Data Privacy Policy

Our website may be used without entering personal information. Different rules may apply to certain services on our site, however, and are explained separately below. We collect personal information from you (e.g. name, address, email address, telephone number, etc.) in accordance with the provisions of German data protection statutes. Information is considered personal if it can be associated exclusively to a specific natural person. The legal framework for data protection may be found in the German Federal Data Protection Act (BDSG) and the Telemedia Act (TMG). The provisions below serve to provide information as to the manner, extent and purpose for collecting, using and processing personal information by the provider.

Please be aware that data transfer via the internet is subject to security risks and, therefore, complete protection against third-party access to transferred data cannot be ensured.

Cookies

Our website makes use of so-called cookies in order to recognize repeat use of our website by the same user/internet connection subscriber. Cookies are small text files that your internet browser downloads and stores on your computer. They are used to improve our website and services. In most cases these are so-called “session cookies” that are deleted once you leave our website.

To an extent, however, these cookies also pass along information used to automatically recognize you. Recognition occurs through an IP address saved to the cookies. The information thereby obtained is used to improve our services and to expedite your access to the website.

You can prevent cookies from being installed by adjusting the settings on your browser software accordingly. You should be aware, however, that by doing so you may not be able to make full use of all the functions of our website.

Server Data

For technical reasons, data such as the following, which your internet browser transmits to us or to our web space provider (so called server log files), is collected:

– type and version of the browser you use
– operating system
– websites that linked you to our site (referrer URL)
– websites that you visit
– date and time of your visit
– your Internet Protocol (IP) address.

This anonymous data is stored separately from any personal information you may have provided, thereby making it impossible to connect it to any particular person. The data is used for statistical purposes in order to improve our website and services.

Purpose of Registering

We offer you the opportunity to sign up for our website. The information entered when signing up, as shown in the registration form is collected and stored solely for use by our website. When signing up for our website, we also store your IP address and the date and time you registered. This serves to protect us in the event a third party improperly and without your knowledge makes use of your data to sign up for our site. None of this information is transferred to third parties. Nor is any of this information matched to any information that may be collected by other components of our website.

Newsletter

Our website offers you the opportunity to subscribe to our newsletter. The newsletter provides you periodically with information about our services. To receive our newsletter, we require a valid email address. We will review the email address you provide for the purpose of determining whether you are in fact the owner of the email address provided or whether the actual owner of said address is authorized to receive the newsletter. When subscribing to our newsletter, we will store your IP address as well as the date and time you subscribed. This serves to protect us in the event a third party improperly and without your knowledge makes use of your email address to subscribe to our newsletter. We will not collect any other data. The data thereby collected is used solely for the purpose of receiving our newsletter. No data is transferred to third parties. Nor is any of this information matched to any information that other components of our website may collect. You may cancel your subscription to the newsletter at any time. You will find additional details in the email confirming your subscription as well as in each newsletter.

Contacting Us

On our website we offer you the opportunity to contact us, either by email and/or by using a contact form. In such event, information provided by the user is stored for the purpose of facilitating communications with the user. No data is transferred to third parties. Nor is any of this information matched to any information that may be collected by other components of our website.

Posting Comments

On our website we offer you the opportunity to post comments about individual articles. For this purpose, the IP address of the user/internet connection subscriber is stored. This information is stored for our security in the event the author through his/her comments infringes against third party rights and/or unlawful content is entered. Consequently, we have a direct interest in the author’s stored data, particularly since we may be potentially liable for such violations. No data is transferred to third parties. Nor is any of this information matched to any information that may be collected by other components of our website.

Use of Google Maps

We use the “Google Maps” component of Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043 USA, hereinafter “Google.”

Google sets a cookie in order to process the user configuration and data when the page with the integrated “Google Maps” component is displayed. As a general rule, this cookie is not deleted by closing the browser, but rather expires after a certain time, as long as it is not previously manually deleted by you.

If you do not agree with this processing of your data, you may choose to deactivate the “Google Maps” service and thereby prevent the transfer of data to Google. To do this, you must deactivate the Java Script function in your browser. However, we would like to point out that in this case you will not be able to use “Google Maps” or at least only to a limited extent.

The use of “Google Maps” and the information obtained through “Google Maps” is according to Google’s Terms of Use

http://www.google.de/intl/de/policies/terms/regional.html

as well as the additional Terms and Conditions for “Google Maps”

https://www.google.com/intl/de_de/help/terms_maps.html.

Use of reCAPTCHA

In order to protect input forms on our site, we use the “reCAPTCHA” service of Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043 USA, hereinafter “Google.” By means of this service it can be distinguished whether the corresponding input is of human origin or is created improperly by automated machine processing.

To our knowledge, the referrer URL, the IP address, the behaviour of the website visitors, information about the operating system, browser and length of stay, cookies, display instructions and scripts, user input behaviour and mouse movements in the “reCAPTCHA” checkbox are conveyed to “Google.”

Google uses the information obtained, among other things, to digitize books and other printed matter as well as to optimize services such as Google Street View and Google Maps (e.g. house number and street name recognition).

The IP address provided as part of “reCAPTCHA” is not merged with other data from Google unless you are logged into your Google Account at the time the “reCAPTCHA” plug-in is used. If you want to prevent this transmission and storage of data by “Google” about you and your behaviour on our website, you must log out of “Google” before you visit our site or before using the reCAPTCHA plug-in.

The use of the “reCAPTCHA” service is according to the Google Terms of Use:

https://www.google.com/intl/de/policies/privacy/.

Using PayPal as a payment method

If, while completing your order, you decide to use PayPal as an online payment service, your contact details will be sent to PayPal during the order process. PayPal is a service from PayPal (Europe) S.à.rl & Cie. SCA, 22-24 Boulevard Royal, L-2449 Luxembourg. PayPal assumes the function of an online payment service and trustee, and offers buyer protection services.

The personal data transmitted to PayPal usually includes your first name, last name, address, telephone number, IP address, e-mail address, or other data required to process your order, such as the quantity of articles ordered, the article number, invoice amount, percentage taxes and invoice details, etc.

This information needs to be transferred to process your order using your chosen payment method, mainly in order to confirm your identity and manage your payment and the customer relationship.

Please note the following however: PayPal may also pass on your personal data to subcontractors or other affiliates, to the extent necessary for fulfilling the contractual obligations arising from your order or for processing personal data in your order.

Depending on the payment type you pre-select in your PayPal account, which may include payment by invoice or direct debit, PayPal will transfer the personal data transferred to PayPal to credit agencies. The information transferred serves to identify you and to verify your creditworthiness with regard to the order you have placed. Please refer to the PayPal Privacy Policy for more information on the credit agencies PayPal transfers data to and which data is collected, processed, stored and passed on by PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/de/webapps/mpp/ua/privacy-full

Using Credit Card as a payment method

If, while completing your order, you decide to pay by credit card, we will transfer payment details to our payment partner STRIPE (185 Berry Street, Suite 550 – San Francisco, CA 94107 – Attention: Stripe Legal).

The personal data transmitted to STRIPE usually includes your first name, last name, address, telephone number, IP address, e-mail address, or other data required to process your order, such as the quantity of articles ordered, the article number, invoice amount, percentage taxes and invoice details, etc.

This information needs to be transferred to process your order using your chosen payment method, mainly in order to confirm your identity and manage your payment and the customer relationship.

Please refer to the STRIPE Privacy Policy for more information: https://stripe.com/privacy

Using Amazon Pay as a payment method

Our website enables payment via the payment service provider Amazon Pay (Amazon Payments Europe s.c.a., 38 avenue J.F. Kennedy, L-1855 Luxembourg). This is in line with our legitimate interest in offering efficient and secure payment methods (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO).

In connection with a payment via Amazon Pay, we share the following data with Amazon Pay to the extent necessary for the performance of the contract (Art. 6 para. 1 lit b. DSGVO): First name, last name, address, email address, telephone number, date and time of the transaction, transaction amount, name of the provider, location.

The processing of the data provided in this section is not required by law or contract. Without the transmission of your personal data, we cannot carry out a payment via Amazon Pay. There is always the possibility for you to choose another payment method, for example “Prepayment”.

Amazon Payments Europe reserves the right to carry out a credit check to ensure your willingness and ability to pay. This corresponds to the legitimate interest of Amazon Payments Europe (according to Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. f GDPR) and serves to implement the contract (according to Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. b GDPR). For this purpose, your data will be passed on to credit agencies and online retailers. In addition, your data may be used by Amazon Pay for interest-based advertising and marketing purposes, provided you have consented to this in your account settings https://www.amazon.de /adprefs. We have no influence on this process and only receive the result of whether the payment was made or rejected.

Further information on objection and removal options for Amazon Pay can be found at: https://pay.amazon.de/help/201212490</a >

We will store your data until payment processing is completed. This also includes the time required to process refunds, manage claims and prevent fraud.

Using Direct Transfer / SOFORT as a payment method

If, while completing your order, you decide to use Direct Transfer as an online payment service, your contact details will be sent to Direct Transfer during the order process. Direct Transfer is a service from SOFORT GmbH, Theresienhöhe 12, 80339 Munich, Germany. Direct Transfer takes over the function of an online payment service provider, and allows you to make cashless payments for products and services over the Internet.

The personally identifiable information sent when you make a Direct Transfer usually comprises your first name, last name, address, telephone number, IP address, e-mail address, or other data required for processing your order, including the number of articles ordered, the article number, the invoice amount, percentage taxes and invoice details etc.

This information needs to be transferred to process your order using your chosen payment method, mainly in order to confirm your identity and manage your payment and the customer relationship.

Please note the following however: Direct Transfer may also pass on your personal data to subcontractors or other affiliates, to the extent necessary for fulfilling the contractual obligations arising from your order or for processing the personal data in your order.

In some circumstances, Direct Transfer may transfer to credit agencies the personal data which has been transferred to Direct Transfer. The information transferred serves to identify you and to verify your creditworthiness with regard to the order you have placed.

Please refer to the Privacy Policy displayed during the Direct Transfer payment process to find out which data protection principles Direct Transfer applies when processing your data.

If you have any further questions regarding the use of your personal data, please contact Direct Transfer by e-mail (datenschutz@sofort.com) or in writing (SOFORT GmbH, Datenschutz, Theresienhöhe 12, 80339 Munich, Germany).

Information/Cancellation/Deletion

On the basis of the Federal Data Protection Act, you may contact us at no cost if you have questions relating to the collection, processing or use of your personal information, if you wish to request the correction, blocking or deletion of the same, or if you wish to cancel explicitly granted consent. Please note that you have the right to have incorrect data corrected or to have personal data deleted, where such claim is not barred by any legal obligation to retain this data.