Terms of Use

Article 1 — Purpose and acceptance

These Terms of Use (hereinafter the "Terms") set out the conditions of access to and use of the website avocette-photo.fr (hereinafter the "Site"), which presents and offers for sale fine art photographic prints. Merely browsing the Site constitutes full and unconditional acceptance of these Terms. Users who do not accept the Terms must refrain from using the Site.

Sales concluded on the Site are governed by the Terms and Conditions of Sale, which supplement these Terms.

Article 2 — Site publisher

Hosting information is set out in the legal notices.

Article 3 — Site access and availability

The Site is accessible free of charge, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to any user with Internet access. Network access costs (hardware, software, connection) remain the user's responsibility.

The publisher is bound by a best-efforts obligation only, not an obligation of result, as regards the availability of the Site. Access may be suspended, limited or interrupted at any time, in particular for maintenance or update operations or in the event of failure, without the publisher incurring any liability and without any right to compensation. Wherever possible, scheduled interruptions will be carried out outside peak periods.

Article 4 — User account

Users may create a personal account to make ordering easier and to access their order history. When creating an account, the user undertakes to provide accurate, complete and up-to-date information, and to keep it so for as long as they use the Site.

Login credentials (e-mail address and password) are strictly personal and confidential. The user is solely responsible for keeping their password safe and for any use of their account. The user undertakes to choose a strong password and to notify the publisher without delay of any unauthorised use of their account or any breach of its confidentiality.

Users may at any time, from their account settings, export the data associated with their account and delete the account. Deleting the account results in the erasure of the associated personal data, under the conditions and subject to the statutory retention periods described in the privacy policy. The publisher reserves the right to suspend or delete, after informing the user, any account used in breach of these Terms.

Article 5 — Intellectual property

All photographs presented on the Site are works of the mind protected by copyright, in accordance with Articles L. 111-1 et seq. of the French Intellectual Property Code. The same applies to all elements of the Site (texts, graphics, logo, structure, database).

Any reproduction, display, downloading, extraction, modification, adaptation or exploitation, in whole or in part, of the photographs or of any other element of the Site, by any process and on any medium whatsoever, is strictly prohibited without the prior written authorisation of the author. Any unauthorised use constitutes infringement within the meaning of Articles L. 335-2 et seq. of the French Intellectual Property Code and exposes its perpetrator to civil and criminal proceedings.

The purchase of a print does not transfer any intellectual property right in the photographic work. In accordance with Article L. 131-3 of the French Intellectual Property Code, any assignment of copyright requires an express written agreement. The purchaser of a print acquires only material ownership of the physical medium, for private use, to the exclusion of any reproduction, digitisation, public display or commercial exploitation of the image.

Article 6 — Prohibited conduct

When using the Site, it is prohibited in particular to:

• carry out any automated extraction or collection of content or data (scraping, bots, unauthorised crawling), in particular of the photographs and of the Site's database;
• fraudulently access or attempt to access the Site, remain within it, or hinder or distort its operation, conduct punishable under Articles 323-1 et seq. of the French Criminal Code;
• attempt any code injection, circumvention of security measures, unauthorised penetration testing or introduction of malicious software;
• create fake accounts, impersonate a third party or knowingly provide inaccurate information;
• use the Site for unlawful or fraudulent purposes or in a manner that infringes the rights of third parties.

The publisher reserves the right to take any appropriate measure in the event of a breach (suspension of access, account deletion, legal action).

Article 7 — Personal data and cookies

Personal data processing carried out through the Site complies with Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (“GDPR”) and with French Act No. 78-17 of 6 January 1978 as amended (“Informatique et Libertés”). Information about this processing (purposes, legal bases, retention periods, data subjects’ rights) is set out in the privacy policy. The use of cookies and trackers is described in the cookie policy.

Article 8 — Newsletter

Subscription to the newsletter is based on the user's prior and express consent, collected through an unticked checkbox. Users may unsubscribe at any time, free of charge, by clicking the unsubscribe link included in every e-mail or by contacting the publisher at contact@avocette-photo.fr.

Article 9 — Liability and external links

The publisher endeavours to ensure that the information published on the Site is accurate and up to date, and reserves the right to correct its content at any time. However, the publisher cannot be held liable for indirect damage resulting from the use of the Site, nor for damage resulting from an external cause (malfunction of the Internet network or of the user's equipment, third-party intrusion despite the reasonable security measures implemented).

The Site may contain hyperlinks to third-party websites. The publisher has no control over such sites and accepts no liability for their content, availability or personal data practices. Linking to the Site does not require prior authorisation provided that the link does not damage the publisher's image; the publisher reserves the right to request its removal.

Article 10 — Amendments to these Terms

The publisher reserves the right to amend these Terms at any time in order to adapt them to changes in the Site, its operation or applicable regulations. The applicable version is the one published on the Site on the date of use; the version date appears at the top of this document. Users are invited to consult this page regularly.

Article 11 — Governing law, disputes and mediation

These Terms are governed by French law. In the event of a dispute relating to their interpretation or performance, the user is invited to seek an amicable solution by first contacting the publisher at contact@avocette-photo.fr.

In accordance with Articles L. 612-1 et seq. of the French Consumer Code, consumers may refer any dispute with the publisher, free of charge, to a consumer mediator with a view to an amicable resolution: [TO BE COMPLETED: name, website and contact details of the chosen consumer mediator].

Failing an amicable resolution, the dispute will be brought before the competent French courts, subject to the protective jurisdiction rules available to consumers, who may bring proceedings, at their choice, before one of the courts having territorial jurisdiction under the French Code of Civil Procedure or before the court of the place where they resided when the contract was concluded or when the harmful event occurred (Article R. 631-3 of the French Consumer Code).