Data Protection Statement

The Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science (Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Wissenschaften e.V.) (hereinafter MPG) takes the protection of personal data very seriously. The MPG processes personal data collected during visit to the ip.mpg.de website in accordance with the data protection regulations in force. Your data is neither published nor communicated to third parties without authorisation. The following explains which data is recorded during your visit to the ip.mpg.de website and exactly how it is used.

This English version is for information purposes only. In case of conflict, the German version shall prevail.

 

A. General information

1. Extent of data processing

As a matter of principle, the MPG only records and uses users’ personal data to the extent necessary for the provision of an operational website and its contents and services. The users’ personal data are as a rule recorded and used after the users have given their consent. A exception is made in those cases where statutory provisions permit the data to be processed.

2. Legal basis for data processing

Where the MPG obtains the data subject’s consent to the processing of personal data, the legal basis is Article 6(1)(a) of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (hereinafter GDPR).

Where the processing of personal data is necessary to perform a contract to which the data subject is a party, the legal basis is Article 6(1)(b) of the GDPR. This also applies to data processing that is necessary to take measures before conclusion of the contract.

If the processing is necessary to safeguard the legitimate interests of the MPG or a third party, and if these interests are not outweighed by the interests and fundamental rights and freedoms of the data subject, the legal basis is Article 6(1)(f) of the Regulation.

3. Deletion of data and period of storage

The data subject’s personal data are deleted or blocked once the purpose of the storage ceases to apply. The data may also be stored if this is laid down by the European or national legislatures in decrees, statutes or other regulations under European law that apply to the MPG. The data is also blocked or deleted if a storage period laid down by the said regulations expires, unless the data must continue to be stored for the purpose of the conclusion or performance of a contract.

4. Controller’s contact details

Responsibility within the meaning of the GDPR and other national data protection legislation and other data protection provisions lies with the

Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science (Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Wissenschaften e.V. (MPG)
Hofgartenstrasse 8
D-80539 Munich
Telephone: +49 (89) 2108-0

Contact form: www.mpg.de/kontakt/anfragen


Internet: www.mpg.de

5. Data protection officer’s contact details

The controller’s data protection officer is

Heidi Schuster
Hofgartenstrasse 8
D-80539 Munich
Telephone: +49 (89) 2108-1554
datenschutz@mpg.de

B. Provision of the website and creation of logfiles

Whenever our website is accessed, our servers and applications record automated data and information from the accessing computer’s system.

The following data are temporarily recorded:

  • Your IP address
  • Date and time of your access to the page
  • Address of the page accessed
  • Address of the website just visited (referrer)
  • Name and version of your browser/operating system (if communicated)

The data are stored in our system logfiles. These data are not stored together with the user’s other personal data.

The legal basis for the temporary storage of the data and the logfiles is Article 6(1)(f) of the GDPR. The data are stored in logfiles to ensure the operability of the website. In addition, the data help us to optimise the web pages, to eliminate faults and to ensure the security of our information system technology. These purposes also constitute our legitimate interest in the data processing in accordance with Article 6(1)(f) of the Regulation.

The data are deleted once they are no longer necessary to achieve the purpose for which they were recorded. Where data are recorded in order to make the website available, they are deleted at the end of the session in question. Where the data are stored in logfiles, they are deleted at the latest after seven days. A longer storage is possible, but in this case users’ IP addresses are deleted or distorted so that the accessing client can no longer be identified.

The recording of data for the provision of the website and the storage of data in logfiles is essential for the operation of the website. Hence the user cannot object to this recording.

C. Use of cookies

Our website uses cookies. Cookies are text files that are stored in or by the Internet browser on the user’s computer system. If a user accesses a website, a cookie can be stored on the user’s operating system. This cookie contains a characteristic sequence of characters that allow the browser to be identified when accessing the website again.

We use cookies to make our website more user-friendly. For technical reasons, some elements of our website also require the accessing browser to be identified after a change of page. The following data are stored and transmitted in the cookies:

  • Navigation status: open or closed (navigation)

The cookies are deleted after the session is ended.

The legal basis for using cookies to process personal data is Article 6(1)(f) of the GDPR and § 25 Abs. 2 Nr. 2 TTDSG. The purpose of using technically necessary cookies is to simplify the use of the website for the users. Some functions of our website cannot be made available without using cookies. They need the browser to be recognised even after a change of page. We need cookies for the following applications:

  • Navigation status
  • Recalling data entered in forms: terms used in a search within the site and entries in the contact form (Section F)

The data recorded by technically necessary cookies are not used to create user profiles. This purpose also constitutes our legitimate interest in processing the personal data according to Article 6(1)(f) of the GDPR.

Cookies are stored on the user’s computer, which transmits them to our site. Hence you as user have full control over the use of cookies. You can change the settings in your Internet browser to deactivate or restrict the transmission of cookies. Cookies that have already been saved can be deleted at any time. This can also be done automatically. If cookies for our website are deactivated, it is possible that not all functions of the site can be used in full.

In addition, on the ip.mpg.de website, the MPG uses cookies that support the analysis of the user’s usage behaviour. For more details please refer to J. Webtracking.

Use our opt-out function. Click on the cookie icon (fingerprint at the top right of the web page) to stop or re-enable data collection. As long as the checkbox is deactivated, our central server will not store any data from you. Important: For the opt-out, we need to store a special detection cookie in your browser. If you delete this or use a different PC/browser, then you must again object to the data collection on this page.
 

D. Email Information Services

The ip.mpg.de website allows you to subscribe to our free email information services such as the newsletter or information on our events. When you register, we receive the data entered in the form. As a rule, this means your email address and your first and last name. We inform you during the registration process of how exactly this data will be processed, and ask for your consent. In addition, reference is made to this data protection declaration. The data will be used exclusively for the purpose indicated.

The legal basis for the processing of the data after the user has registered for the newsletter is the user’s consent, according to Article 6(1)(a) of the GDPR. The data is recorded in order to enable us to provide you with the information requested. The data is deleted once it is no longer necessary to achieve the purpose for which it was collected. Accordingly, the user’s email address is stored as long as the subscription is active.

You can revoke your consent to the storage of the data and its use for email delivery at any time.

For the newsletter and the invitation to the Patent Law Series this can be done via an unsubscribe link in the message or via the unsubscribe page: Unsubscribe Newsletter; Patent Law Series. For the invitation to the Innovation & Entrepreneurship Seminar recipients can have themselves removed from the invitation list at any time by sending an informal email to ie-seminar-list(at)ip.mpg.de. The data will be deleted within 30 days.

The Institute uses rapidmail to send the newsletter and invitations to the Patent Law Series by email. Your data will therefore be transmitted to rapidmail GmbH. It is prohibited for rapidmail GmbH to use your data for purposes other than sending the Institute’s emails. rapidmail GmbH is not permitted to pass on or sell your data. rapidmail is a German, certified newsletter software provider which has been carefully selected in accordance with the requirements of the GDPR and the BDSG.

The administration of the mailing list and sending of invitations for the Innovation & Entrepreneurship Seminar is handled directly via the mail server and the internal email tool of the institute.
 

E. Registration as part of a funding application or an application for a guest stay

On the ip.mpg.de website, the MPG offers users the opportunity to register by entering personal data in an input mask in order to apply for financial support or a guest stay. In the context of an application, data necessary for the awarding process is collected.

In the context of an application for financial support, these are, in addition to form of address, title, first name and surname, your contact details (address, email address, telephone), the main topic of the research work, desired length of stay, language skills, educational qualifications, further qualifications and training, application documents (CV, certificates, letters of recommendation, project description, photo), date of birth, information on additional income.

If you are applying for a research stay, in addition to the form of address, title, first name and surname, you must also provide your email address, the desired length of stay, the preferred language and the title of your research project, and upload a CV, a letter of recommendation, a project description and a photo.

The legal basis for the data processing is, if the user has given his or her consent, Article 6(1)(a) of the GDPR. If the registration serves to implement funding where the user is a party involved, or to carry out precontractual measures, an additional legal basis for the data processing is Article 6(1)(b) of the GDPR. In order to provide certain content and services on our website and/or to perform a contract with the user or to carry out precontractual measures, it is necessary for the user to be registered. The data are deleted once they are no longer necessary for the purpose for which they were recorded. Where a registration is made for an application for funding or where precontractual measures are carried out, this is the case once the data are no longer necessary for the application or the implementation of this and subsequent applications. Contractual or statutory obligations may require the contract partner’s personal data to be stored even after the funding has been concluded.

As user, you can cancel the registration at any time. You can request the modification of stored data concerning you at any time. If the data are necessary to perform a contract or to carry out precontractual measures, premature deletion of the data is only possible if this is not in conflict with any contractual or statutory obligations.

F. Registration for events

The ip.mpg.de website enables users to register with the MPG for selected events by entering personal details in an input mask. As a rule, the MPG records your email address, surname and first names. We will inform you of exactly how these data will be processed during the registration process and ask for your consent. In addition, reference will be made to this data protection declaration.

The legal basis for the data processing is, if the user has given his or her consent, Article 6(1)(a) of the GDPR. The user’s registration is necessary for organisational aspects of a number of events. The data are deleted once they are no longer necessary for the purpose for which they were recorded. For the data recorded during the registration process for an event, this is the case if the registration on our websites is cancelled or modified. For registrations for events, this is the case if the data are no longer necessary for the holding of the event. Statutory obligations may require the participant’s personal data to continue to be stored even after the event has been concluded.

As user, you can cancel the registration at any time. You can request the modification of stored data concerning you at any time. You only need to send an email to the contact person named for the event. If the data is necessary for the holding of an event, premature deletion of the data is only possible if this is not in conflict with any statutory obligations.

F. Online job applications

If you apply for a job with us online, a separate data protection notice applies. This can be found at the respective page of the job application portal.

G. Data communication

Your personal data will only be communicated to State institutions and authorities in the cases required by law and/or for the purpose of prosecuting offences due to attacks on our network infrastructure. Data will not be communicated to third parties for any other purpose.

H. Data subjects’ rights

As a data subject whose personal data are recorded within the framework of the above-mentioned services, you have the following rights as a matter of principle, unless statutory exceptions apply in the specific case:

  • Access (Article 15 GDPR)
  • Rectification (Article 16 GDPR)
  • Erasure (Article 17(1) GDPR)
  • Restriction of processing (Article 18 GDPR)
  • Data portability (Article 20 GDPR)
  • Right to object to processing (Article 21 GDPR)
  • Revocation of consent (Article 7(3) GDPR)

Right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority (Article 77 GDPR). For the MPG, this is the Bayerische Landesamt für Datenschutzaufsicht, Postfach 1349, 91504 Ansbach. (Bavarian State Office for Data Protection Supervision), PO Box 1349, 91504 Ansbach.

I. Web analysis

In order to collect statistical data about use patterns, we use the Matomo (formerly known as Piwik) web analysis program, which uses cookies and JavaScript to collect and send us various kinds of information on your computer. Whenever our web pages are accessed, our system records the following data and information from the accessing computer system:

  • IP address, abbreviated and anonymised
  • Two cookies to distinguish different visitors (pk_id and pk_sess)
  • URL just visited (referrer), if communicated by the browser
  • Operating system name and version
  • Browser’s name, version and language setting

And, if JavaScript is activated:

  • URLs visited on this website
  • Time the page was accessed
  • Type of HTML access
  • Monitor resolution and colour depth

Technologies and formats supported by the browser (e.g. cookies, Java, Flash, PDF, WindowsMedia, QuickTime, Realplayer, Director, SilverLight, Google Gears)

The data are only stored and analysed on a central server operated by MPG. In addition to the central www.mpg.de website, it is also used by most Max Planck Institutes and many of the project websites attributable to the MPG.

The legal basis for processing the user’s personal data is Article 6(1)(f) of the GDPR. The processing of the user’s personal data allows us to analyse the use patterns of our users. The analysis of the data acquired allows us to compile information about the use of individual elements of our Internet site. This helps us to improve our site and its user-friendliness. It is this purpose that also constitutes our legitimate interest in processing the data pursuant to Article 6(1) of the GDPR. The anonymisation of the IP addresses takes sufficient account of the users’ interest in the protection of their personal data.

The data are deleted after the final annual totals for the access statistics have been determined.

It goes without saying that you can object to the recording of the data. You may use any of the following independent means to object to the recording of data by the central server:

Activate the Do-Not-Track setting in your browser. As long as this setting is not active, our central server will not store any data from you of any kind. Note: The Do-Not-Track instruction applies as a rule only for one device and for the browser in which you have activated the setting. If you use more than one device/browser, you must activate Do-Not-Track separately on each of them.

Use our opt-out function. Check the following selection box to stop or reactivate data recording. As long as this box is not activated, our central server will not store any data from you of any kind. Note: the opt-out requires us to store a special identifying cookie in your browser. If you delete this cookie or use a different PC or browser, you must repeat your objection to the recording of data on this page.

This data is not stored together with the user’s other personal data.

Privacy Policy on Social Media Activities

Information on Data Processing Pursuant to Art. 14 DS-GVO


Contact Details Responsible Party


We, the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition, Marstallplatz 1, 80539 Munich, phone 089 / 24246-0, operate the following social media websites:


As the operator of these pages, we are jointly responsible with the operator of the respective social media platform within the meaning of Art. 4 No. 7 of the General Data Protection Regulation (DSGVO):

  • LinkedIn Ireland Unlimited Company (LinkedIn)
  • Twitter International Company (Twitter)


When visiting our social media websites, personal data is processed by the responsible parties. In the following, we will inform you about what data is involved, how it is processed and what rights you have in this regard. As the responsible party for these pages, we have entered into agreements with the operator of the respective social media platform, which regulate, among other things, the conditions for use of the pages. The terms of use of the respective operator as well as the other conditions and guidelines listed there at the end are authoritative.


Use of Insights and Cookies


The operators of the social media platforms also provide us with usage statistics (so-called analysis services or page insights data) of our pages on the social media platforms based on the actions and interactions of our followers (e.g. likes, shares, comments, etc.), number of followers, views of individual page areas, reach of a post as well as statistics on followers by age, language, origin or interests), which help us to get in touch with our followers and interested parties, to understand the use and reach of our posts, to evaluate content and to identify usage preferences as well as to be able to design our pages on the social media platforms in a way that is as target group-oriented as possible. We have no influence or access to the creation and processing of these usage statistics and the underlying data; it is carried out under the sole responsibility of the operator of the respective social media platform.


The information stored in the cookies is received, recorded and processed by the operator of the respective social media platform. This also includes services provided by the operator or operator group of social media platforms, as well as services provided by other companies that use the social media platforms and which are visited by the user. In addition, other entities such as partners or even third parties on the social media platforms may use cookies to provide services to companies advertising on the social media platforms. For more information on the use of cookies by the operator, please refer to their Cookie Policy.


Contact data of data protection officers


The contact details of MPG's data protection officer are: Hofgartenstraße 8, D-80539 Munich, Germany, phone: +49 (89) 2108-1554, e-mail: datenschutz(at)mpg.de.


Purposes of Data Processing


The data you enter on our pages on social media platforms, such as comments, questions, videos, pictures, likes, public messages, job preferences and selection, etc., will be published by the operator of the social media platform and will be used or processed by us only for the purposes stated below. We reserve the right to delete content should this be necessary. If applicable, we share your content on our site if this is a function of the website and communicate with you via the website.


On the websites operated by us, you will find links to other company presences on social media platforms in each case. You can recognize links to the websites of the social media platforms, for example, by the respective company logo. If you follow these links, you will reach our corporate presence on the respective social media platform. When you click on a link to a social media platform, a connection is established to the servers of the social media platform. This transmits the fact that you have visited our website. In addition, further data is transmitted to the provider of the social media platform. These are, for example:

  • Address of the website on which the activated link is located.
  • Date and time when the website was called up or the link was activated
  • Information about the browser and operating system used
  • IP address


If you are already logged in to the corresponding social media platform at the time the link is activated, the provider of this social media platform may be able to determine your user name and possibly even your real name from the transmitted data and assign this information to your personal user account with the social media platform. You can exclude this possibility of assignment to your personal user account if you log out of your user account beforehand.


Contact


You can contact us via some of our pages on social media platforms. We process your data to answer your inquiry and, if necessary, to send you requested information material. Your data may be transferred to the body responsible for your request. This body may also be a third party. A transmission only takes place if there is a data protection law transmission authorization.


If you submit a request to us on the social media platforms, we may also refer you to other secure communication channels that guarantee confidentiality, depending on the required response.


You always have the option of sending us confidential inquiries to our address listed in the imprint.


Statistical Evaluations


The processing of the information is intended to enable us, as the operator of the social media site, to obtain statistics (so-called page insights data) that the operator of the social media platform creates based on the visits to our site. For example, this enables us to gain knowledge of the profiles of visitors who like our site or use applications of the site in order to provide them with more relevant content and develop features that may be of greater interest to them.


In addition, to help us better understand how our Site can better reach our interested users, demographic and geographic analyses are also created and provided to us based on the information we collect. We can use this information to offer targeted interest-based content without gaining direct knowledge of the visitor's identity. If visitors use social media platforms on multiple devices, the collection and analysis can also be carried out across devices if the visitors are registered and logged into their own profiles.


The visitor statistics created are transmitted to us exclusively in anonymized form. We have no access to the underlying data.


Further information on the processing of your personal data by the operator of the respective social media platform in the context of the creation and processing of usage statistics can be found in the information on usage statistics on the following websites of the respective social media platform:

  • LinkedIn Ireland Unlimited Company (LinkedIn)


Legal Basis of Data Processing


We operate these social media sites in order to present ourselves to and communicate with users as well as other interested persons who visit our sites. The processing of users' personal data is based on our legitimate interests, in an optimized company and product presentation (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO).


Recipients or Categories of Recipients


Data is not passed on to third parties by us.


The servers of the social media platforms are located in the USA and other countries outside the European Union. The data may therefore also be processed by the provider of the social media platform in countries outside the European Union. Please note that companies in these countries are subject to data protection laws that do not generally protect personal data to the same extent as is the case in the member states of the European Union.


Please note that we have no influence on the scope, type and purpose of the data processing by the provider of the social media platforms. For more information on the use of your data by the social media platforms integrated on our website, please refer to the privacy policy of the respective social media platform:

  • LinkedIn Ireland Unlimited Company (LinkedIn)
  • Twitter International Company (Twitter)


Storage Period


The data will not be stored by us.


Data Subject Rights


You have the right to obtain information about the data stored by MPG about you, the right to demand that the data be corrected if it is incorrect or deleted if it is stored inappropriately, and the right to data portability. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the supervisory authority. For MPG, this is the Bavarian State Office for Data Protection Supervision, Postfach 1349, 91504 Ansbach.


Source of the Data


The data are not collected directly from the data subjects but are provided by the operator of the social media platform:

  • LinkedIn Ireland Unlimited Company (LinkedIn)
  • Twitter International Company (Twitter)