Privacy Policy

1. An overview of data protection

General information

The following information will provide you with an easy to navigate overview of what will happen with your personal data when you visit this website. The term “personal data” comprises all data that can be used to personally identify you. For detailed information about the subject matter of data protection, please consult our Data Protection Declaration, which we have included beneath this copy.

Data recording on this website

Who is the responsible party for the recording of data on this website (i.e., the “controller”)?

The data on this website is processed by the operator of the website, whose contact information is available under section “Information about the responsible party (referred to as the “controller” in the GDPR)” in this Privacy Policy.

How do we record your data?

We collect your data as a result of your sharing of your data with us. This may, for instance be information you enter into our contact form.

Other data shall be recorded by our IT systems automatically or after you consent to its recording during your website visit. This data comprises primarily technical information (e.g., web browser, operating system, or time the site was accessed). This information is recorded automatically when you access this website.

What are the purposes we use your data for?

A portion of the information is generated to guarantee the error free provision of the website. Other data may be used to analyze your user patterns.

What rights do you have as far as your information is concerned?

You have the right to receive information about the source, recipients, and purposes of your archived personal data at any time without having to pay a fee for such disclosures. You also have the right to demand that your data are rectified or eradicated. If you have consented to data processing, you have the option to revoke this consent at any time, which shall affect all future data processing. Moreover, you have the right to demand that the processing of your data be restricted under certain circumstances. Furthermore, you have the right to log a complaint with the competent supervising agency.

Please do not hesitate to contact us at any time if you have questions about this or any other data protection related issues.

2. Hosting

We are hosting the content of our website at the following provider:

Strato

The provider is Strato AG, Otto-Ostrowski-Straße 7, 10249 Berlin (hereinafter referred to as “Strato”). When you visit our website, Strato records various logfiles, including your IP addresses.

For more information, please consult the Strato Data Privacy Policy: https://www.strato.de/datenschutz/.

Strato is used on the basis of Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. We have a legitimate interest in a depiction of our website that is as reliable as possible. If appropriate consent has been obtained, the processing is carried out exclusively on the basis of Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR and § 25 (1) TTDSG, insofar the consent includes the storage of cookies or the access to information in the user’s end device (e.g., device fingerprinting) within the meaning of the TTDSG. This consent can be revoked at any time.

Data processing

We have concluded a data processing agreement (DPA) with the above-mentioned provider. This is a contract mandated by data privacy laws that guarantees that they process personal data of our website visitors only based on our instructions and in compliance with the GDPR.

3. General information and mandatory information

Data protection

The operators of this website and its pages take the protection of your personal data very seriously. Hence, we handle your personal data as confidential information and in compliance with the statutory data protection regulations and this Data Protection Declaration.

Whenever you use this website, a variety of personal information will be collected. Personal data comprises data that can be used to personally identify you. This Data Protection Declaration explains which data we collect as well as the purposes we use this data for. It also explains how, and for which purpose the information is collected.

We herewith advise you that the transmission of data via the Internet (i.e., through e-mail communications) may be prone to security gaps. It is not possible to completely protect data against third-party access.

Information about the responsible party (referred to as the “controller” in the GDPR)

The data processing controller on this website is:

SWISSBRANDS GmbH

Mittelstraße 5/5a
12529 Schönefeld

Phone: 030/47378781
E-mail: info@swissbrands.com

The controller is the natural person or legal entity that single-handedly or jointly with others makes decisions as to the purposes of and resources for the processing of personal data (e.g., names, e-mail addresses, etc.).

Storage duration

Unless a more specific storage period has been specified in this privacy policy, your personal data will remain with us until the purpose for which it was collected no longer applies. If you assert a justified request for deletion or revoke your consent to data processing, your data will be deleted, unless we have other legally permissible reasons for storing your personal data (e.g., tax or commercial law retention periods); in the latter case, the deletion will take place after these reasons cease to apply.

General information on the legal basis for the data processing on this website

If you have consented to data processing, we process your personal data on the basis of Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR or Art. 9 (2)(a) GDPR, if special categories of data are processed according to Art. 9 (1) DSGVO. In the case of explicit consent to the transfer of personal data to third countries, the data processing is also based on Art. 49 (1)(a) GDPR. If you have consented to the storage of cookies or to the access to information in your end device (e.g., via device fingerprinting), the data processing is additionally based on § 25 (1) TTDSG. The consent can be revoked at any time. If your data is required for the fulfillment of a contract or for the implementation of pre-contractual measures, we process your data on the basis of Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR. Furthermore, if your data is required for the fulfillment of a legal obligation, we process it on the basis of Art. 6(1)(c) GDPR. Furthermore, the data processing may be carried out on the basis of our legitimate interest according to Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. Information on the relevant legal basis in each individual case is provided in the following paragraphs of this privacy policy.

Revocation of your consent to the processing of data

A wide range of data processing transactions are possible only subject to your express consent. You can also revoke at any time any consent you have already given us. This shall be without prejudice to the lawfulness of any data collection that occurred prior to your revocation.

Right to object to the collection of data in special cases; right to object to direct advertising (Art. 21 GDPR)

IN THE EVENT THAT DATA ARE PROCESSED ON THE BASIS OF ART. 6(1)(E) OR (F) GDPR, YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO AT ANY TIME OBJECT TO THE PROCESSING OF YOUR PERSONAL DATA BASED ON GROUNDS ARISING FROM YOUR UNIQUE SITUATION. THIS ALSO APPLIES TO ANY PROFILING BASED ON THESE PROVISIONS. TO DETERMINE THE LEGAL BASIS, ON WHICH ANY PROCESSING OF DATA IS BASED, PLEASE CONSULT THIS DATA PROTECTION DECLARATION. IF YOU LOG AN OBJECTION, WE WILL NO LONGER PROCESS YOUR AFFECTED PERSONAL DATA, UNLESS WE ARE IN A POSITION TO PRESENT COMPELLING PROTECTION WORTHY GROUNDS FOR THE PROCESSING OF YOUR DATA, THAT OUTWEIGH YOUR INTERESTS, RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS OR IF THE PURPOSE OF THE PROCESSING IS THE CLAIMING, EXERCISING OR DEFENCE OF LEGAL ENTITLEMENTS (OBJECTION PURSUANT TO ART. 21(1) GDPR).

IF YOUR PERSONAL DATA IS BEING PROCESSED IN ORDER TO ENGAGE IN DIRECT ADVERTISING, YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO OBJECT TO THE PROCESSING OF YOUR AFFECTED PERSONAL DATA FOR THE PURPOSES OF SUCH ADVERTISING AT ANY TIME. THIS ALSO APPLIES TO PROFILING TO THE EXTENT THAT IT IS AFFILIATED WITH SUCH DIRECT ADVERTISING. IF YOU OBJECT, YOUR PERSONAL DATA WILL SUBSEQUENTLY NO LONGER BE USED FOR DIRECT ADVERTISING PURPOSES (OBJECTION PURSUANT TO ART. 21(2) GDPR).

Right to log a complaint with the competent supervisory agency

In the event of violations of the GDPR, data subjects are entitled to log a complaint with a supervisory agency, in particular in the member state where they usually maintain their domicile, place of work or at the place where the alleged violation occurred. The right to log a complaint is in effect regardless of any other administrative or court proceedings available as legal recourses.

Right to data portability

You have the right to demand that we hand over any data we automatically process on the basis of your consent or in order to fulfil a contract be handed over to you or a third party in a commonly used, machine readable format. If you should demand the direct transfer of the data to another controller, this will be done only if it is technically feasible.

Information about, rectification and eradication of data

Within the scope of the applicable statutory provisions, you have the right to at any time demand information about your archived personal data, their source and recipients as well as the purpose of the processing of your data. You may also have a right to have your data rectified or eradicated. If you have questions about this subject matter or any other questions about personal data, please do not hesitate to contact us at any time.

Right to demand processing restrictions

You have the right to demand the imposition of restrictions as far as the processing of your personal data is concerned. To do so, you may contact us at any time. The right to demand restriction of processing applies in the following cases:

• In the event that you should dispute the correctness of your data archived by us, we will usually need some time to verify this claim. During the time that this investigation is ongoing, you have the right to demand that we restrict the processing of your personal data.
• If the processing of your personal data was/is conducted in an unlawful manner, you have the option to demand the restriction of the processing of your data in lieu of demanding the eradication of this data.
• If we do not need your personal data any longer and you need it to exercise, defend or claim legal entitlements, you have the right to demand the restriction of the processing of your personal data instead of its eradication.
• If you have raised an objection pursuant to Art. 21(1) GDPR, your rights and our rights will have to be weighed against each other. As long as it has not been determined whose interests prevail, you have the right to demand a restriction of the processing of your personal data.

If you have restricted the processing of your personal data, these data – with the exception of their archiving – may be processed only subject to your consent or to claim, exercise or defend legal entitlements or to protect the rights of other natural persons or legal entities or for important public interest reasons cited by the European Union or a member state of the EU.

SSL and/or TLS encryption

For security reasons and to protect the transmission of confidential content, such as purchase orders or inquiries you submit to us as the website operator, this website uses either an SSL or a TLS encryption program. You can recognize an encrypted connection by checking whether the address line of the browser switches from “http://” to “https://” and also by the appearance of the lock icon in the browser line.

If the SSL or TLS encryption is activated, data you transmit to us cannot be read by third parties.

Encrypted payment transactions on this website

If you are under an obligation to share your payment information (e.g. account number if you give us the authority to debit your bank account) with us after you have entered into a fee-based contract with us, this information is required to process payments.

Payment transactions using common modes of paying (Visa/MasterCard, debit to your bank account) are processed exclusively via encrypted SSL or TLS connections. You can recognize an encrypted connection by checking whether the address line of the browser switches from “http://” to “https://” and also by the appearance of the lock icon in the browser line.

If the communication with us is encrypted, third parties will not be able to read the payment information you share with us.

Rejection of unsolicited e-mails

We herewith object to the use of contact information published in conjunction with the mandatory information to be provided in our Site Notice to send us promotional and information material that we have not expressly requested. The operators of this website and its pages reserve the express right to take legal action in the event of the unsolicited sending of promotional information, for instance via SPAM messages.

4. Recording of data on this website

Consent with Usercentrics

This website uses the consent technology of Usercentrics to obtain your consent to the storage of certain cookies on your device or for the use of specific technologies, and to document the former in a data protection compliant manner. The party offering this technology is Usercentrics GmbH, Sendlinger Straße 7, 80331 München, Germany, website: https://usercentrics.com/ (hereinafter referred to as “Usercentrics”).

Whenever you visit our website, the following personal data will be transferred to Usercentrics:

• Your declaration(s) of consent or your revocation of your declaration(s) of consent
• Your IP address
• Information about your browser
• Information about your device
• The date and time you visited our website

Moreover, Usercentrics shall store a cookie in your browser to be able to allocate your declaration(s) of consent or any revocations of the former. The data that are recorded in this manner shall be stored until you ask us to eradicate them, delete the Usercentrics cookie or until the purpose for archiving the data no longer exists. This shall be without prejudice to any mandatory legal retention periods.

Usercentrics uses cookies to obtain the declarations of consent mandated by law. The legal basis for the use of specific technologies is Art. 6(1)(c) GDPR.

Data processing

We have concluded a data processing agreement (DPA) with the above-mentioned provider. This is a contract mandated by data privacy laws that guarantees that they process personal data of our website visitors only based on our instructions and in compliance with the GDPR.

Server log files

The provider of this website and its pages automatically collects and stores information in so-called server log files, which your browser communicates to us automatically. The information comprises:

• The type and version of browser used
• The used operating system
• Referrer URL
• The hostname of the accessing computer
• The time of the server inquiry
• The IP address

This data is not merged with other data sources.

This data is recorded on the basis of Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. The operator of the website has a legitimate interest in the technically error free depiction and the optimization of the operator’s website. In order to achieve this, server log files must be recorded.

Contact form

If you submit inquiries to us via our contact form, the information provided in the contact form as well as any contact information provided therein will be stored by us in order to handle your inquiry and in the event that we have further questions. We will not share this information without your consent.

The processing of these data is based on Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR, if your request is related to the execution of a contract or if it is necessary to carry out pre-contractual measures. In all other cases the processing is based on our legitimate interest in the effective processing of the requests addressed to us (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR) or on your agreement (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR) if this has been requested; the consent can be revoked at any time.

The information you have entered into the contact form shall remain with us until you ask us to eradicate the data, revoke your consent to the archiving of data or if the purpose for which the information is being archived no longer exists (e.g., after we have concluded our response to your inquiry). This shall be without prejudice to any mandatory legal provisions, in particular retention periods.

Request by e-mail, telephone, or fax

If you contact us by e-mail, telephone or fax, your request, including all resulting personal data (name, request) will be stored and processed by us for the purpose of processing your request. We do not pass these data on without your consent.

These data are processed on the basis of Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR if your inquiry is related to the fulfillment of a contract or is required for the performance of pre-contractual measures. In all other cases, the data are processed on the basis of our legitimate interest in the effective handling of inquiries submitted to us (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR) or on the basis of your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR) if it has been obtained; the consent can be revoked at any time.

The data sent by you to us via contact requests remain with us until you request us to delete, revoke your consent to the storage or the purpose for the data storage lapses (e.g. after completion of your request). Mandatory statutory provisions - in particular statutory retention periods - remain unaffected.

5. Newsletter

Newsletter data

If you would like to subscribe to the newsletter offered on this website, we will need from you an e-mail address as well as information that allow us to verify that you are the owner of the e-mail address provided and consent to the receipt of the newsletter. No further data shall be collected or shall be collected only on a voluntary basis. We shall use such data only for the sending of the requested information and shall not share such data with any third parties.

The processing of the information entered into the newsletter subscription form shall occur exclusively on the basis of your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR). You may revoke the consent you have given to the archiving of data, the e-mail address, and the use of this information for the sending of the newsletter at any time, for instance by clicking on the “Unsubscribe” link in the newsletter. This shall be without prejudice to the lawfulness of any data processing transactions that have taken place to date.

The data deposited with us for the purpose of subscribing to the newsletter will be stored by us until you unsubscribe from the newsletter or the newsletter service provider and deleted from the newsletter distribution list after you unsubscribe from the newsletter or after the purpose has ceased to apply. We reserve the right to delete or block e-mail addresses from our newsletter distribution list at our own discretion within the scope of our legitimate interest in accordance with Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR.

Data stored for other purposes with us remain unaffected.

After you unsubscribe from the newsletter distribution list, your e-mail address may be stored by us or the newsletter service provider in a blacklist, if such action is necessary to prevent future mailings. The data from the blacklist is used only for this purpose and not merged with other data. This serves both your interest and our interest in complying with the legal requirements when sending newsletters (legitimate interest within the meaning of Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR). The storage in the blacklist is indefinite. You may object to the storage if your interests outweigh our legitimate interest.

6. eCommerce and payment service providers

Processing of Customer and Contract Data

We collect, process, and use personal customer and contract data for the establishment, content arrangement and modification of our contractual relationships. Data with personal references to the use of this website (usage data) will be collected, processed, and used only if this is necessary to enable the user to use our services or required for billing purposes. The legal basis for these processes is Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR.

The collected customer data shall be deleted upon completion of the order or termination of the business relationship and upon expiration of any existing statutory archiving periods. This shall be without prejudice to any statutory archiving periods.

Data transfer upon closing of contracts for online stores, retailers, and the shipment of merchandise

Whenever you order merchandise from us, we will share your personal data with the transportation company entrusted with the delivery as well as the payment service commissioned to handle the payment transactions. Only the data these respective service providers require to meet their obligations will be shared. The legal basis for this sharing is Art. 6 (1)(b) GDPR, which permits the processing of data for the fulfillment of contractual or pre-contractual obligations. If you give us your respective consent pursuant to Art. 6 (1)(a) GDPR, we will share your email address with the transportation company entrusted with the delivery so that this company can notify you on the shipping status for your order via email. You have the option to revoke your consent at any time.

Payment services

We integrate payment services of third-party companies on our website. When you make a purchase from us, your payment data (e.g. name, payment amount, bank account details, credit card number) are processed by the payment service provider for the purpose of payment processing. For these transactions, the respective contractual and data protection provisions of the respective providers apply. The use of the payment service providers is based on Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR (contract processing) and in the interest of a smooth, convenient, and secure payment transaction (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR). Insofar as your consent is requested for certain actions, Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR is the legal basis for data processing; consent may be revoked at any time for the future.

We use the following payment services / payment service providers within the scope of this website:

PayPal

The provider of this payment service is PayPal (Europe) S.à.r.l. et Cie, S.C.A., 22-24 Boulevard Royal, L-2449 Luxembourg (hereinafter “PayPal”).

Data transmission to the US is based on the Standard Contractual Clauses (SCC) of the European Commission. Details can be found here: https://www.paypal.com/de/webapps/mpp/ua/pocpsa-full.

Details can be found in PayPal’s privacy policy: https://www.paypal.com/de/webapps/mpp/ua/privacy-full.