Data Protection Policy

Fraunhofer Institute for Production Systems and Design Technology IPK

When you use this website, we process your personal data as data controllers and save them for the duration required to fulfill the defined purposes and legal obligations. The sections below provide further details about the data this involves, how they will be processed and which rights you have in this regard.

Personal data, as defined by Article 4 (1) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) include all information related to an identified or identifiable natural person.

1. Name and Contact Information of Controller and Corporate Data Protection Officer

2. Personal Data Processing and Purposes of Data Processing

3. Transfer of Data

4. Cookies

5. Web Analysis/Tracking

6. Social-Media Plug-ins

7. YouTube

8. Rights of the Data Subject

9. Data Security

10. Timeliness and Amendments to this Data Protection Information

 

1. Name and Contact Information of Controller and Corporate Data Protection Officer

This data protection information applies to data processing on our website www.ipk.fraunhofer.de/en by the controller:

Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung e.V.

Hansastrasse 27 c,
80686 München (Munich, Germany)

on behalf of its Fraunhofer Institute for Production Systems and Design Technology IPK

(hereinafter referred to as ‘Fraunhofer IPK’)

Email:   datenschutz(at)ipk.fraunhofer.de
Telephone: +49 30 39006-0
Fax: +49 30 391 1037

The corporate data protection officer at Fraunhofer can be reached at the above-mentioned address, c/o Data Protection Officer or at datenschutz@zv.fraunhofer.de.

Please feel free to contact the data protection officer directly at any time with your questions concerning your data protection rights and/or your rights as data subject.

 

2. Personal Data Processing and Purposes of Data Processing

a)    When visiting the website

You may access our website without having to disclose any details of your identity. The browser installed on your terminal device automatically transmits information to the server of our website (e.g. browser type and version, date and time of access) to enable connection with the website, including the IP address of your requesting terminal device. This information is temporarily stored in a so-called log file and deleted after 4 days.

Your IP address is processed for technical and administrative purposes regarding connection set-up and stability, to guarantee the security and functioning of our website and to be able to track any illegal attacks on the website, if required.

The legal basis for processing the IP address is Art. 6 (1) lit. f GDPR. Our legitimate interest ensues from said security interest and the necessity of the unobstructed availability of our website.

We cannot draw any direct conclusions about your identity from processing the IP address and other information in the log file.

Moreover, we use cookies and analytics services when you visit our website. Further details can be found further below in this data protection information.

b)    When registering for events

We offer a variety of events through our website on a regular basis, e.g. as part of our MEHR KÖNNEN program, for which you may register online.

In order to register online, our website’s visitors have to provide some mandatory data, which generally include:

  • Last name, first name
  • Company (if you are not registering as a private individual)
  • Address
  • Email address.

Any other mandatory data are marked as such (e.g. with *). Further information can often be provided voluntarily.

The purpose of processing the mandatory data is to identify you as event participant, to reserve a spot for your participation, to establish a contractual relationship with you, to provide you before, during and after the event with information that will optimize your participation, and to help us plan and ensure a smooth event experience. If we collect your payment information for events that require payment, the data are needed to process the participation fee. Voluntary data allow us to plan and conduct the event based on participant interest.

After your registration, you will receive a registration notification by email, which you need to confirm to be able to receive the newsletter (so-called double opt-in). This helps us verify that it is actually you who have initiated the registration.

For the registration of our events through our web forms, we work in collaboration with the service provider Mailingwork GmbH, Birkenweg 7, 09569 Oederan (“Mailingwork”). The purpose of the collaboration is to professionally manage online registrations. For this purpose, the entered data is stored on the servers of Mailingwork in Germany.

We have concluded an order processing agreement with Mailingwork. By this agreement, Mailingwork assures that it will process the data on our account in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation and guarantees the protection of rights of the data subjects.

In addition, it may in some cases be necessary within the scope of performance of the contract to transfer your personal data to an external organiser. In connection with an event registration, you will be informed about who the organiser is and whether it is an external organiser. This organiser will process personal data within the scope of the event and especially for the management of participants.

We process data at your request and for the purposes described by Article 6 (1) lit. b GDPR to fulfill the obligations of the participation agreement and precontractual conditions.

We will store the personal data collected in context with the event until the end of the regular limitation period of three 3 years following the end of the year in which the event takes place. We will then delete the data unless we are obligated by law to store the data for a longer period pursuant to statutory safekeeping and documentation obligations pursuant to the first sentence of Article 6(1), point (c) GDPR and in particular pursuant to Sec. 147 AO [General German Fiscal Code]) or unless you have consented to a longer data storage pursuant to the first sentence of Article 6(1), point (a) GDPR.

c)    When subscribing to our Information Service, a newsletter or other email list

Once you have given your explicit consent pursuant to Art. 6 (1) lit. a GDPR, we will use your email address to regularly send you selected information about the work in our Institute and/or on other facilities and/or events of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. The subjects and contents of the selected information are determined by the list you subscribed to.

To receive our newsletter, we ask you to provide us with the following mandatory data:

  • Email address
  • Salutation
  • First name
  • Last name

We need your name and title to address you personally in our newsletter.

You may voluntarily provide additional personal data (e.g. address and telephone number).  We use this data to contact you by telephone or mail (e.g. for press invitations).

Once you have subscribed, you will receive a registration notification by email, which you need to confirm to receive the newsletter (so-called double opt-in). Your email response serves as confirmation that you are in fact the person who issued the subscription.

You may unsubscribe at any time, e.g. via a link at the end of each newsletter.  Alternatively, you may also unsubscribe by email pr(at)ipk.fraunhofer.de or by using the following link: www.fraunhofer.de/de/fraunhofer-newsletter-abmeldung.html.

Once we have received your cancellation of the newsletter subscription, we will immediately delete your email address.

Our service provider, mailingwork GmbH, Birkenweg 7, 09569 Oederan sends our newsletter to your email address on our behalf. mailingwork stores the email addresses of our newsletter recipients on their servers in Germany on our behalf.

Mailingwork uses the data of our newsletter subscribers for the purpose of sending and evaluating newsletters on our behalf. For this purpose, we entered into an order processing contract with mailingwork. By signing this contract, mailingwork agrees to process the subscriber data in compliance with all General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) and to guarantee the rights of all data subjects.

mailingwork assures that personal data is protected in a comprehensive way from unauthorised access. Mailingwork itself does not use the data of our newsletter recipients to write to them or to forward the data to third parties. As reliable email sending service, mailingwork is certified by the Certified Senders Alliance.

d)    Subscription to our PR Distribution List

We will send regular press releases and media information to your email address provided you explicitly consent to joining our PR distribution list as well as to our using your email address for this purpose pursuant to the first sentence of Article 6(1), point (a) GDPR. We ask you for the following mandatory data to complete your PR distribution list subscription:

  • Salutation
  • Last name, first name
  • Email address

We need your salutation and name to address our communications to you personally.

You may also volunteer your company name and/or your media corporation as well as your address. We use your company name and/or the name of your media corporation to identify you as member of the media and to send you invitations by mail.

Once we receive your subscription, we will send you a subscription confirmation email. We need you to reply to this email to confirm that you are indeed the person who wants to subscribe to our PR distribution list (double opt-in procedure). Only after this confirmation will we include you in our mailing list.

You may unsubscribe at any time either by using the unsubscribe link at the end of every press release or announcement or alternatively by email to pr(at)ipk.fraunhofer.de.

Upon receiving your unsubscribe notification, we will immediately delete your email address from our subscriber list.

e)     When using contact forms

We offer the option to contact us via a contact form provided on the website. This involves the following mandatory information:

  • Salutation
  • First and last name
  • Email address.

We require your data to determine who sent the inquiry and to be able to answer and process it. You may volunteer further information, such as company name, subject and content of your enquiry. We use these data to forward your enquiry to the appropriate expert in our institute and to ensure the optimum handling of your enquiry.

This data processing in response to your inquiry is necessary for the purposes of our legitimate interests pursuant to Art. 6 (1) lit. f GDPR.

We will delete the personal data collected by us using the contact form after your inquiry has been processed.

f)    When using the commenting function

Our website gives visitors the opportunity to leave comments on our web content. Your comments will appear with your name underneath the contribution which triggered your comment.

If you want to use the commenting function on our website, we ask you to provide the following mandatory data:

  • Name and
  • Email address

Instead of your name, you may also use a pseudonym/alias. The process requires your email address to send your comment. However, we do not publish your email address together with your comment. We use your email address only to inform you of a reaction to your comment.

In addition, we save your IP address when you leave a comment on our website, which will be deleted after 1 week. This storage period is required so that we can defend ourselves in liability cases against accusations of publishing illegal content.

The processing of data in the course of publishing online comments and user reactions is justified because it is in our legitimate interest to partake in an opinion and information exchange pursuant to Article 6 (1) lit. f GDPR.

The personal data are processed for as long as the comment appears on the website. We will then delete the data.

g)    When using our online shop

We offer purchase order forms for individual publications, e. g. studies, by scientists associated with the Fraunhofer institutes. As part of the order process, we collect the following mandatory data:

  • Salutation
  • First and last name
  • Address
  • Email address

The collecting and processing of these data have the following purposes:

  • To identify you as our contract partner
  • To check the provided data for plausibility
  • To complete the order and invoicing processes

In addition, you may voluntarily provide more data (company name, different billing address, contact information).

We process data at your request and for the purposes described by Article 6 (1) lit. b GDPR to meet the obligations associated with your order and precontractual conditions. In the process, we use your email address to send you an order confirmation. We use all contact information exclusively to handle any inquiries connected to your order.

We will store the personal data collected in connection with your order until the end of the statutory warranty period (2 years, Sec. 438 (1) No. 3 BGB [German Civil Code]). At that time, the data will be deleted unless fiscal retention periods and documentation duties require a longer storage period pursuant to Article 6 (1) lit. c GDPR and in particular pursuant to Sec. 147 AO [German Fiscal Code]). During this storage period (ordinarily ten years after entering into the sales contract), we will reprocess the data solely for audits by fiscal authorities. Any further processing of the data is prohibited.

 

3. Transfer of Data

If we forward personal data collected through websites to processors, we will notify you in this data protection information regarding the respective data processing operation, citing the specific recipient.

Aside from that, we will only forward your personal data if 

  • you have given consent pursuant to Art. 6 (1) lit. a GDPR;
  • this is required pursuant to Article 6 (1) lit. b GDPR for the performance of a contract with you (for example forwarding to shipping companies for the purpose of delivering goods ordered by you, or forwarding payment information to payment service providers or credit institutions in order to process a payment transaction);
  • there is a legal obligation for disclosure pursuant to Art. 6 (1) lit. c GDPR.

The recipients may use the transferred data for the above-mentioned purposes only.

If you have registered for an event, it may be necessary in the course of the contractual performance that your personal data be transferred to an external organizer. The confirmation of your event registration will name the event organizer and inform you whether it is an external organizer. This event organizer will not only organize and manage the event but also process personal registration data.

Pursuant to Article 28 GDPR, our service providers host our websites on servers located in Germany exclusively. The transfer of personal data to countries outside the EU or an international organization is excluded.

 

4. Cookies

This website uses cookies. Cookies are small files that your browser automatically generates and stores on your device (laptop, tablet, smartphone, etc.) when you visit our site. Cookies do not harm your device nor do they contain viruses, Trojans or other malware.

Cookies store information associated with the specific device used. That does not mean that we can directly identify you.

We use cookies for the purpose of making the use of our offers more convenient and pleasant for you. For example, we use so-called session cookies to allow session controls or to save data entries in forms or shopping carts during the session. At the latest, session cookies are deleted when you close your browser.

On the other hand, we use cookies to statistically record the use of our website for the purpose of optimizing our offers for you (see Point ‎4). When you visit our site again, these cookies make it possible for us to automatically recognize that you have already visited our site before. These cookies are deleted after 90 days.

The data processed by the cookies are necessary for the above-mentioned purposes to protect our legitimate interests and those of third parties pursuant to Art. 6 (1) lit. f GDPR.

Most browsers automatically accept cookies. However, you can configure your browser to not save any cookies on your computer or to display a notice before new cookies are saved. Completely disabling cookies may mean that you cannot fully use all functions of our website.

 

5. Web Analysis/Tracking

Our website uses the Leadlab service by Wiredminds GmbH and its tracking pixel technology to analyze user behavior and optimize our site accordingly. The service particularly allows us to identify which companies have visited our site. In so doing we do not obtain any information that may identify you directly.

The use of Leadlab involves cookies and tracking pixels which allow statistical analysis of the use of this website based on your visits. Information, including personal information, about your visiting behavior is stored in the cookie and sent to Wiredminds or is directly obtained by Wiredminds. Wiredminds uses a pseudonym to process the information in a usage profile for the purpose of analysis. The data are anonymized to the extent possible.

Without your specific permission, we neither use the data collected to identify you personally nor will we match the data with personal data pertaining to the pseudonym associated with you.

If IP addresses are collected, they are immediately anonymized after collection by deleting the last number block.

For more information about data protection at Wiredminds, please visit the company’s website.

We process statistical data based on our legitimate interest pursuant to Article 6 (1) lit. f GDPR for optimizing our online offering and our web presence. Wiredminds processes the data on our behalf based on a data processing agreement between us and Wiredminds. This agreement ensures that the data processing on our behalf is consistent with the General Data Protection Regulation and guarantees the protection of the data subjects’ rights.

If you do not want your usage behavior to be recorded and analyzed, you may object by means of an opt-out cookie. It will be set to prevent the future collection of your data when you visit this website. The opt-out cookie works only in this browser and only for our website. It is stored on your device. If you delete the cookies for this browser, you will have to set the opt-out cookie again.

 

6. Social-Media Plug-ins

We use so-called social media buttons (also called social media plug-ins) on our website. These are small icons which you can use to share the contents of our website in your profile on social networks.

If you activate such an icon, a connection is established between our website and the social network. In addition to the contents in question, the operator of the social network obtains further, partly personal information. For example, this includes the fact that you are currently visiting our site.

The social media buttons are integrated using the so-called Shariff solution. This solution prevents your device from establishing a link to the social network merely because you visit a website featuring a social plugin button without clicking on it. This means that information is only transmitted to the social network when you activate the button.

We integrate the following social plug-ins on our website:

a)    Facebook Ireland Limited: Sharing on Facebook

Information is partly transmitted to the parent company Facebook Inc., headquartered in the USA. This company complies with the data protection regulations of the U.S. Privacy Shield and is registered with the U.S. Privacy Shield Program of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

For the purpose and scope of data collection, further processing and use of data by Facebook as well as your related rights and configuration options for protecting your privacy, please refer to Facebook’s privacy policy.

b)    Twitter International Company: Sharing on Twitter

Information is partly transmitted to the parent company Twitter Inc., headquartered in the USA. This company complies with the data protection regulations of the U.S. Privacy Shield and is registered with the U.S. Privacy Shield Program of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Further information on data protection on Twitter can be found in Twitter’s privacy policy.

d)    Xing SE: Sharing on XING

Further information on data protection on XING can be found in XING’s privacy policy.

e)    LinkedIn Corporation: Sharing on LinkedIn

Information is partly transmitted to the parent company LinkedIn Corporation, headquartered in the USA. This company complies with the data protection regulations of the U.S. Privacy Shield and is registered with the U.S. Privacy Shield Program of the U.S. Department of Commerce. Further information on data protection on LinkedIn can be found in the company’s privacy policy.

 

7. YouTube

We use components (videos) of YouTube, LLC, 901 Cherry Ave., 94066 San Bruno, CA, USA (hereinafter “YouTube”), a company of Google Inc., Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View CA 94043, USA, (hereinafter “Google”) in our websites. The implementation is based on Art. 6 (1) lit. f GDPR; our legitimate interest in that case is the smooth integration of the videos and the attractive design of our website.

We use the “privacy-enhanced mode” option provided by YouTube.

When you access a page containing an embedded video, a connection to the YouTube servers is established and the contents are displayed on the Internet page through a notification to your browser.

Pursuant to YouTube specifications, in the “privacy-enhanced mode” your data - especially which of our website pages you visited as well as device-specific information including the IP address - is sent to the YouTube servers in the US only if you view the video.

If you are simultaneously logged into YouTube, this information is assigned to your YouTube member account. You may prevent this by logging out of your member account before visiting our website.

Google complies with the Data Protection Regulations of the U.S. Privacy Shield and is registered with the U.S. Privacy Shield Program of the U.S. Department of Trade.

Further information on data protection in connection with YouTube can be found in Google’s privacy policy.

 

8. Rights of the Data Subject

You have the following rights:

  • pursuant to Art. 7(3) GDPR, to withdraw your consent at any time. This means that we may not continue the data processing based on this consent in the future;
  • pursuant to Art. 15 GDPR, to obtain access to your personal data processed by us. In particular, you may request information about the purposes of the processing, the categories of personal data concerned, the categories of recipients to whom the personal data have been or will be disclosed, and the envisaged period for which the data will be stored. Moreover, you have the right to request rectification, erasure, or restriction of processing, to object to processing, the right to lodge a complaint, and to obtain information about the source of your data if they were not collected by us, as well as about the existence of automated decision-making, including profiling, and, if applicable, meaningful information about the logic involved;
  • pursuant to Art. 16 GDPR, to obtain the rectification of inaccurate data or the completion of your personal data without undue delay;
  • pursuant to Art. 17 GDPR, to obtain the erasure of personal data saved by us unless processing is necessary to exercise the right of freedom of expression and information, to comply with a legal obligation, for reasons of public interest, or to establish, exercise or defend legal claims;
  • pursuant to Art. 18 GDPR, to obtain restriction of processing of your personal data if you contest the accuracy of the data, the processing is unlawful but you oppose the erasure of the personal data, or if we no longer need the personal data while you still require it for establishing, exercising or defending legal claims, or if you have filed an objection to the processing pursuant to Art. 21 GDPR;
  • pursuant to Art. 20 GDPR, to receive your personal data that you have provided to us, in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format or to transmit those data to another controller and
  • pursuant to Art. 77 GDPR, the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority. Generally, you may contact the supervisory authority of your habitual residence, place of work or the registered offices of our organization.
  •  

Information on your right to object pursuant to Article 21 GDPR

You have the right to object, on grounds relating to your particular situation, at any time to processing of your personal data pursuant to Art. 6 (1) lit. e GDPR (data processing carried out in the public interest) and Art. 6 (1) lit. f GDPR (data processing for purposes of legitimate interests).

If you file an objection, we will no longer process your personal data unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds for processing which override your interests, rights and freedoms, or unless the processing serves the establishment, exercise or defense of legal claims.

If your objection is directed against the processing of data for the purpose of direct marketing, we will stop the processing immediately. In this case, citing a special situation is not necessary. This includes profiling to the extent that it is related to such direct marketing.

If you would like to assert your right to object, please send an email to datenschutzkoordination@zv.fraunhofer.de.

 

9. Data Security

All your personal data are transmitted in encrypted format, using the widely used and secure TLS (Transport Layer Security) standard. TLS is a secure and proven standard that is also used, for instance, in online banking. You will recognize a secure TLS connection by the additional s after http (i.e., https://..) in the address bar of your browser or by the lock icon in the lower part of your browser.

In all other regards, we use suitable technical and organizational security measures to protect your data against accidental or intentional manipulations, partial or complete loss, destruction, or the unauthorized access of third parties. We continuously improve our security measures in accordance with the state of the art.

 

10. Timeliness of the Data and Amendments to this Data Protection Information

The further development of our website and the products and services offered or changed due to statutory or regulatory requirements, respectively, may make it necessary to amend this data protection information. You may access and print out the latest data protection information at any time from our website.

Fraunhofer Institute for Production Systems and Design Technology IPK

The following pertains to the use of this website. As the party responsible for data processing (controller), we process your personal data collected via our website and store them for the period necessary to achieve the specified purposes and to comply with statutory requirements. In the following, we inform you about the data we collect and the way we process them. Furthermore, we inform you about your data privacy rights pertaining to the use of this website.

Personal data, as defined by Article 4(1) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) includes any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person.

1. Name and contact information of the person responsible for data processing (controller) and of the corporate Data Protection Officer

2. Processing of Personal Data and Purposes of Data Processing

3. Transfer of Personal Data to Third Parties

4. Cookies

5. Web analysis/Tracking

6. Social Plugins

7. YouTube

8. Your Rights as Data Subject

9. Data Security

10. Timeliness of the Data and Amendments to this Data Protection Information

11. Severability

 

1. Name and contact information of the person responsible for data processing (controller) and of the corporate Data Protection Officer

This data protection information shall apply to the processing of data on our Institute’s website www.ipk.fraunhofer.de/en by the controller, the:

Fraunhofer Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung e.V.

Hansastrasse 27 c,
D-80686 München (Munich, Germany)

On behalf of its Fraunhofer Institute for Production Systems and Design Technology IPK

(in the following referred to as ‘Fraunhofer IPK’)

Email:   info(at)ipk.fraunhofer.de
Telephone: +49 30 39006-0
Fax: +49 30 391 1037

You can reach the Data Protection Officer of the Fraunhofer Institute at the above address c/o Data Protection Officer or at datenschutz(at)zv.fraunhofer.de.

Please do not hesitate to contact the Data Protection Officer directly at any time in case of any questions concerning your data protection rights and/or your rights as data subject.

 

2. Processing of Personal Data and Purposes of Data Processing

a)    During your Website Visit

Every time you visit our web pages, our website servers save your device’s accessing our website in a protocol file. This storage is temporary; our website server saves the following access data until their automated deletion:

  • The IP address of the requesting device, including country of origin
  • Total number of accessed data from this IP address
  • Access date, time and duration
  • Name and URL of the accessed data
  • The data volume transmitted
  • The message whether the access was successful
  • Loading time
  • The browser and operating system used
  • The used device, including monitor/screen resolution
  • The name of the Internet Provider (ISP)
  • The referrer website (referring URL)

These data are processed for the following purposes:

  • To enable the use of the website (connection setup)
  • Administration of the network infrastructure
  • Appropriate technical and organisational measures to ensure IT systems and data security taking into account the state of the art technology
  • To offer user-friendly service
  • To optimize the Internet offering

Legal foundations for the above processing purposes:

  • Processing in response to a website visit pursuant to numbers 1-2 the first sentence of Article 6(1), point (b) (requirement for compliance with provisions of the website user contract)
  • Processing pursuant to number 3, the first sentence of Article 6(1), point (c) GDPR (legal obligation to implement technical and organisational measures to ensure secure data processing pursuant to Article 32 GDPR) and the first sentence of Article 6(1), point (f) GDPR (legitimate interests in data processing for the network and information security) as well as
  • Data processing pursuant to numbers 4 – 5, the first sentence of Article 6(1), lit. f GDPR (legitimate interests). Our legitimate interests in the processing of data are based on our desire to offer user-friendly optimised web pages.

After the set period of 31 days, our web server automatically deletes the above-mentioned data. To the extent that data are processed longer for purposes pursuant to numbers 2 – 5, we will anonymise or delete the data as soon as their storage no longer serves the respective purpose.

Furthermore, we insert Cookies once you visit our website and we use analytical services as well. For more information on the use of cookies and analytical services, please see Sections 4 and 5 of this Data Protection Statement.

b)    Visitor Registration for Events

In context of event registrations or registrations to categories of events as part of our MEHR KÖNNEN program, we collect the following mandatory data:

  • Last name, first name
  • Company (if you are not registering as a private individual)
  • Address
  • Email address.

Furthermore, we may collect additional voluntary data.

The purpose of processing the mandatory data is to identify you as event participant, to check the data supplied for plausibility, to reserve a place for your participation, to establish a contractual relationship with you and to provide you with information before, during and after the event that will optimise your participation, and to help us plan and ensure a smooth event experience.

The collected voluntary data allow us to adapt the event to the interests and ages of the participants.

We process data based on your enquiry and for the purposes declared as prescribed by the first sentence of Article 6(1), point (b) GDPR for the performance of the contractual obligations toward the participants and in order to take steps prior to entering into the contract.

We will store the personal data collected in context with the event until the end of the regular limitation period of three 3 years following the end of the year in which the event takes place. We will then delete the data unless we are obligated by law to store the data for a longer period pursuant to statutory safekeeping and documentation obligations pursuant to the first sentence of Article 6(1), point (c) GDPR and in particular pursuant to Sec. 147 AO [General German Fiscal Code]) or unless you have consented to a longer data storage pursuant to the first sentence of Article 6(1), point (a) GDPR. In case of longer data storage, we shall process the data solely to the extent mandated by law or according to your permission. As for all else, the further processing of the data shall be barred.

c)    Subscriptions to our Information Service

You may subscribe to various online and print media in which we inform you free of charge about our institute and other facilities and events of the Fraunhofer Society (Fraunhofer e.V.).

Only if you explicitly consented to it pursuant to the first sentence of 6(1), point (a) GDPR, we will use your email address to regularly send you the selected newsletter or print media. To receive our newsletters and print media, we ask you to provide us with the following required data:

  • Email address
  • Salutation
  • First name
  • Last name

We need your name and salutation to address you personally in our newsletters and print media.

You may volunteer to provide us with additional information about you (such as your address). We use these data to contact you by mail or telephone (e.g. for press invitations). In order to send out our print media we do need your postal address.

After you have subscribed to our newsletter, we will email a subscription confirmation to you. You must confirm the receipt of this email to receive  the selected newsletter or print media. This procedure is known as double opt-in procedure. Your email response serves as confirmation that you are in fact the person who subscribed to our newsletter. If you want to subscribe only to print media, we need your email address to varify your subscription by double opt-in. Would you like us to delete your email afterwards, please email us at pr(at)ipk.fraunhofer.de.

You may opt out of receiving our newsletter at any time for example via a link at the end of each newsletter. Alternatively, you can also express your desire to cancel your subscription by email at any time: pr@ipk.fraunhofer.de. Once we have received your cancellation of the newsletter subscription, we will immediately delete your email address from our distribution list.

Our service provider, mailingwork GmbH, Birkenweg 7, 09569 Oederan sends our newsletter to your email address on our behalf. mailingwork stores the email addresses of our newsletter recipients on their servers in Germany on our behalf.

Mailingwork uses the data of our newsletter subscribers for the purpose of sending and evaluating newsletters on our behalf. For this purpose, we entered into an order processing contract with mailingwork. By signing this contract, mailingwork agrees to process the subscriber data in compliance with all General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) and to guarantee the rights of all data subjects.

mailingwork assures that personal data is protected in a comprehensive way from unauthorised access. Mailingwork itself does not use the data of our newsletter recipients to write to them or to forward the data to third parties. As reliable email sending service, mailingwork is certified by the Certified Senders Alliance.

d)    Subscription to our PR Distribution List

We will send regular press releases and media information to your email address provided you explicitly consent to joining our PR distribution list as well as to our using your email address for this purpose pursuant to the first sentence of Article 6(1), point (a) GDPR. We ask you for the following mandatory data to complete your PR distribution list subscription:

  • Salutation
  • Last name, first name
  • Email address

We need your salutation and name to address our communications to you personally.

You may also volunteer your company name and/or your media corporation as well as your address. We use your company name and/or the name of your media corporation to identify you as member of the media and to send you invitations by mail.

Once we receive your subscription, we will send you a subscription confirmation email. We need you to reply to this email to confirm that you are indeed the person who wants to subscribe to our PR distribution list (double opt-in procedure). Only after this confirmation will we include you in our mailing list.

You may unsubscribe at any time either by using the unsubscribe link at the end of every press release or announcement or alternatively by email to pr(at)ipk.fraunhofer.de.

Upon receiving your unsubscribe notification, we will immediately delete your email address from our subscriber list.

e)     Use of Contact Forms

We offer our website's visitors the opportunity to contact us via a form on our website. To enable you to communicate with us via this form, we request the following data:

  • Salutation
  • First and last name
  • Email address.

We need these data to find out who contacted us and to process the user request. You may volunteer further information, such as company name, subject and content of your enquiry. We use these data to forward your enquiry to the appropriate expert in our institute and to ensure the optimum handling of your enquiry.

We process the data in response to your enquiry. Our purpose is to answer your inquiry for the purposes of our legitimate interests pursuant to the first sentence of Article 6(1), point (f) GDPR.

Once we have satisfied the enquiry via contact form, we will immediately delete the collected personal data.

f)    Use of the Commentary Functionality

Our website offers visitors the opportunity to leave comments on our web content. Your comments will appear with your name underneath the contribution that triggered your comment.

If you want to use the comment functionality on our website, we ask you to provide the following mandatory data:

  • Name and
  • Email address

Instead of your name, you may also use a pseudonym/alias. The process requires your email address to send your comment. However, we do not publish your email address together with your comment. We use your email address only to inform you of a reaction to your comment.

In addition, we also save your IP address when you leave a comment on our website. We delete this IP address after one week. This storage period is required so that we can defend ourselves in liability cases against accusations of publishing illegal content.

The processing of data in the course of publishing online comments and user reactions is justified because it is in our legitimate interest to partake in an opinion and information exchange pursuant to the first sentence of Article 6(1), point (f) GDPR.

The controller processes the personal data for as long as the comment appears on the website. We then delete the data.

g)    The Use of Online Shops

On our website we offer purchase order forms for individual publications, e. g. studies, by scientists associated with the Fraunhofer institutes. As part of the order process, we collect the following mandatory data:

  • Salutation
  • First and last name
  • Address
  • Email address

The collecting and processing of these data have the following purposes:

  • To identify you as our contract partner
  • To check the provided data for plausibility
  • To complete the order and invoicing processes

In addition, site visitors may volunteer more data (such as the company name, different invoice address and contact data).

Data processing is triggered by your request. It is necessary for processing your order and meeting the conditions for the contract pursuant to the first sentence of Article 6, (1), point (b) GDPR. During this process, we use your email address to send you an order confirmation. We use all collected contact data exclusively to handle any inquiries in context with your order.

We store the personal data collected in context with your order until the end of the statutory warranty period (2 years, Sec. 438(1) No. 3 BGB [German Civil Code]) and automatically delete them afterwards unless fiscal safekeeping and documentation legislation requires a longer storage time pursuant to the first sentence of Article 6(1), point (c) GDPR and in particular pursuant to Sec. 147 AO [German Fiscal Code]). For this storage period (ordinarily ten (10) years after entering into the sales contract), we will re-process the data solely for audits by the fiscal authorities. All other data processing is prohibited.

 

3. Transfer of Personal Data to Third Parties

With exception of the above-mentioned cases of data processing by service providers on our behalf (see event registrations, information service subscription, contact and purchase order forms), we give your personal data only to third parties (i.e. to natural and legal persons other than you, the data subject), the controller or the service provider or its vicarious agents if:

  • You consented explicitly to the data transfer to a third party pursuant to the first sentence of Article 6(1), point (a) GDPR
  • The data transfer is necessary for the performance of the contract with you pursuant to the first sentence of Article 6(1), point (b) GDPR
    • Data transfer to the mail order firm which will deliver the goods you ordered
    • Payment data transfer to payment service providers and credit institutes for payment transactions
  • We are legally obligated to surrender the data to financial or judicial authorities pursuant to the first sentence of Article 6(1), point (c) GDPR
  • Transferring your data to third parties is required to establish, exercise or defend legal claims, and there is no reason to assume that you as data subject could have an overriding interest worth protecting in the non-transfer of your personal data pursuant to Article 6(1) S. 1, point (f) GDPR. Such a data transfer to government and/or law enforcement authorities may occur in cases of attacks on our IT systems.

Third parties may use the transferred data only for the above-mentioned purposes.

If you have registered for an event, it may be necessary in the course of the contractual performance that your personal data be transferred to an external organiser. The confirmation of your event registration will name the event organiser and inform you whether it is an external organiser. This event organiser will not only organise and manage the event but also processpersonal registration data.

Pursuant to Article 28 GDPR, our service providers host our websites on servers located in Germany exclusively. The transfer of personal data to countries outside the EU or an international organisation is excluded.

 

4. Cookies

We use server-side cookies. Cookies are small files which are automatically created by your browser and stored in your device (PC, laptop, tablet, smartphone or similar device) once you visit our website. Cookies do not harm your computer, and they do not containviruses, Trojans or other malware. Cookies contain information pertaining to the specific device, which accessed our website. However, this does not provide us with direct knowledge of your identity.

One reason for us to use cookies is to make the use of our website more convenient for you. We use session cookies to allow session controls such as controls for inserting data into forms or saving shopping carts. At the latest, session cookies are deleted when you close your browser.

We also use temporary cookies to optimise the user-friendliness of our website. Your device stores these cookies temporarily for a specific time. Once you visit our website again, our server will recognise your device as prior visitor and remember your settings and preferences. You will not have to enter these parameters again.

We also use cookies to gather data for our website statistics. This helps us evaluate and optimise our web offering (see Section 5). These cookies allow us to recognise repeat visits from your device. They will be deleted automatically after a specific time.

The data obtained with the help of cookies help us pursue our legitimate interests as website owners and serve the legitimate interests of third parties pursuant to the first sentence of Article 6(1), point (f) GDPR.

Most browsers accept cookies automatically. However, you are able to configure your browser in such a way that the application does not store cookies on your computer or always shows an alert before storing new cookies. However, the complete deactivation of cookies may prevent you from using all of the functions on our website.

 

5. Web analysis/Tracking

For our website, we use the Leadlab service of the Wiredminds GmbH service provider and the company’s pixel counting technology to analyse the habits of our website users. The analysis helps us optimise our website. The service allows us to recognise, which companies visit our website. The data do not enable us to identify users directly.

In context with the Leadlab web services, we use cookies and tag pixels that allow our service to analyse how you use our website. The cookie stores information including personal data regarding the behaviour of website visitors and transmits this information directly to Wiredminds unless Wiredminds collects it directly. Wiredminds uses pseudonyms and anonymises the data whenever possible before processing and analysing the data and creating a user profile.

Without your explicit consent, neither Wiredminds nor we use the so collected data to identify you personally, and your personal data are never matched with data under a pseudonym associated with you.

To the extent that IP addresses are collected, they are stripped of their last control number block upon collection to anonymise the addresses instantly.

You may find the data protection statement of Wiredminds on their website.

The provider processes the data based on our legitimate interest pursuant to Article 6(1), point (f) GDPR in the optimisation of our online offerings and our web presence. Wiredminds processes the data on our behalf, and we have entered into an order processing agreement with Wiredminds. It ensures that the data processing on our behalf is done in compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and that the rights of the data subjects are protected.

If you choose to object to the collection of data and the analysis of your user activities, please use our opt-out cookie to prevent installing our cookies. This will prevent the future collection of data when you use our website.  The opt-out cookie in your device is valid only in this browser and only for our website. If you delete the cookies in this browser, you have to install the opt-out cookie again.

 

6. Social Plugins

We use social plug-ins (media buttons) on our website. These are small buttons. Click on them to place the content of our website under your profile in social network sites.

If you click on such a button, a link will be established between our website and the social network to which you subscribe. Aside from the respective content, the social network provider will receive other personal information. This includes the information that you are visiting our website right now.

In order to integrate the social plug-in we use the so-called Shariff Solution. This solution prevents your device from creating a link to the social network merely because you visit a website featuring a social plug-in button without clicking on it. This means that a link is established only if you click on the social plug-in button.

We integrate the following social plug-in on our website:

a)    Facebook Ireland Limited: share on Facebook

Some information is transferred to the US domicile of the parent company Facebook Inc. This company complies with the data protection regulations of the US Privacy Shield and is registered with the US Privacy Shield Program of the US Department of Commerce.

Purpose and scope of the data collection and further processing and use of the data by Facebook and your user rights as well as your ability to protect your privacy rights by changing your browser settings are subject to Facebook's Data Protection Statement.

b)    Twitter International Company: share on Twitter

Some information is transferred to the US parent company Twitter Inc. The Twitter International Company complies with the data protection regulations of the US Privacy Shield. Twitter Inc. is registered with the US Privacy Shield Program of the US Department of Commerce.

Please find more information on Twitter's data protection in Twitter's Data Protection Statement.

d)    Xing SE: share on Xing

Please find more information on Xing's data protection in the Xing's Data Protection Declaration.

e)    LinkedIn Corporation: share on LinkedIn

Please find more information on LinkedIn's data protection in the LinkedIn's Data Protection Declaration.

 

7. YouTube

With consent pursuant to the first sentence of Article 6(1), point (f) GDPR, we use components (videos) of YouTube, LLC, 901 Cherry Avenue, 94066 San Bruno, CA (USA) (hereinafter referred to as ‘YouTube’), a company of Google Inc., Amphitheatre Parkway, 94043 Mountain View (USA), (hereinafter referred to as ‘Google’).

We use the ‘extended data protection mode’ option provided by YouTube.

Upon requesting an Internet page with embedded video, our website connects to the YouTube servers and renders the content on the Internet page using your browser.

According to the information provided by YouTube, in the ‘extended data protection mode’, your data will be transferred to the US YouTube servers only while you watch the video. The transferred data include the Internet page you just viewed and device-specific data including your IP address. By clicking ‘run’ on the video you agree to this transfer.

Should you be logged into your YouTube account at the same time, YouTube will associate these collected data with your member account. You may prevent this by logging out of your YouTube account prior to visiting our website.

Google complies with the data protection regulation of the US Privacy Shield and is registered with the US Privacy Shield Program of the US Department of Commerce.

You may find further information on data protection in context with YouTube in Google's Data Protection Regulations.

 

8. Your Rights as Data Subject

You have the following rights:

  • Pursuant to Article 7(3) GDPR, you have the right to withdraw at any time any consent you may have given to us before.  Consequently, we may no longer continue the respective activity.
  • Pursuant to Article 15 GDPR, you have the right to obtain information on your personal data which we have processed. In particular, you have the right to information on the following
  • Purposes of the data processing
  • The category of personal data,
  • The categories of recipients to which we disclosed or will disclose your data,
  • The planned storage periods of data,
  • The existence of the right to correction, deletion, restriction of processing and objection,
  • The right to appeal,
  • The right to know the origin of your data in the event that we did not collect these data,
  • The right to meaningful and detailed information on the existence of automated decision-making including profiling and, if applicable, relevant information on the details thereof;
  • Pursuant to Article 16 GDPR, you have the right to obtain without undue delay  the rectification of inaccurate personal data and/or the completion of incomplete personal data in storage at the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft,
  • Pursuant to Article 17 GDPR, you have the right to the erasure of your personal data unless the erasure interferes with the execution of the right to the free expression of opinions and to information, with the compliance with legal obligations, is necessary in the public interest or for establishing, exercising or defending legal claims,
  • Pursuant to Article 18 GDPR, you have the right to restriction of processing of your personal data if you contest or challenge the accuracy of these data, the processing of the data is unlawful but you oppose the erasure of these data and we no longer need the data while you still need the data to establish, exercise or defend legal claims or you have raised an objection against the data processing pursuant to Article 21 GDPR,
  • Pursuant to Article 20 GDPR, you have the right to receive the personal data concerning you in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format or to demand the transmit to another controller and
  • Pursuant to Article 77 GDPR, you have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority. As a rule, you may find such authority at your habitual residence, your workplace or our company domicile.
  •  

Information on your right to object pursuant to Article 21 GDPR

You have the right to object at any time, on grounds relating to your particular situation, to the processing of your personal data pursuant to Article 6(1), point (f) GDPR (data processing for the purposes of the legitimate interests) and Article 6,(1), point (e) GDPR (data processing for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest). This shall also apply to profiling as prescribed by Article 4 No. 4 GDPR, which is based on this provision.

Once you file an objection, we will no longer process your personal data unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds for processing which override your interests, rights and freedoms, or unless the processing serves the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.

To the extent that your objection addresses the processing of data for direct advertising, we will stop the processing immediately. In this case, citing a special situation is not required. This shall also apply to profiling in as far as it relates to such direct advertising.

If you would like to assert your right to object, an email to datenschutz@zv.fraunhofer.en will suffice.

 

9. Data Security

We transmit all your personal data using the widely used and secure TLS (Transport Layer Security) encryption standard. The TLS protocol is a proven and secure standard that is also used in online banking transactions. You will recognise a secure TLS connection by the “s” following the http (https://...) in your browser URL or by the lock symbol in the lower section of your browser.

Moreover, we use suitable technical and organisational safety procedures to protect your data against accidental or wilful manipulation, partial or complete loss, destruction or against the unauthorised access by third parties. We constantly improve these security measures as the technology advances.

 

10. Timeliness of the Data and Amendments to this Data Protection Information

Due to improvements of our website and website offers or by virtue of amended statutory or administrative standards, it may become necessary to amend this data protection information. You may find the latest data protection information by clicking the link on this website: www.ipk.fraunhofer.de/en/data-protection-policy. You may read or print this updated and amended version at any time.

 

11. Severability

Should individual provisions of this data protection declaration be or become invalid either in part or in their entirety or prove infeasible at any time, this shall not affect the remaining provisions. This shall apply accordingly to gaps in this declaration.