Privacy Policy

1. An overview of data protection


General information
The following information will provide you with an easy to navigate overview of what will happen with your personal data when you visit this website. The term “personal data” comprises all data that can be used to personally identify you. For detailed information about the subject matter of data protection, please consult our Data Protection Declaration, which we have included beneath this copy.


Data recording on this website
Who is the responsible party for the recording of data on this website (i.e., the “controller”)?
The data on this website is processed by the operator of the website, whose contact information is available under section “Information about the responsible party (referred to as the “controller” in the GDPR)” in this Privacy Policy.

How do we record your data?
We collect your data as a result of your sharing of your data with us. This may, for instance be information you enter into our contact form.
Other data shall be recorded by our IT systems automatically or after you consent to its recording during your website visit. This data comprises primarily technical information (e.g., web browser, operating system, or time the site was accessed). This information is recorded automatically when you access this website.

What are the purposes we use your data for?
A portion of the information is generated to guarantee the error free provision of the website. Other data may be used to analyze your user patterns.

What rights do you have as far as your information is concerned?
You have the right to receive information about the source, recipients, and purposes of your archived personal data at any time without having to pay a fee for such disclosures. You also have the right to demand that your data are rectified or eradicated. If you have consented to data processing, you have the option to revoke this consent at any time, which shall affect all future data processing. Moreover, you have the right to demand that the processing of your data be restricted under certain circumstances. Furthermore, you have the right to log a complaint with the competent supervising agency.
Please do not hesitate to contact us at any time if you have questions about this or any other data protection related issues.



2. Hosting


External Hosting
This website is hosted by an external service provider (host). Personal data collected on this website are stored on the servers of the host. These may include, but are not limited to, IP addresses, contact requests, metadata and communications, contract information, contact information, names, web page access, and other data generated through a web site.
The host is used for the purpose of fulfilling the contract with our potential and existing customers (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR) and in the interest of secure, fast, and efficient provision of our online services by a professional provider (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR).
Our host will only process your data to the extent necessary to fulfil its performance obligations and to follow our instructions with respect to such data.
We are using the following host:
Host Europe GmbH
Hansestrasse 111
51149 Köln


Data processing
We have concluded a data processing agreement (DPA) with the above-mentioned provider. This is a contract mandated by data privacy laws that guarantees that they process personal data of our website visitors only based on our instructions and in compliance with the GDPR.



3. General information and mandatory information


Data protection
The operators of this website and its pages take the protection of your personal data very seriously. Hence, we handle your personal data as confidential information and in compliance with the statutory data protection regulations and this Data Protection Declaration.
Whenever you use this website, a variety of personal information will be collected. Personal data comprises data that can be used to personally identify you. This Data Protection Declaration explains which data we collect as well as the purposes we use this data for. It also explains how, and for which purpose the information is collected.
We herewith advise you that the transmission of data via the Internet (i.e., through e-mail communications) may be prone to security gaps. It is not possible to completely protect data against third-party access.


Information about the responsible party (referred to as the “controller” in the GDPR)
The data processing controller on this website is:
Christiane Engelbrecht
Schwedlerstraße 2-4
60314 Frankfurt Main
Phone: +49(0)69-943430-25
E-mail:
The controller is the natural person or legal entity that single-handedly or jointly with others makes decisions as to the purposes of and resources for the processing of personal data (e.g., names, e-mail addresses, etc.).


Storage duration
Unless a more specific storage period has been specified in this privacy policy, your personal data will remain with us until the purpose for which it was collected no longer applies. If you assert a justified request for deletion or revoke your consent to data processing, your data will be deleted, unless we have other legally permissible reasons for storing your personal data (e.g., tax or commercial law retention periods); in the latter case, the deletion will take place after these reasons cease to apply.


Information on data transfer to the USA and other non-EU countries
Among other things, we use tools of companies domiciled in the United States or other from a data protection perspective non-secure non-EU countries. If these tools are active, your personal data may potentially be transferred to these non-EU countries and may be processed there. We must point out that in these countries, a data protection level that is comparable to that in the EU cannot be guaranteed. For instance, U.S. enterprises are under a mandate to release personal data to the security agencies and you as the data subject do not have any litigation options to defend yourself in court. Hence, it cannot be ruled out that U.S. agencies (e.g., the Secret Service) may process, analyze, and permanently archive your personal data for surveillance purposes. We have no control over these processing activities.


Revocation of your consent to the processing of data
A wide range of data processing transactions are possible only subject to your express consent. You can also revoke at any time any consent you have already given us. This shall be without prejudice to the lawfulness of any data collection that occurred prior to your revocation.


Right to object to the collection of data in special cases; right to object to direct advertising (Art. 21 GDPR)
IN THE EVENT THAT DATA ARE PROCESSED ON THE BASIS OF ART. 6(1)(E) OR (F) GDPR, YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO AT ANY TIME OBJECT TO THE PROCESSING OF YOUR PERSONAL DATA BASED ON GROUNDS ARISING FROM YOUR UNIQUE SITUATION. THIS ALSO APPLIES TO ANY PROFILING BASED ON THESE PROVISIONS. TO DETERMINE THE LEGAL BASIS, ON WHICH ANY PROCESSING OF DATA IS BASED, PLEASE CONSULT THIS DATA PROTECTION DECLARATION. IF YOU LOG AN OBJECTION, WE WILL NO LONGER PROCESS YOUR AFFECTED PERSONAL DATA, UNLESS WE ARE IN A POSITION TO PRESENT COMPELLING PROTECTION WORTHY GROUNDS FOR THE PROCESSING OF YOUR DATA, THAT OUTWEIGH YOUR INTERESTS, RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS OR IF THE PURPOSE OF THE PROCESSING IS THE CLAIMING, EXERCISING OR DEFENCE OF LEGAL ENTITLEMENTS (OBJECTION PURSUANT TO ART. 21(1) GDPR).
IF YOUR PERSONAL DATA IS BEING PROCESSED IN ORDER TO ENGAGE IN DIRECT ADVERTISING, YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO OBJECT TO THE PROCESSING OF YOUR AFFECTED PERSONAL DATA FOR THE PURPOSES OF SUCH ADVERTISING AT ANY TIME. THIS ALSO APPLIES TO PROFILING TO THE EXTENT THAT IT IS AFFILIATED WITH SUCH DIRECT ADVERTISING. IF YOU OBJECT, YOUR PERSONAL DATA WILL SUBSEQUENTLY NO LONGER BE USED FOR DIRECT ADVERTISING PURPOSES (OBJECTION PURSUANT TO ART. 21(2) GDPR).


Right to log a complaint with the competent supervisory agency
In the event of violations of the GDPR, data subjects are entitled to log a complaint with a supervisory agency, in particular in the member state where they usually maintain their domicile, place of work or at the place where the alleged violation occurred. The right to log a complaint is in effect regardless of any other administrative or court proceedings available as legal recourses.


Right to data portability
You have the right to demand that we hand over any data we automatically process on the basis of your consent or in order to fulfil a contract be handed over to you or a third party in a commonly used, machine readable format. If you should demand the direct transfer of the data to another controller, this will be done only if it is technically feasible.


SSL and/or TLS encryption
For security reasons and to protect the transmission of confidential content, such as purchase orders or inquiries you submit to us as the website operator, this website uses either an SSL or a TLS encryption program. You can recognize an encrypted connection by checking whether the address line of the browser switches from “http://” to “https://” and also by the appearance of the lock icon in the browser line.
If the SSL or TLS encryption is activated, data you transmit to us cannot be read by third parties.


Information about, rectification and eradication of data
Within the scope of the applicable statutory provisions, you have the right to at any time demand information about your archived personal data, their source and recipients as well as the purpose of the processing of your data. You may also have a right to have your data rectified or eradicated. If you have questions about this subject matter or any other questions about personal data, please do not hesitate to contact us at any time.


Right to demand processing restrictions
You have the right to demand the imposition of restrictions as far as the processing of your personal data is concerned. To do so, you may contact us at any time. The right to demand restriction of processing applies in the following cases:
In the event that you should dispute the correctness of your data archived by us, we will usually need some time to verify this claim. During the time that this investigation is ongoing, you have the right to demand that we restrict the processing of your personal data.
If the processing of your personal data was/is conducted in an unlawful manner, you have the option to demand the restriction of the processing of your data in lieu of demanding the eradication of this data.
If we do not need your personal data any longer and you need it to exercise, defend or claim legal entitlements, you have the right to demand the restriction of the processing of your personal data instead of its eradication.
If you have raised an objection pursuant to Art. 21(1) GDPR, your rights and our rights will have to be weighed against each other. As long as it has not been determined whose interests prevail, you have the right to demand a restriction of the processing of your personal data.
If you have restricted the processing of your personal data, these data – with the exception of their archiving – may be processed only subject to your consent or to claim, exercise or defend legal entitlements or to protect the rights of other natural persons or legal entities or for important public interest reasons cited by the European Union or a member state of the EU.


Rejection of unsolicited e-mails
We herewith object to the use of contact information published in conjunction with the mandatory information to be provided in our Site Notice to send us promotional and information material that we have not expressly requested. The operators of this website and its pages reserve the express right to take legal action in the event of the unsolicited sending of promotional information, for instance via SPAM messages.



4. Recording of data on this website


Cookies
Our website only uses a so called session cookie which solely contains a randomly generated session id. A session is used to cache information on the server, e.g. to enhance the performance by reducing repeated database requests. These information are not accessible by anyone and are linked to your browser by the session id. After your visit the session cookie and the linked server session are automatically deleted. You can configure your browser to inform you about the use of cookies so that you can decide on a case-by-case basis whether to accept or reject a cookie. Alternatively, your browser can be configured to automatically accept cookies under certain conditions or to always reject them, or to automatically delete cookies when closing your browser.


Server log files
The provider of this website and its pages automatically collects and stores information in so-called server log files, which your browser communicates to us automatically. The information comprises: The type and version of browser used, the used operating system, referrer URL, the hostname of the accessing computer, the time of the server inquiry, the IP address.
This data is not merged with other data sources.
This data is recorded on the basis of Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. The operator of the website has a legitimate interest in the technically error free depiction and the optimization of the operator’s website. In order to achieve this, server log files must be recorded.


Request by e-mail, telephone, or fax
If you contact us by e-mail, telephone or fax, your request, including all resulting personal data (name, request) will be stored and processed by us for the purpose of processing your request. We do not pass these data on without your consent.
These data are processed on the basis of Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR if your inquiry is related to the fulfillment of a contract or is required for the performance of pre-contractual measures. In all other cases, the data are processed on the basis of our legitimate interest in the effective handling of inquiries submitted to us (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR) or on the basis of your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR) if it has been obtained.
The data sent by you to us via contact requests remain with us until you request us to delete, revoke your consent to the storage or the purpose for the data storage lapses (e.g. after completion of your request). Mandatory statutory provisions - in particular statutory retention periods - remain unaffected.



5. Social media


Facebook plug-in (Facebook Feed)
We have integrated a plug-in of the social network Facebook on this website. The provider of this service is Facebook Ireland Limited, 4 Grand Canal Square, Dublin 2, Ireland. According to Facebook’s statement the collected data will be transferred to the USA and other third-party countries too.
You will be able to recognize the Facebook plug-in by the Facebook logo on this website. An overview of the Facebook plug-ins is available under the following link: https://developers.facebook.com/docs/plugins/.
The Facebook feed is not automatically activated. Only when you click on the preview image or the Facebook logo the plugin is loaded and a direct connection between your browser and the Facebook server is established via the plugin. As a result, Facebook will receive the information that you have visited this website with your plug-in. However, if you click the Facebook “Like” button while you are logged into your Facebook account, you can link the content of this website and its pages with your Facebook profile. As a result, Facebook will be able to allocate the visit to this website and its pages to your Facebook user account. We have to point out, that we as the provider of the website do not have any knowledge of the transferred data and its use by Facebook. For more detailed information, please consult the Data Privacy Declaration of Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/privacy/explanation.
If you do not want Facebook to be able to allocate your visit to this website and its pages to your Facebook user account, please log out of your Facebook account while you are on this website.
The use of the Facebook plug-in is based on Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. The operator of the website has a legitimate interest in being as visible as possible on social media. If a respective declaration of consent has been obtained, the data shall be processed exclusively on the basis of Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR. This declaration of consent may be revoked at any time.
Insofar as personal data is collected on our website with the help of the tool described here and forwarded to Facebook, we and Facebook Ireland Limited, 4 Grand Canal Square, Grand Canal Harbour, Dublin 2, Ireland are jointly responsible for this data processing (Art. 26 DSGVO). The joint responsibility is limited exclusively to the collection of the data and its forwarding to Facebook. The processing by Facebook that takes place after the onward transfer is not part of the joint responsibility. The obligations incumbent on us jointly have been set out in a joint processing agreement. The wording of the agreement can be found under: https://www.facebook.com/legal/controller_addendum. According to this agreement, we are responsible for providing the privacy information when using the Facebook tool and for the privacy-secure implementation of the tool on our website. Facebook is responsible for the data security of Facebook products. You can assert data subject rights (e.g., requests for information) regarding data processed by Facebook directly with Facebook. If you assert the data subject rights with us, we are obliged to forward them to Facebook.
Data transmission to the US is based on the Standard Contractual Clauses (SCC) of the European Commission. Details can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/legal/EU_data_transfer_addendum, https://de-de.facebook.com/help/566994660333381 and https://www.facebook.com/policy.php.


Twitter plug-in (Twitter timeline)
We have integrated functions of the social media platform Twitter into this website. These functions are provided by Twitter International Company, One Cumberland Place, Fenian Street, Dublin 2, D02 AX07, Ireland.
The Twitter feed is not automatically activated. Only when you click the Twitter icon the plugin is loaded and a connection to the Twitter server is established via the plugin. During this process, data are transferred to Twitter as well. We must point out, that we, the providers of the website and its pages do not know anything about the content of the data transferred and the use of this information by Twitter. For more details, please consult Twitter’s Data Privacy Declaration at: https://twitter.com/en/privacy.
The use of Twitter plug-ins is based on Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. The operator of the website has a legitimate interest in being as visible as possible on social media. If a respective declaration of consent has been obtained, the data shall be processed exclusively on the basis of Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR. This declaration of consent may be revoked at any time.
Data transmission to the US is based on the Standard Contractual Clauses (SCC) of the European Commission. Details can be found here: https://gdpr.twitter.com/en/controller-to-controller-transfers.html.
You have the option to reset your data protection settings on Twitter under the account settings at https://twitter.com/account/settings.



6. Plug-ins and Tools


YouTube with expanded data protection integration
Our website embeds videos of the website YouTube. The website operator is Google Ireland Limited (“Google”), Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland.
We use YouTube in the expanded data protection mode. According to YouTube, this mode ensures that YouTube does not store any information about visitors to this website before they watch the video. Nevertheless, this does not necessarily mean that the sharing of data with YouTube partners can be ruled out as a result of the expanded data protection mode. For instance, regardless of whether you are watching a video, YouTube will always establish a connection with the Google DoubleClick network.
As soon as you start to play a YouTube video on this website, a connection to YouTube’s servers will be established. As a result, the YouTube server will be notified, which of our pages you have visited. If you are logged into your YouTube account while you visit our site, you enable YouTube to directly allocate your browsing patterns to your personal profile. You have the option to prevent this by logging out of your YouTube account.
Furthermore, after you have started to play a video, YouTube will be able to place various cookies on your device or comparable technologies for recognition (e.g. device fingerprinting). In this way YouTube will be able to obtain information about this website’s visitors. Among other things, this information will be used to generate video statistics with the aim of improving the user friendliness of the site and to prevent attempts to commit fraud.
Under certain circumstances, additional data processing transactions may be triggered after you have started to play a YouTube video, which are beyond our control.
The use of YouTube is based on our interest in presenting our online content in an appealing manner. Pursuant to Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR, this is a legitimate interest. If a corresponding agreement has been requested, the processing takes place exclusively on the basis of Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR; the agreement can be revoked at any time.
For more information on how YouTube handles user data, please consult the YouTube Data Privacy Policy under: https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en.


Vimeo Without Tracking (Do-Not-Track)
This website uses plugins of the Vimeo video portal. The provider is Vimeo Inc., 555 West 18th Street, New York, New York 10011, USA.
Whenever you visit one of our pages featuring Vimeo videos, a connection with the servers of Vimeo is established. In conjunction with this, the Vimeo server receives information about which of our sites you have visited. Vimeo also receives your IP address. However, we have set up Vimeo in such a way that Vimeo cannot track your user activities and does not place any cookies.
We use Vimeo to make our online presentation attractive for you. This is a legitimate interest on our part pursuant to Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. If a respective declaration of consent was requested (e.g. concerning the storage of cookies), processing shall occur exclusively on the basis of Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR; the given consent may be revoked at any time.
Data transmission to the US is based on the Standard Contractual Clauses (SCC) of the European Commission and, according to Vimeo, on “legitimate business interests”. Details can be found here: https://vimeo.com/privacy.
For more information on the handling of user data, please consult Vimeo’s data privacy policy at: https://vimeo.com/privacy


Google Maps
This website uses the mapping service Google Maps. The provider is Google Ireland Limited (“Google”), Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland.
To enable the use of the Google Maps features, your IP address must be stored. As a rule, this information is transferred to one of Google’s servers in the United States, where it is archived. The operator of this website has no control over the data transfer. In case Google Maps has been activated, Google has the option to use Google web fonts for the purpose of the uniform depiction of fonts. When you access Google Maps, your browser will load the required web fonts into your browser cache, to correctly display text and fonts.
We use Google Maps to present our online content in an appealing manner and to make the locations disclosed on our website easy to find. This constitutes a legitimate interest as defined in Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. If a respective declaration of consent has been obtained, the data shall be processed exclusively on the basis of Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR. This declaration of consent may be revoked at any time.
Data transmission to the US is based on the Standard Contractual Clauses (SCC) of the European Commission. Details can be found here: https://privacy.google.com/businesses/gdprcontrollerterms/ and https://privacy.google.com/businesses/gdprcontrollerterms/sccs/.
For more information on the handling of user data, please review Google’s Data Privacy Declaration under: https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en.


SoundCloud
We may have integrated plug-ins of the social network SoundCloud (SoundCloud Limited, Berners House, 47-48 Berners Street, London W1T 3NF, Great Britain) into this website. You will be able to recognize such SoundCloud plug-ins by checking for the SoundCloud logo on the respective pages.
Whenever you visit this website, a direct connection between your browser and the SoundCloud server will be established immediately after the plug-in has been activated. As a result, SoundCloud will be notified that you have used your IP address to visit this website. If you click the “Like” button or the “Share” button while you are logged into your Sound Cloud user account, you can link the content of this website to your SoundCloud profile and/or share the content. Consequently, SoundCloud will be able to allocate the visit to this website to your user account. We emphasize that we as the provider of the websites do not have any knowledge of the data transferred and the use of this data by SoundCloud.
Data are stored and analyzed on the basis of Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. The website operator has a legitimate interest in the highest possible visibility on social media. If a respective declaration of consent has been obtained (e.g. consent to the archiving of cookies), the data will be processed exclusively on the basis of Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR. Any such consent may be revoked at any time.
Great Britain is considered a secure non-EU country as far as data protection legislation is concerned. This means that the data protection level in Great Britain is equivalent to the data protection level of the European Union.
For more information about this, please consult SoundCloud’s Data Privacy Declaration at: https://soundcloud.com/pages/privacy.
If you prefer not to have your visit to this website allocated to your SoundCloud user account by SoundCloud, please log out of your SoundCloud user account before you activate content of the SoundCloud plug-in.