Version 1.1 — effective 17 July 2026
1. Provider, scope, B2B only
1.1 These terms govern the use of the EPEI website and manufacturer portal and all assessment and award services offered by smartzone GmbH, Faltermaierweg 7, 84524 Neuötting, Germany (commercial register: Amtsgericht Traunstein, HRB 35330), operating as the “European Product Evaluation Institute” (EPEI). Contact and register details: Imprint.
1.2 Our services are directed exclusively at entrepreneurs (Unternehmer) within the meaning of § 14 German Civil Code (BGB)—businesses acting in the exercise of their trade or profession. By registering, submitting a product or ordering services, you confirm that you act as a business. Consumers may use the public information pages and verification register, but contractual services are B2B only.
1.3 Conflicting client terms do not apply unless we accept them in writing.
2. Services
2.1 Public information. The website, methodology pages and public award register are informational. The published methodology and category benchmarks are versioned; the versions used for an assessment appear in its record.
2.2 Pre-check (free). A pre-check is a preliminary, non-binding indication based on the data available at the time. It is not an award decision and creates no claim to an award or particular assessment result.
2.3 Assessment (paid). An assessment applies the published deterministic methodology to a specific confirmed product variant and the active category benchmark. The product must pass the identity, verified EU price, mandatory-feature and recall gates. It is assigned to a price class using the lowest documented EU price and assessed against the expected, additional-value and negative features defined for that class. The result may pass, fail or be “not assessable” where required evidence cannot be verified.
2.4 Award licence (paid, optional). After a passed assessment, the client may license the “European Best Value Award” seal under the Award Licence Terms, which form part of every licence agreement.
3. Portal accounts
3.1 Registration requires accurate company and contact information. Login credentials must be kept confidential; the client is responsible for activity under its accounts.
3.2 Team administrators may invite further users from their organisation and are responsible for managing that access.
3.3 We may suspend accounts used abusively, unlawfully or in breach of these terms.
4. Conclusion of contract, fees, payment
4.1 An assessment or licence contract is concluded when the client accepts our offer—normally by completing payment through the payment link in the offer, after which we confirm by e-mail.
4.2 The assessment is free of charge. Payment of any fee does not create any entitlement to a positive result, an award or a particular score. The only fee is the licence fee, charged only after a passed assessment if the client chooses to license the seal.
4.3 All prices are net, plus VAT where applicable. Reverse charge may apply to cross-border EU B2B services; otherwise German VAT rules apply. Invoices are due as stated in the offer.
4.4 The assessment is a bespoke evaluation beginning after contract conclusion, so there is no right of withdrawal; statutory consumer withdrawal rights do not apply to B2B contracts.
5. Duties of the client
5.1 The client warrants that all information supplied—including manufacturer-submitted product data—is accurate, complete and current, and that it is entitled to submit it.
5.2 The client must not try to influence the assessment except by providing truthful evidence and must not present a pre-check, failed assessment or “not assessable” result as an award.
5.3 Advertising with assessment results must be truthful, reflect current award status and, for seal use, follow the Award Licence Terms, including the required direct reference to the public verification record next to the seal.
6. Assessment process, corrections, re-assessment
6.1 Assessments are performed with professional care using the evidence verifiably available on the assessment date. The record states the data date, methodology version, benchmark version, price class, gate results, feature evidence and score derivation.
6.2 If the client believes underlying evidence is wrong, it may submit corrections with supporting evidence. Confirmed evidence errors trigger a deterministic rerun. A methodology or benchmark change applies only to the versioned assessments for which it is adopted and is never made ad hoc to influence an individual result.
6.3 Products may be reassessed after material changes or for a new award period; the re-assessment is free of charge and follows the then-current methodology and benchmark.
7. Intellectual property
7.1 All rights in the website, reports, methodology texts, software, databases and seal graphics remain with smartzone GmbH or its licensors.
7.2 Reports supplied to the client may be used internally and—in unmodified form with source attribution—in its own communication about the assessed product. Seal use requires a valid licence.
8. Confidentiality
Each party will treat confidential business information received from the other party, including non-public product data submitted for assessment, as confidential and use it only for the purposes of the contract. Statutory disclosure duties and publication of the result, report and verification record as described on the website remain unaffected.
9. Data protection
We process personal data as described in the Privacy Policy. Business recipients of outreach can object to direct marketing at any time using the one-click opt-out in every e-mail.
10. Warranty and liability
10.1 The assessment is a professional evaluation of product evidence against the stated methodology and category benchmark as of the data date. We do not warrant market success, third-party rankings or that sources remain unchanged after that date.
10.2 We are liable without limitation for intent and gross negligence, injury to life, body or health, under the German Product Liability Act, in case of fraudulent concealment and to the extent of any guarantee expressly given.
10.3 For simple negligence, we are liable only for breach of essential contractual obligations (obligations whose fulfilment enables proper performance and on which the client regularly relies), limited to foreseeable damage typical for this type of contract.
10.4 Liability is otherwise excluded. Where our liability is excluded or limited, the same applies to the personal liability of employees, representatives and agents.
11. Term and termination of portal access
Portal access is provided for the business relationship and may be ended by either party with reasonable notice. Accrued contractual duties, including running assessments, licence terms and payment obligations, remain unaffected. Termination for good cause remains available.
12. Changes to these terms
We may amend these terms prospectively with at least six weeks’ notice in text form to registered clients. If the client does not object before the effective date, the amended terms apply to continued portal use; existing assessments and licences remain governed by the terms agreed for them. The notice will explain the effect of silence.
13. Final provisions
13.1 German law applies; the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) is excluded.
13.2 The exclusive venue for disputes with merchants (Kaufleute) is the court responsible for the registered seat of smartzone GmbH (Traunstein, Germany). Mandatory statutory venues remain unaffected.
13.3 The contract language is English. Statutory expressions referenced by their German names, such as “Unternehmer”, have the meaning given by German law.
13.4 If a provision is invalid, the remainder remains effective and the statutory rule replaces the invalid provision.