Security and Protection of your Personal Data

We consider it our primary task to maintain the confidentiality of the personal data you provide us and protect it from unauthorized access. That is why we take the greatest care and use the most up-to-date security standards to guarantee the maximal protection of your personal data.
As a private-law company, we are subject to the provisions of the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the regulations of the German Federal Data Protection Act (Bundesdatenschutzgesetzes or BDSG). We have taken technical and organizational measures to ensure that we and our external service providers respect the regulations regarding data protection.

Definitions

We are required by law to process personal data lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner in relation to the data subject (“lawfulness, fairness and transparency”). To ensure that this is the case, we are providing you as data subject with information about the individual legal definitions that are also being used in this privacy policy:

 

Personal Data

“Personal data” means any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (“data subject”); an identifiable natural person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier or to one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person.

 

Processing

“Processing” means every operation or set of operations which is performed on personal data or on sets of personal data, whether or not by automated means, such as collection, recording, organization, structuring, storage, adaptation or alteration, retrieval, consultation, use, disclosure by transmission, dissemination or otherwise making available, alignment or combination, restriction, erasure or destruction.

 

Restriction of Processing

“Restriction of processing” means the marking of stored personal data with the aim of limiting their processing in the future.

 

Profiling

“Profiling” means any form of automated processing of personal data consisting of the use of personal data to evaluate certain personal aspects relating to a natural person, in particular to analyze or predict aspects concerning that natural person's performance at work, economic situation, health, personal preferences, interests, reliability, behavior, location or movements.

 

Pseudonymization

“Pseudonymization” means the processing of personal data in such a manner that the personal data can no longer be attributed to a specific data subject without the use of additional information, provided that such additional information is kept separately and is subject to technical and organizational measures to ensure that the personal data are not attributed to an identified or identifiable natural person.

 

Filing System

“Filing system” means any structured set of personal data which are accessible according to specific criteria, whether centralized, decentralized or dispersed on a functional or geographical basis.

 

Controller

“Controller” means the natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body which, alone or jointly with others, determines the purposes and means of the processing of personal data; where the purposes and means of such processing are determined by Union or Member State law, the controller or the specific criteria for its nomination may be provided for by Union or Member State law.

 

Processor

“Processor” means a natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body which processes personal data on behalf of the controller.

 

Recipient

“Recipient” means a natural or legal person, public authority, agency or another body, to which the personal data are disclosed, whether a third party or not. However, public authorities which may receive personal data in the framework of a particular inquiry in accordance with Union or Member State law shall not be regarded as recipients; the processing of those data by those public authorities shall be in compliance with the applicable data protection rules according to the purposes of the processing.

 

Third Party

“Third party” means a natural or legal person, public authority, agency or body other than the data subject, controller, processor and persons who, under the direct authority of the controller or processor, are authorized to process personal data.

 

Consent

“Consent” of the data subject means any freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous indication of the data subject's wishes by which he or she, by a statement or by a clear affirmative action, signifies agreement to the processing of personal data relating to him or her.

 

Lawfulness of Processing

Processing shall be lawful only if and to the extent that there is a legal basis for the processing. In accordance with point (a) of Article 6(1) GDPR, a legal basis for processing can be, specifically:

• the data subject has given consent to the processing of his or her personal data for one or more specific purposes;
• processing is necessary for the performance of a contract to which the data subject is party or in order to take steps at the request of the data subject prior to entering into a contract;
• processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which the controller is subject;
• processing is necessary in order to protect the vital interests of the data subject or of another natural person;
• processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller;
• processing is necessary for the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by the controller or by a third party, except where such interests are overridden by the interests or fundamental rights and freedoms of the data subject which require protection of personal data, in particular where the data subject is a child.

Information about the Collection of Personal Data

• In the following, we provide information about the collection of personal data upon the use of our website. Personal data include all data that can be personally referenced to you such as name, address, email address, user behavior.
• Upon contacting us via email or a contact form, we will store the data you share with us (your email address and, if applicable, your name and telephone number) in order to answer your question. We will delete the data collected in this context after the purpose is no longer necessary or will limit their processing if legal retention requirements apply.

Collection of Personal Data During Visits to Our Website

If you visit our website for purely informational purposes, meaning you do not register or provide other information to us, we collect only the personal data transmitted to our server by your browser. If you would like to view our website, we collect the following data which are technically necessary for us to display our website and to ensure its stability and security (legal basis is sentence 1 point (f) of Article 6[1] GDPR):

• IP address
• Date and time of request
• Time zone difference to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)
• Content of the request (specific page)
• Access status/HTTP status code
• Respective volume of data transferred
• The website from which the request originates
• Browser
• Operating system and its interface
• Language and version of browser software

The Use of Cookies

• In addition to the data named above, we store cookies on your computer when you use our website. Cookies are small text files that are stored on your hard drive and attributed to the browser you are using and that transmit certain information to the site that places the cookie (in this case, us). Cookies cannot run programs or infect your computer with viruses. They serve to make our Internet offering more user friendly and effective overall.
• This website uses the following types of cookies, the scope and functionality of which are explained in the following:    
  • Transient cookies
    are automatically deleted when you close your browser. They include in particular session cookies. Session cookies store a so-called session ID that allows different requests from your browser to be attributed to the same session. This makes it possible to recognize your browser if you return to our website. Session cookies are deleted when you log out or close your browser.
  • Persistent cookies
    are automatically deleted after a preset period of time, which can differ from cookie to cookie. You can delete the cookies at any time in the security settings of your browser.
  • You as data subject may configure your browser settings as you like to, for example, block third party cookies or all cookies. We advise you that you may not be able to use all features of this website if you block cookies.

 

Other Functions and Services of Our Website

• In addition to the purely informative use of our website, we offer various services that you can use if interested. You are normally required to provide further personal information, which we use in order to provision the service concerned and for which the data processing principles mentioned above apply.
• We sometimes use external service provides to process your data. These service providers are carefully selected and assigned by us, are bound by our directives and monitored on a regular basis.
• Insofar as our service providers or partners reside in a state outside of the European Economic Area (EEA), we will notify you accordingly in the service description.

 

Children

Our services are generally intended for adults. Persons under the age of 18 should not send personal data to us without the agreement of their parents or guardians.

Rights of the data subject

Withdrawal of Consent

• You as data subject shall have the right to withdraw your consent at any time. The withdrawal of consent shall not affect the lawfulness of processing based on consent before its withdrawal.
• You as the data subject have the right to withdraw of concent at any time by contacting us.

Right to Confirmation and Access

• You as data subject have the right to request from the controller a confirmation of whether personal data about him have been processed. If that is the case, the data subject also has the right to receive, free of charge, information about his personal data that has been stored as well as a copy of that information.

Right of Access

• The data subject shall have the right to obtain from the controller confirmation as to whether or not personal data concerning him or her are being processed, and, where that is the case, access to the personal data and the following information:
  
  • the purposes of the processing;
  • the categories of personal data concerned;
  • the recipients or categories of recipient to whom the personal data have been or will be disclosed, in particular recipients in third countries or international organisations;
  • where possible, the envisaged period for which the personal data will be stored, or, if not possible, the criteria used to determine that period;
  • the existence of the right to request from the controller rectification or erasure of personal data or restriction of processing of personal data concerning the data subject or to object to such processing;
  • the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority;
  • where the personal data are not collected from the data subject, any available information as to their source;
  • the existence of automated decision-making, including profiling, referred to in Article 22(1) and (4) and, at least in those cases, meaningful information about the logic involved, as well as the significance and the envisaged consequences of such processing for the data subject.
• Where personal data are transferred to a third country or to an international organisation, the data subject shall have the right to be informed of the appropriate safeguards pursuant to Article 46 relating to the transfer. We provide a copy of the personal data undergoing processing. For any further copies requested by the data subject, we may charge a reasonable fee based on administrative costs. Where you make the request by electronic means, and unless otherwise requested by you as the the data subject, the information shall be provided in a commonly used electronic form. The right to obtain a copy referred to in paragraph 3 shall not adversely affect the rights and freedoms of others.

Right to Rectification

• You as data subject shall have the right to obtain from the controller without undue delay the rectification of inaccurate personal data concerning him or her. 2Taking into account the purposes of the processing, the data subject shall have the right to have incomplete personal data completed, including by means of providing a supplementary statement.

 

Right to Erasure (‘right to be forgotten’)

• You as data subejct shall have the right to obtain from the controller the erasure of personal data concerning him or her without undue delay and the controller shall have the obligation to erase personal data without undue delay where one of the following grounds applies:the personal data are no longer necessary in relation to the purposes for which they were collected or otherwise processed;
  • the data subject withdraws consent on which the processing is based according to point (a) of Article 6(1), or point (a) of Article 9(2), and where there is no other legal ground for the processing;
  • the data subject objects to the processing pursuant to Article 21(1) and there are no overriding legitimate grounds for the processing, or the data subject objects to the processing pursuant to Article 21(2);
  • the personal data have been unlawfully processed;
  • the personal data have to be erased for compliance with a legal obligation in Union or Member State law to which the controller is subject;
  • the personal data have been collected in relation to the offer of information society services referred to in Article 8(1).
  • Where the controller has made the personal data public and is obliged pursuant to paragraph 1 to erase the personal data, the controller, taking account of available technology and the cost of implementation, shall take reasonable steps, including technical measures, to inform controllers which are processing the personal data that the data subject has requested the erasure by such controllers of any links to, or copy or replication of, those personal data.
  • Paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not apply to the extent that processing is necessary:
    • for exercising the right of freedom of expression and information;
    • for compliance with a legal obligation which requires processing by Union or Member State law to which the controller is subject or for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller;
    • for reasons of public interest in the area of public health in accordance with points (h) and (i) of Article 9(2) as well as Article 9(3);
    • for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes in accordance with Article 89(1) in so far as the right referred to in paragraph 1 is likely to render impossible or seriously impair the achievement of the objectives of that processing; or
    • for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.

Right to restriction of processing

• You as data subject shall have the right to obtain from the controller restriction of processing where one of the following applies:
  • the accuracy of the personal data is contested by the data subject, for a period enabling the controller to verify the accuracy of the personal data;
  • the processing is unlawful and the data subject opposes the erasure of the personal data and requests the restriction of their use instead;
  • the controller no longer needs the personal data for the purposes of the processing, but they are required by the data subject for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims;
  • the data subject has objected to processing pursuant to Article 21(1) GDPR pending the verification whether the legitimate grounds of the controller override those of the data subject.
• Where processing has been restricted under the requirement mentioned above, such personal data shall, with the exception of storage, only be processed with the data subject’s consent or for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims or for the protection of the rights of another natural or legal person or for reasons of important public interest of the Union or of a Member State.
• In order to assert the right to restriction of processing, the data subject may contact us at any time using the contact details provided above.

Right to Data Portability

• You as data subject shall have the right to receive the personal data concerning him or her, which you have provided to a controller, in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format and have the right to transmit those data to another controller without hindrance from the controller to which the personal data have been provided, where:
  • the processing is based on consent pursuant to point (a) of Article 6(1) or point (a) of Article 9(2) or on a contract pursuant to point (b) of Article 6(1) GDPR; and
  • the processing is carried out by automated means.
• In exercising the right to data portability pursuant to paragraph 1, you shall have the right to have the personal data transmitted directly from one controller to another, where technically feasible. The exercise of the right referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be without prejudice to the right to erasure. That right shall not apply to processing necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller.

 

Right to Object

• You have the right to object, on grounds relating to his or her particular situation, at any time to processing of personal data concerning him or her which is based on point (e) or (f) of Article 6 GDPR, including profiling based on those provisions. The controller shall no longer process the personal data unless the controller demonstrates compelling legitimate grounds for the processing which override the interests, rights and freedoms of the data subject or for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.
• Where personal data are processed for direct marketing purposes, you shall have the right to object at any time to processing of your personal data for such marketing, which includes profiling to the extent that it is related to such direct marketing.
• In the context of the use of information society services, and notwithstanding Directive 2002/58/EC, the data subject may exercise his or her right to object by automated means using technical specifications.
• Where personal data are processed for scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes pursuant to Article 89(1), you, on grounds relating to his or her particular situation, shall have the right to object to processing of personal data concerning him or her, unless the processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out for reasons of public interest.
• You as the data subject have the right to withdraw at any time by contacting the respective person responsible.
• Automated individual decision-making, including profiling
• You shall have the right not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing, including profiling, which produces legal effects concerning him or her or similarly significantly affects him or her.
• Paragraph 1 shall not apply if the decision:
  • is necessary for entering into, or performance of, a contract between the data subject and a data controller;
  • is authorised by Union or Member State law to which the controller is subject and which also lays down suitable measures to safeguard the data subject’s rights and freedoms and legitimate interests; or
  • is based on the data subject’s explicit consent.
• The data controller shall implement suitable measures to safeguard the data subject’s rights and freedoms and legitimate interests, at least the right to obtain human intervention on the part of the controller, to express his or her point of view and to contest the decision.

Right to an Effective Judicial Remedy against a Controller or Processor

• Without prejudice to any other administrative or judicial remedy, you shall have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority, in particular in the Member State of his or her habitual residence, place of work or place of the alleged infringement if the data subject considers that the processing of personal data relating to him or her infringes this Regulation.

 

Right to an Effective Judicial Remedy

• Without prejudice to any available administrative or non-judicial remedy, including the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority pursuant to Article 77, you as data subject shall have the right to an effective judicial remedy where he or she considers that his or her rights under this Regulation have been infringed as a result of the processing of his or her personal data in non-compliance with this Regulation.

 

Google Web Fonts

• For uniform representation of fonts, this page uses web fonts provided by Google. When you open a page, your browser loads the required web fonts into your browser cache to display texts and fonts correctly.
• For this purpose your browser has to establish a direct connection to Google servers. Google thus becomes aware that our web page was accessed via your IP address. The use of Google Web fonts is done in the interest of a uniform and attractive presentation of our website. This constitutes a justified interest pursuant to Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR.
• If your browser does not support web fonts, a standard font is used by your computer.
• Further information about handling user data, can be found at https://developers.google.com/fonts/faq and in Google's privacy policy at https://www.google.com/policies/privacy/.

 

Integration of Google Maps

• On this website, we use services provided by Google Maps. This allows us to display interactive maps directly in our website and makes it possible for you to easily use the map function.
• Your visit to our website informs Google that you have accessed the corresponding subpage of our website. In addition, the data named in Section 3 of this Privacy Policy are also transmitted to the provider. This occurs independently of whether you have a user account with Google with which you are logged in, or you have no user account. If you are logged in with Google, your data is directly attributed to your account. If you do not want your data to be attributed to your Google profile, you must log out before activating the button. Google stores your data as user profiles and uses them for purposes of advertising, market research and/or to design the website according to the usability needs of individual users. Such an analysis is carried out in particular (even for users who are not logged in) in order to provide advertising according to users’ accessibility needs and to give other users of the social network information about your activities on our website. You as data subject have the right to object to the establishment of these user profiles, although you must contact Google to exercise this right.
• You will find further information about the purpose and scope of the data collection and its processing by the plug-in provider in the Privacy Statements of the provider. In these statements, you will also find further information about your rights in this regard and settings options you may choose to protect your privacy: www.google.de/intl/de/policies/privacy. Google processes your personal data in the United States, among other locations, and has agreed to be subject to the EU-US Privacy Shield, www.privacyshield.gov/EU-US-Framework.