The responsible party is the natural or legal person who alone or jointly with others determines the purposes and means of processing personal data (e.g. names, email 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 data processing no longer applies. If you assert a legitimate 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. retention periods under tax or commercial law); in the latter case, deletion will take place after these reasons no longer apply.

General Information on the Legal Basis for Data Processing

If you have given your consent to data processing, we process your personal data on the basis of Art. 6 (1) lit. a GDPR or Art. 9 (2) lit. a GDPR, if special categories of data pursuant to Art. 9 (1) GDPR are processed. In the event of explicit consent to the transfer of personal data to third countries, data processing is also carried out on the basis of Art. 49 (1) lit. a GDPR. If you have consented to the storage of cookies or access to information on your device (e.g. via device fingerprinting), data processing is also carried out on the basis of § 25 (1) TDDDG. Consent may be revoked at any time. If your data is required for the performance of a contract or for the implementation of pre-contractual measures, we process your data on the basis of Art. 6 (1) lit. b GDPR. Furthermore, we process your data if this is necessary to fulfill a legal obligation on the basis of Art. 6 (1) lit. c GDPR. Data processing may also be carried out on the basis of our legitimate interest pursuant to Art. 6 (1) lit. f GDPR. Information on the relevant legal basis in each individual case is provided in the following sections of this privacy policy.

Information on Data Transfers to Third Countries

We generally do not use tools on this website that automatically transfer personal data to third countries that are not considered secure under data protection law. A transfer of personal data to third countries (e.g. the United States) may only take place if users actively enable external content or social media elements (e.g. Instagram). In such cases, data processing is carried out exclusively on the basis of your consent pursuant to Art. 6 (1) lit. a GDPR. We would like to point out that the United States is generally considered a secure third country with a level of data protection comparable to that of the EU. A data transfer to the United States is therefore permissible if the recipient is certified under the “EU-US Data Privacy Framework” (DPF) or provides appropriate additional safeguards. Information on transfers to third countries, including the data recipients, can be found in this privacy policy.

Recipients of Personal Data

As part of our business activities, we cooperate with various external parties. In some cases, it is also necessary to transfer personal data to these external parties. We only pass on personal data to external parties if this is necessary for the performance of a contract, if we are legally obliged to do so (e.g. disclosure of data to tax authorities), if we have a legitimate interest pursuant to Art. 6 (1) lit. f GDPR, or if another legal basis permits the data transfer. When using data processors, we only pass on personal data of our customers on the basis of a valid data processing agreement. In the case of joint processing, a joint processing agreement is concluded.

Revocation of Your Consent to Data Processing

Many data processing operations are only possible with your explicit consent. You may revoke consent that you have already given at any time. The legality of the data processing carried out until the revocation remains unaffected.

Right to Object to Data Processing (Art. 21 GDPR)

IF DATA PROCESSING IS BASED ON ART. 6 (1) LIT. E OR F GDPR, YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO OBJECT AT ANY TIME, ON GROUNDS RELATING TO YOUR PARTICULAR SITUATION, TO THE PROCESSING OF YOUR PERSONAL DATA; THIS ALSO APPLIES TO PROFILING BASED ON THESE PROVISIONS. THE RESPECTIVE LEGAL BASIS ON WHICH PROCESSING IS BASED CAN BE FOUND IN THIS PRIVACY POLICY. IF YOU OBJECT, WE WILL NO LONGER PROCESS YOUR PERSONAL DATA UNLESS WE CAN DEMONSTRATE COMPELLING LEGITIMATE GROUNDS FOR THE PROCESSING WHICH OVERRIDE YOUR INTERESTS, RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS OR THE PROCESSING SERVES THE ESTABLISHMENT, EXERCISE OR DEFENCE OF LEGAL CLAIMS (OBJECTION PURSUANT TO ART. 21 (1) GDPR). IF YOUR PERSONAL DATA IS PROCESSED FOR DIRECT MARKETING PURPOSES, YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO OBJECT AT ANY TIME TO THE PROCESSING OF YOUR PERSONAL DATA FOR SUCH MARKETING; THIS ALSO APPLIES TO PROFILING IN CONNECTION WITH SUCH DIRECT MARKETING. IF YOU OBJECT, YOUR PERSONAL DATA WILL SUBSEQUENTLY NO LONGER BE USED FOR DIRECT MARKETING PURPOSES (OBJECTION PURSUANT TO ART. 21 (2) GDPR).

Right to Lodge a Complaint

In the event of violations of the GDPR, data subjects have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority, in particular in the Member State of their habitual residence, place of work or place of the alleged infringement. The right to lodge a complaint exists without prejudice to other administrative or judicial remedies.

Right to Data Portability

You have the right to receive data that we process automatically on the basis of your consent or in fulfillment of a contract in a commonly used, machine-readable format, either for yourself or for a third party. If you request the direct transfer of the data to another controller, this will only be done insofar as it is technically feasible.

Right to Access, Rectification and Erasure

Within the framework of the applicable legal provisions, you have the right at any time to obtain information free of charge about your stored personal data, its origin, recipients and the purpose of the data processing and, if applicable, a right to rectification or deletion of this data. You may contact us at any time regarding this and other questions on the subject of personal data.

Right to Restriction of Processing

You have the right to request the restriction of processing of your personal data. You may contact us at any time for this purpose. The right to restriction of processing exists in the following cases:

• • If you contest the accuracy of your personal data stored by us, we usually need time to verify this. For the duration of the verification, you have the right to request restriction of processing.

• • If the processing of your personal data was/is unlawful, you may request restriction of processing instead of erasure.

• • If we no longer need your personal data, but you require it for the establishment, exercise or defense of legal claims, you have the right to request restriction of processing instead of erasure.

• • If you have objected pursuant to Art. 21 (1) GDPR, a balance must be made between your interests and ours. As long as it has not yet been determined whose interests prevail, you have the right to request restriction of processing.

  • If you have restricted the processing of your personal data, such data may – apart from storage – only be processed with your consent or for the establishment, exercise or defense 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 European Union or of a Member State.

SSL or TLS Encryption

This website uses SSL or TLS encryption for security reasons and to protect the transmission of confidential content, such as orders or inquiries that you send to us as the website operator. You can recognize an encrypted connection by the fact that the browser address line changes from “http://” to “https://” and by the lock symbol in your browser bar. If SSL or TLS encryption is activated, the data you transmit to us cannot be read by third parties.

Objection to Advertising Emails

We hereby object to the use of contact data published in the context of the legal notice obligation for sending unsolicited advertising and information materials. The operators of this website expressly reserve the right to take legal action in the event of the unsolicited sending of advertising information, for example through spam emails.

4. Data Collection on This Website

Our website uses so-called “cookies”. Cookies are small data packets and do not cause any damage to your device. They are stored either temporarily for the duration of a session (session cookies) or permanently (persistent cookies) on your device. Session cookies are automatically deleted at the end of your visit. Persistent cookies remain stored on your device until you delete them yourself or they are automatically deleted by your web browser. Cookies may originate from us (first-party cookies) or from third-party companies (so-called third-party cookies). Third-party cookies enable the integration of certain services from third-party companies within websites (e.g. cookies for processing payment services). Cookies have various functions. Many cookies are technically necessary, as certain website functions would not work without them (e.g. shopping cart function or the display of videos). Other cookies may be used to analyze user behavior or for advertising purposes. Cookies that are required for carrying out the electronic communication process, for providing certain functions requested by you or for optimizing the website (necessary cookies) are stored on the basis of Art. 6 (1) lit. f GDPR, unless another legal basis is specified. The website operator has a legitimate interest in storing necessary cookies for the technically error-free and optimized provision of its services. If consent to the storage of cookies and comparable recognition technologies has been requested, processing is carried out exclusively on the basis of this consent (Art. 6 (1) lit. a GDPR and § 25 (1) TDDDG); consent can be revoked at any time. You can configure your browser so that you are informed about the setting of cookies and allow cookies only in individual cases, exclude the acceptance of cookies for certain cases or in general, and activate the automatic deletion of cookies when closing the browser. If cookies are disabled, the functionality of this website may be limited. Which cookies and services are used on this website can be found in this privacy policy.

Server Log Files

The provider of this website automatically collects and stores information in so-called server log files, which your browser automatically transmits to us. These are:

• • browser type and browser version

• • operating system used

• • referrer URL

• • hostname of the accessing computer

• • time of the server request

• • IP address

This data is not merged with other data sources. The collection of this data is based on Art. 6 (1) lit. f GDPR. The website operator has a legitimate interest in the technically error-free presentation and optimization of the website – for this purpose, server log files must be recorded.

Requests by Email, Telephone or Fax

If you contact us by email, telephone or fax, your request, including all personal data resulting from it (name, request), will be stored and processed by us for the purpose of handling your request. We will not pass this data on without your consent. This data is processed on the basis of Art. 6 (1) lit. b GDPR if your request is related to the performance of a contract or is necessary for the implementation of pre-contractual measures. In all other cases, processing is based on our legitimate interest in the effective handling of inquiries addressed to us (Art. 6 (1) lit. f GDPR) or on your consent (Art. 6 (1) lit. a GDPR), if this has been requested; consent may be revoked at any time. The data you send to us via contact requests remains with us until you request its deletion, revoke your consent to its storage, or the purpose for data storage no longer applies (e.g. after your request has been fully processed). Mandatory legal provisions – in particular statutory retention periods – remain unaffected.

5. Social Media and External Links

Social Media Elements with Shariff

Social media elements are used on this website (currently Instagram). You can usually recognize the social media elements by the respective social media logos. To ensure data protection on this website, we use these elements only together with the so-called “Shariff” solution. This application prevents the social media elements integrated on this website from transmitting your personal data to the respective provider as soon as you enter the website. Only when you activate the respective social media element by clicking the corresponding button will a direct connection to the provider’s server be established (consent). Once you activate the social media element, the respective provider receives the information that you have visited this website with your IP address. If you are logged into your respective social media account at the same time (e.g. Facebook), the respective provider may assign your visit to this website to your user account. Activating the plugin constitutes consent within the meaning of Art. 6 (1) lit. a GDPR and § 25 (1) TDDDG. You may revoke this consent at any time with effect for the future. The service is used to obtain the consent required by law for the use of certain technologies. The legal basis for this is Art. 6 (1) lit. c GDPR.

Instagram

Functions of the Instagram service are integrated into this website. These functions are offered by Meta Platforms Ireland Limited, Merrion Road, Dublin 4, D04 X2K5, Ireland. If the social media element is active, a direct connection is established between your device and the Instagram server. Instagram thereby receives information about your visit to this website. If you are logged into your Instagram account, you can link the content of this website to your Instagram profile by clicking the Instagram button. This allows Instagram to associate your visit to this website with your user account. We would like to point out that, as the provider of this website, we have no knowledge of the content of the transmitted data or how Instagram uses it. This service is used on the basis of your consent in accordance with Art. 6 (1) lit. a GDPR and § 25 (1) TDDDG. Consent may be revoked at any time. Insofar as personal data is collected on our website and forwarded to Facebook or Instagram with the help of the tool described here, we and Meta Platforms Ireland Limited, 4 Grand Canal Square, Grand Canal Harbour, Dublin 2, Ireland, are jointly responsible for this data processing (Art. 26 GDPR). Joint responsibility is limited exclusively to the collection of the data and its transmission to Facebook or Instagram. The processing carried out by Facebook or Instagram after transmission is not part of the joint responsibility. The obligations jointly incumbent upon us have been set out in a joint processing agreement. The wording of the agreement can be found at:

https://www.facebook.com/legal/controller_addendum

According to this agreement, we are responsible for providing the data protection information when using the Facebook or Instagram tool and for the data protection-compliant implementation of the tool on our website. Facebook is responsible for the security of Facebook and Instagram products. Data subject rights (e.g. requests for information) with regard to data processed by Facebook or Instagram may be asserted directly with Facebook. If you assert your data subject rights with us, we are obliged to forward them to Facebook. Data is transferred to the United States on the basis of the European Commission’s standard contractual clauses. Details can be found here:

https://www.facebook.com/legal/EU_data_transfer_addendum

https://privacycenter.instagram.com/policy/

https://de-de.facebook.com/help/566994660333381

Further information can be found in Instagram’s privacy policy:

https://privacycenter.instagram.com/policy/

The company is certified under the “EU-US Data Privacy Framework” (DPF). The DPF is an agreement between the European Union and the United States intended to ensure compliance with European data protection standards for data processing in the United States. Every company certified under the DPF commits to complying with these data protection standards. Further information can be obtained from the provider at the following link:

https://www.dataprivacyframework.gov/participant/4452

External Links

When accessing external links (e.g. to social media platforms or link collections), you leave our website. The respective provider is solely responsible for data processing on the linked pages.

6. Plugins and Tools

Wordfence

This website uses the security plugin “Wordfence” to defend against attacks and to ensure the technical integrity of the website. In particular, IP addresses and technical access data are processed in order to detect and block security-related access (e.g. brute-force attacks). Processing takes place locally on this website’s server. An administrative cloud connection (e.g. Wordfence Central) is not used. Processing is carried out on the basis of Art. 6 (1) lit. f GDPR (legitimate interest in the security of this website). Log data is stored only for as long as is necessary for security purposes and is then deleted.