Conditions for participation

Participation in the “Germany‘s Favourite” award and the licensing of the “Germany‘s Favourite” seal are subject to the following conditions, which are deemed accepted by the registration of products:

Registration

The registration of products for participation in the consumer survey is free of charge. Any product is eligible for registration if it is freely available on the market in Germany at the time of the actual award at the latest and is either authorised in Germany or is permitted to be sold in Germany without the need for further authorisation.

As the initiator of the award, the SZ Institut is entitled to refuse participation of a product that has already been registered without providing reasons at any time.

Consumer evaluation

The SZ Institut’s market research partner conducts a consumer survey of the registered products at the beginning of each calendar month. The closing date for product registrations is always the 15th calendar day of the respective previous month (unless a weekend, in which case on the preceding Friday). The SZ Institut reserves the right to have the product evaluation performed at a later date after consultation with the manufacturer or applicant. If the consumer survey is postponed, withdrawal of the registration is possible subject to a notice period of 14 days.

Details on how the evaluation is conducted and the associated methodology are available on our  methodology page.

Licence fee

Should one or more of the registered products be awarded the title of “Germany’s Favourite”, a one-time licence fee of € 5,750.00 is automatically payable for each product that receives the award.

Right of Use

The licence for the “Germany’s Favourite” award entitles the holder to use the seal graphic design contained in the award notification for an unlimited period of time. The use is permitted both online and offline in all communication measures (excluding TV).

The right of use granted with the licence expressly refers only to the specific seal made available for use. No changes of any kind are permitted to the seal. The use of the seal is only permitted for the aforementioned types of use. Any other form of use is excluded.

Any further use needs to be acquired by the licensee in advance and is subject to payment of an additional fee. The licensee is liable for the proper use of the seal, in particular for any claims under competition law asserted by third parties against the licensee or the SZ in connection with the use of the seal. In this regard, the licensee indemnifies the SZ comprehensively against all third-party claims upon first request. In the event of an infringement, SZ is entitled to claim a contractual penalty in the amount of twice the licence fee and to terminate the licence agreement without notice.

All copyrights in this context are reserved.

Revocation

The SZ is entitled to revoke any awards previously granted if there are indications of an infringement of the rules by the participating manufacturer or indications of infringements of the rules at the instigation of the participating manufacturer. This includes, in particular, exerting influence over consumers as well as submitting false statements in the application process or colluding with competitors. The misleading use of awards, e.g. for products that have not received an award at all, also justifies revocation. In such cases, the SZ reserves the right to assert a contractual penalty in the amount of twice the licence fee. The revocation is without prejudice to any claims of the SZ for licence fees that have already been incurred.

Miscellaneous

These conditions of participation for the use of the SZ seal apply exclusively. Any general business terms and conditions of the licensee are without effect, even when these are not expressly excluded.

The SZ reserves the right to terminate this participation or licence at any time and without notice (text form is sufficient) in order to protect the trademark(s) if the trademark(s) or other rights of the SZ are infringed or threatened with infringement. No pro rata refund of the licence fee is due once use of the licence is already in progress.

All prices are quoted in euros plus statutory VAT, where applicable.