Imprint

Imprint & privacy policy

This privacy policy clarifies the nature, scope and purpose of the processing of personal data (hereinafter referred to as “data”) within our online offer and the associated websites, functions and content as well as external online presences, such as our social media profile (hereinafter collectively referred to as “online offer”). With regard to the terms used, such as “processing” or “controller”, we refer to the definitions in Art. 4 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Responsible

Robert J. Tomsons
Manteuffelstr. 10
45138 City of Essen, (South/East)
Germany

Working spaces

Types of data processed:

Categories of data subjects

Visitors and users of the online offer (hereinafter we also refer to the data subjects collectively as “users”).

Purpose of the processing

Terminology used

“Personal data” means any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (hereinafter “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 (e.g. cookie) or to one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person.

“Processing” means any operation or set of operations which is performed on personal data or on sets of personal data, whether or not by automated means. The term is broad and covers practically any handling of data.

“Pseudonymisation” 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 organisational measures to ensure that the personal data are not attributed to an identified or identifiable natural person.

“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 analyse or predict aspects concerning that natural person’s performance at work, economic situation, health, personal preferences, interests, reliability, behavior, location or movements.

“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.

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

In accordance with Art. 13 GDPR, we inform you of the legal basis of our data processing. If the legal basis is not stated in the privacy policy, the following applies: The legal basis for obtaining consent is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a and Art. 7 GDPR, the legal basis for processing for the performance of our services and implementation of contractual measures as well as responding to inquiries is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b GDPR, the legal basis for processing to fulfil our legal obligations is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. c GDPR, and the legal basis for processing to protect our legitimate interests is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR. In the event that vital interests of the data subject or another natural person require the processing of personal data, Art. 6 para. 1 lit. d GDPR serves as the legal basis.

Security measures

We take appropriate technical and organizational measures in accordance with Art. 32 GDPR, taking into account the state of the art, the costs of implementation and the nature, scope, context and purposes of processing as well as the risk of varying likelihood and severity for the rights and freedoms of natural persons, to ensure a level of security appropriate to the risk.

The measures include, in particular, safeguarding the confidentiality, integrity and availability of data by controlling physical access to the data, as well as the access, input, disclosure, safeguarding of availability and its separation. Furthermore, we have established procedures that ensure the exercise of data subject rights, the deletion of data and the response to data threats. Furthermore, we take the protection of personal data into account as early as the development and selection of hardware, software and procedures, in accordance with the principle of data protection through technology design and data protection-friendly default settings (Art. 25 GDPR).

Cooperation with processors and third parties

If we disclose data to other persons and companies (processors or third parties) as part of our processing, transfer it to them or otherwise grant them access to the data, this will only be done on the basis of legal permission (e.g. if the transfer of data to third parties, such as payment service providers, is necessary for the performance of a contract pursuant to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b GDPR), you have given your consent, a legal obligation provides for this or on the basis of our legitimate interests (e.g. when using agents, web hosts, etc.).

If we commission third parties with the processing of data on the basis of a so-called “order processing contract”, this is done on the basis of Art. 28 GDPR.

Transfers to third countries

If we process data in a third country (i.e. outside the European Union (EU) or the European Economic Area (EEA)) or if this occurs in the context of the use of third-party services or disclosure or transfer of data to third parties, this will only take place if it is done to fulfil our (pre)contractual obligations, on the basis of your consent, on the basis of a legal obligation or on the basis of our legitimate interests. Subject to legal or contractual permissions, we only process or have the data processed in a third country if the special requirements of Art. 44 et seq. GDPR are met. This means, for example, that the processing takes place on the basis of special guarantees, such as the officially recognised determination of a level of data protection corresponding to the EU (e.g. for the USA through the “Privacy Shield”) or compliance with officially recognised special contractual obligations (so-called “standard contractual clauses”).

Rights of the data subjects

You have the right to request confirmation as to whether the data in question is being processed and to request information about this data as well as further information and a copy of the data in accordance with Art. 15 GDPR.

You have accordingly. Art. 16 GDPR, you have the right to request the completion of data concerning you or the rectification of inaccurate data concerning you.

In accordance with Art. 17 GDPR, you have the right to demand that the data in question be deleted immediately or, alternatively, to demand that the processing of the data be restricted in accordance with Art. 18 GDPR.

You have the right to request to receive the data concerning you that you have provided to us in accordance with Art. 20 GDPR and to request its transmission to other controllers.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the competent supervisory authority in accordance with Art. 77 GDPR.

Right of withdrawal

You have the right to withdraw your consent in accordance with Art. 7 (3) GDPR with effect for the future.

Right to object

You can object to the future processing of data concerning you at any time in accordance with Art. 21 GDPR. In particular, you may object to processing for direct marketing purposes.

Cookies and the right to object to direct advertising

“Cookies” are small files that are stored on users’ computers. Different information can be stored within the cookies. A cookie is primarily used to store information about a user (or the device on which the cookie is stored) during or after their visit to an online service. Temporary cookies, or “session cookies” or “transient cookies”, are cookies that are deleted after a user leaves an online service and closes their browser. The content of a shopping cart in an online store or a login status, for example, can be stored in such a cookie. Cookies that remain stored even after the browser is closed are referred to as “permanent” or “persistent”. For example, the login status can be saved if the user visits the website after several days. The interests of users can also be stored in such a cookie and used for reach measurement or marketing purposes. “Third-party cookies” are cookies that are offered by providers other than the controller who operates the online service (otherwise, if they are only the controller’s cookies, they are referred to as “first-party cookies”).

We may use temporary and permanent cookies and provide information about this in our privacy policy.

If users do not want cookies to be stored on their computer, they are asked to deactivate the corresponding option in the system settings of their browser. Stored cookies can be deleted in the system settings of the browser. The exclusion of cookies can lead to functional restrictions of this online offer.

A general objection to the use of cookies used for online marketing purposes can be declared for a large number of services, especially in the case of tracking, via the US website http://www.aboutads.info/choices/ or the EU website http://www.youronlinechoices.com/. Furthermore, the storage of cookies can be achieved by deactivating them in the browser settings. Please note that you may then not be able to use all the functions of this website.

Deletion of data

The data processed by us will be deleted or its processing restricted in accordance with Art. 17 and 18 GDPR. Unless expressly stated in this privacy policy, the data stored by us will be deleted as soon as it is no longer required for its intended purpose and the deletion does not conflict with any statutory retention obligations. If the data is not deleted because it is required for other and legally permissible purposes, its processing will be restricted. This means that the data is blocked and not processed for other purposes. This applies, for example, data that must be retained for commercial or tax law reasons.

According to legal requirements in Germany, storage is carried out in particular for 10 years in accordance with §§ 147 para. 1 AO, 257 para. 1 no. 1 and 4, para. 4 HGB (books, records, management reports, accounting vouchers, commercial books, documents relevant for taxation, etc.) and 6 years in accordance with § 257 para. 1 no. 2 and 3, para. 4 HGB (commercial letters).

According to legal requirements in Austria, storage is carried out in particular for 7 years in accordance with § 132 para. 1 BAO (accounting documents, receipts/invoices, accounts, receipts, business papers, statement of income and expenses, etc.), for 22 years in connection with real estate and for 10 years for documents in connection with electronically provided services, telecommunications, radio and television services that are provided to non-entrepreneurs in EU member states and for which the Mini-One-Stop-Shop (MOSS) is used.

Participation in affiliate partner programs

Within our online offer, we use industry-standard tracking measures on the basis of our legitimate interests (i.e. interest in the analysis, optimisation and economic operation of our online offer) in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR, insofar as these are necessary for the operation of the affiliate system. Below we explain the technical background to users.

The services offered by our contractual partners may also be advertised and linked on other websites (so-called affiliate links or after-buy systems, e.g. if links or third-party services are offered after a contract has been concluded). The operators of the respective websites receive a commission if users follow the affiliate links and subsequently take advantage of the offers.

In summary, it is necessary for our online offer that we can track whether users who are interested in affiliate links and/or the offers available from us subsequently take advantage of the offers at the instigation of the affiliate links or our online platform. For this purpose, the affiliate links and our offers are supplemented by certain values that can be set as part of the link or otherwise, e.g. in a cookie. The values include, in particular, the source website (referrer), time, an online identifier of the operator of the website on which the affiliate link was located, an online identifier of the respective offer, an online identifier of the user, as well as tracking-specific values such as advertising material ID, partner ID and categorisations.

The online identifiers we use for users are pseudonymous values. This means that the online identifiers themselves do not contain any personal data such as names or e-mail addresses. They only help us to determine whether the same user who clicked on an affiliate link or was interested in an offer via our online offer took up the offer, i.e. concluded a contract with the provider, for example. However, the online identifier is personal to the extent that the partner company and we have the online identifier together with other user data. Only in this way can the partner company inform us whether the user has taken up the offer and we can, for example, pay out the bonus.

Amazon partner program

We are based on our legitimate interests (i.e. interest in the economic operation of our online offer within the meaning of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f. GDPR. GDPR), we are a participant in the Amazon EU partner program, which was designed to provide a medium for websites by means of which advertising costs can be earned through the placement of advertisements and links to Amazon.de (so-called affiliate system). This means that as an Amazon partner, we earn money from qualified purchases.

Amazon uses cookies to track the origin of orders. Among other things, Amazon can recognise that you have clicked on the partner link on this website and subsequently purchased a product from Amazon.

For more information about Amazon’s use of data and how to object, please refer to the company’s privacy policy: https://www.amazon.de/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=201909010.

Note: Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or one of its affiliates.

Hosting and e-mail dispatch,

The hosting services we use serve to provide the following services: Infrastructure and platform services, computing capacity, storage space and database services, e-mail dispatch, security services and technical maintenance services that we use for the purpose of operating this online offering.

In doing so, we or our hosting provider process inventory data, contact data, content data, contract data, usage data, meta and communication data of customers, interested parties and visitors to this online offer on the basis of our legitimate interests in an efficient and secure provision of this online offer in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR in conjunction with Art. 28 GDPR (conclusion of contract). Art. 28 GDPR (conclusion of order processing contract).

Collection of access data and log files

We, or our hosting provider, collect on the basis of our legitimate interests within the meaning of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f. GDPR. GDPR, we collect data about every access to the server on which this service is located (so-called server log files). The access data includes the name of the website accessed, file, date and time of access, amount of data transferred, notification of successful access, browser type and version, the user’s operating system, referrer URL (the previously visited page), IP address and the requesting provider.

Log file information is stored for security reasons (e.g. to investigate misuse or fraud) for a maximum of 7 days and then deleted. Data whose further storage is required for evidence purposes is excluded from deletion until the respective incident has been finally clarified.

Online presence in social media

We maintain online presences within social networks and platforms in order to communicate with the customers, interested parties and users active there and to inform them about our services. When accessing the respective networks and platforms, the terms and conditions and data processing guidelines of their respective operators apply.

Unless otherwise stated in our privacy policy, we process users’ data if they communicate with us within the social networks and platforms, e.g. write posts on our online presences or send us messages.

Integration of third-party services and content

On the basis of our legitimate interests (i.e. interest in the analysis, optimisation and economic operation of our online offer within the meaning of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f. GDPR. GDPR), we use content or service offers from third-party providers in order to integrate their content and services, such as videos or fonts (hereinafter uniformly referred to as “content”).

This always presupposes that the third-party providers of this content are aware of the IP address of the user, as they would not be able to send the content to their browser without the IP address. The IP address is therefore required to display this content. We endeavour to only use content whose respective providers only use the IP address to deliver the content. Third-party providers may also use so-called pixel tags (invisible graphics, also known as “web beacons”) for statistical or marketing purposes. Pixel tags can be used to analyse information such as visitor traffic on the pages of this website. The pseudonymous information may also be stored in cookies on the user’s device and contain, among other things, technical information about the browser and operating system, referring websites, visit time and other information about the use of our online offer, as well as being linked to such information from other sources.

Vimeo

We can integrate the videos of the platform “Vimeo” of the provider Vimeo Inc, Attention: Legal Department, 555 West 18th Street New York, New York 10011, USA. Privacy policy: https://vimeo.com/privacy. We would like to point out that Vimeo may use Google Analytics and refer to the privacy policy (https://www.google.com/policies/privacy) and opt-out options for Google Analytics (http://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=de) or Google’s settings for the use of data for marketing purposes (https://adssettings.google.com/.).

YouTube

We integrate the videos of the platform “YouTube” of the provider Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA. Privacy policy: https://www.google.com/policies/privacy/, Opt-Out: https://adssettings.google.com/authenticated.

Instagram

Functions and content of the Instagram service, offered by Instagram Inc., 1601 Willow Road, Menlo Park, CA, 94025, USA, may be integrated into our online offering. This may include, for example, content such as images, videos or texts and buttons with which users can express their liking of the content, subscribe to the authors of the content or our posts. If the users are members of the Instagram platform, Instagram can assign the access to the above-mentioned content and functions to the users’ profiles there. Instagram privacy policy: http://instagram.com/about/legal/privacy/.

Text

All Writings, Texts and Translations are under the Copyright by Robert Tomsons. Another Brands, Coporate Names, Rights, Trademarks and Copyrights etc. are under the Copyrights of the Owners or one of their affiliates. See the Copyright Tags under the Documentation Pages.

Pictures

All Pictures are under the Copyright by Robert J. Tomsons or another Copyright Holders.

Videos

All Videos are under the Copyright by Robert J. Tomsons or another Copyright Holders.

Graphics

All Graphics are under the Copyright by Robert J. Tomsons. For another Works of Graphic Designers.