Terms and Conditions (Public Version)

1. Introduction

These terms outline the general conditions under which I operate as a freelancer. They provide transparency regarding my working methods, availability, and intellectual property considerations. Full terms and conditions, including detailed payment terms, confidentiality agreements, and liability clauses, will be shared with clients upon engagement.

2. Contract Structure

I charge by the hour to provide flexibility and accommodate the dynamic nature of freelance work. The hourly rate is subject to negotiation and depends on the scope of work.

3. Availability

I typically work four days per week, reserving one day per week for business development activities.
I work during CET (UTC+1) business hours.
Meetings outside of standard business hours should be the exception and require prior notice.

4. Quotations

Any quotations provided are valid for a period of 14 days from the date of issuance, unless otherwise specified in writing.
Quotations are estimates based on the provided project scope and may be subject to adjustments if the requirements change.
A quotation does not constitute a binding contract until formally agreed upon by both parties.
Work is scheduled based on availability at the time of contract signing. A valid quotation does not guarantee availability, and I reserve the right to prioritize engagements on a first-come, first-served basis.

5. Work Environment, Location, and Tooling

Work Location

I work exclusively remotely, primarily from my home office.
Occasionally, I may work from public places such as libraries or cafes.
On-site work is only available in exceptional cases, such as kick-off meetings or conducting training sessions.
I only travel to destinations that are reachable via the German public train system.
If the round-trip travel time exceeds four hours, I will arrange for an overnight stay at the client’s expense.

Travel Expenses

If on-site work is required, the client agrees to cover all travel-related expenses, including transportation, accommodation, and reasonable meal costs.
Travel time will be billed at the agreed-upon hourly rate.
All travel arrangements will be made in coordination with the client to ensure cost efficiency.

Tooling

I work on my own hardware running the Linux operating system (specifically the NixOS distribution).
I independently select and configure my development environment using open-source tools, including but not limited to fish shell, tmux, NeoVim, and IntelliJ.
While I am open to using specific client-requested tools when necessary for collaboration (e.g., access to a private repository or CI/CD pipeline), I reserve the right to refuse the use of inefficient, proprietary, or restrictive tooling that negatively impacts productivity or security.

6. Intellectual Property Rights

I believe in the value of open-source software and, as part of my work, I may report issues to open-source projects without sharing client details.
If beneficial to the client project, I may also contribute trivial fixes and improvements to open-source projects. These contributions are not considered part of the deliverables transferred to the client.
If a non-trivial fix to an open-source component is required to ensure the success of the client project, I will first seek written approval from the client to allocate paid time for such contributions.
Unless otherwise agreed in writing, all intellectual property rights to work created during the engagement remain with me until full payment has been received.
Upon full payment, the client is granted full ownership of the specific deliverables created for their project. However, I retain the right to extract and reuse generic, non-client-specific components as part of free and open-source libraries, provided that no confidential or proprietary information is disclosed.
I reserve the right to produce and publish content in various formats, including but not limited to blog posts, conference presentations, podcasts, and videos, about my work, provided that no confidential or client-specific information is disclosed.

7. Confidentiality & Non-Disclosure

Confidentiality agreements are included in my full terms and conditions and will be shared with clients upon engagement.
I use Proton Mail (https://proton.me), a privacy-respecting email service hosted in Switzerland, for email communication.
I only use other communication channels if they are accepted by the client. Sending me a direct message on any communication platform, such as the Gradle Community Slack workspace, is considered an acceptance of that channel by the client.

8. Termination & Cancellation

Either party may terminate the agreement with a written notice period.
The client is responsible for payment of all hours worked up to the termination date.
Any outstanding invoices must be settled before termination is finalized.

9. Dispute Resolution & Governing Law

In the event of a dispute, both parties agree to first attempt to resolve the issue through good-faith negotiations.
If negotiations fail, both parties agree to seek mediation before pursuing legal action.
This agreement shall be governed and interpreted in accordance with the laws of Germany.
Any disputes arising from or related to this agreement shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts in Germany.

10. Final Note

These public terms serve as a general guideline. Full terms and conditions, including detailed confidentiality, liability, and payment clauses, will be provided upon request or upon engagement. Specific agreements may be negotiated on a case-by-case basis to suit the needs of both parties.