Privacy Policy

This English version is provided for information only. The German version (Datenschutzerklärung) is legally binding.

§ 1 Information on the collection of personal data

(1) Below, we inform you about the collection of personal data when you use our website. Personal data is any data that can be related to you personally, e.g. name, address, email addresses and user behaviour.

(2) The controller pursuant to Art. 4(7) of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is Qpliance GmbH, represented by Christian Müller and Dr Steven Wuttge, Marie-Curie-Str. 3, 14656 Brieselang, Germany, phone: +49 33232 464743, email: info@qpliance.com (see our Legal Notice).

(3) When you contact us by email or via a contact form, we store the data you provide (your email address, your name and your phone number) in order to answer your questions. We delete the data arising in this context once storage is no longer necessary, or restrict processing if statutory retention obligations apply.

§ 2 Newsletter

(1) You can subscribe to our newsletter on our website. A valid email address is required for this; providing your name is optional and serves solely to address you personally in the newsletter. After registering, you will receive an email asking you to confirm your subscription (double opt-in). Only after this confirmation will your email address be used to send the newsletter.

(2) The legal basis for processing your personal data in connection with the newsletter is your consent pursuant to Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR.

(3) We use the Brevo service (formerly Sendinblue), provided by Brevo GmbH, Köpenicker Straße 126, 10179 Berlin, Germany, to send our newsletter. The data provided when registering (email address and, where applicable, name) is stored on Brevo’s servers in Germany. Brevo uses this information on our behalf to send the newsletter and to evaluate it statistically. We have concluded a data processing agreement with Brevo pursuant to Art. 28 GDPR. Further information on data protection at Brevo is available at: https://www.brevo.com/legal/privacypolicy/

(4) To improve our newsletter, Brevo can track whether a newsletter has been opened and which links have been clicked. These evaluations are anonymised; no personal evaluation takes place.

(5) You can withdraw your consent to the processing of your personal data for the newsletter at any time. You can do so via the unsubscribe link contained in every newsletter or by notifying us at the contact address given in the Legal Notice. After withdrawal, your data will be deleted unless statutory retention obligations apply.

§ 3 Your rights

(1) You have the following rights vis-à-vis us regarding your personal data:

• right of access,
• right to rectification or erasure,
• right to restriction of processing,
• right to object to processing,
• right to data portability.

(2) You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority about our processing of your personal data.

§ 4 Collection of personal data when you visit our website

(1) If you use the website for information purposes only, i.e. if you do not register or otherwise provide us with information, we only collect the personal data that your browser transmits to our server. When you view our website, we collect the following data, which is technically necessary for us to display our website to you and to ensure its stability and security (legal basis: Art. 6(1)(1)(f) GDPR):

• IP address
• date and time of the request
• time zone difference from Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)
• content of the request (specific page)
• access status / HTTP status code
• amount of data transferred in each case
• website from which the request originates
• browser
• operating system and its interface
• language and version of the browser software.

(2) In addition to the data mentioned above, cookies are stored on your computer when you use our website. Cookies are small text files that are stored on your hard drive, assigned to the browser you use, and through which certain information flows to the body that sets the cookie (in this case, us). Cookies cannot run programs or transfer viruses to your computer. They serve to make our website more user-friendly and effective overall.

(3) Use of cookies:

a) This website uses the following types of cookies, the scope and functioning of which are explained below:

• transient cookies (see b)
• persistent cookies (see c).

b) Transient cookies are deleted automatically when you close your browser. These include, in particular, session cookies. They store a so-called session ID, with which various requests from your browser can be assigned to the same session. This allows your computer to be recognised when you return to our website. Session cookies are deleted when you log out or close your browser.

c) Persistent cookies are deleted automatically after a specified period, which may differ depending on the cookie. You can delete cookies at any time in your browser’s security settings.

d) You can configure your browser settings according to your wishes and, for example, refuse to accept third-party cookies or all cookies. Please note that you may then not be able to use all functions of this website.

f) The Flash cookies used are not recorded by your browser but by your Flash plug-in. We also use HTML5 storage objects, which are stored on your device. These objects store the required data independently of the browser you use and have no automatic expiry date. If you do not want Flash cookies to be processed, you must install an appropriate add-on, e.g. “Better Privacy” for Mozilla Firefox or the Adobe Flash Killer Cookie for Google Chrome. You can prevent the use of HTML5 storage objects by using private mode in your browser. We also recommend that you regularly delete your cookies and browsing history manually.

Social media

1. Use of plug-ins

(1) We currently use the following plug-ins: Google Maps and LinkedIn. We use the so-called two-click solution. This means that when you visit our site, no personal data is initially passed on to the plug-in providers. You can recognise the plug-in provider by the marking on the box, showing its initial letter or logo. We give you the option of communicating directly with the plug-in provider via the button. Only if you click on the marked field and thereby activate it does the plug-in provider receive the information that you have accessed the corresponding page of our website. In addition, the data mentioned in § 4 of this policy is transmitted. Activating the plug-in therefore transfers your personal data to the respective plug-in provider, where it is stored (in the USA for US providers). As the plug-in provider collects data mainly via cookies, we recommend that you delete all cookies via your browser’s security settings before clicking on the greyed-out box.

(2) We have no influence on the data collected and the processing operations, nor are we aware of the full extent of data collection, the purposes of processing or the retention periods. We also have no information about the deletion of the collected data by the plug-in provider.

(3) The plug-in provider stores the data collected about you as usage profiles and uses them for advertising, market research and/or needs-based design of its website. Such evaluation is carried out in particular (including for users who are not logged in) to display needs-based advertising and to inform other users of the social network about your activities on our website. You have the right to object to the creation of these user profiles; to exercise this right, you must contact the respective plug-in provider. Through the plug-ins, we offer you the opportunity to interact with social networks and other users so that we can improve our offering and make it more interesting for you. The legal basis for using the plug-ins is Art. 6(1)(1)(f) GDPR.

(4) Data is transferred regardless of whether you have an account with the plug-in provider and are logged in. If you are logged in with the plug-in provider, the data we collect about you is assigned directly to your existing account with the plug-in provider. If you press the activated button and, for example, link to the page, the plug-in provider also stores this information in your user account and shares it publicly with your contacts. We recommend that you log out regularly after using a social network, but especially before activating the button, as this allows you to avoid assignment to your profile with the plug-in provider.

(5) Further information on the purpose and scope of data collection and processing by the plug-in provider can be found in the privacy policies of these providers listed below. There you will also find further information on your rights in this regard and on settings options for protecting your privacy.

(6) Addresses of the respective plug-in providers and URLs of their privacy notices:

a) Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, California 94043, USA; https://www.google.com/policies/privacy/partners/. Google has submitted to the EU-US Privacy Shield, https://www.privacyshield.gov/EU-US-Framework.

b) LinkedIn Corporation, 2029 Stierlin Court, Mountain View, California 94043, USA; http://www.linkedin.com/legal/privacy-policy. LinkedIn has submitted to the EU-US Privacy Shield, https://www.privacyshield.gov/EU-US-Framework.

2. Integration of Google Maps

(1) We use Google Maps on this website. This allows us to display interactive maps directly on the website and enables you to use the map function conveniently.

(2) When you visit the website, Google receives the information that you have accessed the corresponding subpage of our website. In addition, the data mentioned in § 4 of this policy is transmitted. This happens regardless of whether Google provides a user account via which you are logged in or whether no user account exists. If you are logged in to Google, your data will be assigned directly to your account. If you do not want your data to be assigned to your Google profile, you must log out before activating the button. Google stores your data as usage profiles and uses them for advertising, market research and/or needs-based design of its website. Such evaluation is carried out in particular (even for users who are not logged in) to provide needs-based advertising and to inform other users of the social network about your activities on our website. You have the right to object to the creation of these user profiles; to exercise this right, you must contact Google.

(3) Further information on the purpose and scope of data collection and processing by the plug-in provider can be found in the provider’s privacy policy. There you will also find further information on your rights in this regard and on settings options for protecting your privacy: https://policies.google.com/privacy. Google also processes your personal data in the USA and has submitted to the EU-US Privacy Shield, https://www.privacyshield.gov/EU-US-Framework.