GENERAL TERMS OF USE

Rhythms & Roots — www.rythmesroots.com

Website overview
Acceptance of terms
Access to the website
Account creation and management
Services offered
User obligations and responsibilities
Intellectual property
User-generated content
Personal data and cookies
Hyperlinks
Availability and maintenance
Limitation of liability
Digital accessibility
Amendments to the GTU
Applicable law, mediation and jurisdiction
Contact

1. WEBSITE OVERVIEW

1.1 Publisher

Trading name: Rhythms & Roots
Legal form: Sole trader
VAT number: LU35615162
Business licences: 10164582/0, 10164582/1, 10164582/2
Email: contact@rythmesroots.com

Host: LWS (Line Web Services), 10 rue de la Tremoille, 75008 Paris — France
Tel.: +33 (0)1 77 62 30 03 | www.lws.fr

1.2 Purpose of the website

The website www.rythmesroots.com (hereinafter "the Website") is an online retail platform dedicated to traditional, ethnic and folk musical instruments. The Website allows users to discover, browse and purchase authentic musical products.

1.3 Definitions

"Publisher" or "We": Rhythms & Roots
"User" or "You": any person who accesses the Website
"Customer": any user who makes a purchase
"Account": the personal space created by the user

2. ACCEPTANCE OF TERMS

2.1 Acceptance

Accessing and using the Website constitutes full and unreserved acceptance of these GTU. If you do not accept these terms, you must refrain from using the Website.

2.2 Legal capacity

Use of the Website is reserved for persons with the legal capacity to enter into contracts. Minors must obtain the consent of their parents or legal guardians before using the Website.

2.3 Applicable documents

These GTU are supplemented by the following documents:

General Terms and Conditions of Sale (GTC) — applicable to commercial transactions
Privacy Policy — personal data processing
Cookie Policy — cookie management

In the event of any conflict between the GTU and the GTC, the GTC shall prevail with regard to all commercial matters (ordering, payment, delivery).

3. ACCESS TO THE WEBSITE

3.1 Conditions of access

The Website is freely accessible to any user with an internet connection. Internet access and telecommunications costs are borne by the user.

3.2 User responsibilities

Users are responsible for setting up the necessary IT equipment, securing their devices and ensuring browser compatibility.

Recommended browsers: Chrome 90+, Firefox 88+, Safari 14+, Edge 90+

3.3 Restrictions

The Publisher reserves the right to refuse, suspend or terminate access for any user who fails to comply with these GTU, without notice or compensation, and to restrict access geographically where necessary.

4. ACCOUNT CREATION AND MANAGEMENT

4.1 Creation

Certain features (in particular placing an order) require the free creation of a personal account. Users undertake to provide accurate and up-to-date information, to create only one account and to choose a secure password.

4.2 Login credentials

Login credentials (email address and password) are personal and confidential. Users are solely responsible for keeping them secure and for any use made of their account. The Publisher will never ask for your password by email or phone. Any unauthorised use must be reported immediately.

4.3 Management

Users may at any time access their personal space, update their information, view their orders, manage their delivery addresses and communication preferences, and change their password.

4.4 Deletion

Users may request the deletion of their account at any time via the customer service team or the account interface. Deletion results in the permanent loss of access and the erasure of personal data in accordance with the GDPR, subject to legal retention obligations (invoices, etc.).

4.5 Suspension or termination by the Publisher

The Publisher may suspend or terminate without notice the account of any user in the event of a breach of these GTU, fraudulent conduct, provision of false information, non-payment or abusive use.

5. SERVICES OFFERED

5.1 Catalogue

The Website provides free access to the catalogue: traditional and ethnic musical instruments, accessories and detailed product pages (descriptions, photos, specifications and audio samples where applicable).

5.2 Online sales

The Website offers an online sales service governed by the General Terms and Conditions of Sale (GTC), which are separate from these GTU and should be consulted before making any purchase.

5.3 Customer account

Registered users have access to a personal space to manage their information, view their order history, track deliveries, access invoices and create wish lists.

5.4 Newsletter

With the user's consent, the Publisher may send newsletters (new products, promotional offers, cultural news). Users may unsubscribe at any time via the link included in every email or from their personal account.

6. USER OBLIGATIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

6.1 Compliant use

Users undertake to use the Website fairly, in accordance with its intended purpose and in compliance with these GTU, applicable laws and regulations, the rights of third parties, public order and accepted standards of conduct.

6.2 Prohibited conduct

The following are strictly prohibited:

Using the Website for illegal or fraudulent purposes
Attempting to gain unauthorised access to computer systems
Introducing viruses, malware or any malicious code
Web scraping or automated data extraction
Impersonating another person or creating multiple fake accounts
Publishing offensive, defamatory or discriminatory content
Disrupting the normal operation of the Website or circumventing its security measures

6.3 Reporting

Any unlawful content, abusive conduct or security vulnerability may be reported to: contact@rythmesroots.com

6.4 Consequences

In the event of a breach, the Publisher may remove inappropriate content, suspend or terminate the account, permanently ban access to the Website and take legal action where necessary.

7. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

All elements of the Website (structure, design, text, images, videos, sounds, logos, databases, software, etc.) are protected by Luxembourg, European and international copyright law, trademark law and database law. These elements are the exclusive property of the Publisher or its partners.

Users are granted a private, non-collective and non-exclusive right of use limited to online viewing, temporary downloading for display purposes and printing for personal use.

Without prior written authorisation, it is prohibited to reproduce, modify, distribute, commercially exploit, decompile or engage in framing or inline linking using content from the Website.

The trademark "Rhythms & Roots" and all associated logos are the property of the Publisher. Any unauthorised use constitutes an infringement liable to legal sanctions.

For any authorisation request or infringement report: contact@rythmesroots.com

8. USER-GENERATED CONTENT

8.1 Responsibility

Users are solely responsible for the content they publish (reviews, comments, photos). They warrant that such content does not infringe the rights of third parties, contains no defamatory or discriminatory statements, does not violate any law and is accurate and genuine.

8.2 Licence granted

By publishing content on the Website, users grant the Publisher a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free and transferable licence to use, reproduce, adapt and distribute such content for the purposes of promoting and operating the Website. This licence terminates upon deletion of the content by the user.

8.3 Moderation

The Publisher reserves the right to moderate, edit or remove any content that does not comply with these GTU or that could expose it to liability, without justification or compensation.

8.4 Product reviews

Only customers who have made a purchase may leave a review. Reviews must be genuine and based on real experience. Incentivised or paid reviews are prohibited. The Publisher does not remove negative reviews unless they violate these GTU.

9. PERSONAL DATA AND COOKIES

The processing of users' personal data is carried out in accordance with the GDPR (Regulation EU 2016/679) and the Luxembourg law of 1 August 2018 on data protection.

For full information on data collection, use, your rights and cookie management, please consult:

Privacy Policy — comprehensive personal data processing information
Cookie Policy — types, durations, management and opt-out

To exercise your rights (access, rectification, erasure, objection, portability, restriction) or to lodge a complaint with the CNPD (15, boulevard du Jazz, L-4370 Belvaux — www.cnpd.lu), contact us at: contact@rythmesroots.com

10. HYPERLINKS

10.1 Outbound links

The Website may contain links to third-party websites. The Publisher has no control over such websites and accepts no liability for their content, availability or privacy practices. Users access them at their own risk.

10.2 Inbound links

Creating links to the Website is permitted provided the link points to the homepage, does not mislead users about our services and the source website does not contain unlawful content. The Publisher may request the removal of any inappropriate link. Framing and inline linking are strictly prohibited without prior authorisation.

11. AVAILABILITY AND MAINTENANCE

The Publisher endeavours to keep the Website accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, but cannot guarantee absolute availability. The Website may be temporarily unavailable due to maintenance, updates or technical failures. Scheduled maintenance is carried out wherever possible during periods of low traffic.

The Publisher reserves the right to modify, supplement, remove content from or discontinue the Website at any time without notice. The Website is provided "as is", without any warranty of error-free operation or compatibility with any particular equipment.

12. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

The Publisher cannot be held liable for any direct or indirect damage resulting from the use of the Website (data loss, interruptions, content errors, acts of third parties or issues related to the user's own equipment).

The Publisher is not responsible for content published by users. As a host, it has no general obligation to monitor content, but acts promptly to remove any manifestly unlawful content of which it becomes aware.

The Publisher's liability may not be engaged in cases of force majeure (natural disasters, widespread outages, exceptional cyberattacks, government decisions, acts of war, etc.).

Users undertake to indemnify the Publisher against any loss arising from their breach of these GTU, from content they have published or from their unlawful use of the Website.

13. DIGITAL ACCESSIBILITY

13.1 Commitment

Rhythms & Roots is committed to making its Website accessible to the widest possible audience, in accordance with Directive (EU) 2019/882 on the accessibility requirements for products and services (European Accessibility Act), applicable from 28 June 2025, and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.1) published by the W3C.

13.2 Target level

We aim for WCAG 2.1 level AA conformance. Ongoing improvements are being implemented to:

Ensure readability and navigability for visually impaired or blind users
Enable keyboard navigation
Provide text alternatives for non-text content
Guarantee sufficient contrast between text and background
Make forms and purchasing processes accessible to assistive technologies

13.3 Accessibility statement

An accessibility statement detailing the conformance status, inaccessible content and available alternatives is available on request at: contact@rythmesroots.com

13.4 Reporting

If you encounter an accessibility issue on our Website, please report it to contact@rythmesroots.com, describing the page concerned and the problem encountered. We undertake to address your feedback within 15 working days.

14. AMENDMENTS TO THE GTU

The Publisher reserves the right to amend these GTU at any time to reflect technical, legislative or service developments. In the event of a material change, users will be notified by a message on the Website and, for registered users, by email. Amended GTU take effect upon publication. Continued use of the Website constitutes acceptance of the updated GTU.

15. APPLICABLE LAW, MEDIATION AND JURISDICTION

These GTU are governed by Luxembourg law and European Union law (Luxembourg Civil Code, law of 11 August 2018 on consumer protection, GDPR, Directive 2000/31/EC).

In the event of a dispute, please contact us first at contact@rythmesroots.com. If no amicable resolution can be reached, you may have free recourse to:

ULC — 55, rue des Bruyères, L-1274 Howald — www.ulc.lu
CEC — Bahnhofsplatz 3, 77694 Kehl (DE) — www.cec-zev.eu
ODR platform: ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr/

Failing an amicable resolution, any dispute shall be submitted to the Luxembourg courts. For consumers, Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 (Brussels I bis) allows proceedings to be brought before the courts of the consumer's place of domicile.

In the event of translation, only the French version shall prevail.

16. CONTACT

For any question, complaint or report concerning the Website or these GTU:

Email: contact@rythmesroots.com

We undertake to respond within 15 working days.