1.DEFINITIONS

The purpose of this clause is to define the various essential terms of the contract:

Catalogue: Document containing the list of lots offered during an auction organized by the Auction Operator, their photographs and their descriptions including the mandatory advertising information described in Article R.321-33 of the French Commercial Code.

General Terms of Use: These general terms of use of the Site and its Services.

Conditions of Sale: Specific conditions of sale for each auction established by the Auction Operator and appearing on the lot Announcements presented on the Site and in the Catalogues.

Content: Posts, texts, articles, photos, videos, hyperlinks, files, documents or any other element made available to the public through the Site.

Telephone Bid: A User who cannot attend an auction in person can submit a request to the Auction Operator to be called when the lot they covet is offered for auction, so they can bid on the phone as if they were in the room.

Hôtel des Ventes Drouot-Richelieu: Rooms made available to the Auction Operator by Drouot Patrimoine for the organization of auctions. These rooms are located at 9 rue Drouot-75009 Paris.

Purchase Order: A User who cannot attend an auction in person can submit a purchase order to the Auction Operator setting the maximum purchase price of a lot. It constitutes a firm commitment to buy made by the User.

Auction Operator: The company Maurice Auction whose registered office is located at 60 rue La Boetie, 75008 Paris - registered with the RCS under number 4908241052 and approved by the CVV under reference 2021-1. Maurice Auction is a voluntary auction operator organizing auctions at the Hôtel des Ventes ---- or online on the DrouotDigital Platform.

Purchase Order Basket: User section where they keep Purchase Orders placed on the Site awaiting their final validation.

DrouotDigital Platform: Platform allowing remote participation by electronic means via the website www.drouot.com in Live and Online Sales.

Services: All services offered by the Auction Operator on the Site and described in article 3 of the General Terms of Use.

Site: Website accessible at https://mauriceauction.com to which the General Terms of Use apply.

User: Any person who uses the Site and its Services.

Live Sales: Auctions taking place in the auction rooms used by the company Maurice Auction such as the Hôtel des Ventes ----, broadcast live thanks to the MoniteurLive and Drouot.com platforms.

Online Sales: Auctions taking place exclusively online and accessible from the DrouotDigital Platform.

2. OBJECT OF THE GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF USE

The Site edited by the Sales Operator allows Users to submit online estimation requests, access sales Catalogues, and participate remotely in Live or Online Sales.

The General Terms and Conditions of Use constitute the contract between the Sales Operator and the User regarding the use of the Site and its Services.

If the General Terms and Conditions of Use are not accepted, the User must refrain from accessing the Site and using the Services.

Each User must read and accept, without reservation, the General Terms and Conditions of Use, by checking a box validation mechanism, when submitting an online estimation request or validating a Purchase Order or a Telephone Bid request.

The General Terms and Conditions of Use are effective from 01/01/2022 and apply to any use of the Site.

3. SERVICES

3.1. ESTIMATION REQUEST

The User who wishes to have an item estimated or wishes to sell an item at auction can submit a free estimation request to the Sales Operator.

3.1.1. Online estimation

The User can make an online estimation request directly on the Site on the relevant page by completing the form. They are invited to provide their contact details and provide photographs of the item, its dimensions, and any comments that could give an indication of its value. The Sales Operator team undertakes to contact the User to give them an estimate of their item and offer it for sale at auction.

3.1.2. Estimation in the Sales Operator's premises

The User has the option of going to the Sales Operator's premises, the address and opening hours of which are indicated on the Site. The Sales Operator team undertakes to provide them with a verbal estimate free of charge and without obligation. If necessary, the Sales Operator team will invite the User to submit their item for a more in-depth expertise.

3.1.3. Home inventory

The User can contact the Sales Operator at the coordinates indicated on the Site so that an inventory of several items they own can be carried out by appointment at their home. This inventory is then invoiced. The estimates made by the Sales Operator, based on the elements provided by the User, are communicated for information purposes only, with the auction price resulting from the free play of bids.

3.2. PLACING PURCHASE ORDER & TELEPHONE BID REQUEST

Users can consult sales Catalogues online via the Site. A User can participate in:

• Live Sales by transmitting their bids live via a redirection to the DrouotDigital Platform or by submitting, up to three (3) hours before the sale, a Purchase Order or a Telephone Bid request on the Site or by accessing the DrouotDigital Platform, to which a redirection is also proposed on the Site; These requests will be executed during the sale;
• Online Sales by being redirected to the DrouotDigital Platform.

When the User is redirected to the DrouotDigital Platform, they are subject to the platform's own general terms and conditions of use and sale.

The User is required to provide information about their identity and bank details, using a form, when submitting a Purchase Order or Telephone Bid request on the Site and to provide any supporting documents that may be requested by the Sales Operator. The User does not need to have an account on the Site or on the Drouot Digital Platform to submit a Purchase Order or Telephone Bid request on the Site.

Their Purchase Order or Telephone Bidding request is then saved in their Basket of Purchase Orders, pending final validation by the User. The User may place Purchase Orders or Telephone Bidding requests relating to multiple Sales organized by the Auctioneer in the same Basket of Purchase Orders.

Once all desired Purchase Orders and Telephone Bidding requests have been added to the Basket of Purchase Orders and their banking details have been provided, the User validates them by approving the Sales Conditions and these General Terms of Use of the Auctioneer and by clicking on the validation button.

The Purchase Order or Telephone Bidding request is transmitted to the Auctioneer along with the maximum bid amount for a Purchase Order, the identity of the User, the description of the lot concerned, and the banking details of the User.

The Auctioneer may refuse to execute the Purchase Order entrusted by the User or to respond to the Telephone Bidding request when:

• Identity or solvency verification could not be carried out;
• The lot on which the Purchase Order or Telephone Bidding request relates has been modified and the Auctioneer has been unable to contact the User to inform them;
• The Telephone Bidding request exceeds the calling capacity of the Auctioneer.

The User is informed of the status of their Purchase Order or Telephone Bidding request by email. In the event of several Users placing Purchase Orders for the same amount, if the lot is awarded to one of the interested parties, priority is given to the User who placed their Purchase Order first.

The User may modify or delete their Purchase Order or Telephone Bidding request by accessing the lot in the relevant Catalog, provided that the modification or deletion takes place before the User's Basket of Purchase Orders is validated. After the validation of the Basket of Purchase Orders or the Telephone Bidding request, it is up to the User to contact the Auctioneer to request modification or deletion.

The Auctioneer executes Purchase Orders and/or Telephone Bidding requests of equal amounts in the chronological order of their arrival.

The successful bidder will be the highest bidder and last bidder.

When the lot is awarded to a User, the Auctioneer confirms as soon as possible to the User by email that they are the successful bidder.

3.3. ONLINE PAYMENT AND DEPOSIT

An online payment form allows the User to pay their awards remotely by simply indicating the invoice number to be paid, its amount, as well as their name and email address.

Similarly, a form is available to make advance deposits online for future sales conducted by the Auctioneer. Payment transactions are carried out by the Auctioneer through its payment service provider: Ingenico, certified PCI-DSS.

4. VERIFICATION OF BANKING INFORMATION

4.1. ONLINE PAYMENT AND ADVANCE DEPOSIT

On the Site, the banking data of the User paying for an auction or making an advance deposit for a future auction are collected by the Auction Operator.

To reinforce the User's control measures, the Auction Operator uses the 3D Secure standard: the User's bank asks them to authenticate themselves through an identity verification mechanism that is specific to them (such as sending a one-time-use code via SMS to their mobile phone to enter on an Internet form of the card-issuing bank).

The banking data is securely stored for the duration of the transaction by the payment provider of the Auction Operator, Ingenico, certified PCI-DSS. This standard is an international security standard whose objectives are to ensure the confidentiality and integrity of cardholder data and thus secure the protection of card and transaction data.

The technical methods of bank card verification are secure and the confidentiality of banking data is ensured in accordance with applicable legal, regulatory, and professional provisions.

The User can also pay for the amount of their auction in the conditions described in the Terms of Sale and on the Site. However, these coordinates are only kept for the duration of the transaction.

4.2. PLACING AN ORDER & REQUESTING A TELEPHONE BID

When placing an Order or requesting a Telephone Bid, the User is invited to complete their banking information. This information is transmitted directly to the Auction Operator, who only keeps it for the duration of the auction in the conditions provided in the privacy policy accessible at the following address: https://mauriceauction.com/politique-confidentialite
 

5. USER OBLIGATIONS

The User must ensure that they have the appropriate technical tools for using the Services and, at a minimum, the following technical recommendations to optimize access to the Services: the latest version of browsers available on the market and a high-speed internet connection.

The User is responsible, at their exclusive expense, for the acquisition, implementation, maintenance, and connection of the various configuration elements and telecommunications means necessary for accessing the Site and Services.

The User agrees to use the Site in compliance with the General Terms and Conditions of Use and applicable law and to act in good faith towards the Auction Operator.

The User agrees to provide accurate personal information in the forms they submit to the Auction Operator. The Auction Operator cannot be held responsible in any way for incidents related to incorrectly provided information by the User.

The User warrants that no element they transmit infringes on the rights of third parties, nor is contrary to the law and regulations in force. Otherwise, the Auction Operator reserves the right to take any appropriate action, including removing the prohibited content, suspending or refusing bids from the concerned User or taking any action, including legal action.

6. PERSONAL DATA

The Auction Operator undertakes to comply with the applicable regulations concerning the processing of personal data, in particular, the Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council applicable from 25 May 2018 (hereinafter, "GDPR") and Law No. 78-17 of 6 January 1978 as amended, known as the "Data Protection Act."

The Auction Operator may process and collect personal data from Users as the data controller for the purposes of providing the Services to Users and operating the Site, including through the use of cookies. The methods and details of the processing purposes of this data are available in the Site's privacy policy accessible at the following URL: https://mauriceauction.com/politique-confidentialite

7. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

The trademarks, logos, signs, and all other content on the Site are protected by the Intellectual Property Code, particularly copyright law.

The Sales Operator is the sole owner of all rights related to the Content of the Site, including all copyright rights on the Content it puts online on the Site.

The User agrees not to reproduce, represent, extract, or use in any way all or part of the Site or its Content, including the Catalogs, without obtaining prior written authorization from the Sales Operator, under penalty of legal action for infringement.

The User agrees to use the Content of the Site strictly for personal use only. Commercial use of the Content is strictly prohibited. The use of a hypertext link to the Site, using the technique known as "framing" or "deep linking," is strictly prohibited, unless prior written authorization is provided by the Sales Operator.

8. RESPONSIBILITY OF THE SALES OPERATOR

The Sales Operator strives, to the extent possible and within the scope of its obligation to use reasonable efforts in operating the Site, to keep it accessible 7 days a week and 24 hours a day. However, access to the Site may be modified, suspended, or interrupted temporarily or permanently, due to technical maintenance operations, migration or updates, breakdowns, or constraints related to the operation of the Internet, without any entitlement to compensation.

The Sales Operator agrees to limit, to the best of its ability, this type of interruption.

The Sales Operator, its officers, employees, or agents, cannot be held responsible for indirect damages, commercial losses, loss of profits, or damage to the brand resulting from the use of the Services.

The networks on which the Content circulates have different characteristics and capacities and may be congested at certain times of the day, which may affect their download time and accessibility.

The Sales Operator cannot be held responsible for any malfunction or inability to access the Services due to the User's Internet service provider, network congestion, equipment unsuitable for maintenance or updating of the Services, or any other circumstances beyond the control of the Sales Operator.

9. HYPERLINKS

Numerous outgoing hyperlinks are present on the Site, however the web pages to which these links lead do not in any way engage the responsibility of the Sales Operator who has no control over these links.

The User therefore agrees not to hold the Sales Operator responsible for the Content and resources related to these outgoing hyperlinks.

10. MODIFICATION OF TERMS OF USE

The Sales Operator reserves the right to adapt and modify the Terms of Use at any time, which will be accepted at the time of sending requests for estimation or validation of Purchase Orders and requests for Telephone Bidding. If the User refuses these modifications, they agree to stop using the Site and not to use its Services.

11. APPLICABLE LAW AND JURISDICTION

The Terms of Use are governed by French law. In the event of a dispute between a User and the Sales Operator, the User can contact the Sales Operator's customer service either at their postal address indicated in Article 2 or at the email address: contact@mauriceauction.com

In the event of failure of the claim made to the above-mentioned service, when the User is a consumer within the meaning of the introductory article of the Consumer Code, they may submit the dispute with the Sales Operator to a mediator by filing a complaint on the following website: https://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr/.

The use of the mediator is free of charge.

After being seized of the dispute, the mediator collects the necessary information to instruct the file and renders an opinion within a period of three months.

This opinion is not binding on either the Sales Operator or the User, who retains the right to bring the matter before a court. For more information on the mediation procedure: https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/odr/main/index.cfm?event=main.home.show&lng=FR.

In the event of failure of mediation and for any dispute between a professional User within the meaning of the introductory article of the Consumer Code and the Sales Operator relating to the validity, interpretation or performance of the Terms of Use, only the Commercial Court of Paris will have jurisdiction.

12. INTEGRITY

If one or more provisions of the General Terms and Conditions of Use are deemed invalid, void or declared as such pursuant to a legal or regulatory provision or a final judicial decision, the other provisions shall remain in full force and effect.

The failure of the Sales Operator to enforce any provision of the General Terms and Conditions of Use shall not be construed as a waiver of the obligation in question.

13. LEGAL NOTICE

The Site is published by the company MAURICE AUCTION, with a capital of 3,000 euros, located at 60 rue la Boetie, 75008 Paris, registered with the RCS under number SIREN 4908241052, OVV No. 182-2022.

The publication managers are Ms. Salomé PIRSON and Marie-Laurence TIXIER.

The Site is hosted in the Europe-Ireland region of the Google Cloud Platform service, Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland.

Users may contact the Sales Operator at the following address: