Privacy Statement

Privacy Policy

We are pleased that you visit our website and thank you for your interest in our company, our products and our website. The protection of your personal data and thus your privacy in the use of our network presence is important to us - in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (hereinafter "GDPR"). Please take note of the information provided below. The terms we are using below are based on Article 4 of the GDPR.

Anonymous data collection

Basically, you can visit the website of DSMZ GmbH without telling us who you are. We only obtain data automatically sent to us by your browser, in particular the name of your internet service provider, the page on the internet from which you are visiting us, the pages you are visiting and when you do so. We need this information in order to maintain the function of our website. The data are evaluated for statistical purposes using tools such as Matomo. You remain anonymous as an individual user because the last octet of your IP address gets removed.

Collection and processing of personal data

Personal data are only collected if you provide them to us on your own initiative - for example, to carry out a contract or when registering for personalized services - and these data will then only be collected, processed and used for the stated purpose (see Article 6 GDPR). This always happens within the framework of the applicable legislation, otherwise only with your consent (see in particular Article 6 in conjunction with Article 7 GDPR).
For example, when registering for orders or for strain deposits via the DSMZ GmbH website, your are asked for your name, employer, address, country and any details required for the invoice, as well as any other information that may be required in order to comply with applicable legal provisions.
In order to place orders via the DSMZ GmbH website, each customer must set up a password-protected customer account. This includes an overview of orders placed and active ordering processes.
According to Article 7 paragraph 3 GDPR, a consent once given can be revoked at any time with effect for the future, provided that there are no legal requirements for the collection and storage of your data.
Your data will be deleted once they no longer serves the fulfillment of the purpose and once the period of the legal storage obligation has expired. This applies in particular with regard to the European regulation concerning the Nagoya Protocol, which requires storage for 20 years, but also with regard to all other legal requirements that are binding for DSMZ GmbH.

Use of Cookies

In addition to the aforementioned data, cookies are stored on your computer when you use our website. Cookies are small text files that are stored on your hard drive and that are assigned to the browser you are using and that provide certain information to the entity that sets the cookie. Cookies cannot execute programs or transmit viruses to your computer. They help make internet offerings overall more user-friendly and effective.

This website uses the following types of cookies, whose scope and function are explained below:

  • Transient cookies (see a.)
    PHPSESSID (current session ID - technical necessary)

a. Transient cookies are automatically deleted when you close the browser. These include in particular session cookies. These store what is known as a session ID, with which various requests from your browser can be assigned to a common session. This permits your computer to be recognized when you return to our website. Session cookies are deleted when you log out or close the browser.

b. Persistent cookies are automatically deleted after a specified period, which may differ depending on the cookie. You can delete the cookies at any time from within the security settings of your browser.

c. You can configure your browser setting to match your preferences and e.g. decline to accept third-party cookies or all cookies. "Third-party cookies" are cookies that have been set by a third party and therefore not by the actual website which you currently are on. Please note that disabling cookies may not enable you to use all features of this website.

Safety measures

The data are processed confidentially by trained employees of DSMZ GmbH; no data are passed on to third-party companies or third countries. The institute attaches great importance to compliance with security standards regarding IT and access control to the premises of DSMZ GmbH. In particular, we and our contractors also use technical and organizational security measures to protect the data from manipulation. These measures are constantly updated and improved. Our contractors for network services are:

  • Helmholtz Center for Infection Research GmbH (Inhoffenstraße 7, D-38124 Braunschweig)
  • Gärtner Datensysteme GmbH & Co. KG (Hamburger Strasse 273 a, D-38114 Braunschweig)
  • Association for the Promotion of a German Research Network e.V. (Alexanderplatz 1, D-10178 Berlin)

Within the scope of the operation of the website of DSMZ GmbH, only the IP addresses are available to these contractors. The deletion period is one year; the data are stored until then for the purpose of averting attacks on the website that could lead to overloading the server and for the subsequent investigation of possible security breaches.
By using our website you therefore agree to the storage by our contractors. The respective privacy statements can be viewed at: https://www.gaertner.de/datenschutz.html ; https://www.helmholtz-hzi.de/de/service/datenschutz/ ; https://www.dfn.de/datenschutz/ 

Your rights

According to the GDPR, you have the right to obtain information about your stored data free of charge (Article 15 GDPR) as well as the right of correction (Article 16 GDPR), blocking (Article 17 GDPR) or deletion (Article 18 GDPR).

Contact address for information or correction, blocking or deletion of your data

In accordance with Article 21 of the GDPR, you may object to the processing of your data in the cases mentioned therein. Please send us your request via e-mail or regular mail:
E-Mail
Leibniz Institute DSMZ-German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures GmbH
Inhoffenstraße 7 B
D-38124 Braunschweig
Germany

In case of complaints

The contact address of the data protection officer of DSMZ GmbH is here. Responsible for the data processing at DSMZ GmbH is the managing director Prof. Dr. Jörg Overmann (contact details see imprint).
You also have the right to complain to the competent supervisory authority for data protection in accordance with Article 77 of the GDPR:
The State Commissioner for Data Protection Niedersachsen
Prinzenstr. 5
30159 Hannover
phone: +49 (0)511 120-4500
Fax: +49 (0)511 120-4599
E-Mail
www.lfd.niedersachsen.de