant Marketplace, in particular for the use of Marketplace Services subject to remuneration. This does not apply to cases of identity theft by third parties, provided that the User has taken sufficient and appropriate protective measures.
The User may terminate the user relationship at any time by sending a written notice to "support@services.markant.com" or via the support portal.
Individual Participant Accounts can generally be deactivated by the User at any time, as long as at least one organisation administrator remains. Before deactivating the participant account of the last organisation administrator, a new organisation administrator must be registered. If there is no organisation administrator due to limited use of the Markant Marketplace, the User can request the termination of a Participant Account via Markant Support.
Markant is entitled to restrict, block or delete Accounts if there is reasonable suspicion that a third party has unauthorised access to an account, or if this is necessary for reasons of public safety, to protect against misuse and to prevent serious disruptions to the Markant Marketplace or Marketplace Services, the software or the stored data, data protection or to carry out operational or technically necessary work. Markant will notify the user or participant of the blocking and lift it as soon as it is established that the suspicion is unfounded.
If no paid Marketplace Services are purchased via the User Account, Markant has the right to classify the User Account and associated Participant Accounts as "inactive" if the User has not logged into the Markant Marketplace via their User Account for at least 12 months. Once the user account has been classified as "inactive", Markant has the right to permanently delete or anonymise the Account and all data stored therein. Markant will inform the User of the inactivity and the consequences of the inactivity in text form at least 30 days and again 14 days before classifying the User Account is categorised as "inactive" and explain what steps can be taken to avoid this classification. After deletion of the User Account, the User may register a new User Account on the Markant Marketplace. However, data that was uploaded to or saved in the original Account cannot be restored in the new User Account.

Use of the Markant Marketplace

Use of the Markant Marketplace is free of charge.
The user can obtain various Marketplace Services via the Markant Marketplace. The order processes specified by Markant apply. A distinction is made between the following Marketplace Services: Markant Services and m.PartnerPool for all Users and Markant eServices for certain Users.
Demo versions generally offer free, time-limited and functionally restricted access without productive data, service level agreements or warranties. The details and ordering conditions are specified in the ordering process on the Markant Marketplace.
Full use of the Markant Marketplace's range of functions, in particular the booking of chargeable Marketplace Services and access to m.PartnerPool, is only possible for Users who have an organisation administrator.
The User is obliged to take all necessary steps to ensure the proper use of the Markant Marketplace and the performance of Marketplace Services (e.g. provision of information, resources and contact persons). If the User culpably fails to fulfil their obligations to cooperate, Markant is entitled to suspend the Marketplace Services if fulfilment is not possible or cannot reasonably be expected. Further rights, in particular termination and damages, remain unaffected.
It is the User's responsibility to ensure that all applicable laws and regulations are complied with when providing information. The User assures Markant that they are entitled to pass on to Markant the data and information transmitted by them via the Markant Marketplace. The User is obliged to indemnify Markant against any claims by third parties for unauthorised processing and/or use of this data, insofar as the User is responsible for these claims. When using the comment, messaging or chat functions available on the Markant Marketplace, the User is obliged to behave respectfully towards other Users and not to violate the rights of other Users or Markant.
The User shall ensure that (i) complete and correct contact and identity details are provided; (ii) Accounts (including contact details and authorisations) are always up to date and updates are made without delay; (iii) appropriate, state-of-the-art IT security measures are taken; and (iv) passwords are treated confidentially, updated regularly, not passed on and changed.
The User must inform Markant immediately if there is any suspicion that the access data may have become known to unauthorised persons (e.g. in the event of a cyber attack or loss of access data) or that their access data or Account has been used without authorisation; the same applies to other security breaches or security vulnerabilities.
In addition, the user must ensure the security of the Internet connection used, i.e. in particular the use of company-owned rather than public Internet access and ensuring the use of VPN connections in public networks.
Markant is not liable for any loss or damage resulting from the unauthorised use of the access data or the User Account. Failure by the User to comply with their reporting obligations under this heading constitutes a material breach of these Terms of Use.
Markant is entitled, but not obliged, to verify the data provided during registration and subsequent changes. Markant reserves the right to block an Account until any incorrect or missing information has been corrected.

Restrictions

The Markant Marketplace may only be used in accordance with these Terms of Use and applicable law, in particular applicable data protection law.
The User is not permitted to:

1. decompile the Markant Marketplace or the Marketplace Services, reconstruct them by means of reverse engineering, disassemble them or otherwise attempt to obtain, reverse engineer or determine source codes, object codes or underlying structural ideas, know-how or algorithms or other functional mechanisms – unless this is permitted by mandatory legal provisions;
2. attack Markant's IT systems, to intrude into them without authorisation or to spread, transmit or upload viruses or other malware via the Markant Marketplace;
3. prevent third parties from using the Markant Marketplace lawfully and/or take any other action that could impair the smooth or proper operation of the Markant Marketplace;
4. using the Markant Marketplace for fraudulent purposes or in connection with a criminal offence; and/or
5. access the Markant Marketplace or Marketplace Services using web crawlers, bots or other automation software.

Markant may monitor the User's use of the Markant Marketplace at any time to ensure compliance with these Terms of Use and applicable law, to the extent permitted by law.
If the User violate the aforementioned provisions, Markant reserves the right to block the User's access to the Markant Marketplace for the duration of the breach or to terminate the User Relationship without notice.

Warranty

Markant does not guarantee that the Markant Marketplace will be available at all times, without interruption and free of errors. The User is aware that the Markant Marketplace may be unavailable due to malfunctions and/or maintenance work and/or for security reasons. The User therefore has no claim to constant and uninterrupted availability. However, Markant will endeavour to achieve the highest possible availability and to remedy malfunctions without delay.
Markant does not guarantee the suitability, in particular the usability, of Marketplace Services, content and data for a specific purpose. Markant also does not guarantee the accuracy and completeness of its own digital content and data or that provided by external data suppliers.
Markant guarantees that the Marketplace Services will essentially meet the agreed specifications during the term of the contract.
The User is obliged to notify Markant of any defects in writing immediately after becoming aware of them, providing a concrete and comprehensible description.
Markant shall remedy defects by providing a defect-free version within a reasonable period of time at its discretion or by remedying the defect at no additional cost to the user. The remedy of defects may also consist of Markant showing the User reasonable ways to avoid the effects of the defect.
In the case of legal defects, Markant shall, at its own discretion, either (i) procure the right of use or (ii) replace or modify the Marketplace Service in such a way that the allegation of infringement is removed, but the contractual use is not unreasonably impaired. If the User ceases use in order to minimise damages or for other important reasons because a third party asserts claims arising from property rights, the User is obliged to inform the third party that the cessation of use does not constitute an acknowledgement of the alleged infringement of property rights. The User shall only conduct legal proceedings against the third party in agreement with Markant or authorise Markant to conduct the proceedings. This shall apply mutatis mutandis if a third party asserts claims against Markant that are attributable to actions of the User.
Insofar as there is strict liability for defects already existing at the time of conclusion of the contract, this is excluded.
The warranty for only insignificant reductions in suitability is excluded.
Markant does not guarantee the accuracy of the content of the data transmitted to it by the User or on behalf of the User.

Intellectual Property, Rights of Use

Markant remains the owner of all rights (including property rights) to the Markant Marketplace, Marketplace Services and service results, even if these are created with the User's participation. Unless expressly agreed otherwise, the User shall receive a simple, non-transferable, non-sublicensable right to use the Markant Marketplace for its own purposes during the term of the contract, insofar as this is necessary to achieve the respective purpose of the contract. This shall apply unless third parties are considered to be the owners of the rights (e.g. external data suppliers of Markant).
The User hereby grants Markant a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, spatially and temporally unlimited and irrevocable right to use and process non-personal data obtained in connection with the contractual relationship (including data generated through the use of the Markant Marketplace and Marketplace Services) by Markant and third parties acting on behalf of Markant for the purpose of (i) fulfilling a contract with the User or activities in connection with this contract (e.g. provision of Marketplace Services and the provision and operation of the Markant Marketplace, maintenance, support, and provision of services, issuing invoices, preparing and providing reports or analyses, financial forecasts, impact assessments, calculating social benefits, calculating bonuses), (ii) providing support, warranty, guarantee or similar activities, (iii) optimising and improving Markant's products and services and their functionality, regardless of whether they are related to the Marketplace Services or the Markant Marketplace, and other commercial purposes, (iv) monitoring and maintaining the functionality, security and protection of Markant's products and services, in particular the Markant Marketplace and Marketplace Services, (v) ensuring quality control, (vi) developing new products or services, (vii) aggregating with other data or creating derived data for any lawful purpose, including the purpose of selling or otherwise making such aggregated or derived data available to third parties, and (viii) for marketing and advertising purposes. Markant accepts the granting of rights. Insofar as the data obtained is personal data, the right only exists if Markant has a legal basis for processing it.
This does not include third-party data that is subject to confidentiality or third-party business secrets. For the sake of clarity, it is noted that the granting of rights does not constitute consent under data protection law. If consent under data protection law is required, this will be obtained separately.
The User warrants that he is authorised to provide the content and to pass on the data they have transmitted, that no third-party rights or statutory provisions are infringed, and indemnifies Markant against any third-party claims arising from unauthorised processing or use, insofar as they are responsible for this.

Limitations of liability

Unless otherwise specified in the Terms of Use, Markant shall be liable in the event of a breach of contractual and non-contractual obligations in accordance with the statutory provisions.
Markant shall be liable to the User in accordance with the statutory provisions in the following cases: In the event of liability under the Product Liability Act; in cases of intent or fraudulent misrepresentation; in cases of gross negligence; for injury to life, limb or health; if Markant has assumed a guarantee (but only to the extent of the foreseeable damage that was to be prevented by the breached obligation or the guarantee); for interest on arrears and in all other cases of mandatory statutory liability.
If the breach of a cardinal obligation is only slightly negligent, the User's claims for damages shall be limited to the amount of damage typical and foreseeable at the time of conclusion of the contract. Section VII.2. remains unaffected by this. Cardinal obligations are all obligations whose breach jeopardises the achievement of the purpose of the contract, as well as all obligations whose fulfilment is essential for the proper execution of the contract and on whose compliance the User may regularly rely.
Otherwise, claims by the User for damages and reimbursement of expenses against Markant are excluded.
Markant shall not be liable for the loss of data to the extent that the damage is due to the fact that the User has failed to carry out appropriate data backups and thus ensure that lost data can be restored with reasonable effort. In the event of loss of data on the part of Markant, Markant shall only be liable for the expense that would have been necessary to restore the data if the User had carried out proper data backups.
Insofar as Markant's liability is limited or excluded, this also applies to the personal liability of Markant's executive bodies, legal representatives, employees and vicarious agents.
Any statutory liability privileges in favour of Markant remain unaffected. The above provisions do not imply a change in the burden of proof to the detriment of the User.
Notwithstanding Section VII.2. and shorter statutory limitation periods, a limitation period of one year from the commencement of the statutory period applies to all claims against Markant for damages or reimbursement of futile expenses.

Changes to the Markant Marketplace and Terms of Use

Markant is entitled to change or supplement the Markant Marketplace at any time with future effect, provided this is reasonable for the User. Markant is particularly entitled to change its scope or technical design with future effect for the following reasons:
1. to improve, expand, update and/or further develop, e.g. to add new features or functionalities or to optimise the user experience;
2. to adapt to a new technical environment, in particular when migrating to another platform, another hosting provider, another server, another web address, another domain or when changing a service provider;
3. to implement other important operational reasons (e.g. expiry of a licence required for the provision of services or to prevent misuse and damage); and
4. To adapt to changes in or to comply with applicable laws and regulations or at the request of an authority or court.

Any changes must take into account the legitimate interests of the User and the purpose of the contract. The specifications of the Markant Marketplace that are necessary for the proper use of the Markant Marketplace must remain unaffected by the change or must be replaced with functionally equivalent alternatives. Markant shall, to the extent necessary, possible and reasonable, inform the User of the nature and scope of the planned changes and their consequences with reasonable notice prior to the change.

Markant reserves the right to amend the Terms of Use with effect for the future. The User shall be informed in text form (e.g. via the Markant Marketplace or by e-mail) of any intended material changes to the Terms of Use at least thirty (30) days before these changes come into effect (notification of change). If the User does not agree with the intended material changes, the User may object to them within thirty (30) days of notification of the amendments. If the User objects to these amendments, Markant may terminate the Terms of Use extraordinarily with a notice period of thirty (30) days from the date on which these changes take effect. If the User does not exercise their right of objection, the material changes shall be deemed to have been accepted.

Third-Party Content

The Markant Marketplace may contain third-party content (e.g. content from service providers or other Marketplace Participants) or links to third-party websites. Markant shall only be liable for such content if Markant has actual knowledge of unlawful content or circumstances from which its unlawfulness is obvious, or if Markant does not take immediate action to block access to or remove such content upon becoming aware of it.

Final Provisions

These Terms of Use constitute the entire agreement between the User and Markant regarding the use of the Markant Marketplace. These Terms of Use supersede all prior representations, agreements, understandings or communications between the User and Markant in any form.
The User may not assign or transfer any rights or obligations under these Terms of Use, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of Markant.
These Terms of Use and all disputes or claims (including non-contractual disputes or claims) arising out of or in connection with the Terms of Use, its subject matter or its formation are governed by the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany, excluding the provisions of international private law and the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG).
The exclusive place of jurisdiction for all disputes or claims (including non-contractual disputes or claims) arising from or in connection with these Terms of Use, their subject matter or their formation is Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Should individual provisions of these Terms of Use be or become wholly or partially invalid or unenforceable, this shall not affect the validity and enforceability of the remaining provisions of these Terms of Use. The invalid or unenforceable provision shall be deemed to be replaced by an appropriate, valid and enforceable provision that comes closest to what the parties intended or would have intended, taking into account the meaning and purpose of these Terms of Use, if they had considered the point from the outset. This shall also apply if (i) these Terms of Use contain a loophole, in which case an appropriate, effective and enforceable provision that comes closest to what the parties intended or would have intended, taking into account the meaning and purpose of these Terms of Use, shall be deemed effective to fill the loophole, or (ii) a provision of these Terms of Use should be invalid with regard to a deadline or performance, in which case the provision shall be deemed to be replaced by a legally permissible deadline or performance that comes closest to what the parties intended or would have intended, taking into account the meaning and purpose of these Terms of Use.
If Markant does not enforce a provision of these Terms of Use, this shall not constitute a waiver of this provision either now or in the future, nor shall it restrict Markant's right to enforce this provision at a later date. All waivers by Markant must be made in text form.
The authoritative language of the Terms of Use is German. The German version is the only authoritative version of these Terms of Use.

Special Section

m.PartnerPool

m.PartnerPool enables Users who have set up an organisation administrator to use a service integrated into the Markant Marketplace for efficient searching, networking and communication with other Users and Participants.
If the requirements are met, the User commissions Markant to create a digital company profile with brief information and a digital contact card for each Participant, including their first and last names, company position and department (if available), which are visible in the company profile. The initial profile design and sorting is based on the respective default settings of m.PartnerPool. The User would like to be included with a company profile and contact cards as well as an efficient search, networking and communication with other Users and Participants and provides Markant with the necessary data for these purposes.
Subject to sections II.5.-8. and upon fulfilment of certain minimum information, users and participants can maintain and publish their company profile in the m.PartnerPool, search for other Users and Participants and view their information, network with other Users and Participants, and communicate directly with other Users and participants via chat. In addition, the user and participant can further customise their profile, depending on the selected service package.
The creation and presentation of the company profile and contact cards is free of charge. Markant may check the company profile against data stored in publicly accessible registers and, if necessary, correct it in consultation with the User. In return, the User is not entitled to remuneration for the provision and use of the relevant data by Markant. Markant reserves the right to offer additional services in future for a fee, which require a separate agreement between the parties.
Each participant can specify in their contact card whether they wish to receive contact requests. If the Participant has given their permission, other Participants may send contact requests with an initial message. If the recipient accepts the contact request, a connection is established between the two Participants, enabling chat messages to be sent via m.PartnerPool. Either Participant can end the conversation at any time. Rejected contact requests technically prevent further contact.
Chat messages can contain text and file attachments (formats include: .pdf, png, .jpg, .jpeg, .gif). Sent chat messages are archived by Markant for three years, but no longer than until the Participant account is deleted.
Users can have their company profile or Participants can have their contact card hidden at any time by sending an e-mail to "partnerpool-team@services.markant.com". This will be implemented within two business days. Content that has already been shared with others and copied or redistributed by them remains unaffected; all other content will be hidden. After successful implementation, access to m.PartnerPool will still be available, but the networking function will be deactivated. Any data protection rights (e.g. the right to deletion) remain unaffected and must be exercised separately, as described in the Privacy Policy.