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Terms
of Use

1. Agreement

By accessing or using SmarterGerman (smartergerman.com and courses.smartergerman.com), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Use. If you do not agree, please do not use the service. These terms are governed by German law. You must be at least 18 years old to create an account, purchase, or use SmarterGerman, including the conversation practice tool. By using the service you confirm that you are 18 or older.

2. Services

SmarterGerman provides online German language courses, practice tools, and study consulting services. Courses are hosted on the Teachable platform. By purchasing a membership you agree to Teachable's terms in addition to these.

3. Membership & Access

All memberships grant personal, non-transferable access to course content. You may not share your login credentials, redistribute course content, record lessons, or use course material for any purpose beyond your own personal learning.

4. Free Trial

New subscribers receive a 7-day free trial on monthly and yearly plans. Cancel before the trial ends and you will not be charged. The free trial is limited to one per person. This limit applies across all trial-eligible products (e.g. All Courses, Bundle, Consulting): starting a trial on one product and then a trial on another to obtain additional free access is not permitted. Repeated sign-ups using additional accounts, alternative email addresses, or different payment methods are also not permitted and may result in termination of access without refund. SmarterGerman reserves the right to verify identity and to refuse service to users suspected of abuse. Social Discount does not include a free trial. Solidarity Plan includes a 7-day free trial.

5. Payments & Billing

Memberships are billed in advance. The yearly plan is billed as a recurring subscription. The 3-year plan is charged as a single payment. All prices include VAT where applicable. Payments are processed by Teachable. I accept major credit cards and PayPal.

6. EU Right of Withdrawal & Immediate Access

Upon purchasing a digital course, you expressly request immediate access to the content. By doing so, you acknowledge that your statutory 14-day right of withdrawal expires upon commencement of the service, in accordance with EU Directive 2011/83/EU and German BGB §356(6). If you have not yet started a course, you may withdraw within 14 days without reason by contacting [email protected]. A full refund will be issued within 14 days using your original payment method.

7. Cancellation

You can cancel your subscription at any time via your Teachable profile (Settings > Subscriptions). Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period. No partial refunds are given for unused time within a billing period.

8. Refund Policy

7-day free trial: cancel before it ends and pay nothing. Monthly/yearly plans: no refunds after the trial period. 3-year plan: no refunds. Try the first lesson of any level free before you buy. To request a refund contact [email protected].

9. Intellectual Property

All course content - including videos, texts, exercises, and audio - is protected by copyright and belongs to Michael Schmitz / SmarterGerman. You may not copy, record, redistribute, translate, or create derivative works from any course content without written permission.

10. Disclaimer

Course materials are provided in good faith but without warranty of any kind. SmarterGerman is not liable for damages arising from use or inability to use course materials, beyond what is required by mandatory German law.

11. Changes to Terms

These terms may be revised. Continued use of the service after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated terms. Significant changes will be communicated by email where possible.

12. Contact

Questions about these terms: [email protected]

13. Self-Study Product

SmarterGerman courses are self-study products. They do not include individual learning success monitoring (Lernerfolgskontrolle), personal teacher feedback on student submissions, scheduled tutoring, or graded examinations as contractually owed features. Any feedback provided by the creator inside the community is at his sole discretion and is not a contractual entitlement. See the Community Terms for the full set of community-specific rules.

14. Age and Contracting Capacity

By purchasing a course or membership you confirm that you are at least 18 years old. A course may also be bought for another learner, for example a family member. In that case the buyer accepts these terms and confirms that the learner is also at least 18 years old.

15. Lifelong Access

15.1 Lifelong Access is offered exclusively for German Grammar Genius and DSH Exam Preparation. This section applies only when the customer's order expressly identifies one of these courses and states that Lifelong Access is included.

15.2 Lifelong Access applies only to the course identified in the order. Access to any other SmarterGerman offering requires a separate entitlement or purchase.

15.3 Lifelong Access is a personal right to use the course identified in the order after the one-time purchase price has been paid in full. It does not require a subscription, renewal, or further access fee. Lifelong Access begins when the course is made available to the customer.

15.4 Lifelong Access ends only upon the earliest of the following events:
- the customer's death
- the death of Michael Schmitz, owner and operator of SmarterGerman
- the permanent cessation of all SmarterGerman business operations
- lawful termination for good cause under section 15.9

15.5 Lifelong Access does not depend on whether the purchased course remains available for sale. Renaming, updating, replacing, combining, transferring, or moving the course to another platform does not end Lifelong Access. A sale, transfer, or renaming of the SmarterGerman business does not by itself end Lifelong Access.

15.6 Lifelong Access includes continued access to the purchased course and to corrections or revisions of its existing learning content. New or materially expanded tools, AI features, services, coaching, support, community access, or add-ons are not part of the purchase. If SmarterGerman offers such additions, they are optional and require the customer's own decision and, where applicable, a separate purchase; the purchased course remains fully usable without them.

15.7 Lifelong Access is personal, non-transferable, and non-inheritable.

15.8 Neither SmarterGerman nor the customer may terminate Lifelong Access ordinarily. The customer may stop using the course at any time.

15.9 The right of either party to terminate for good cause remains unaffected. SmarterGerman may terminate access if the customer commits a serious or repeated breach of these Terms. Where the breach can reasonably be remedied, SmarterGerman will provide written notice and a reasonable opportunity to remedy it before termination.

15.10 If the purchase is lawfully cancelled, refunded in full, or the payment is finally reversed, Lifelong Access ends.

15.11 A later change to these Terms cannot shorten Lifelong Access already purchased.

Last updated: 21 August 2026