Transparency and Purpose of These Guidelines

These guidelines have been created based on previous experience in order to make collaborations clearer, fairer and more predictable for both sides. Most of the points listed here are considered self-evident in a professional working relationship.

However, because uncertainties have repeatedly occurred in the past and in some cases resulted in considerable organizational, time-related or financial effort, these framework conditions are stated transparently in advance.

The purpose of these rules is not only to reasonably protect the channel, but also explicitly to safeguard the interests of viewers. They are intended to ensure that content can be created independently, transparently, factually and without improper influence.

Product samples, compensation payments, affiliate links, discount codes or organizational agreements do not result in a positive review, predefined statements or any approval right for manufacturers. Editorial assessment remains independent.

These guidelines are not intended to create unnecessary bureaucracy. Their purpose is to avoid misunderstandings and enable a practical, fair and appropriate collaboration. In their application, practical and fair handling takes priority.

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1. Compensation for Permanently Provided Products

For reviews involving a product that is permanently provided, an additional flat-rate compensation of approximately 20% of the official MSRP is required.

The reason for this is that permanently provided goods may need to be considered for tax and accounting purposes in Germany, which can create real costs. The relevant basis is the manufacturer’s official MSRP at the time the product is provided.

This compensation is not payment for a positive review. It does not grant any influence over content, assessment, weighting, tone or publication.

2. Release Dates and Deadline Agreements

Agreements regarding publication dates, embargoes, review dates or other deadlines can only be honored if the product arrives on time, complete and functional within the agreed timeframe.

Delays in shipping, customs processing, missing accessories, firmware, test materials or product information may postpone the planned publication date accordingly.

3. Shipping, Customs and Import Costs

All costs arising from shipping, import, customs clearance, import VAT, handling fees charged by shipping providers, storage fees or other import-related costs must be fully covered by the cooperation partner.

Ideally, shipping should be arranged in such a way that no additional costs are incurred by the recipient upon acceptance or delivery.

4. Clear Identification of Product Status

The cooperation partner must clearly state in writing in advance what status the provided product has.

This includes in particular:

• Prototype
• Engineering sample
• Pre-production model
• Beta device
• Production sample
• Final retail unit

Relevant differences from the later retail version must be communicated transparently. This particularly applies to changes in hardware, firmware, software, accessories or package contents.

5. Cancellation Compensation for Unusable Products or Non-Usable Collaborations

If a provided product arrives in a condition that makes meaningful production or publication impossible, the work already performed up to that point will be compensated through a cancellation payment.

This applies in particular to defective, damaged, incomplete or technically unusable devices, as well as cases in which the actual product status differs significantly from the previous description.

The cancellation compensation depends on the effort already incurred and is assessed on a project-specific basis. It is not a substitute for a regular collaboration, but serves to compensate work already performed when use of the collaboration fails for reasons outside the responsibility of the channel.

6. Correct Customs Documents and Plausible Import Declaration

For international shipments, all information relevant to customs and import must be provided completely, plausibly and truthfully by the cooperation partner.

This includes in particular a correct product description, a realistic product value and a comprehensible explanation of the intended use, such as review sample, test device, loan device, pre-production unit or permanently provided product sample.

Arrangements in which payments are merely sent back and forth to create an apparent proof of payment are excluded. Likewise, false value declarations, misleading invoices, incorrect “gift” declarations or any other documents that obscure the actual purpose or value of the shipment will not be accepted.

7. No Automatic Exhibition at CLM or LMB

Exhibition or presentation at the Community Layer Meetup (CLM) or the Layer Meetup Bayern (LMB) is not automatically part of a review collaboration.

Event-related services such as exhibition space, active presentation, branding, discount campaigns, giveaways, program items, social media mentions or other promotional measures must be agreed separately and are subject to the sponsorship catalog.

The final decision regarding exhibited products lies with the event organization and depends, among other things, on available space, safety requirements, thematic relevance, technical feasibility and the overall concept of the event.

8. Usage Rights for Created Content

Usage rights for created content are not part of the product-value compensation and are not automatically granted by providing a product.

Any use of video excerpts, images, quotes, screenshots, thumbnails, logos or other material for advertising, commercial or public purposes must be agreed separately in advance.

Excluded from this is the simple sharing or linking of published content via official channels, provided the content remains unchanged and correctly refers to the original publication.

9. No Fee Negotiation Based on Short-Term View Counts

Fee negotiations that are based exclusively or predominantly on current or short-term view counts will not be accepted.

The channel is not focused on short-term click maximization, but on complete, comprehensible and long-term relevant content. In this field, YouTube is not a sprint but a long-distance run: the value of a video often develops over weeks, months or years.

Short-term performance metrics may be considered for context, but they do not replace the actual production effort, technical depth, target-group relevance and long-term content value.

10. Professional Conduct and Major Deficiencies

Professional, factual and reliable communication is expected throughout the entire collaboration.

If major deficiencies arise during the collaboration, they will be addressed transparently and assessed together. If this concerns a product or material that cannot be meaningfully used as a result, the cancellation compensation rule for work already performed may apply.

Editorial assessment remains independent. Discussing deficiencies does not mean that critical points will be removed from the later content.

11. Editorial Freedom

Editorial freedom remains entirely with the channel.

The cooperation partner may provide technical information, product data, notes and relevant details. However, content, structure, assessment, weighting and final presentation are exclusively determined by the editorial side.

Pre-scripted videos, mandatory statements, prescribed ratings or requirements for positive presentation are excluded.

Content is generally presented in a factual, technically comprehensible and experience-based manner. Criticism, where relevant, is reasoned and contextualized.

12. Pre-Review of Video Material

A pre-review of video material is not part of the regular collaboration and can only be agreed for an additional fee.

Such a review serves exclusively to provide feedback on factual errors, technical misunderstandings or confidential information. It expressly does not create any right of approval, amendment or veto regarding assessment, structure, tone or editorial classification.

Criticism, experience-based observations and editorial conclusions will not be removed or softened through a pre-review, provided they are factually justified.

If a pre-review is requested, the publication date may be postponed accordingly. Agreed deadlines only apply in this case if sufficient time has been planned for review, feedback and possible factual corrections.

13. Editorial Collaboration Tool from 2026

An editorial collaboration tool will be used to improve planning and traceability.

This tool may send important organizational information, status changes and notes automatically by email. Project-related status pages are not public and are only intended for authorized cooperation partners.

In addition, the tool may record collaborations in anonymized or aggregated form for statistical purposes, for example for internal production planning, workload overview and progress tracking.

Confidential product information, specific NDA content, unpublished product names or personal data will not be publicly displayed. Collaborations under NDA will be managed using neutral or anonymized project titles in order to ensure additional confidentiality.

14. No Subsequent Unilateral Changes to Collaboration Terms

After the start of a collaboration, essential conditions may not be changed unilaterally.

This includes in particular compensation, publication format, deadlines, usage rights, product status, NDA or embargo requirements, event references or additional advertising services.

Changes are only possible after prior coordination and explicit agreement.

15. Advertising Disclosure and Transparency Obligations

Legally or platform-required advertising, sponsorship or cooperation disclosures will be made regardless of the cooperation partner’s preferences.

Transparent disclosure of the collaboration is the responsibility of the channel and is not negotiable.

16. Affiliate Links, Discount Codes and Tracking Links

Affiliate links, discount codes or tracking links may be part of a collaboration, but they have no influence on content, assessment, weighting or editorial presentation.

The use of such links or codes must be agreed in advance and will be disclosed transparently where required.

17. No Guarantee of Success

A collaboration does not include any guarantee of a positive review, specific statements, concrete sales figures, specific reach, view counts, conversion rates or other commercial success.

Products are assessed and presented based on actual product experience, technical evaluation and editorial relevance.

18. Safety and Legal Compliance

Products will only be tested, published or shown at events if they are considered safe to use from an editorial perspective and if there are no obvious safety-related or legal concerns.

In the event of significant safety concerns, unclear product compliance or unacceptable risks, publication, demonstration or exhibition may be refused or postponed.

19. No Exclusivity Without Separate Agreement

A collaboration does not establish exclusivity with regard to other manufacturers, brands or products.

Exclusivity, blocking periods, non-compete clauses or comparable restrictions must be expressly agreed and compensated separately.