§ 1 Preamble
(1) The Contractor offers, among other services, analysis (that is, the confirmation or exclusion) of paternity, as well as other kinship relationships based on molecular biological methods.
(2) The Client requests an analysis of paternity or other kinship relationships to be performed based on tissue or cell samples provided by the Client.
§ 2 No Infringement of Third-Party Rights
The Client warrants to the Contractor upon placing an order for an analysis, that collecting and submitting the samples does not infringe upon any third-party rights. In particular, the Client warrants that they comply with the data protection regulations and any other applicable rules of their home country. We operate under Austrian law and cannot verify whether the customer is violating any regulations of their country. The Client bears sole responsibility for compliance with applicable data protection guidelines and the GDPR.
§ 3 Sample Collection, Sampling Kit
(1) The Client collects samples from the individuals to be tested. These samples may include a swab of the oral mucosa, blood, hair with roots, or objects that carry a sufficiently large number of body cells from the individual being tested. The Client is responsible for the origin of the samples, sample quality, the correct assignment of samples to the appropriate individuals, and any damage that may occur during sample collection. The Client then sends the samples to the Contractor.
(2) Optionally, the Contractor will provide the Client with a sampling kit containing sterile cotton swabs for the purpose of collecting the samples. The sampling kit is not strictly necessary for sample collection, as the Client may readily use other commercially available cotton swabs. The sampling kit will be delivered by mail after a binding order has been placed. If the client has not received the sampling kit within the usual delivery times (three business days within Austria), the Client shall immediately notify the Contractor of the missing shipment. The contractor bears no responsibility for the reliability of delivery by third parties. Unless otherwise agreed, delivery of the sampling kit is free of charge. Any loss of the sampling kit during transport has no effect on the existing analysis contract.
§ 4 Subject of Analysis
The result of the analysis is the confirmation or exclusion of paternity or genetic kinship between one of the individuals being tested and another of the individuals being tested, with a specified probability. Depending on the type of analysis ordered, the Contractor guarantees that a certain probability value will be achieved. The exact probability is calculated separately for each individual analysis and is communicated to the Client along with the test results. For the “DelphiTest Comfort”, the minimum statistical probability for the correctness of a confirmation paternity (assuming no genetic relationship between the person tested as father and any possible alternate fathers) is at least 99.99% in the case of a father-mother-child analysis, and at least 99.9% in the case of a father-child analysis. For the “DelphiTest Premium” analysis type, a probability of at least 99.99999% is guaranteed. Excluded from this provision are cases in which mutations were found. If paternity can be ruled out, the test concludes this with a probability of 100%.
§ 5 Withdrawal from the Analysis Contract
After the withdrawal period has expired, the Client is obligated to pay the contractually agreed-upon amount in full. If the Client decides not to submit sample material after the withdrawal period has expired, the Contractor must be notified of this in writing. In this case, the Client shall pay a flat fee of 100 €, and the Contractor is not required to perform any analyses.
§ 6 Scope of the Order
The Client orders the analysis specified in the order form from the Contractor. The analysis will begin upon receipt of the samples. Withdrawal from the contract is no longer possible at that point. The delivery time is calculated from the day on which both payment and the samples have been received.
§ 7 Notification of the Analysis Results
(1) The Contractor shall notify the Client of the analysis results upon completion of the test and receipt of payment. Notification shall be provided as specified in the order form.
(2) Under certain circumstances, the Contractor may be unable to verify whether the contact information provided belongs to the Client or to persons authorized by the Client to receive the analysis results. It is therefore the Client’s responsibility to ensure that the information provided above does not result in the analysis results being disclosed to third parties who may not be authorized to receive them. In particular, please note that transmission of the test results via email and fax is not confidential, such that third parties who may not be authorized to receive the test results may have access to the information and data contained in the transmission of the test results.
§ 8 Repetition of the Analysis
(1) If the quality of the sample material is too poor to achieve a reliable result, the Contractor shall request new sample material from the Client. Depending on the scope of the order, the Contractor shall repeat the analysis once with the new material, either at no additional cost or for a contractually agreed fee.
(2) If the sample material cannot be analyzed even after the repeat analysis, a contribution toward expenses of 129 € (including VAT) shall be due for each subsequent sample submission per person, in addition to the original analysis fees. This amount must also be paid to the Contractor in advance. In the event that a repeat analysis is necessary, the delivery time is calculated from the receipt of the new sample material or from the date of payment, whichever is the later date.
§ 9 Storage of Samples and Data, Data Protection
The Contractor shall destroy the samples after the test has been performed. The Client has no right to have the samples returned. The Contractor shall store the data and results of the analysis in accordance with the provisions of data protection guidelines, in particular the GDPR (see information sheet). The Contractor conducts customer surveys to evaluate its services for the purpose of quality control and improvement. For this purpose, the Contractor may disclose the Client’s name and email address to a service partner. By entering into this contract, the Client consents to such disclosure. The Client may object to the disclosure in writing at any time, ignore the email from that service partner, or mark it as “spam.”
§ 10 Admissibility in court
(1) The private analysis conducted by the Contractor is typically not admissible in court, i.e. it cannot be used in court as evidence for or against paternity or other kinship relationships.
(2) The test result is intended solely for the Client’s personal information. Since the Contractor cannot verify the identity of the individuals for whom samples are submitted, the result can only indicate the kinship of the individuals from whom the samples actually originate. It is the Client’s responsibility to provide the samples without mix-ups and to assign the test result to the individuals tested.
(3) To enable recognition by public authorities, the Contractor offers sample collection with identity verification. This may take place at the Contractor’s premises, or under the supervision of an independent knowledgeable witness (e.g. a primary care physician, public health department, child welfare office).
§ 11 Place of jurisdiction
The place of jurisdiction for all disputes arising from a contract between the Client and the Contractor is, to the extent permitted by law, Kufstein.
§ 12 Liability for Damages
The Contractor shall not be liable for damages, in particular those resulting from injury to life, body, health, personal rights, data protection, or property.
§ 13 Severability Clause
Should any provision of this agreement be wholly or partially invalid or later lose its legal validity, this shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions. The invalid provision shall be replaced by a provision that most closely approximates the economic purpose of the contract while appropriately safeguarding the interests of both parties.