Case
Reuss Gastro AG, Luzern, runs five restaurants. Since 2024 it has used a reservation and cash register software as Software as a Service from a provider with its seat in your country. This is how the contract came about: the provider sent an offer by e-mail («valid for 14 days»); the manager of one of the restaurants answered by WhatsApp: «ok, let’s go»; the first invoice then stated «our general terms and conditions apply», with a link. These GTC provide for a minimum term of 36 months with automatic renewal, termination only by registered letter, an exclusion of liability and a contractual penalty of 20 % of the fees for the remaining term in case of early termination. After 14 months, Reuss Gastro AG wants to switch to another provider. The provider threatens to block access to the cloud and thus to the reservations and turnover data of the last 14 months, and demands the penalty.
Task
Time: about 30 minutes, self-study. Use a chatbot of your choice (Claude, ChatGPT & Co.). Write a memo to the CEO of Reuss Gastro AG, at most one A4 page, that answers three questions:
- Contract: Is there a contract, and on which terms? Consider who concluded it, how, and whether the GTC are part of it.
- Exit: Can Reuss Gastro AG leave now, and what will it cost? Consider the minimum term, the penalty under the law of the provider’s country and the data in the cloud.
- Recommendations: Your three recommendations for the meeting with the provider, in order of importance.
Add a section «AI audit» of about five lines: what did the chatbot claim that you checked and corrected, and against which source? Without this section, the memo is incomplete. Anonymise the facts if you upload documents (see Chapter 01.02).
The relevant chapters are 03.01, 03.02, 03.05, 03.10, 03.11 and 03.12. This case is the rehearsal for the case in the assessment.
In class: we compare the memos: who found the point that decides the case? There is no model answer on intla.ch.