General Terms and Conditions
As client is referred to every natural or legal entity which has a signed contract with the stepping stone Ltd.
1 Overview
These GTC set out the binding guidelines to be observed by both parties when the client uses the service provider's services.
2 Validity
These GTC apply to the contractual relationship between the service provider and the client. They apply to all services offered by the service provider for the entire duration of their use by the client.
These GTC form an integral part of all individual contracts and apply unless otherwise agreed. Offers and invoices are considered contractual documents.
3 Services and rights of the service provider
3.1 Services
The service provider provides professional services in the field of cloud computing. However, the client has no claim to uninterrupted and error-free availability of the services at all times. The exact scope of the service provider's services is specified in the contractual documents with the client.
The service provider is responsible for maintaining its infrastructure. During operating hours, it shall remedy any malfunctions within its sphere of influence within a reasonable period of time. It reserves the right to carry out maintenance work at any time, which may lead to interruptions in service. The service provider shall endeavour to carry out such maintenance work during off-peak hours and within the shortest possible time frame. Where possible, the service provider shall inform the clients concerned in advance by appropriate means.
The service provider shall take precautions to protect its infrastructure from third-party interference. However, it cannot guarantee that the infrastructure is fully protected against unauthorised access that impairs the use of the service.
3.2 Rights
The service provider reserves the right to adapt or change the services at any time without the express consent of the client and is entitled at any time to discontinue the provision of a service without compensation, subject to reasonable notice.
The service provider may involve third parties at any time to provide its services.
The service provider reserves the right to store and evaluate connection data (source and destination IP and all other log files) for billing purposes and to remedy technical defects, as well as to protect its rights and to fulfill its own legal obligations.
If there are indications of violations of these GTC on the part of the client, the service provider is expressly entitled to block access to the service in question and to change, restrict or discontinue its service provision without prior notice and without compensation in order to protect its own servers and those of others. The client shall be invoiced for the total costs of such measures. The service provider reserves the right to investigate any violations. If there are indications of criminal activity, the service provider shall inform the law enforcement authorities and cooperate with them.
4 Rights and obligations of the client
The client is entitled to use the services purchased from the service provider in accordance with their intended purpose and in a lawful manner, and undertakes to comply with these GTC and any instructions from the service provider within the scope of this use.
4.1 Instructions from the service provider
The access data communicated to the client (e.g. user names, passwords or SSH keys) are intended for personal use and must therefore be treated as confidential. If the service provider discovers that access data has been disclosed without authorisation, the costs associated with changing the password will be invoiced.
The client shall log out of all applications properly after use so that third parties are denied access to them.
4.2 Unauthorised behaviour
The client undertakes to comply with the applicable Swiss and foreign laws when using the service provider's services. In addition, the client shall take appropriate measures to prevent criminal use by persons under their supervision (e.g. their employees or members of their household).
This applies in particular to the commission of a criminal offence (fraud, computer crime, money laundering, breach of trade secrets, forgery of documents, violence and threats against authorities and officials, illegal gambling, etc.); participation in a criminal offence (complicity, incitement, aiding and abetting) or allowing the service obtained from the service provider to be used by third parties to commit a criminal offence.
The client undertakes not to use the service provider's services to send identical emails to a large number of addressees without the prior consent of the addressee (opt-in), without correctly stating the identity of the sender or without indicating a simple and free option to opt out (spamming). This also includes the use, storage, offering or recommendation of tools or methods that serve such sending.
The client shall ensure that no data related to the service is falsified or manipulated. This includes, for example, the manipulation of log files or the falsification of sender details and other header information in electronic messages (emails).
4.3 Illegal content
The client is responsible for all content transmitted from their internet connection via the service provider's infrastructure.
The client shall take appropriate measures against the dissemination or making available of content that is contrary to criminal and/or civil law (depictions of violence, so-called soft and hard pornography, incitement to breach the peace, disruption of freedom of belief and worship, racial discrimination, defamation, libel, violation of privacy, etc.).
The client undertakes to take all necessary measures within its area of responsibility to protect persons under the age of 16 (or 18) from inadmissible content and to deny them access to such content.
The client undertakes not to transmit, store or distribute any legally protected content (in particular under copyright, trademark, data protection, design and patent law).
4.4 System and network security
The client undertakes to take appropriate measures against any violations of system or network security that may be prosecuted under criminal and/or civil law.
Examples of breaches of system or network security include, in particular, the following:
- Unauthorised access to or unauthorised use of data, systems and network elements;
- Traffic recording or scanning and deliberate testing of the vulnerability of system or network elements without prior consultation with the system or network owner (scanning);
- Attempting to breach security precautions and authorisation measures without obtaining prior written permission from the system or network owner;
- Unauthorised monitoring of data or traffic flow without the explicit prior consent of the competent authorities or the network owner (sniffing);
- Impairment of the system or network components of the service provider and its customers, in particular by means of mail bombs, mass mailings or other attempts to overload the system (flooding);
- Falsification or manipulation of control information in TCP/IP packets (packet headers), for example TCP/IP addresses or information in the control section (e.g. recipient/sender address).
4.5 Duty to provide information
The client undertakes to inform the service provider immediately of any defects, malfunctions or interruptions in connection with the subscriptions (including all cases of unlawful or contractual use of these subscriptions by third parties) that come to its attention.
The client undertakes to inform the service provider immediately if they themselves or third parties discover a potential violation of these GTC:
- Unacceptable behaviour or illegal content: abuse(at)stepping-stone(dot)ch
- Security breaches: security(at)stepping-stone(dot)ch
- Defects, malfunctions or interruptions: support(at)stepping-stone(dot)ch
5 Liability of the service provider
The service provider shall only be liable for damages that it can be proven to have caused intentionally or through gross negligence.
The service provider accepts no liability for direct or indirect damage arising in connection with the termination of a service.
The service provider shall not be liable for damages resulting from the unlawful or contractual use of its services purchased by the client.
Any warranty and damage claims of the service provider beyond those specified in these General Terms and Conditions, regardless of their legal basis, are excluded.
The service provider further points out that no liability is assumed for application errors on the part of the client. The same applies to unauthorised modifications to the software or configuration without the prior consent of the service provider.
The service provider shall not be liable if the provision of the service is temporarily interrupted, wholly or partially restricted or impossible due to force majeure. Force majeure shall include, in particular, power failures and the occurrence of harmful software (e.g. virus attacks).
6 Liability of the client
The client shall indemnify the service provider in full for all claims made against the service provider in connection with a breach of these GTC.
The client shall be liable for all costs in connection with the services used by its internet connection.
The client shall be liable to the service provider for all damages caused by a breach of these GTC. This includes, in particular, damages related to third-party claims or damages incurred by the service provider as a result of legal action being taken against it or one of its employees and/or them being held liable.
If the service provider is confronted with legal proceedings, the client undertakes to provide the service provider with appropriate support in these proceedings.
The service provider is entitled to charge the client for all expenses incurred as a result of a breach of these GTC. This also applies to breaches of these GTC by persons under its supervision (e.g. its employees or members of its household).
The service provider also reserves the right to assert claims for satisfaction against the client.
7 Termination of a service
Unless otherwise agreed, both the client and the service provider may terminate any service in writing (including by email) at the end of the current billing period, subject to a notice period of 30 days.
In addition, the service provider has the right to terminate any service without notice if the client violates the law or the GTC.
The service provider is entitled to terminate a service offered by it free of charge (e.g. a free email or backup account) that has not been used for three months or longer with immediate effect, without giving reasons and without prior notice, and to permanently delete the associated data. The service provider is not obliged to store data on the client's account or to forward unread or unsent messages to the client or third parties.
On the date of termination, the client's right to continue using the relevant service expires immediately.
If invoices are not paid by the due date of the second reminder, the service provider is entitled to terminate all services and switch them off immediately.
In case of doubt, only the original German version «Allgemeine Geschäftsbedingungen» is valid.
Berne, October 2026