for the use of the learning platform MandarinBanana, operated by Matthias Schönborn, Fenchelweg 66A, 12357 Berlin, Germany, E-Mail: matthias@mandarinbanana.com (hereinafter "Provider").
1.1 These General Terms and Conditions (TOC) apply to all contracts regarding the use of the services offered on the platform MandarinBanana between the Provider and the User.
1.2 Diverging or supplementary general terms and conditions of the User shall only become part of the contract if the Provider has expressly agreed to them.
2.1 MandarinBanana is a platform for learning Chinese characters and language (Mandarin). The Provider provides various learning contents, vocabulary, mnemonics, comics, and an Anki export for this purpose.
2.2 The scope of the features provided depends on the type of chosen account (e.g. free basic membership or paid "Supporter" subscription).
3.1 Registration is required for the use of certain features (such as comments, Anki export, or saving the learning progress). A confirmed e-mail address and an individually set username are required for the full range of features (especially subscriptions).
3.2 The user is obliged to provide true and complete information during registration and to keep the access data secret.
4.1 In addition to free features, the Provider also offers paid subscriptions (e.g., "Supporter"). The currently valid prices and terms are clearly communicated before the subscription is concluded.
4.2 The payment processing for paid subscriptions is carried out by the payment service provider Stripe. The payment methods indicated in the order process (e.g. credit card) are available to the user.
Consumers have a statutory right of withdrawal when concluding distance selling contracts.
Right of withdrawal: You have the right to withdraw from this contract within fourteen days without giving any reason. The withdrawal period is fourteen days from the date of conclusion of the contract. To exercise your right of withdrawal, you must inform us (Matthias Schönborn, Fenchelweg 66A, 12357 Berlin, Germany, E-Mail: matthias@mandarinbanana.com) by means of a clear declaration (e.g. a letter sent by post or e-mail) of your decision to withdraw from this contract.
Expiration of the right of withdrawal for digital content: The right of withdrawal expires prematurely for a contract for the supply of digital content not supplied on a tangible medium when we have started the performance of the contract after you have expressly consented that we start the performance of the contract before the withdrawal period has expired and you have acknowledged that by giving your consent you lose your right of withdrawal once the performance of the contract has begun.
6.1 Users can create their own content on the platform (e.g., comments, own mnemonics, comics, panels, or AI-generated snippets). The user remains the owner of the copyrights to their self-created content.
6.2 By creating or uploading, the user grants the Provider a non-exclusive, worldwide, perpetual, royalty-free, and transferable right of use. This includes in particular the right to store the contents on the platform, to reproduce them and to make them publicly available. In order to allow distribution of the learning content collected by the community in a privacy-compliant and uniform manner, the user expressly agrees that the Provider may distribute this content (in particular mnemonics, comics, and panels) under open licenses such as the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC-BY 4.0) to third parties (e.g. as part of the Anki export). In order to maintain data minimization in accordance with the GDPR, the user waives the naming of their name or username as the author (§ 13 UrhG); instead, the platform "MandarinBanana.com" is specified as the licensor and for attribution.
6.3 The user guarantees that they are entitled to upload this content and that the content does not violate any rights of third parties, in particular copyrights, personal rights or trademark rights. The user also commits not to process any own personal data or health data as well as no personal data of third parties in the public learning content (such as mnemonics or comics).
6.4 The platform integrates AI features (e.g. from OpenAI, Google Gemini, or Stability AI) to generate mnemonics or images. The user is responsible for ensuring that the inputs (prompts) do not generate any abusive or illegal content.
6.5 The Anki export (ZIP file consisting of CSV and media) offered within the platform is a collection of independent works. The mnemonics, comics, and structural data contained therein are published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC-BY 4.0) license and may be shared and adapted under attribution of MandarinBanana.com. The additionally included translations of the CC-CEDICT project are subject to the CC-BY-SA 4.0 license. This does not affect all other contents of the platform, which are subject to the copyright of the Provider and may only be used for personal purposes.
6.6 Notwithstanding the above provisions on the granting of rights of use to community content (section 6.2), video and image files uploaded by the user as part of their personal lessons (Collections / Decks) and sentences (Sentences) are considered strictly confidential and private. The user only grants the Provider the simple rights of use necessary for the contractual technical provision (such as storage and processing rights, e.g. for AI text recognition or video editing) for these files. A publication, transfer to third parties (except to technical service providers within the scope of order processing) or licensing under open licenses does not take place for these private files.
7.1 The Provider strives for constant availability of the platform, but does not guarantee 100% accessibility. Maintenance work, updates or server failures can lead to interruptions.
7.2 The Provider is fully liable for intent and gross negligence. In the event of a breach of essential contractual obligations (cardinal obligations), the Provider is also liable for simple negligence, but limited to the foreseeable, contract-typical damage. Furthermore, liability is excluded.
8.1 Free accounts run for an indefinite period and can be terminated by the user at any time by deleting the account.
8.2 Paid subscriptions are concluded for the respectively agreed period (e.g. monthly or annually) and renew automatically if they are not cancelled in due time before expiration. The cancellation can be done in the account settings or in text form (e.g., email).
8.3 The right to extraordinary termination for good cause remains intact.
9.1 The law of the Federal Republic of Germany shall apply to the exclusion of the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods.
9.2 If the user does not have a general place of jurisdiction in Germany, the place of jurisdiction is the head office of the Provider (Berlin, Germany).
9.3 The Provider is entitled to amend these terms and conditions for objectively justified reasons. Registered users will be informed by e-mail at least two weeks before the changes come into force. If the user does not object within this period, the changes are considered accepted.
We are neither willing nor obliged to participate in dispute resolution proceedings before a consumer arbitration board.
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