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This is the privacy policy (“policy”) for the website www.springerprofessional.de which is run and provided by Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH, Abraham-Lincoln-Str. 46, 65189 Wiesbaden, Germany, service@springerprofessional.de (we, us and our). 

We will only use the personal data gathered over this website as set out in this policy. Below you will find information on how we use your personal data, for which purposes your personal data is used, with whom it is shared and what control and information rights you may have.

I. Summary of our processing activities

The authentication and authorisation services are the overarching identification and login platform in the network of internet portals of the Springer Nature specialist publishing group. 
For more information, see the designated sections below.

  • As soon as you book services on one of the participating Internet portals (e.g. restricted access information, subscriptions), further personal data will be processed in this context (see under III.2 and III.3).
  • If applicable, your personal data will be disclosed to third parties (see under VII).
  • We have taken appropriate security measures to protect your personal data (see VIII) and only store it for as long as necessary (see under IX).
  • Depending on the circumstances of the specific case, you may have certain rights in relation to the processing of your personal data (see under X).

II. Definitions

  • Personal data: means any information relating to a natural person who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, or an online identifier.
  • Processing: means any operation which is performed on personal data, such as collection, recording, organisation, structuring, storage, adaptation or any kind of disclosure or other use.

III. Informational use of the website

When you visit our website for informational reasons, i.e. without registering for any of our provided services listed under IV and without providing us with personal data in any other form, we may automatically collect additional information about you which will contain personal data only in limited cases and which is automatically recognised by our server, such as:

  • your device type, screen resolution and browser version
  • information on your operating system, including language settings
  • the date and time of your requests
  • information on the offers you have visited on our website

We use such information only to assist us in providing an effective service (e.g. to adapt our website to the needs of your device or to allow you to log in to our website), and to collect broad demographic information for anonymised, aggregated use. 

The personal data automatically collected is necessary for us to provide the website, Article 6 sec. 1 sent. 1 lit. b GDPR, and for our legitimate interest to guarantee the website’s stability and security, Article 6 sec. 1 sent. 1 lit. f GDPR.

Personal data that is collected automatically is retained for 1 month and properly erased afterwards.

IV. Registration for our services

Our website offers free of charge newsletters, access to and download of content (e.g. book chapters, journal articles, eLearning) and the administration of your personal knowledge archive (e.g. dashboard, bookmarks, areas of interest). In order to use the aforementioned services you have to set up an account (“registration”).

With regard to the registration of an account and its subsequent use, we use the authentication service of Springer Nature GmbH, Heidelberger Platz 3, 14197 Berlin, a separate service used as a global platform for user identification and login for springerprofessional.de and the specialist publishing houses of the Springer Nature group. To read the General Terms and Conditions of Use applicable to the Authentication Service and the Authentication Service Privacy Policy, please click here and here.

When logging in on springerprofessional.de through the authentication service with your login data after registration we send the data you enter into the login form (usually your email address and a password) to the server of the authentication service together with a service URL. Based on these data the service validates your access requests. If access is granted the authentication service transfers the unique user ID generated for your user account. With these data we can provide you with the personalized settings you may already have selected on springerprofessional.de. In addition we can request relevant data required for providing services from the authentication service via a webservice e.g. to enable access to your subscriptions or other services you have booked.

For registration we process at least:

  • Information (such as your name and email address) that is provided by registration
  • Information in connection with an account sign-in facility (e.g. log-in and password details)

Whenever you complete transactions using our website, further mandatory information may be required, e.g. a birth date, area of interest or address to participate in online training (eLearning), of which you will of course be separately informed.

Data required for providing a service are marked as mandatory, provision of additional information is optional.

We will process the personal data you provide to:

  • Identify you at sign-in
  • Provide you with the services and information offered through the website or which you request
  • Administer your account
  • Communicate with you
  • (behavioural) Advertising and profiling

For this, the legal basis is Article 6 sec. 1 sent. 1 lit. b GDPR.

The use of your personal data for behavioural advertising and profiling is done for the legitimate interest to improve your experience while using the website, Article 6 sec. 1 sent. 1 lit. f GDPR.]

We use the personal data and contact data you provide by registration to inform you directly about our additional products and services. The use of your personal data for directly advertising related products and services is a legitimate interest for us as a provider of this website, Article 6 sec. 1 sent. 1 lit. f GDPR.

You can object to the use of your personal data for direct marketing at any time. We will then refrain from any processing to the extent it is related to such purposes. You can inform us about your objection by contacting us at: service@springerprofessional.de.

Your personal data is, in the absence of exceptions within the specific services mentioned below, retained for as long as your user account is used. After deletion of your account, your personal data will be erased with the next regular database cleaning. Statutory storage obligations or the need for legal actions that may arise from misconduct within the services or payment problems can lead to a longer retention of your personal data. In this case, we will inform you accordingly.

V. Information about the specific uses that require registration

For the use of the following services you have to set up an account as described under IV. Your customer account retains your personal data for future purchases and other activity. You can delete the personal data in your account’s settings. This processing is based on Article 6 sec. 1 sent. 1 lit. b.]

1. Remember Me

If you activated the “remember me” functionality when logging in through the authentication service we place a cookie on your device that provides us with your login data (see section IV) and enables us to automatically log you in on your next visit.

In addition we place temporary cookies to identify the sites (URL) you have visited on springerprofessional.de. We do not collect any personal data or IP addresses of our users in these cookies. They are used exclusively to ensure the correct display of the site based on your preferences and are deleted as soon as you log out or close the browser window.

2. Test subscriptions and paid contracts

As a registered user, you are able to enter into a subscription for access to certain areas and/or periodicals and/or purchase individual issues of periodicals or individual articles. In addition, in some circumstances you may be granted access to content free of charge for a limited period. Orders are placed directly online. Our order form requests the following data in order to allow us to process the form and carry out order (including in the case of the free trial access):

  • Your forename(s) and surname, gender, title,
  • Your postal address including telephone number as well as a separate delivery address if your selected subscription includes printed materials,
  • Your area of specialisation and focus of your role.
  • If ordering as for a business, the company name, type, sector and EU VAT number.

If you are a customer with a print subscription and access online content provided through your print subscription, we also collect and process the following data: 

  • Licence code of your business subscription or
  • Customer number of your print subscription.

3. Registration from IP range

If you register as part of an enterprise cooperation agreement, during the registration process we use all but the final part of the IP address of the device used to register to verify whether your device’s IP address is in the range specified by your company/organisation and we place a cookie on your device for the duration of the agreement. To do this we collect the IP address of the device from which you access springermedizin.de when you log in, and check whether this is within an IP range that is permitted to access the content. We do not store the full IP address, we remove the final part. This is a necessary step to provide you with access to the specific offering and information under your cooperation agreement.

4. Web shop

In order to carry out purchases from our shop, your personal data is transferred to our web shop operator (Springer Nature Customer Service Center GmbH); see XI on the Transfer of personal data to third parties. The lawful basis for this processing is Article 6 (1) (1) (b) GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) and our legitimate interest in operating a central purchasing process for the Springer Nature Publishing Group pursuant to Article 6 (1) (1) (f) GDPR.

By statutory law we are required to retain the provided financial data in relation to transactions (including address, payment and order information) for ten years. However, after 2 years we will restrict the processing of your personal data to comply with the statutory requirements and will not process the personal data any further. Regarding this, the retention of your personal data is based on Article 6 sec. 1 sent. 1 lit. c GDPR.

5. PatentFit

If you have subscribed to the additional product "PatentFit" (patent search based on Springerprofessional technical literature), we use your login data (see IV) to authenticate you as a user. This authentication is carried out by the patent search operator, Dennemeyer Octimine, when you use the search. This is necessary to enable you to access the cooperation-specific offers and services.

VI. Newsletter 

After login you can subscribe to various editorial newsletters and the newsletter informing you about our newest products and services. If you consent to receiving a newsletter it will be sent to the email address you entered during registration. The legal basis for this processing is Article 6 sec. 1 sent. 1 lit. a GDPR. Your email address will be retained as long as you subscribe to our newsletter.

The newsletters contain two types of cookies that cannot be managed independently of the newsletter via the website's cookie settings. We set a cookie that, in addition to ensuring the newsletter display, also provides statistical information about user behavior (e.g. whether the newsletter was opened, what content was clicked). Our advertising partners may set cookies that provide comparable information about whether an advertisement was clicked on and from which newsletter.
These cookies do not store any personal information.

You can unsubscribe from this service by opting out via the link provided in each newsletter or by changing your preferences in „My profile“ and „My newsletter“ [link: https://www.springerprofessional.de/en/mynewsletters] or by sending an email with your request to service@springerprofessional.de.

VII. Automated decision making

We do not use your personal data for automated decision making which produces legal     effects concerning you or similarly significantly affects you. 

VIII. Online advertising

This website uses online advertising services to present you with ads that meet your interests. Respective advertisement is labelled with the name of the provider, e.g. “Google-Ad”. Additionally, this service helps us to improve our website and to make your visit more interesting. In order to do so, we collect statistical information about you that will be processed by the provider. This processing is based on Article 6 sec. 1 sent. 1 lit. f GDPR and represents our legitimate interest to improve your website experience and to promote our products and services.

1. Cookies, Web-beacons

Providers will be automatically informed about your visit on our website. For such purpose, a web beacon is used to place a cookie on your computer. 

Please note that we neither have the control of the extent of personal data that is collected by the respective plug-in provider nor do we know the processing’s purpose or the period your personal data will be retained. Depending on the provider your personal data may be transferred to and processed in third countries, e.g. the United States. For further information about the potential risks of a cross border data transfer please refer to section XII.

It is possible that a provider discloses your personal data to its business partners, third parties or authorities.

You can prevent the installation of such a cookie:

  • (i) by a respective setting of your browser that blocks the installation of third party cookies, 
  • (ii) by deactivating the provider’s interest-related advertising under the link mentioned in the provider details below,
  • (iii) or generally blocking cookies under e.g http://www.google.com/settings/ads/plugin]. 

Further information about the processing of your personal data in the provider’s course of operation is provided by its privacy policy. Moreover, you will be provided with further information with regard to your rights and settings concerning privacy. You can access the provider’s privacy policy by following the link in the provider details below.

2. Online Behavioural Advertising (OBA)

On our website, we use businessAD, a service provided by the advertising sales company businessAD to serve OBA. The following businesses are used by businessAD and/or Ströer Digital Group to collect data for the purpose of serving OBA: ADTECH, AppNexus, The ADEX, Emetriq GmbH, AudienceProject ApS, Ströer SSP (together “businessAD”).

businessAD places a cookie on your device in which your interests (e.g. advertising banners clicked on, sub-pages visited, etc.) are saved. No personal data such as name, address, email address or IP address is saved in these cookies. If you wish to opt out of OBA from businessAD, you can click on the links below to disable this data collection:

The websites

contain further information about cookies that are used for analytics and advertising and the individual providers that serve them. You can also register your objection to OBA from some or all of the companies mentioned on these websites. 

(a) Data collected by other providers of web advertising based on behavioural targeting

Technologies from other providers may be used to collect usage data associated with advertising served in various combinations on websites in the portfolio. You may object to the placement of cookies and collection of data by third parties working on behalf of businessAD by clicking on the links in the section entitled “Specifically disabling the collection of usage data” (Spezifische Deaktivierung der Erhebung von Nutzungsdaten) on the page at http://www.businessad.de/datenschutz.
Further information on businessAD’s use of third parties and its data protection can be found in the businessAD Privacy Policy which can also be downloaded from that page.

(b) Ad Viewability metrics with meetrics

businessAD and its clients use technology provided by meetrics (www.meetrics.de) to measure the visibility of advertising. This is a legitimate interest since many clients only pay for advertising on the basis of specific visibility metrics. All of the technical solutions and products developed by Meetrics GmbH comply with the requirements of the EU GDPR. The Meetrics Ad Viewability Solution does not use cookies in any form. Neither does it generate user interest profiles. The stored data is anonymized and it is not possible to generate profiles. 

3. Microsoft Bing Ads

We use Bing Ads to advertise on our site and third party websites to previous visitors of our site. Bing Ads is provided by Microsoft Corporation, One Microsoft Way, Redmond, Washington 98052, USA. Phone: (+1) 425-882-8080 (“Microsoft”).

The advertisements are displayed on the basis of information that is stored in cookies which Microsoft places on your computer. The text files include information, on your visit of our website, in particular product views that is read-out in the course of subsequent visits of this or third party websites for specific product recommendations. The cookie includes a random alias. In case you visit our website within a certain period of time and view our products, Microsoft is able to recognize you by means of the alias. However, the information cannot be attributed to you personally. We or Microsoft will not merge this information with your personal data and will not disclose any of your personal data to any third party. 

You can prevent being tracked by choosing the appropriate preference in the privacy options of your browser or disable cookies. For more information about Bing Ads security see https://secure.bingads.microsoft.com/. For more information about Microsoft privacy policies see https://privacy.microsoft.com/en-us/privacystatement or contact the data controller office Microsoft Ireland Operations, Ltd., Attn: Data Protection, Carmenhall Road, Sandyford, Dublin 18, Irland.

4. Google AdWords

We use Google Adwords to advertise on our site and third party websites to previous visitors of our site. Google Adwords is provided by Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland (“Google”).

The advertisements are displayed on the basis of information that is stored in cookies which Google places on your computer. The text files include information, on your visit of our website, in particular product views that is read-out in the course of subsequent visits of this or third party websites for specific product recommendations. The cookie includes a random alias. In case you visit our website within a certain period of time and view our products, Google is able to recognize you by means of the alias. However, the information cannot be attributed to you personally. We or Google will not merge this information with your personal data and will not disclose any of your personal data to any third party. 

You can prevent the storing and using of information in a cookie placed by Google by clicking on the following link http://www.google.de/ads/preferences and configuring your preferences there.

For more information about Google privacy policies see https://privacy.google.com/intl/en/ and https://www.google.com/policies/privacy/?hl=en.
You can prevent being tracked by choosing the appropriate preference in the privacy options of your browser or disable cookies or delete the cookie.
Alternatively you can deactivate cookies from third parties by opening the website of the network advertising initiative http://www.networkadvertising.org/choices/.

5. Google Fonts

Google Fonts is a service provided by Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland (“Google”) to display fonts in your browser. To collect the font from an interactive directory a call is sent that contains your IP address. 
To visualize fonts on our website we exclusively pull Google fonts from our own servers, no data is sent to google.
If you consented to any tracking or advertising cookies a call may be initiated to display the fonts in the advertisement. We do not have any influence on whether the advertiser collects the font from Google directly or not, but your IP address will not be stored by Google. Further information can be found in the Google privacy policy https://policies.google.com/privacy and the Google Fonts documentation https://developers.google.com/fonts/faq#what_does_using_the_google_fonts_api_mean_for_the_privacy_of_my_users.

6. Podigee

We use the podcast hosting service Podigee from the provider Podigee GmbH, Ritterstr. 2A, 10969 Berlin, Germany. The podcasts are loaded by Podigee or transmitted via Podigee. This processing is based on Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. f GDPR. We use it to pursue our legitimate interest in enhancing your user experience and optimising our services. Podigee processes IP addresses and device information in order to enable podcast downloads/playbacks and to determine statistical data, such as call-up figures. This data is anonymised or pseudonymised before being stored in Podigee's database, unless it is required for the provision of the podcasts. Further information can be found in Podigee's privacy policy: https://www.podigee.com/de/about/privacy/

7. IAB TCF

We participate in the Transparency & Consent Framework (TCF) of the International Advertising Bureau (IAB, https://iabeurope.eu/) in version TCF 2.2. in order to be able to display advertising in accordance with the preferences you have set and any consent you have given.

The cookie banner displayed by Onetrust (see VIII.2) also shows the processing purposes of TCF:

  • "Functional purposes of use" - these cookies are always active, they serve the correct display of the website and your security of use.
  • "Additional functions" - cookies associated with these purposes are optionally activated if you use a function that requires such a cookie or explicitly consent to the placement of cookies while browsing the website.

For all TCF processing purposes, the number of registered IAB suppliers who may set a cookie to fulfill such a processing purpose is indicated. You can use the "List of IAB suppliers" link to display the complete list, filter it and manage the consents you have given.

IX. Analysis 

1. General tracking information

For statistical analyses we use web analytics services to collect information about the use of this site. The tools collect information such as

  • Device and browser information (operating system information, Mobile device identifier, mobile operating system, etc.)
  • IP address
  • Page accessed, URL click stream (the chronological order of our internet sites you visited)
  • Geographic location
  • Time of visit
  • Referring site, application, or service

We use the information we get from the providers only to determine the most useful information you are looking for, and to improve and optimise this website. We do not combine the information collected through the use of the tools with personal data. 

Depending on the provider the information generated about your use of the website may be transferred to and processed in third countries, e.g. the United States. For further information about the potential risks of a cross border data transfer please refer to section XII. The tools collect only the IP address assigned to you on the date you visit this site, rather than your name or any other identifying information. The provider will use this information in order to evaluate your use of the website, to compile reports on website activities and to provide other services relating to website and internet use to us.

The legal basis for this processing is Art. 6 sec. 1 sent. 1 lit. f GDPR and represents our legitimate interest to analyse our website’s traffic to improve the user’s experience and to optimise the website in general.

2. contentpass

On our website we offer a service for ad- and tracking-free access.

This service is called contentpass and is offered by Content Pass GmbH, Wolfswerder 58, 14532 Kleinmachnow, Germany. When you sign up for the Service, contentpass becomes your contractual partner. For more information about this service and the contentpass Terms & Conditions, please visit https://my.contentpass.net/terms.

In order to display and offer this service on our website, contentpass, on our behalf, processes your IP address at the beginning of your website visit. For the registration as well as the contract processing of contentpass and the associated data processing, contentpass is the controller in the sense of the GDPR. We are exclusively responsible for the processing of your IP address. The processing is necessary for technical reasons in order to display and offer you the service of contentpass. For more information regarding data processing at contentpass, please read contentpass' privacy policy (https://my.contentpass.net/privacy).

The basis for the data processing of the IP address, within the scope of our commissioned processing with contentpass, is our legitimate interest in offering you the possibility to access our website free of advertising and tracking and your legitimate interest in using our website practically without advertising and tracking [Art. 6 para. 1 p. 1 lit. f) GDPR.

You can log in to your contentpass account here (https://my.contentpass.net/), and register for contentpass here (https://my.contentpass.net/).


a) Access to your consent settings
You can withdraw your consent to advertising tracking for free access to our online offers at any time, for example by pressing the "Reject all" button, which can be accessed via the "Manage cookies" link (in the footer). An unrestricted and further use of our online offer, without the use of advertising tracking, is only possible within the framework of the paid "contentpass subscription".


Withdraw consent
If you withdraw your consent, you will be shown the selection page again the next time you visit our website or app. You can only continue to use our offers without advertising tracking if you choose the contentpass offer, which is subject to a fee. A withdrawal of your consent has no influence on the admissibility of the data processing that took place up to the time of withdrawal.


3. Google Analytics / Google Tag Manager / Big Query

We use Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland (“Google”). The cookie set by Google Analytics on your device causes your web browser to transmit corresponding information to Google each time our website is called up. For example, Google Analytics collects data about the website from which a data subject has accessed a website (so-called referrer URL), which subpages of the website have been accessed or how often and for how long a subpage has been viewed. On our behalf Google will use the information generated by the cookie for the purpose of evaluating your use of the website, compiling reports on website activity and providing other services relating to website activity and internet activity in connection with the use of the website and according to your consent preferences.

The processing affects the following data categories:

  • IP addresses
  • Online identifiers (including cookie identifiers)
  • Device identifiers
  • Technical characteristics of users (e.g., browser type and version, device type, operating system)
  • Measurement of user behavior (e.g., views of individual pages / content, views of content from different areas, session duration / dwell time, bounce rate
  • Use of individual website functionalities (e.g. timetable information, search queries, downloads)
  • Referral URL

We use the addition "_gat._anonymizeIp" for web analysis via Google Analytics. By means of this add-on, your IP address is shortened and anonymized by Google before transmission to the USA if our website is accessed from a member state of the European Union or the European Economic Area. Only in exceptional cases will the full IP address be transmitted to a Google server in the USA and shortened there.

The legal basis for the data transfer is Art. 28 GDPR in conjunction with the data processing agreement. The transfer of your personal data is subject to your consent according to Article 6 sec. 1 sent. 1 lit. a GDPR. You can consent to the processing of your data by Google Analytics using our Consent Manager, prevent the collection of your data or revoke consent once given. For revocation, call up the cookie settings again at the bottom of our website.

The information processed by Google about your use of this website may be transmitted to a Google server outside the EEA and processed there. The cross-border transfer is safeguarded by the Standard Contractual Clauses 2021.

Your personal data will be anonymized by Google 26 months after your last activity, unless there is a legal obligation to retain it.

You may refuse the use of cookies by selecting the appropriate settings on your browser or by amending your preferences. In addition to that you may prevent the collection of the information generated by the cookie about your use of the website (including you IP address) and the processing of this data by Google if you download and install the browser plug-in available at the following link: http://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout. You can access the Google Analytics privacy policy here

The legal basis to process your data in this instance is Article 6 sec. 1 sent. 1 lit. f GDPR, our legitimate interest to improve and increase the use of our website as well as your interest in discovering content that is relevant to you. We will retain the data for 26 months unless longer retention is legally required or allowed.

4. Optimizely

We use Optimizely, a web analytics service provided by Optimizely Inc., 631 Howard Street, Suite 100 San Francisco, CA 94105 (“Optimizely”). Optimizely also uses cookies and tracking pixels. The information generated by the cookies and pixels regarding your use of this website will, as a rule, be transmitted to and stored on a server of Optimizely in the US. Optimizely will use this information on our behalf to analyse your use of the website and to compile reports on website activities.

In particular, the following information will be stored:

  • the total number and percentage of users who opened a website variation
  • the number of clicks on links
  • your browser type and version 
  • campaign IDs through which the website was reached.

You can disable Optimizely tracking (and thus prevent the data generated by cookies and pixel, and relating to your use of the website, from being collected to and processed by Optimizely) at any time by following the instructions at http://www.optimizely.com/opt_out

For more information about privacy policies and Optimizely, please refer to the Optimizely website: https://www.optimizely.com/privacy/

5. Analytics, INFOnline

Our website uses the multi-stage measurement procedure 'INFOnline Measurement' from INFOnline GmbH (https://www.INFOnline.de) to determine statistical characteristic values (page impression, visit, technical client) about the use of our digital offering.

The aim of usage measurement is to statistically determine the number of visits to our website, the number of website visitors and their surfing behavior - on the basis of a uniform standard procedure - and thus to obtain values that are comparable across the market.

As a member of the Informationsgemeinschaft zur Feststellung der Verbreitung von Werbeträgern e.V. (IVW - https://www.ivw.eu ), usage statistics are regularly provided by IVW with the performance values 'Page Impression' and 'Visits' in the IVW report (https://ausweisung.ivw-online.de/).

As a participant in the AGOF daily digital facts study, the usage statistics of our digital offering are regularly provided by Arbeitsgemeinschaft Online-Forschung e.V. (agof - https://www.agof.de) and the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Media-Analyse e.V. (agma - https://www.agma-mmc.de on reach and published with the performance value "Unique User".

(a) legal basis for processing
Measurement with INFOnline Measurement (pseudonymous system: IOMp) by INFOnline GmbH takes place within the scope of usage measurement with consent pursuant to Art. 6 (1) a) GDPR.

The purpose of processing personal data is to form digital performance values (page impression, visit and technical client) in order to compile statistics. The statistics are used to be able to track and prove the use of our offer.

(b) nature of the data
Due to the types of data and the amount of data, the data collected with INFOnline Measurement do not allow for the clear identification of a user as a person.

A JavaScript code (so-called 'Measurement Manager') is used that automatically integrates and executes the necessary measurement sensors for anonymous and/or pseudonymous data processing to determine the key figures when called up via the browser or the user's end device (client) on the basis of the consent information from the Consent Management Platform (CMP) used by the Provider for the Digital Offer. INFOnline Measurement is designed as an anonymous system (without client identifier) and as a pseudonymous system (with client identifier).

With the pseudonymous measurement procedure (IOMp)
the following data is collected with the 3rd party cookie 'i00' (ioam.de) and the 1st party cookie 'ioma2018', which have a personal reference according to EU-DSGVO:

  • IP address:
    On the Internet, every device needs a unique address, the so-called IP address, to transmit data. The storage of the IP address, at least for a short time, is technically necessary due to the way the Internet works.
    The IP addresses are shortened by 1 byte before any processing and are only processed anonymously. The untruncated IP addresses are not stored or processed.
  • A randomly generated client identifier:
    Reach measurement uses unique identifiers of the end device, a 'Local Storage Object' (LSO) or a signature created from various automatically transmitted information from your browser to recognize computer systems. This identifier is unique to a browser as long as the cookie or Local Storage Object is not deleted. Measurement of the data and subsequent assignment to the respective identifier may also be possible under certain circumstances if you call up other websites that also use the pseudonymous measurement procedure of INFOnline GmbH. The following unique identifiers can be transmitted to INFOnline GmbH as a hash:
    • shortened client IP or X-Forwarded-For (XFF)
    • User agent (as hash)

Personal data in the sense of the EU-GDPR is only used for measurement insofar as the use of a JavaScript takes place vis-à-vis a user who has been assigned an individual IP address and a randomly generated client identifier for calling up web content.

(c) use of data
The measurement procedure of INFOnline GmbH, which is used on this website, determines usage data. This is done in order to collect the performance values page impression, visit and client.

  • Geolocation
    In the pseudonymous measurement procedure (IOMp), a web page call is assigned to the location of the call exclusively on the basis of the anonymized IP address and only up to the geographic level of the federal states/regions. Under no circumstances can conclusions be drawn about the specific place of residence of a user from the geographical information obtained in this way.
  • Merging of usage data across offers
    The usage data of a technical client (e.g., a browser on a device) is aggregated across websites using the pseudonymous measurement method (IOMp) and stored in a database.

(d) storage period of the data
The complete IP address is not stored by INFOnline GmbH.

The IP address is only used to receive the data packets and is then shortened by 1 byte.

In the census procedure (IOMb), the shortened IP address is discarded; in the pseudonymous (IOMp), it is stored for a maximum of 60 days. In the pseudonymous (IOMp) procedure, the usage data is stored in conjunction with the unique identifier for a maximum of 6 months.

The validity of the cookie 'i00' used in the pseudonymous procedure (IOMp) and the cookie 'ioma2018' on the user's terminal device is limited to a maximum of 1 year.

(e) disclosure of data
The IP address as well as the shortened IP address will not be passed on.
Further information on data protection in INFOnline Measurement can be found on the website of INFOnline GmbH (https://www.infonline.de), which operates the measurement process.

(f) Right to object
If you do not wish to participate in the analysis, you may object here:
https://optout.ioam.de


6. Hotjar

Our website uses Hotjar, a web analytics service provided by HotJar LTD, Dragonara Business Centre, 5th Floor, Dragonara Road, Paceville St Julian's STJ 3141 Malta. The information generated by Hotjar's cookies about your use of the website and apps is usually transmitted to a Hotjar server and stored there. Hotjar will use this information to evaluate your use of the website and to compile reports on website activity.

In particular, the following is stored:

  •     IP address in anonymized form;
  •     Web pages viewed and movement patterns on these pages;
  •     Number and position of clicks on links;
  •     Browser type and version;
  •     Screen size of the device used.

Personal data or movements on profile pages that contain personal data are not stored. In particular, according to Hotjar, IP addresses are only stored in anonymized form. Further information on data protection and Hotjar can be found in Hotjar's privacy policy: https://www.hotjar.com/privacy.

If you do not want information about your behavior to be used by Hotjar as explained above, you can adjust your cookie preferences or generally deactivate the automatic setting of cookies required for this in your browser settings.

Hotjar also offers the option of objecting to data processing by the cookie for the future by observing the "Do Not Track" function of browsers. You can find out how to activate this here: https://www.hotjar.com/opt-out.

X. Third party content and social media plug-ins

1. Social media plug-ins

We use the following social media plug-ins: AddThis, Facebook, Xing, LinkedIn, Twitter. This allows you to communicate with such services and like or comment from our website. Social media plug-ins enable a direct communication between your device and the servers of the social media provider, allowing the social media provider to communicate with you and collect information about you browsing our website. This processing is based on Article 6 sec. 1 sent. 1 lit. f GDPR and represents our legitimate interest to improve your website experience and to optimise our services.

Transfer of personal data takes places whether you have an account with the provider or not. 

Please note that we neither have the control of the extent of personal data that is collected by the respective plug-in provider nor do we know the processing’s purpose or the period your personal data will be retained.

Further information about the processing of your personal data in the provider’s course of operation is provided via their respective privacy policy. Moreover, you will be provided with further information with regard to your rights and setting concerning privacy.

(a) AddThis service

Our website uses the “AddThis” service operated by AddThis  LLC, Inc. 8000 Westpark Drive, Suite 625, McLean, VA 2210, USA (“AddThis”).

When you access a web page on our website on which the AddThis service is enabled, your browser establishes a direct connection to the servers operated by AddThis. AddThis receives notification that your browser has accessed the corresponding website and stores a cookie on your device for the purpose of identifying your browser. It also serves social media buttons for GooglePlus (cf. 2.1), Facebook (cf. 3.1), XING (cf. 4.1), LinkedIn (cf. 5.1) and Twitter (cf. 6), for which AddThis tracks usage. The data collected by this service is transferred to AddThis in the USA, where it is processed.

We have no influence on how AddThis processes this data. Further information on the data that is collected and how it is processed can be obtained from AddThis LLC at www.addthis.com/privacy

If you object to future data processing by AddThis you can select to place an opt-out cookie that can be downloaded from the following link: http://www.addthis.com/privacy/opt-out

(b) Facebook Social Plugins

We use so-called social plugins („plugins“) of the social networking site facebook.com provided by Facebook Inc., 1601 S. California Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA ("Facebook"). The plugins can be identified by one of Facebook’s logos (white “f” on blue tile or a “thumps-up”-sign) or by the additional text “Facebook Social Plugin”. The list of Facebook Social Plugins and their appearance can be accessed via: http://developers.facebook.com/plugins.

If a user visits one of the websites using such a plugin, the user’s browser directly connects to Facebook’s servers. The plugin and its content are made available directly on Facebook’s servers and included in the website by the user’s browser.    

Due to the integration of the plugin Facebook collects the information that a user is visiting the corresponding website. If the user is logged in on Facebook at the moment he or she visits the website, Facebook may be able to connect the visit on the website to the user’s Facebook account. If the user interacts with the plugin – for example if he or she presses the like button or comments on something – the user’s browser transmits this information to Facebook. Facebook stores this information. If a user is not a member of Facebook, Facebook may collect and store the user’s IP-address. Facebook states that it only collects anonymized IP-addresses in Germany.    

The reason for and scope of the data acquisition and information about the way in which the data is processed and used by Facebook, as well as the user’s rights in this respect and settings options for protecting the users privacy can be found under: http://www.facebook.com/policy.php.

If the user is a member of Facebook and does not wish Facebook to collect personal data via this homepage and to link this with his data stored on Facebook, the user needs to log off from Facebook before going to this homepage.    
The user may also block Facebook’s plugins using add-ons for the user’s browser, for example the „Facebook Blocker“.

(c) XING

Our website uses the “Share” button provided by the social network XING, operated by XING AG, Dammtorstraße 29-32, 20354 Hamburg (“XING”). Clicking on the “Share” button allows you to share content on our website with your contacts on XING.

When you access a web page on our website on which the XING button is enabled, your browser does not immediately establish a direct connection to the servers operated by XING. The content of the “Share” button and additional information on the website being visited are only transferred to XING when you actively press the “Share” button. We have no influence over the scope of data that XING collects via the button.

Further information about data protection and the XING “Share” button can be found here: https://dev.xing.com/plugins/share_button/docs

Information on the purpose and scope of data collected and how the data is processed and used by XING can be found in the XING privacy policy: https://www.xing.com/privacy

(d) LinkedIn

Our website uses the “Share” button of the social network LinkedIn, operated by LinkedIn Corporation, 2029 Stierlin Court, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA (“LinkedIn”). When you visit our website, the “Share” button creates a direct connection between your web browser and the LinkedIn server. This provides LinkedIn with the information that you have visited our website from your IP address. If you click on the “Share” button while you a logged in to your LinkedIn account, you are able to share the content on our website on your LinkedIn profile. This allows LinkedIn to assign your visit to our website with your user account.

We have no influence over the scope of data that LinkedIn collects via the button. Details on the data collected (purpose, scope) and further processing and use of this data can be found in the LinkedIn privacy policy. This is located at: https://www.linkedin.com/legal/privacy-policy

(e) Twitter

We use the twitter-button. The button is provided by Twitter Inc., 795 Folsom St., Suite 600, San Francisco, CA 94107, USA. (“Twitter”) The buttons are marked using the text “Twitter” or “Follow” and a stylized blue bird. The button enables the user to share an article or a website of this homepage on Twitter or to follow the provider on Twitter.    

If a user visits one of the websites using such a button, the user’s browser directly connects to Twitter’s servers. The Twitter-button and its content are loaded directly from Twitter’s servers and included in the website by the user’s browser. According to the provider’s knowledge, Twitter collects the user IP-address and the website’s URL when the button is loaded from Twitter’s servers.

However, this data is only be used for loading and displaying the Twitter-button.    
Further information can be found in Twitter’s privacy statement under:
https://twitter.com/privacy

2. External providers

(a) VideoManager

We user the “VideoManager” service operated by MovingIMAGE24 GmbH, Stralauer Allee 7, 10245 Berlin (“Movingimage”) in order to ensure that video content can be viewed correctly on our website and played back by you. The lawful basis of this processing is in Article 6 (1) (1) (f) GDPR. This provides us with the legitimate interest to improve your user experience and to optimise our services. 

MovingImage places a cookie containing certain information that is transferred to MovingImage about the presentation and playback of video content on your device. We have no influence on the data processing by MovingImage. Further information can be found in the MovingImage privacy policy:    

https://www.movingimage.com/gtc/privacy-policy-of-movingimage-evp-gmbh

This contains information on your rights and data protection options. 

(b) YouTube

We use the “YouTube” service operated by Google Ireland Limited (“Google”), Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Irland to ensure that video content can be viewed correctly on our website and played back by you. The lawful basis of this processing is in Article 6 (1) (1) (f) GDPR. This provides us with the legitimate interest to improve your user experience and to optimise our services. 

YouTube places a cookie containing certain information that is transferred to YouTube about the presentation and playback of video content on your device. We have no influence on the data processing by YouTube. Further information can be found in the YouTube/Google privacy policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy    

This contains information on your rights and data protection options. 

(c) Feedback

On our website we offer a feedback function operated by UserVoice Inc., 121 2nd St. Floor 4, San Francisco, CA 94105, USA. The information collected via this service is processed on servers located in the USA.

When you click on the UserVoice button, your browser connects directly to the UserVoice servers where the data you enter is stored. We receive notification of receipt of your contact from UserVoice and respond to this through the UserVoice IT infrastructure.

You will find details about UserVoice’s use of your personal data at http://uservoice.com/privacy.

You can decide for yourself the extent to which you share personal data with us via the Feedback function, if at all. We will only use personal data received as part of your feedback for the purpose of communicating with you and dealing with your concern.

(d) reCAPTCHA

In order to protect our websites from spam, we use the reCAPTCHA service of Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA ("Google") in certain cases. This serves to distinguish whether the input is human or abusive through machine processing. With the query, your IP address and eventually other data required by Google for the service will be sent to Google. The deviating data protection regulations of Google Inc. are applicable for this service. For more information about reCAPTCHA and the privacy policy of Google Inc., please visit https://www.google.com/recaptcha and https://www.google.com/intl/de/policies/privacy/.

(e) Podigee

We use the podcast hosting service Podigee from the provider Podigee GmbH, Ritterstr. 2A, 10969 Berlin, Germany. The podcasts are loaded by Podigee or transmitted via Podigee. This processing is based on Art. 6 sec. 1 sent. 1 lit. f GDPR. We use it to pursue our legitimate interest in enhancing your user experience and optimising our services. Podigee processes IP addresses and device information to enable podcast downloads/playbacks and to determine statistical data such as call-up figures. This data is anonymised or pseudonymised before being stored in Podigee's database unless it is necessary for the provision of the podcasts.
Further information can be found in Podigee's privacy policy: https://www.podigee.com/de/about/privacy/

(f) Wakelet

We use the knowledge sharing platform Wakelet from the provider Wakelet Ltd., Bright Building, Manchester Science Park, Pencroft Way, Manchester M15 6GZ, United Kingdom ("Wakelet"). The knowledge and event collections are embedded into our website by Wakelet. This processing is based on Art. 6 sec. 1 sent. 1 lit. f GDPR. We use it to pursue our legitimate interest in enhancing your user experience and optimising our services. 
As long as you view the content inside our website, Wakelet does not collect any data. If you interact with the content (e.g. by clicking pictures or links in the collection) Wakelet processes data and device information to perform the requested action and to determine statistical data such as call-up figures. The data processed may contain some or all of the following categories:

  • IP address
  • Browser type and version, screen display information
  • Operating system and version
  • Language preference
  • Location data
  • Website or service that referred you to Wakelet
  • Date and time of each web request you make
  • Traffic data, resources that you access when you use Wakelet
  • Information from any cookies Wakelet has placed on your web browser to fulfil a request (e.g. re-direct you to embedded social media content, see section IX.1)
  • Web logs and other communication data

This data is anonymised or pseudonymised before being stored in Wakelet's database unless it is necessary for the provision of the collection content.
Further information can be found in Wakelet's privacy policy: https://wakelet.com/privacy.html

3. Links to third party websites

This website may contain links to third party websites. We are not responsible for the content and the data collection on respective third party websites; please check the privacy policy of respective websites for information of respective websites’ data processing activities.

XI. Information sharing

Your personal data will be disclosed to the following third parties for the purposes mentioned above:

  • Springer Nature Customer Service Center GmbH, Tiergartenstrasse 15-17, D-69121 Heidelberg
  • Springer Nature AG & Co. KGaA, Heidelberger Platz 3, 14197 Berlin
  • AVK – Industrievereinigung Verstärkte Kunststoffe e.V., Am Hauptbahnhof 10, 60329 Frankfurt,
    If you informed us about your AVK membership, we share your name, birthdate and email address to confirm membership and provide access to specific content for members. You may object at any time to the collection of the data referred to above, and opt out of any future processing of such data by sending an email to service@springerprofessional.de or in writing to Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH, Abraham-Lincoln-Str. 46, 65189 Wiesbaden.
  • Dennemeyer Octimine GmbH
    Landaubogen 1-3, 81373 Munich
    P.O. box: 70 04 25, 81304 Munich
  • takevalue Consulting GmbH, Donnersbergring 16, D-64295 Darmstadt

Legal basis for the transfer of your personal data is Article 6 sec. 1 sent. 1 lit. b and f GDPR and represents our legitimate interest to improve your user experience and optimize the quality of our services. 

Some of the recipients mentioned above reside outside the EEA. For further information about cross border transfer in general and transfers outside of the EEA see 5.

We may disclose anonymous aggregate statistics about users of the website in order to describe our services to prospective partners, advertisers and other reputable third parties and for other lawful purposes, but these statistics will include no personal data. 

We may disclose your personal data to following contractors who assist us in providing the services we offer through the website:

  • Ternair,, Floridalaan 6, NL-3404 WV IJsselstein
  • Springer Nature Customer Service Center GmbH, Tiergartenstrasse 15-17, 69121 Heidelberg, Germany (for Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia, Oceania) or Springer Nature Customer Service Center LLC, 233 Spring St, New  York, NY, 10013 United States (for North America, Central America, South America) provider of the online shop for processing orders.
  • Springer-Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstrasse 17, 69121 Heidelberg

In the event that we undergo re-organisation or are sold to a third party, any personal data we hold about you may be transferred to that re-organised entity or third party in compliance with applicable law.

We may disclose your personal data if legally entitled or required to do so (for example if required by law or by a court order).

XII. Cross border data transfers

Within the scope of our information sharing activities set out above, your personal data may be transferred to other countries (including countries outside the EEA) which may have different data protection standards from your country of residence. Please note that data processed in a foreign country may be subject to foreign laws and accessible to foreign governments, courts, law enforcement, and regulatory agencies. However, we will endeavour to take reasonable measures to maintain an adequate level of data protection when sharing your personal data with such countries.

In the case of a transfer outside of the EEA, this transfer is safeguarded by international agreements such as the Privacy Shield and EU Model Clauses. You can find further information about the aforementioned safeguards by contacting the Group Data Protection Officer via dataprotection@springer.com.

XIII. Security

We have reasonable state of the art security measures in place to protect against the loss, misuse and alteration of personal data under our control. For example, our security and privacy policies are periodically reviewed and enhanced as necessary and only authorised personnel have access to personal data. Whilst we cannot ensure or guarantee that loss, misuse or alteration of information will never occur, we use all reasonable efforts to prevent it. 

You should bear in mind that submission of information over the internet is never entirely secure. We cannot guarantee the security of information you submit via our website whilst it is in transit over the internet and any such submission is at your own risk. 

XIV. Data retention

We strive to keep our processing activities with respect to your personal data as limited as possible. In the absence of specific retention periods set out in this policy, your personal data will be retained only for as long as we need it to fulfil the purpose for which we have collected it and, if applicable, as long as required by statutory retention requirements.

XV. Your rights

Under the legislation applicable to you, you may be entitled to exercise some or all of the following rights:

  • require (i) information as to whether your personal data is retained and (ii) access to and/or duplicates of your personal data retained, including the purposes of the processing, the categories of personal data concerned, and the data recipients as well as potential retention periods; 
  • request rectification, removal or restriction of your personal data, e.g. because (i) it is incomplete or inaccurate, (ii) it is no longer needed for the purposes for which it was collected, or (iii) the consent on which the processing was based has been withdrawn; 
  • refuse to provide and – without impact to data processing activities that have taken place before such withdrawal – withdraw your consent to processing of your personal data at any time;
  • object, on grounds relating to your particular situation, that your personal data shall be subject to a processing. In this case, please provide us with information about your particular situation. After the assessment of the facts presented by you we will either stop processing your personal data or present you our compelling legitimate grounds for an ongoing processing; 
  • take legal actions in relation to any potential breach of your rights regarding the processing of your personal data, as well as to lodge complaints before the competent data protection regulators;
  • require (i) to receive the personal data concerning you, which you have provided to us, in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format and (ii) to transmit those data to another controller without hindrance from our side; where technically feasible you shall have the right to have the personal data transmitted directly from us to another controller; and/or
  • not to be subject to any automated decision making, including profiling (automatic decisions based on data processing by automatic means, for the purpose of assessing several personal aspects) which produce legal effects on you or affects you with similar significance.

You may (i) exercise the rights referred to above or (ii) pose any questions or (iii) make any complaints regarding our data processing by contacting us using the contact details set out below.

XVI. Contacting us

Please submit any questions, concerns or comments you have about this privacy policy or any requests concerning your personal data by email to our Group Data Protection Officer. You can contact our Group Data Protection Officer via dataprotection@springer.com.

The information you provide when contacting us (Springer Nature Customer Service Center GmbH, Tiergartenstrasse 15-17, 69121 Heidelberg, email: service@springerprofessional.de) will be processed to handle your request and will be erased when your request is completed. Alternatively, we will restrict the processing of the respective information in accordance with statutory retention requirements. 

XVII. Amendments to this policy

We reserve the right to change this policy from time to time by updating our website respectively. Please visit the website regularly and check our respective current privacy policy. 

This policy was last updated on November 15th 2022.

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