Terms of Service
Terms of Service (ToS)
Last updated: 22 September 2026
These Terms of Service govern the use of services provided by Vertical Farming Directory, operated by:
Kirpeit IT Solutions
Kopernikusstraße 36
38855 Wernigerode
Germany
Email: kirpeit@kirpeit-solutions.de
These Terms apply to business customers only. By registering an account, purchasing a subscription or one-time service, accepting an offer or invoice, submitting a business inquiry where these Terms are referenced, or otherwise entering into a service agreement with Vertical Farming Directory, the customer agrees to these Terms.
1. Scope of Services
Vertical Farming Directory operates an independent business directory and industry platform focused on vertical farming, Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA), indoor farming, greenhouse technology, agricultural technology, and related industries.
Services may include, but are not limited to:
- Company profile listings
- Premium company listings and visibility features
- Publication of articles, press releases, sponsored content, or company information
- Advertising and promotional placements
- Industry visibility and discovery services
- Business referral and introduction services
- Qualified Business Introductions
- Research and business development support
- External links and redirects
- Digital products, reports, downloads, or other one-time services
The exact scope, duration, price, and deliverables of a service may be specified on the relevant product or pricing page, order form, offer, invoice, email agreement, or individual service agreement.
In the event of a conflict between these Terms and an individually agreed service description, the individual agreement shall take precedence.
2. Business Customers Only (B2B)
Vertical Farming Directory provides paid services exclusively to entrepreneurs, companies, organizations, institutions, and other business customers acting in the course of their commercial or professional activities.
Paid services are not intended for consumers acting primarily for personal purposes.
By ordering a paid service, the customer confirms that they are acting on behalf of a business, organization, institution, or professional activity and that they are authorized to enter into the respective agreement.
3. Service Models
Services may be offered as:
- Recurring subscriptions
- One-time paid services
- Individually agreed services
- Qualified Business Introduction services
- Advertising or promotional packages
- Digital products or reports
The applicable service model is determined by the description, offer, invoice, checkout page, or individual agreement relating to the service.
A one-time service does not automatically create a recurring subscription unless this is expressly stated before purchase.
4. Directory Listings and Third-Party Information
Vertical Farming Directory contains information about companies, organizations, technologies, projects, and other industry participants.
Directory listings may be based on information submitted by companies, publicly available information, editorial research, third-party sources, or a combination thereof.
The presence of a company or organization in the Directory does not necessarily mean that the listed entity:
- is a customer of Vertical Farming Directory;
- has a commercial relationship with Vertical Farming Directory;
- has endorsed Vertical Farming Directory;
- has verified every item of information contained in its listing; or
- has agreed to receive or respond to business inquiries.
Vertical Farming Directory makes reasonable efforts to maintain useful and accurate information but does not guarantee that all company details, contact information, descriptions, addresses, personnel information, or other third-party information are complete, accurate, or current at all times.
5. Business Inquiries and the “Contact Business” Function
The Directory may provide a “Contact Business”, inquiry, lead, request, or similar function through which users can express interest in contacting or doing business with a listed company.
Business inquiries submitted through such functions may first be received, reviewed, screened, and processed by Vertical Farming Directory.
Submitting an inquiry does not necessarily mean that the inquiry is transmitted automatically or directly to the listed company.
Vertical Farming Directory may review an inquiry for relevance, authenticity, commercial suitability, technical fit, spam, misleading information, or other quality considerations before deciding whether and how to proceed.
Where appropriate, Vertical Farming Directory may offer the sender a paid Qualified Business Introduction or another business development service.
Submission of an inquiry alone does not create an obligation to purchase such a service and does not create an obligation for Vertical Farming Directory to provide a free business introduction.
6. Qualified Business Introductions
A Qualified Business Introduction is a one-time business development service through which Vertical Farming Directory assists a customer in approaching a specific company, organization, or industry participant.
Depending on the agreed scope, a Qualified Business Introduction may include:
- Review of the customer and its proposed product, technology, service, or cooperation request
- Assessment of the general relevance of the proposed cooperation
- Research to identify an appropriate business or technical contact, department, or communication channel
- Preparation or adaptation of the introduction for the target company
- Initial outreach to the target company on behalf of the customer
- Presentation of the customer's company, technology, service, proposal, or pilot opportunity
- Reasonable follow-up communication
- Coordination of initial communication between the parties
- Facilitation of a direct introduction where the target company expresses interest
The exact scope of a Qualified Business Introduction may be further defined in the offer, invoice, product description, or written communication with the customer.
6.1 Nature of the Service
The customer pays for the professional research, preparation, outreach, positioning, communication, and introduction efforts performed by Vertical Farming Directory.
The service fee is not a payment for the sale of private contact information and is not conditional on the target company entering into a commercial agreement with the customer.
6.2 No Guarantee of Response or Commercial Outcome
Vertical Farming Directory does not guarantee that a target company will:
- respond to an inquiry;
- agree to a meeting or call;
- request additional information;
- agree to a pilot project;
- purchase a product or service;
- enter into a partnership or other business relationship; or
- continue discussions after an introduction.
Commercial decisions remain entirely at the discretion of the companies involved.
A negative response, lack of response, rejection of the proposal, or decision by the target company not to continue discussions does not by itself constitute failure to provide the Qualified Business Introduction service.
6.3 Completion of an Introduction Service
A Qualified Business Introduction is considered performed once Vertical Farming Directory has carried out the material outreach activities included in the agreed service scope.
If the target company declines the proposal or requests that no further communication be made, Vertical Farming Directory will respect that decision and no further outreach will be required.
If, before meaningful outreach has begun, Vertical Farming Directory determines that the agreed introduction cannot reasonably be performed, the parties may agree on an alternative target, another service, a credit, or a refund of the affected service fee.
6.4 No Existing Relationship Implied
A Qualified Business Introduction does not imply that Vertical Farming Directory has a pre-existing commercial, contractual, personal, or exclusive relationship with the target company unless expressly stated otherwise.
Vertical Farming Directory may identify and approach appropriate contacts through existing industry relationships, publicly available business channels, professional networks, direct research, or other lawful business communication methods.
7. Customer Authorization and Obligations
When purchasing or requesting an introduction, referral, publication, promotional service, or similar service, the customer authorizes Vertical Farming Directory to use and share the information reasonably necessary to perform that service.
For a Qualified Business Introduction, this may include sharing the customer's:
- Company name
- Representative name and business contact details
- Website
- Product or service information
- Proposal
- Brochures
- Technical documentation
- Case studies
- Pilot proposal
- Other materials supplied specifically for the introduction
The customer is responsible for ensuring that all information and materials supplied to Vertical Farming Directory are accurate and that the customer has the necessary rights and permissions to provide and distribute them.
The customer must not provide:
- False or deliberately misleading information
- Unlawful content
- Content that infringes third-party intellectual property rights
- Fraudulent business offers
- Malicious files or software
- Misleading claims about products, certifications, research, performance, or commercial relationships
Vertical Farming Directory may request additional information before performing a service and may reject inquiries or services that appear fraudulent, unlawful, misleading, irrelevant, or materially unsuitable for the platform.
8. Subscription Services
Where a service is expressly offered as a subscription, the customer agrees to the service period and billing interval specified at the time of purchase, in the invoice, or in the individual agreement.
Subscriptions may renew automatically at the end of each billing period where automatic renewal was clearly agreed upon.
Unless otherwise agreed, cancellation must be received at least 14 days before the next renewal date to prevent renewal for the next billing period.
The right of either party to terminate a continuing contractual relationship for good cause remains unaffected.
9. One-Time Services
One-time services may include, among other things:
- Qualified Business Introductions
- Dedicated articles
- Article mentions
- Research services
- Promotional placements
- Reports or digital products
- Individual business development services
Unless otherwise agreed, one-time services are not recurring and do not renew automatically.
The service begins after acceptance of the offer and, where required by the offer or invoice, receipt of payment.
The specific deliverables are determined by the relevant product description, offer, invoice, or individual written agreement.
10. Pricing and Payment Terms
Prices are those stated on the relevant pricing page, offer, order form, invoice, or individual agreement at the time the service is ordered.
Applicable taxes and tax treatment will be stated or handled in accordance with the respective invoice and applicable law.
Invoices are payable within the payment period stated on the invoice.
Vertical Farming Directory may require full or partial payment before beginning a one-time service, including a Qualified Business Introduction.
For prepaid services, Vertical Farming Directory is not required to begin performance until payment has been received.
For subscriptions, failure to use some or all available features does not release the customer from payment obligations for an active subscription period.
The operator may suspend or postpone paid services where invoices are overdue.
11. Price Changes
Vertical Farming Directory may change prices for future purchases, future service orders, or future subscription periods.
Price changes do not retroactively alter the agreed price of a one-time service that has already been purchased.
Existing subscription prices remain applicable for the currently paid billing period unless otherwise individually agreed.
If a subscription is cancelled and the customer later purchases a new subscription, the pricing available at the time of the new purchase shall apply.
12. Cancellation of Subscriptions
Subscription cancellation requests may be submitted by email to:
Unless a different cancellation period has been individually agreed, cancellation must be received at least 14 days before the subscription renewal date.
If a valid cancellation is received in time, the subscription will end at the end of the current paid billing period.
Premium features may remain available until the end of that billing period.
The right to terminate for good cause remains unaffected.
13. Refunds
Payments for services already fully performed are non-refundable unless otherwise agreed or required by applicable law.
For one-time services, including Qualified Business Introductions, a lack of response, rejection, unsuccessful negotiation, or failure to conclude a commercial transaction with a third party does not create a right to a refund where Vertical Farming Directory has performed the agreed service activities.
If Vertical Farming Directory is unable to provide a paid service for reasons within its responsibility and no reasonable alternative performance is agreed, any refund or credit will be determined based on the portion of the contracted service that has not been performed.
Nothing in this Section limits refund or repayment rights that cannot lawfully be excluded.
14. Service Access and Downgrade
At the end of a paid subscription period or following cancellation:
- Premium features may expire
- A company profile may revert to a standard listing
- Certain contact or address information may no longer be publicly displayed
- Premium visibility features may be removed
- Access to premium tools may end
Published editorial content, directory entries, articles, or archive material may remain available unless removal has been separately agreed or is legally required.
15. Editorial Content and Publication Services
Where the customer purchases or supplies content for publication, Vertical Farming Directory may perform reasonable formatting, editing, categorization, headline editing, layout changes, or technical modifications necessary for publication.
Vertical Farming Directory reserves the right to refuse or remove content that is unlawful, materially misleading, technically harmful, infringing, or inconsistent with the professional scope of the platform.
Paid publication does not automatically constitute editorial endorsement of the customer's claims, products, services, or technologies.
16. Intellectual Property
The customer retains ownership of intellectual property rights in materials supplied by the customer.
Where materials are supplied for listing, publication, promotion, advertising, or business introduction purposes, the customer grants Vertical Farming Directory a non-exclusive right to use, reproduce, format, display, transmit, and share those materials to the extent reasonably necessary to perform the purchased service.
This permission ends when it is no longer reasonably required for the service, except where materials form part of published or archived content that the parties agreed could remain online.
Vertical Farming Directory retains all rights in its own website, database structure, software, layouts, branding, research, editorial material, and other original content unless otherwise stated.
17. Confidential Information
Customers should clearly identify information that they consider confidential before providing it to Vertical Farming Directory.
Information supplied specifically for a Qualified Business Introduction may be disclosed to the intended target company where such disclosure is reasonably necessary to perform the introduction.
Unless a separate non-disclosure agreement has been concluded, the service does not create obligations equivalent to a formal NDA.
18. Communication
Offers, invoices, confirmations, introduction updates, subscription information, and other service-related communication may be provided by email or through the platform.
Customers are responsible for providing and maintaining valid business contact information.
Business communication sent to the customer's most recently supplied email address shall generally be considered valid service communication.
19. Third-Party Decisions and Services
Vertical Farming Directory does not control the commercial decisions, response times, procurement procedures, hiring decisions, investment decisions, technical assessments, or business policies of third-party companies.
Where a service involves introducing, referring, linking to, publishing information about, or communicating with a third party, the third party remains independently responsible for its own decisions and actions.
Vertical Farming Directory is not a party to contracts subsequently concluded between customers and third parties unless expressly agreed otherwise in writing.
Vertical Farming Directory does not act as the customer's commercial agent, legal representative, distributor, reseller, or exclusive sales representative unless expressly agreed in a separate written agreement.
20. Service Availability
Vertical Farming Directory aims to provide reliable access to its online services but does not guarantee uninterrupted or error-free availability.
Temporary interruptions, delays, or limitations may occur due to:
- Scheduled maintenance
- System upgrades
- Technical failures
- Security measures
- Third-party service disruptions
- Hosting or connectivity problems
- Force majeure events
Reasonable temporary interruptions do not by themselves constitute a material service failure.
The operator may modify, replace, suspend, or discontinue individual platform features where reasonably necessary for technical, operational, security, legal, or business reasons, provided that this does not materially deprive a customer of an already purchased core service without an appropriate alternative.
21. Limitation of Liability
Vertical Farming Directory shall be liable without limitation for damages caused intentionally or through gross negligence, for injury to life, body, or health, and in other cases where liability cannot legally be limited or excluded.
In cases of slight negligence, Vertical Farming Directory shall only be liable for breaches of material contractual obligations whose fulfilment is necessary for the proper performance of the agreement and on whose fulfilment the customer may reasonably rely.
In such cases, liability shall be limited to the foreseeable damage typical for the type of agreement concerned.
To the extent permitted by law, Vertical Farming Directory is not responsible for losses resulting solely from:
- A third party declining or ignoring a business proposal
- Failure of commercial negotiations
- Expected sales or profits not being achieved
- Third-party website outages or changes
- Incorrect information supplied by customers or third parties
- Independent commercial decisions made by companies listed in the Directory
22. Suspension and Termination
Vertical Farming Directory may suspend, refuse, restrict, or terminate services where reasonably necessary due to:
- Non-payment or overdue invoices
- Material breach of these Terms
- Fraudulent, illegal, or harmful activity
- Misuse of the platform
- Repeated submission of spam or irrelevant inquiries
- Providing materially false or misleading information
- Security risks
- Infringement of third-party rights
Where appropriate, the customer will be given a reasonable opportunity to remedy a breach before termination.
The right of either party to terminate for good cause remains unaffected.
23. Governing Law and Jurisdiction
These Terms and contractual relationships governed by them shall be governed by the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany, excluding conflict-of-law rules where legally permissible.
Where the customer is a merchant (Kaufmann), a legal entity under public law, a special fund under public law, or where another valid jurisdiction agreement may legally be concluded, the registered place of business of the operator shall be the agreed place of jurisdiction to the extent permitted by law.
24. Changes to These Terms
Vertical Farming Directory may update these Terms to reflect changes in services, legal requirements, technology, or business operations.
Updated Terms will be published on the website together with an updated revision date.
Changes shall apply to new purchases and new agreements from their effective date.
For existing one-time services, changes to these Terms do not retroactively alter material contractual rights or obligations unless the parties agree otherwise.
For recurring subscriptions, updated Terms may apply to future renewal periods where the customer has been reasonably informed of the changes before renewal and applicable legal requirements are satisfied.
25. Force Majeure
Neither party shall be responsible for delays or failures in performance caused by circumstances beyond its reasonable control, including natural disasters, war, terrorism, civil disturbances, governmental measures, major infrastructure failures, power outages, internet failures, strikes, epidemics, or comparable events.
This provision does not affect payment obligations for services already properly performed.
26. Severability
If any provision of these Terms is or becomes invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall remain unaffected.
The invalid or unenforceable provision shall be replaced by the applicable statutory provision.
27. Entire Agreement and Individual Agreements
These Terms, together with the applicable product description, offer, order confirmation, invoice, and any individual written agreement, constitute the contractual basis for the respective service.
Individually negotiated agreements between the parties take precedence over these Terms.
28. Contact
If you have questions regarding these Terms or a service provided by Vertical Farming Directory, please contact:
Kirpeit IT Solutions
Email: kirpeit@kirpeit-solutions.de