NOTICE: You are urged to read this agreement carefully. If you do not agree to all of the terms of this contract, please do not register for our Stress Free German affiliate program. Unless you expressly consent to this agreement, you will NOT be allowed to participate in our affiliate program. By participating in our affiliate program, you are agreeing to comply with and be legally bound by all of the terms and conditions of this contract. Throughout this contract, “affiliate program” refers to the affiliate program operated by Stress Free German.
AFFILIATES
Please note that each affiliate is an independent contractor of Stress Free German. Affiliates are NOT employees. Nothing in this contract is intended to create an employer/employee relationship.
COMMISSIONS
When orders are placed through your Affiliate Site you will receive a percentage of the revenue as a commission. Commissions will be paid only for sales that are made through qualified Affiliate Sites. Our commission is a flat rate of 25 % (twenty‑five). For a sale to create a commissionable payment to an Affiliate, the customer must enter our site from that Affiliate’s Site and make full payment for the course.
INCOME TAX LIABILITIES
Each affiliate is an independent contractor and is therefore responsible for all applicable United States, state, or foreign income taxes as well as any other tax liabilities that affect or concern the sales of the products or services in your location.
COMMISSION TIMETABLE
Please bear in mind, commissions will not be paid for any sales for which payment was not received, or for any transaction that was rejected for any reason. Commissions are paid by Stress Free German once per month and are done via a payment processor on the 28 th day of the month. Commissions are for sales made from the 1 st through the last day of the previous month. 100 USD (one‑hundred dollars) is the minimum commission amount. In other words, you must earn 100 USD before you will be paid commissions. In each commission period, your commission must exceed this amount before you will receive any amount for that period. Commissions below this minimum amount will be held until the accumulated commissions equal or exceed 100 USD.
Stress Free German will not pay interest to affiliates for commissions accrued but not yet delivered. Furthermore, if a transaction incurs a charge‑back, or if a transaction is in some other way not properly completed, no commission payment is due to the affiliate. In such a situation, if a commission has already been paid, then the appropriate amount will be deducted from the affiliate’s future commissions.
PAYMENT
All commissions are paid in US Dollars via PayPal.
RULES ON AD COPY
Allowed:
- You may use Stress Free German in the ad text and in the search listings (title, description lines 1 and 2), but not in the display URL, except as set forth below.
- Your ad copy can reflect that you are an “authorized partner” of StressFreeGerman. Example: “Authorized partner,” “Official partner,” “Affiliate,” and so on.
- You may also include Stress Free German terms as a folder or category name of a non‑branded domain. Example:
www.exampledomain.com/StressFreeGermanorwww.exampledomain.com/StressFreeGermanSoftware. - Finally, you may “direct‑link” (i.e., send traffic directly to the Stress Free German landing page/website), given that you don’t use a Stress Free German URL as the display URL in your paid‑search ads.
NOT allowed:
- You may not claim to be the official Stress Free German, or use “Official Site” or similar claims in your ad copy.
- You may not use any of Stress Free German’s URLs as a display URL, including but not limited to
www.stressfreegerman.com. - You may not use controversial or negative terms such as “scam” on your sites or in ads for the purpose of attracting attention. We reserve the right to determine at any time which words are appropriate and which are not and to terminate the affiliate agreement for such violations.
- As an affiliate, you are prohibited from bidding on our protected keywords, including: Stress Free German, StressFreeGerman (with or without a space) as well as any variations, misspellings, or confusingly similar terms.
Recommended keywords (non‑exhaustive):
language software, learn german online, german course, language learning, foreign language, foreign‑language software, language course, learn german, learn german fast, speak german, german training, german software.
OTHER PRODUCTS
As an affiliate of Stress Free German, if you include any reference whatsoever to Stress Free German, the website, or your affiliate link, then your website MUST NOT contain any content unsuitable for viewers 13 years of age or younger. On any website on which you include any reference whatsoever to Stress Free German, its products or services, you MUST NOT include any reference whatsoever to any form of what is known as “adult content.” Any violation of these strict requirements will result in immediate termination of your affiliate status and you will forfeit any commissions/referral fees that may be due. In the event that any violation of these requirements results in the suspension or termination of any payment processor for Stress Free German, you shall be liable for liquidated damages of no less than 100 000 USD as well as any consequential damages that Stress Free German may incur.
PAYMENT PROCESSOR FEES
All commissions are calculated on the net transaction, not the gross. In other words, all payment‑processor fees (the merchant bank’s discount rate and transaction fee) are first deducted from the sums collected from the customer. The remaining amount is the commissionable sale. The commission rate listed on the website is then applied to determine the amount due to the affiliate.
SPAM & UNSOLICITED COMMERCIAL EMAIL (UCE)
Stress Free German will not tolerate the sending of unsolicited bulk emails (UCE, commonly referred to as SPAM) that reference Stress Free German, an employee or officer of Stress Free German, or any of their associated companies (for example, “German Destroyer”) or websites, products or services. Any affiliate who, in the sole opinion of Stress Free German, breaches this rule will have their affiliate status canceled and any outstanding commissions forfeited.
WE INSIST ON PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT
Stress Free German reserves the right to reject any affiliate application if, in Stress Free German’s opinion, that person or company is violating the law or commonly held standards of decency. We will reject, for example, applications from any person or entity that promotes illegal activities such as prostitution, or from applicants with whom Stress Free German prefers not to be associated.
Stress Free German operates with the strictest professional code of conduct. Any affiliate who brings Stress Free German or its employees, partners, or associates into disrepute, or who promotes any form of racism, sexism, unfair business practices, slander, or other unprofessional conduct will have their affiliate status canceled and any outstanding commissions forfeited.
AFFILIATE SALES, TRACKING & COOKIE DURATION
Once approved, you will be given a unique affiliate URL. When someone clicks your URL, a cookie with your affiliate ID is set in their browser; their IP address may also be logged. If a purchase is made during that visit or any later visit within 45 days, the commission will be credited based on that cookie.
End users referred by an affiliate are marked with 45‑day cookies, provided they have not disabled cookies. Affiliates will not be compensated for purchases that cannot be identified after the cookie expires or is removed.
TERM & TERMINATION
This agreement takes effect upon your sign‑up with Stress Free German’s affiliate program and ends when either party terminates your affiliate status. It also terminates if your account is inactive for any twelve‑month period. An affiliate may terminate at any time by emailing Stress Free German at the address listed on the website. The affiliate may not transfer this contract or any rights herein to any third party.
Stress Free German reserves the right, with 30 days’ notice, to terminate this agreement at any time for any reason by writing to the affiliate at the email address in their profile. If termination results from a violation of this agreement by the affiliate, termination is immediate and all commissions are forfeited.
RESERVATION OF RIGHTS TO MODIFY
Stress Free German may in good faith modify any part of this agreement (including the commission rate) at any time by posting a “Change Notice” or new agreement on its website. Changes take effect immediately upon posting. Continued participation constitutes binding acceptance of the changes.
If any modification is unacceptable, the affiliate’s sole recourse is to terminate this agreement and remove all affiliate links.
MISUSE
Affiliates shall not attempt to cheat the system or engage in hostile activities (e.g., hacking). Any such actions result in immediate termination and forfeiture of commissions. Affiliates shall not use the program in connection with slanderous, illegal, defamatory, obscene, hateful, or politically disruptive material—definition at Stress Free German’s sole discretion.
“AS‑IS” ARRANGEMENT
There is no guarantee or warranty of any kind with respect to the Stress Free German system regarding quality, reliability, dependability, or stability. Stress Free German is not responsible for any loss or damage incurred due to the use of its website, products, or services.
FEES
Stress Free German does NOT charge affiliates any fee to set up an account.
ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS & EMAIL
Affiliates must provide and verify a primary email address. If verification fails or an address generates persistent errors, commissions are forfeited and the contract terminated. By visiting Stress Free German websites or emailing us, you consent to receive communications electronically. You may NOT opt out of emails from Stress Free German while an affiliate.
UNAUTHORIZED PAYMENTS
No affiliate may use the Stress Free German website or its payment‑processing system for private transactions or to process products not authorized by Stress Free German. Unauthorized linking will be treated as a hostile attack and prosecuted.
AFFILIATE IDENTIFICATION NUMBER
You will receive an affiliate ID (which may be case‑sensitive). You are solely responsible for maintaining its secrecy and security and agree to hold Stress Free German harmless for any disclosure.
NO PREDATORY PRACTICES
Affiliates agree to refrain from predatory advertising practices, including dynamically replacing another affiliate’s ID. Violations lead to immediate termination and forfeiture of commissions.
LIABILITY
Stress Free German is not liable for indirect or accidental damages (e.g., loss of commissions) due to tracking failures, database losses, system malfunctions, hacking, or force majeure events.
MISCELLANEOUS
If any part of this agreement is declared void, the remainder remains in effect. No provision is waived unless in writing and notarized. Affiliates are responsible for fees incurred in collecting returned checks or declined payments. Stress Free German’s liability will not exceed the amount paid for the product or service in question.
This agreement is governed by the laws of Sevastopol, Ukraine. Disputes will first be mediated online, then—if unresolved—submitted to binding arbitration in Sevastopol. Claims must commence within ninety (90) days or be barred. Stress Free German may assign its rights and duties under this agreement at any time without notice.
Should this affiliate program or any payment processor deem the program illegal or unprocessable, Stress Free German may terminate it immediately without recourse. Any rights not expressly granted herein are reserved.