We are very pleased about your interest in our company. Data protection is of particular importance to the management of MD Software & Design. A use of the internet pages of MD Software & Design is basically possible without any indication of personal data. If a person concerned would like to use special services of our company via our website, however, the processing of personal data might be necessary. If the processing of personal data is necessary and there is no legal basis for such processing, we generally obtain the consent of the person concerned.

The processing of personal data, such as the name, address, e-mail address or telephone number of a data subject, is always in accordance with the basic data protection regulation and in compliance with the country-specific data protection regulations applicable to MD Software & Design. By means of this privacy policy, our company would like to inform the public about the type, scope and purpose of the personal data collected, used and processed by us. Furthermore, this privacy policy informs affected persons about their rights.

MD Software & Design, as the data controller, has implemented numerous technical and organizational measures to ensure the complete protection of the personal data processed through this website. Nevertheless, Internet-based data transmissions can generally have security gaps, so that absolute protection cannot be guaranteed. For this reason, every person concerned is free to transmit personal data to us by alternative means, for example by telephone.

1. Definitions

The privacy policy of MD Software & Design is based on the terminology used by the European Directive and Regulation Giver when the Basic Data Protection Regulation (DS-GVO) was issued. Our data protection declaration should be easy to read and understand for the public as well as for our customers and business partners. In order to ensure this, we would like to explain the terms used in advance.

We use the following terms, among others, in this privacy policy:

1. Personal data
   Personal data is 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, or one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person.

2. Person concerned
   Data subject means any identified or identifiable natural person whose personal data are processed by the controller.

3. Processing
   Processing is any operation or set of operations, carried out with or without the aid of automated means, relating to personal data such as collection, recording, organisation, organisation, filing, storage, adaptation or alteration, retrieval, consultation, use, disclosure by transmission, dissemination or otherwise making available, alignment or combination, restriction, deletion or destruction.

4. Restriction of processing
   Restriction of processing is the marking of stored personal data with the aim of restricting their future processing.

5. Profiling
   Profiling is any automated processing of personal data consisting of the use of such personal data to evaluate certain personal aspects relating to a natural person, in particular to analyse or predict aspects relating to the job performance, economic situation, health, personal preferences, interests, reliability, conduct, whereabouts or change of location of that natural person.

6. Pseudonymization
   Pseudonymization is the processing of personal data in such a way that the personal data can no longer be assigned to a specific data subject without the use of additional information, provided that this additional information is kept separately and is subject to technical and organizational measures that ensure that the personal data is not assigned to an identified or identifiable natural person.

7. Controller or data controller
   Controller or data controller is the natural or legal person, public authority, agency or any other body which alone or jointly with others determines the purposes and means of the processing of personal data. Where the purposes and means of such processing are determined by Union law or by the law of the Member States, the controller or the specific criteria for its designation may be provided for by Union law or by the law of the Member States.

8. Order Processor
   Processor is a natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body that processes personal data on behalf of the controller.

9. Receiver
   The recipient is a natural or legal person, authority, institution or other body to whom personal data is disclosed, whether or not it is a third party. However, public authorities which may receive personal data in the course of a specific investigation mandate under Union or national law shall not be considered as recipients.

10. Third party
    Third party means any natural or legal person, public authority, agency or body other than the data subject, the controller, the processor and the persons who, under the direct authority of the controller or the processor, are authorized to process the personal data.

11. Consent
    Consent is any freely given, informed and unequivocal expression of will by the data subject in a specific case, in the form of a declaration or other unequivocal affirmative act by which the data subject signifies his or her consent to the processing of personal data relating to him or her.

2. Name and address of the controller

The person responsible within the meaning of the Basic Data Protection Regulation, other data protection laws applicable in the member states of the European Union and other regulations of a data protection nature is:

MD Software & Design
Henri-Spaak-Strasse 176
53347, Alfter
Germany
Phone: +49 228 96105310
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Website: www.md-softwaredesign.de

3. Name and address of the data protection officer

The data protection officer of the controller is:

Olga Shershneva
OS Software & Design
Max-Wallraf-Strasse 7
50933 Köln
Germany
Phone: +49 15221922827
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Website: www.os-softwaredesign.de

Every person concerned can contact our data protection officer directly at any time with all questions and suggestions regarding data protection.

4. Cookies

The internet pages of MD Software & Design use cookies. Cookies are text files which are stored on a computer system via an internet browser.

Many websites and servers use cookies. Many cookies contain a so-called cookie ID. A cookie ID is a unique identifier for the cookie. It consists of a string of characters which can be used to assign Internet pages and servers to the specific Internet browser in which the cookie was stored. This enables the Internet pages and servers visited to distinguish the individual browser of the person concerned from other Internet browsers that contain other cookies. A specific Internet browser can be recognized and identified by the unique cookie ID.

Through the use of cookies, MD Software & Design can provide users of this website with more user-friendly services that would not be possible without the setting of cookies.

By means of a cookie, the information and offers on our website can be optimized in the interest of the user. As already mentioned, cookies enable us to recognize the users of our website. The purpose of this recognition is to make it easier for users to use our website. For example, the user of a website that uses cookies does not have to enter his or her access data each time he or she visits the website, because this is done by the website and the cookie stored on the user's computer system. Another example is the cookie of a shopping cart in the online store. The online store uses a cookie to remember the items that a customer has placed in the virtual shopping cart.

The person concerned can prevent the setting of cookies by our website at any time by means of a corresponding setting in the Internet browser used and thus permanently object to the setting of cookies. Furthermore, cookies that have already been set can be deleted at any time via an Internet browser or other software programs. This is possible in all common internet browsers. If the person concerned deactivates the setting of cookies in the Internet browser used, it is possible that not all functions of our website can be used to their full extent.

5. Collection of general data and information

The website of MD Software & Design collects a number of general data and information with each visit of the website by a person concerned or an automated system. These general data and information are stored in the log files of the server. The (1) browser types and versions used, (2) the operating system used by the accessing system, (3) the website from which an accessing system accesses our website (so-called referrer), (4) the sub-websites that are accessed via an accessing system on our website, (5) the date and time of an access to the Internet site, (6) an Internet protocol address (IP address), (7) the Internet service provider of the accessing system and (8) other similar data and information which serve to prevent danger in the event of attacks on our information technology systems.

When using this general data and information, MD Software & Design does not draw conclusions about the person concerned. This information is rather required to (1) deliver the contents of our website correctly, (2) optimize the contents of our website as well as the advertising for it, (3) to ensure the permanent functionality of our information technology systems and the technology of our website as well as (4) to provide law enforcement agencies in case of a cyber attack the information necessary for prosecution. These anonymously collected data and information are therefore statistically evaluated by MD Software & Design on the one hand and further with the goal of increasing data protection and data security in our company, in order to ultimately ensure an optimal level of protection for the personal data processed by us. The anonymous data of the server log files are stored separately from all personal data provided by a person concerned.

6. Subscription to our newsletter

On the website of MD Software & Design, users are given the opportunity to subscribe to the newsletter of our company. The personal data that will be transmitted to the data controller when ordering the newsletter can be seen in the input mask used for this purpose.

MD Software & Design informs its customers and business partners about company offers in regular intervals by means of a newsletter. The newsletter of our company can only be received by the person concerned if (1) the person concerned has a valid e-mail address and (2) the person concerned registers for the newsletter. For legal reasons, a confirmation e-mail will be sent to the e-mail address registered for the first time by a person concerned for the purpose of receiving the newsletter using the double opt-in procedure. This confirmation mail is used to check whether the owner of the e-mail address has authorized the receipt of the newsletter as the person concerned.

When registering for the newsletter, we also save the IP address assigned by the Internet service provider (ISP) of the computer system used by the person concerned at the time of registration as well as the date and time of registration. The collection of this data is necessary in order to be able to trace the (possible) misuse of a data subject's e-mail address at a later date and therefore serves to provide legal protection for the data controller.

The personal data collected during registration for the newsletter will be used exclusively for sending our newsletter. In addition, subscribers to the newsletter could be informed by e-mail if this is necessary for the operation of the newsletter service or for registration, as might be the case if there are changes to the newsletter offer or if technical conditions change. The personal data collected within the scope of the newsletter service will not be passed on to third parties. The subscription to our newsletter can be cancelled by the person concerned at any time. The consent to the storage of personal data, which the person concerned has given us for the newsletter service, can be revoked at any time. For the purpose of revoking the consent, a corresponding link is included in every newsletter. It is also possible to unsubscribe from the newsletter at any time directly on the website of the data controller or to inform the data controller in another way.

7. Newsletter tracking

The newsletters of MD Software & Design contain so-called counting pixels. A tracking pixel is a miniature graphic embedded in such e-mails sent in HTML format to allow log file recording and log file analysis. This enables a statistical evaluation of the success or failure of online marketing campaigns. By means of the embedded pixel-code, MD Software & Design can recognize whether and when an e-mail was opened by an affected person and which links in the e-mail were called up by the affected person.

Personal data collected via the tracking pixels contained in the newsletters are stored and evaluated by the data controller in order to optimize the newsletter dispatch and to adapt the content of future newsletters even better to the interests of the data subject. This personal data is not passed on to third parties. Affected persons are entitled to revoke the separate declaration of consent submitted in this regard via the double opt-in procedure at any time. After revocation, these personal data will be deleted by the data controller. MD Software & Design automatically interprets a cancellation of receipt of the newsletter as a revocation.

8. Contact possibility via the website

The website of MD Software & Design contains, due to legal regulations, information that allows a quick electronic contact to our company as well as a direct communication with us, which also includes a general address of the so-called electronic mail (e-mail address). If a data subject contacts the data controller by e-mail or via a contact form, the personal data transmitted by the data subject is automatically stored. Such personal data transmitted voluntarily by a data subject to the data controller are stored for the purposes of processing or contacting the data subject. This personal data is not disclosed to third parties.

9. Routine deletion and blocking of personal data

The data controller processes and stores personal data of the data subject only for the time necessary to achieve the purpose of storage or if provided for by the European Directives and Regulations or by any other law or regulation to which the data controller is subject.

If the purpose of storage ceases to apply or if a storage period prescribed by the European Directive and Regulation Giver or any other competent legislator expires, the personal data will be blocked or deleted as a matter of routine and in accordance with legal requirements.

10. Rights of the data subject

1. Right to confirmation
   Every data subject has the right, granted by the European Directives and Regulations, to obtain confirmation from the controller as to whether personal data relating to him are being processed. If a data subject wishes to exercise this right of confirmation, he or she may at any time contact an employee of the data controller.

2. Right to information
   Every person affected by the processing of personal data has the right, granted by the European Directive and Regulation Giver, to obtain at any time and free of charge information from the data controller about the personal data stored about him and a copy of this information. Furthermore, the European Directive and Regulation Giver has granted the data subject access to the following information:

   • the processing purposes
   • the categories of personal data processed
   • the recipients or categories of recipients to whom the personal data have been or will be disclosed, in particular to recipients in third countries or to international organizations
   • if possible, the planned duration for which the personal data will be stored or, if this is not possible, the criteria for determining this duration
   • the existence of a right of rectification or erasure of personal data concerning him or her or of a restriction on processing by the controller or a right to object to such processing
   • the existence of a right of appeal to a supervisory authority
   • if the personal data is not collected from the data subject: All available information about the origin of the data
   • the existence of automated decision-making, including profiling, pursuant to Article 22 (1) and (4) of the DPA and, at least in these cases, meaningful information about the logic involved and the scope and intended impact of such processing on the data subject

   Remote, the data subject has the right to be informed whether personal data has been transferred to a third country or to an international organization. If this is the case, the data subject shall also have the right to be informed about the appropriate guarantees in connection with the transfer.

   If a data subject wishes to exercise this right of access, he/she may contact an employee of the data controller at any time.

3. Right of rectification
   Processor is a natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body that processes personal data on behalf of the controller. Furthermore, the data subject has the right to request the completion of incomplete personal data, also by means of a supplementary declaration, taking into account the purposes of the processing.
   If a data subject wishes to exercise this right of rectification, he/she may at any time contact an employee of the data controller.

4. Right of deletion (right to be forgotten)
   Any person affected by the processing of personal data has the right, granted by the European Directives and Regulations, to obtain from the controller the immediate erasure of the personal data concerning him/her, if one of the following reasons applies and if the processing is not necessary:

   • Personal data has been collected or otherwise processed for purposes for which it is no longer necessary.
   • The data subject withdraws the consent on which the processing was based pursuant to Art. 6 paragraph 1 letter a DPA or Art. 9 paragraph 2 letter a DPA, and there is no other legal basis for the processing.
   • The data subject lodges an objection to the processing pursuant to Art. 21 (1) DPA, and there are no legitimate reasons for the processing, or the data subject lodges an objection to the processing pursuant to Art. 21 (2) DPA.
   • Personal data were processed unlawfully.
   • The deletion of personal data is necessary to comply with a legal obligation under Union law or the law of the Member States to which the controller is subject.
   • The personal data was collected in relation to information society services offered in accordance with Art. 8 Paragraph 1 DS-GVO.

   If any of the above reasons apply and a data subject wishes to request the deletion of personal data stored by MD Software & Design, he/she may contact an employee of the data controller at any time. The employee of MD Software & Design will ensure that the request for deletion is complied with immediately.

   Personal data has been made public by MD Software & Design and is our company's responsibility according to art. 17 paragraph. 1 DS-GVO, MD Software & Design, taking into account the available technology and the implementation costs, takes reasonable measures, including technical measures, to inform other data controllers who process the published personal data that the data subject has requested that these other data controllers delete all links to this personal data or copies or replications of this personal data, unless the processing is necessary. The employee of MD Software & Design will arrange the necessary in individual cases.

5. Right to limit processing
   Any person affected by the processing of personal data has the right, granted by the European Directives and Regulations, to request the controller to limit the processing if one of the following conditions is met:

   • The accuracy of the personal data is contested by the data subject, for a period of time that allows the data controller to verify the accuracy of the personal data.
   • The processing is unlawful, the data subject refuses to have his/her personal data deleted and instead requests that the use of his/her personal data be restricted.
   • The controller no longer needs the personal data for the purposes of the processing, but the data subject needs it in order to exercise or defend his rights.
   • The data subject has lodged an objection to the processing in accordance with Art. 21 (1) of the DPA and it is not yet clear whether the legitimate reasons of the controller outweigh those of the data subject.

   If one of the above conditions is met and a data subject wishes to request the restriction of personal data stored by MD Software & Design, he/she may contact an employee of the data controller at any time. The employee of MD Software & Design will arrange for the limitation of the processing.

6. Right to data transferability
   Any person affected by the processing of personal data has the right, granted by the European Directives and Regulations, to receive the personal data concerning him/her, which have been provided by the data subject to a data controller, in a structured, common and machine-readable format. He/she also has the right to have this data communicated to another controller without hindrance by the controller to whom the personal data has been made available, provided that the processing is based on the consent pursuant to Art. 6 paragraph 1 letter a DPA or Art. 9 paragraph 2 letter a DPA or on a contract pursuant to Art. 6 paragraph 1 letter b DPA and that the processing is carried out with the aid of automated procedures, unless the processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller.
   Farthermore, when exercising his or her right to data transferability in accordance with Art. 20 Paragraph 1 DS-GVO, the data subject has the right to obtain that the personal data be transferred directly from one controller to another controller, insofar as this is technically feasible and provided that this does not adversely affect the rights and freedoms of other persons.
   In order to exercise the right to data transferability, the data subject may at any time contact an employee of MD Software & Design.

7. Right of objection
   Every person affected by the processing of personal data has the right, granted by the European Directive and Regulation Giver, to object at any time, for reasons arising from his or her particular situation, to the processing of personal data concerning him or her that is carried out on the basis of Art. 6(1)(e) or (f) of the DPA. This also applies to profiling based on these provisions.
   MD Software & Design no longer processes personal data in the event of an objection, unless we can demonstrate compelling reasons for processing worthy of protection that outweigh the interests, rights and freedoms of the data subject, or the processing serves to assert, exercise or defend legal claims.
   If MD Software & Design processes personal data for the purpose of direct marketing, the data subject has the right to object at any time to the processing of personal data for the purpose of such marketing. This also applies to profiling, insofar as it is connected with such direct advertising. If the data subject objects to MD Software & Design processing for the purposes of direct marketing, MD Software & Design will no longer process the personal data for these purposes.
   In addition, the data subject has the right to object, for reasons arising from his particular situation, to the processing of personal data concerning him that is carried out by MD Software & Design for scientific or historical research purposes or for statistical purposes in accordance with Art. The data subject has the right to object to the processing of personal data that is carried out by MD Software & Design for scientific or historical research purposes or for statistical purposes in accordance with Art. 89 paragraph 1 of the DPA, unless such processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest.
   To exercise the right to object, the data subject may directly contact any employee of MD Software & Design or any other employee. The data subject is also free to exercise his or her right of objection in connection with the use of information society services, notwithstanding Directive 2002/58/EC, by means of automated procedures involving technical specifications.

8. Automated decisions in individual cases including profiling
   Every person concerned by the processing of personal data has the right, granted by the European Directives and Regulations, not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing, including profiling, which produces legal effects concerning him or her or significantly affects him or her in a similar way, provided that the decision (1) is not necessary for the conclusion or performance of a contract between the data subject and the controller, or (2) is authorised by Union or national legislation to which the controller is subject and such legislation provides for adequate safeguards of the rights and freedoms and legitimate interests of the data subject, or (3) is taken with the explicit consent of the data subject.
   If the decision is (1) necessary for the conclusion or performance of a contract between the data subject and the data controller or (2) with the express consent of the data subject, MD Software & Design shall take reasonable measures to safeguard the rights and freedoms and legitimate interests of the data subject, including at least the right to obtain the intervention of a person from the data controller, to express his point of view and to challenge the decision.
   If the data subject wishes to exercise rights relating to automated decisions, he or she may at any time contact a member of the staff of the data controller.

9. Right to revoke a data protection consent
   Every person affected by the processing of personal data has the right granted by the European Directives and Regulations to revoke his or her consent to the processing of personal data at any time.
   If the person concerned wishes to exercise his or her right to revoke consent, he or she may contact an employee of the data controller at any time.

11. Data protection for applications and the application process

The data controller collects and processes the personal data of applicants for the purpose of processing the application procedure. The processing may also be carried out by electronic means. This is particularly the case if an applicant submits relevant application documents to the data controller electronically, for example by e-mail or via a web form on the website. If the data controller concludes an employment contract with an applicant, the transmitted data is stored for the purpose of processing the employment relationship in compliance with the statutory provisions. If the data controller does not conclude an employment contract with the applicant, the application documents will be automatically deleted two months after notification of the rejection decision, unless deletion is contrary to any other legitimate interests of the data controller. Other legitimate interests in this sense include, for example, a duty of proof in proceedings under the General Equal Treatment Act (AGG).

12. Privacy policy on the use of Facebook

The data controller has integrated components of the company Facebook on this website. Facebook is a social network.

A social network is a social meeting place operated on the Internet, an online community that generally enables users to communicate with each other and interact in virtual space. A social network can serve as a platform for the exchange of opinions and experiences or enables the Internet community to provide personal or company-related information. Facebook enables users of the social network to create private profiles, upload photos and network via friend requests, among other things.

Operating company of Facebook is Facebook, Inc., 1 Hacker Way, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA. If a data subject lives outside the USA or Canada, the person responsible for processing personal data is Facebook Ireland Ltd, 4 Grand Canal Square, Grand Canal Harbour, Dublin 2, Ireland.

Every time the data controller calls up one of the individual pages of this Internet site, which is operated by the data controller and on which a Facebook component (Facebook plug-in) has been integrated, the Internet browser on the IT system of the data subject is automatically prompted by the respective Facebook component to download a representation of the corresponding Facebook component from Facebook. A complete overview of all Facebook plug-ins can be found at developers.facebook.com/docs/plugins/?locale=en_DE. In the course of this technical procedure, Facebook is informed which specific subpage of our website is visited by the person concerned.

If the person concerned is logged on to Facebook at the same time, Facebook recognizes which specific subpage of our website the person concerned is visiting each time the person concerned calls up our website and for the entire duration of their stay on our website. This information is collected by the Facebook component and assigned by Facebook to the respective Facebook account of the person concerned. If the person concerned clicks on one of the Facebook buttons integrated on our website, for example the "Like" button, or if the person concerned makes a comment, Facebook assigns this information to the personal Facebook user account of the person concerned and stores this personal data.

Facebook always receives information via the Facebook component that the data subject has visited our website if the data subject is logged in to Facebook at the same time when he or she calls up our website; this takes place regardless of whether the data subject clicks on the Facebook component or not. If the data subject does not want this information to be transmitted to Facebook, he or she can prevent the transmission by logging out of his or her Facebook account before accessing our website.

The data policy published by Facebook, which can be accessed at https://de-de.facebook.com/about/privacy/, provides information about the collection, processing and use of personal data by Facebook. It also explains which setting options Facebook offers to protect the privacy of the person concerned. In addition, various applications are available that make it possible to suppress data transmission to Facebook. Such applications can be used by the data subject to suppress a data transfer to Facebook.

13. Privacy policy on the use and application of Google AdSense

The data controller has integrated Google AdSense on this website. Google AdSense is an online service that enables the placement of advertising on third-party sites. Google AdSense is based on an algorithm that selects the ads displayed on third-party sites according to the content of the respective third-party site. Google AdSense allows an interest-based targeting of the Internet user, which is implemented by generating individual user profiles.

Operator of the Google AdSense component is Alphabet Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Pkwy, Mountain View, CA 94043-1351, USA.

The purpose of the Google AdSense component is to integrate advertisements on our website. Google AdSense sets a cookie on the information technology system of the person concerned. What cookies are, was already explained above. By setting this cookie, Alphabet Inc. is able to analyze the use of our website. Each time the data controller accesses one of the individual pages of this website, which is operated by the data controller and on which a Google AdSense component has been integrated, the Internet browser on the data subject's information technology system is automatically prompted by the respective Google AdSense component to transmit data to Alphabet Inc. for the purposes of online advertising and the billing of commissions. As part of this technical process, Alphabet Inc. obtains knowledge of personal data, such as the IP address of the person concerned, which is used by Alphabet Inc. among other things to trace the origin of visitors and clicks and subsequently to enable commission invoicing.

The person concerned can prevent the setting of cookies by our website, as already described above, at any time by means of a corresponding setting in the Internet browser used and thus permanently object to the setting of cookies. Such a setting on the Internet browser used would also prevent Alphabet Inc. from setting a cookie on the data subject's information technology system. Furthermore, a cookie already set by Alphabet Inc. can be deleted at any time via the Internet browser or other software programs.

Google AdSense also uses so-called counting pixels. A tracking pixel is a miniature graphic embedded in Internet pages to enable log file recording and log file analysis, which enables statistical evaluation. The embedded pixel-code enables Alphabet Inc. to recognize whether and when an Internet page was opened by a person and which links were clicked on by the person concerned. Counting pixels are used, among other things, to evaluate the flow of visitors to an Internet page.

About Google AdSense, personal data and information, which includes the IP address and is necessary for the collection and billing of the ads displayed, is transferred to Alphabet Inc. in the United States of America. This personal data is stored and processed in the United States of America. Under certain circumstances, Alphabet Inc. may pass on this personal data collected via the technical process to third parties.

Google-AdSense is explained in more detail under this link www.google.de/intl/de/adsense/start.

14. Privacy policy on the use and application of Google Analytics (with anonymization function)

The data controller has integrated the Google Analytics component (with anonymization function) on this website. Google Analytics is a web analysis service. Web analysis is the collection, collection and evaluation of data about the behavior of visitors to websites. Among other things, a web analysis service collects data about which website a person concerned came to a website from (so-called referrers), which sub-pages of the website were accessed or how often and for how long a subpage was viewed. A web analysis is mainly used for the optimization of a website and for the cost-benefit analysis of internet advertising.

Operating company of the Google Analytics component is Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Pkwy, Mountain View, CA 94043-1351, USA.

The data controller uses the addition "_gat._anonymizeIp" for web analysis via Google Analytics. By means of this addition, the IP address of the data subject's Internet connection is shortened and anonymized by Google if the access to our Internet pages is from a member state of the European Union or from another state that is a signatory to the Agreement on the European Economic Area.

The purpose of the Google Analytics component is the analysis of visitor flows on our website. Among other things, Google uses the data and information obtained to evaluate the use of our website in order to compile online reports for us that show the activities on our website and to provide further services in connection with the use of our website.

Google Analytics places a cookie on the data subject's information technology system. What cookies are has already been explained above. By setting the cookie, Google is enabled to analyze the use of our website. Each time one of the individual pages of this website, which is operated by the data controller and on which a Google Analytics component has been integrated, is called up, the Internet browser on the information technology system of the data subject is automatically prompted by the respective Google Analytics component to transmit data to Google for the purpose of online analysis. As part of this technical process, Google receives knowledge of personal data, such as the IP address of the person concerned, which Google uses, among other things, to trace the origin of visitors and clicks and subsequently to enable commission settlements.

Personal information, such as the time of access, the location from which access originated and the frequency of visits to our website by the person concerned, is stored by means of the cookie. Each time our website is visited, this personal data, including the IP address of the Internet connection used by the person concerned, is transmitted to Google in the United States of America. This personal data is stored by Google in the United States of America. Google may pass on this personal data collected through the technical process to third parties.

The person concerned can prevent the setting of cookies by our website, as already described above, at any time by means of a corresponding setting in the Internet browser used and thus permanently object to the setting of cookies. Such a setting of the Internet browser used would also prevent Google from placing a cookie on the data subject's information technology system. In addition, a cookie already set by Google Analytics can be deleted at any time via the Internet browser or other software programs.

further, the data subject has the opportunity to object to and prevent the collection of data generated by Google Analytics and relating to the use of this website and the processing of such data by Google. For this purpose, the person concerned must download and install a browser add-on under the link tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout. This browser add-on informs Google Analytics via JavaScript that no data and information about visits to websites may be transmitted to Google Analytics. The installation of the browser add-on is considered by Google as a contradiction. If the data subject's information technology system is deleted, formatted or reinstalled at a later date, the data subject must reinstall the browser add-on in order to deactivate Google Analytics. If the browser add-on is uninstalled or deactivated by the person concerned or by another person within his or her sphere of control, it is possible to reinstall or reactivate the browser add-on.

More information and Google's applicable privacy policy can be found at www.google.de/intl/de/policies/privacy and at http://www.google.com/analytics/terms/de.html. Google Analytics is explained in more detail under this link www.google.com/intl/de_de/analytics.

15. Privacy policy on the use and application of Google+

The data controller has integrated the Google+ button as a component on this website. Google+ is a so-called social network. A social network is a social meeting place operated on the Internet, an online community that generally allows users to communicate with each other and interact in virtual space. A social network can serve as a platform for the exchange of opinions and experiences or it enables the Internet community to provide personal or company-related information. Google+ enables users of the social network to create private profiles, upload photos and network via friend requests, among other things.

Operating company of Google+ is Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Pkwy, Mountain View, CA 94043-1351, USA.

Every time the data controller calls up one of the individual pages of this Internet site, which is operated by the data controller and on which a Google+ button has been integrated, the Internet browser on the information technology system of the data subject is automatically prompted by the respective Google+ button to download a representation of the corresponding Google+ button from Google. In the course of this technical process, Google is informed which specific subpage of our website is visited by the person concerned. More detailed information on Google+ is available at developers.google.com/+.

If the person concerned is logged on to Google+ at the same time, Google recognizes with each call of our website by the person concerned and during the entire duration of the respective stay on our website, which concrete subpage of our website the person concerned is visiting. This information is collected by the Google+ button and assigned by Google to the respective Google+ account of the person concerned.

If the person concerned clicks on one of the Google+ buttons integrated on our website and thereby makes a Google+1 recommendation, Google assigns this information to the personal Google+ user account of the person concerned and stores this personal data. Google stores the Google+1 recommendation of the data subject and makes it publicly available in accordance with the terms and conditions accepted by the data subject in this regard. A Google+1 recommendation made by the data subject on this website will subsequently be stored and processed together with other personal data, such as the name of the Google+1 account used by the data subject and the photo stored in it, in other Google services, for example the search engine results of the Google search engine, the Google account of the data subject or in other places, for example on websites or in connection with advertisements. Furthermore, Google is able to link the visit to this website with other personal data stored by Google. Google also records this personal information for the purpose of improving or optimizing the various services offered by Google.

Google is informed via the Google+ button that the data subject has visited our website whenever the data subject is logged in to Google+ at the same time as he or she visits our website; this occurs regardless of whether the data subject clicks the Google+ button or not.

If the data subject does not wish his/her personal data to be transmitted to Google, he/she can prevent such transmission by logging out of his/her Google+ account before accessing our website.

More information and Google's applicable privacy policy can be found at www.google.de/intl/de/policies/privacy. Further information from Google regarding the Google+1 button can be found at developers.google.com/+/web/buttons-policy

16. Privacy policy on the use and application of Google AdWords

The data controller has integrated Google AdWords on this website. Google AdWords is an Internet advertising service that allows advertisers to display ads in Google's search engine results as well as in the Google advertising network. Google AdWords allows an advertiser to specify pre-defined keywords that will cause an ad to appear in Google's search engine results only when the user uses the search engine to retrieve a keyword relevant search result. In the Google advertising network, the ads are distributed to topic-relevant Internet pages by means of an automatic algorithm and in accordance with the previously defined keywords.

Operator of the Google AdWords services is Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Pkwy, Mountain View, CA 94043-1351, USA.

The purpose of Google AdWords is to advertise our website by displaying advertisements relevant to our interests on the websites of third-party companies and in the search engine results of the Google search engine, and to display third-party advertisements on our website.

If a data subject accesses our website via a Google ad, a so-called conversion cookie is stored by Google on the data subject's information technology system. What cookies are has already been explained above. A conversion cookie loses its validity after thirty days and does not serve to identify the data subject. If the cookie has not expired, the conversion cookie is used to determine whether certain sub-pages, such as the shopping cart from an online store system, have been accessed on our website. The conversion cookie enables both we and Google to track whether a person who has reached our website via an AdWords ad has generated sales, i.e. whether he or she has completed or cancelled a purchase.

The data and information collected through the use of the conversion cookie is used by Google to create visit statistics for our website. These visit statistics are in turn used by us to determine the total number of users that were referred to us via AdWords ads, i.e. to determine the success or failure of the respective AdWords ad and to optimize our AdWords ads for the future. Neither our company nor any other Google AdWords advertisers receive any information from Google that could be used to identify the individual concerned.

The conversion cookie is used to store personal information, such as the Internet pages visited by the data subject. Accordingly, each time our website is visited, personal data, including the IP address of the Internet connection used by the person concerned, is transmitted to Google in the United States of America. This personal data is stored by Google in the United States of America. Google may pass on this personal data collected via the technical process to third parties.

The person concerned can prevent the setting of cookies by our website, as already described above, at any time by means of a corresponding setting in the Internet browser used and thus permanently object to the setting of cookies. Such a setting of the Internet browser used would also prevent Google from placing a conversion cookie on the data subject's information technology system. In addition, a cookie already set by Google AdWords can be deleted at any time via the Internet browser or other software programs.

Further, the person concerned has the opportunity to object to the interest-based advertising by Google. To do this, the person concerned must access www.google.de/settings/ads from any of the Internet browsers he or she uses and make the desired settings there.

More information and Google's applicable privacy policy can be found at www.google.de/intl/de/policies/privacy

17. Privacy policy on the use and application of LinkedIn

The data controller has integrated components of LinkedIn Corporation on this website. LinkedIn is an Internet-based social network that allows users to connect with existing business contacts and to make new business contacts. Over 400 million registered users use LinkedIn in more than 200 countries. This makes LinkedIn currently the largest platform for business contacts and one of the most visited Internet sites in the world.

The operating company of LinkedIn is LinkedIn Corporation, 2029 Stierlin Court Mountain View, CA 94043, USA Outside the USA, LinkedIn Ireland, Privacy Policy Issues, Wilton Plaza, Wilton Place, Dublin 2, Ireland, is responsible for data protection issues.

For each single visit to our website, which is equipped with a LinkedIn component (LinkedIn plug-in), this component causes the browser used by the person concerned to download a corresponding representation of the component from LinkedIn. Further information about LinkedIn plug-ins can be found at developer.linkedin.com/plugins. This technical process allows LinkedIn to know which specific page of our website is visited by the person concerned.

If the person concerned is logged on to LinkedIn at the same time, LinkedIn recognizes which specific subpage of our website the person concerned is visiting each time the person concerned calls up our website and for the entire duration of their stay on our website. This information is collected by the LinkedIn component and assigned by LinkedIn to the LinkedIn account of the person concerned. If the data subject clicks on a LinkedIn button integrated on our website, LinkedIn will associate this information with the personal LinkedIn user account of the data subject and store this personal data.

LinkedIn receives information via the LinkedIn component that the person concerned has visited our website, if the person concerned is logged in to LinkedIn at the same time when he or she accesses our website; this occurs regardless of whether the person concerned clicks on the LinkedIn component or not. If the data subject does not want this information to be sent to LinkedIn, the data subject can prevent this information from being sent by logging out of their LinkedIn account before accessing our website.

LinkedIn offers under www.linkedin.com/psettings/guest-controls the possibility to unsubscribe e-mail messages, SMS messages and targeted ads as well as to manage ad settings. LinkedIn also uses partners such as Quantcast, Google Analytics, BlueKai, DoubleClick, Nielsen, Comscore, Eloqua and Lotame who may set cookies. Such cookies can be rejected at https://www.linkedin.com/legal/cookie-policy. LinkedIn's current privacy policy is available at www.linkedin.com/legal/privacy-policy. The LinkedIn cookie policy is available at www.linkedin.com/legal/cookie-policy.

18. Privacy policy on the use and application of Twitter

The data controller has integrated Twitter components on this website. Twitter is a multilingual publicly accessible microblogging service where users can post and distribute so-called tweets, i.e. short messages limited to 280 characters. These short messages can be accessed by everyone, including those who are not registered with Twitter. However, the tweets are also displayed to the so-called followers of the respective user. Followers are other Twitter users who follow the tweets of a user. Furthermore, Twitter enables the addressing of a broad audience via hashtags, links or retweets.

The Twitter operating company is Twitter, Inc., 1355 Market Street, Suite 900, San Francisco, CA 94103, USA.

Every time one of the individual pages of this Internet site operated by the data controller is called up and on which a Twitter component (Twitter button) has been integrated, the Internet browser on the IT system of the data subject is automatically prompted by the respective Twitter component to download a display of the corresponding Twitter component from Twitter. Further information on the Twitter buttons is available at about.twitter.com/en/resources/buttons. As part of this technical process, Twitter is informed which specific subpage of our website is visited by the person concerned. The purpose of integrating the Twitter component is to enable our users to further disseminate the content of this website, to make this website known in the digital world and to increase our visitor numbers.

If the person concerned is logged on to Twitter at the same time, Twitter recognizes which specific subpage of our website the person concerned is visiting each time the person concerned calls up our website and for the entire duration of their stay on our website. This information is collected by the Twitter component and assigned by Twitter to the respective Twitter account of the data subject. If the data subject clicks on one of the Twitter buttons integrated on our website, the data and information transmitted with it is assigned to the personal Twitter user account of the data subject and stored and processed by Twitter.

Twitter receives information via the Twitter component about the fact that the person concerned has visited our website if the person concerned is logged in to Twitter at the same time when he or she accesses our website; this happens regardless of whether the person concerned clicks on the Twitter component or not. If the data subject does not want this information to be sent to Twitter, he or she can prevent it from being sent by logging out of his or her Twitter account before accessing our website.

The applicable Twitter privacy policy is available at twitter.com/privacy?lang=en

19. Privacy policy on the use and application of Xing

The data controller has integrated Xing components into this website. Xing is an Internet-based social network that enables users to connect with existing business contacts and to make new business contacts. The individual users can create a personal profile of themselves on Xing. Companies can, for example, create company profiles or publish job offers on Xing.

The operating company of Xing is XING SE, Dammtorstraße 30, 20354 Hamburg, Germany.

Every time one of the individual pages of this Internet site, operated by the data controller and on which a Xing component (Xing plug-in) has been integrated, the Internet browser on the IT system of the data subject is automatically prompted by the respective Xing component to download a representation of the corresponding Xing component from Xing. Further information on the Xing plug-ins can be found at dev.xing.com/plugins. As part of this technical process, Xing is informed which specific subpage of our website is visited by the person concerned.

If the person concerned is logged on to Xing at the same time, Xing recognizes which specific subpage of our website the person concerned is visiting each time the person concerned calls up our website and for the entire duration of their stay on our website. This information is collected by the Xing component and assigned by Xing to the respective Xing account of the person concerned. If the person concerned clicks on one of the Xing buttons integrated on our website, for example the "Share" button, Xing assigns this information to the personal Xing user account of the person concerned and stores this personal data.

Xing always receives information via the Xing component that the person concerned has visited our website, if the person concerned is logged in to Xing at the same time when our website is called up; this takes place regardless of whether the person concerned clicks on the Xing component or not. If the data subject does not wish this information to be transmitted to Xing, he or she can prevent the transmission by logging out of his or her Xing account before accessing our website.

The privacy policy published by Xing, which can be accessed at www.xing.com/privacy, provides information about the collection, processing and use of personal data by Xing. In addition, Xing has published data protection information for the XING Share button under www.xing.com/app/share?op=data_protection.

20. Privacy policy on the use and application of YouTube

The data controller has integrated YouTube components into this website. YouTube is an Internet video portal that allows video publishers to post video clips for free and other users to view, rate and comment on them, also free of charge. YouTube allows the publication of all types of videos, which is why complete film and television broadcasts, but also music videos, trailers or videos created by users themselves can be accessed via the Internet portal.

The YouTube operating company is YouTube, LLC, 901 Cherry Ave., San Bruno, CA 94066, USA. YouTube, LLC is a subsidiary of Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Pkwy, Mountain View, CA 94043-1351, USA.

Every time the data subject accesses any of the individual pages of this website operated by the data controller and on which a YouTube component (YouTube video) has been integrated, the Internet browser on the data subject's IT system is automatically prompted by the relevant YouTube component to download a representation of the relevant YouTube component from YouTube. Further information about YouTube can be found at www.youtube.com/yt/about/de. As part of this technical process, YouTube and Google are informed which specific subpage of our website is visited by the person concerned.

If the person concerned is logged on to YouTube at the same time, YouTube recognizes which specific page of our website the person concerned is visiting by calling up a subpage containing a YouTube video. This information is collected by YouTube and Google and is assigned to the respective YouTube account of the person concerned.

YouTube and Google will receive information via the YouTube component that the data subject has visited our website whenever the data subject is logged in to YouTube at the same time when he or she visits our website; this occurs regardless of whether the data subject clicks on a YouTube video or not. If the data subject does not wish this information to be transmitted to YouTube and Google, he or she can prevent the transmission by logging out of his or her YouTube account before visiting our website.

The data protection regulations published by YouTube, which can be accessed at www.google.de/intl/de/policies/privacy, provide information on the collection, processing and use of personal data by YouTube and Google.

21. Legal basis of the processing

Art. 6 I lit. a DS-GVO serves our company as a legal basis for processing operations for which we obtain consent for a specific processing purpose. If the processing of personal data is necessary for the performance of a contract to which the data subject is a party, as is the case, for example, with processing operations required for the delivery of goods or the provision of another service or consideration, the processing is based on Art. 6 I lit. b DS-GVO. The same applies to such processing operations which are necessary for the implementation of pre-contractual measures, for example in cases of inquiries about our products or services. If our company is subject to a legal obligation which makes it necessary to process personal data, for example to fulfil tax obligations, the processing is based on Art. 6 I lit. c DS-GVO. In rare cases, the processing of personal data may be necessary to protect the vital interests of the data subject or another natural person. This would be the case, for example, if a visitor to our company was injured and his name, age, health insurance details or other vital information had to be passed on to a doctor, hospital or other third party. In this case the processing would be based on Art. 6 I lit. d DS-GVO. Finally, processing operations could be based on Art. 6 I lit. f DS-GVO. Processing operations which are not covered by any of the above legal bases are based on this legal basis if the processing is necessary to safeguard a legitimate interest of our company or of a third party, provided that the interests, fundamental rights and freedoms of the data subject do not prevail. We are permitted to carry out such processing operations in particular because they have been specifically mentioned by the European legislator. In this respect, it took the view that a legitimate interest could be assumed if the data subject is a customer of the person responsible (recital 47 sentence 2 DS-GVO).

22. legitimate interests in the processing pursued by the controller or a third party

If the processing of personal data is based on Article 6 I lit. f DS-GVO, our legitimate interest is to carry out our business activities for the benefit of the well-being of all our employees and our shareholders.

23. Duration for which the personal data is stored

The criterion for the duration of storage of personal data is the respective legal retention period. After this period has expired, the corresponding data is routinely deleted if it is no longer required for the fulfillment of the contract or the initiation of a contract.

24. Legal or contractual provisions on the provision of the personal data; necessity for the conclusion of the contract; obligation of the data subject to provide the personal data; possible consequences of nonprovision

We would like to inform you that the provision of personal data is partly required by law (e.g. tax regulations) or can also result from contractual regulations (e.g. information on the contractual partner). Sometimes it may be necessary for a contract to be concluded that a data subject provides us with personal data, which must subsequently be processed by us. For example, the person concerned is obliged to provide us with personal data if our company concludes a contract with him/her. Failure to provide the personal data would mean that the contract with the person concerned could not be concluded. Before the person concerned makes personal data available, the person concerned must contact one of our employees. Our employee will inform the data subject on a case-by-case basis whether the provision of the personal data is required by law or contract or is necessary for the conclusion of the contract, whether there is an obligation to provide the personal data and what the consequences would be if the personal data were not provided.

25. existence of automated decision making

As a responsible company we do not use automatic decision making or profiling.

This privacy policy was created by the Privacy Policy Generator of the DGD Deutsche Gesellschaft für Datenschutz GmbH, which is available as external-data protection commissioner, in cooperation with the Data protection lawyer Christian Solmecke.