Privacy Policy

The data controller is:

advotec. Patent- und Rechtsanwaltspartnerschaft mbB (hereinafter: advotec.), Beethovenstr. 5, D-97080 Würzburg, Germany
Email: wuerzburg@advotec.de

The company's data protection officer at advotec. can be reached at the above address, attn: Dr. Thomas Grünberg, Patent Attorney, or at datenschutz@advotec.de.

You can browse our website without providing any personal information. Each time you access a webpage, the web server automatically stores a so-called server log file that contains, for example, the name of the requested file, your IP address, the date and time of access, the amount of data transferred, and the requesting provider (access data), and documents the access. This access data is evaluated exclusively for the purpose of ensuring the smooth operation of the site and improving our services. This serves to safeguard our legitimate interests – which prevail following a balancing of interests – in the proper presentation of our services in accordance with Article 6(1)(f) GDPR. All access data is deleted no later than seven days after the end of your visit to the site.

Hosting

The services for hosting and displaying the website are provided by our service provider as part of processing carried out on our behalf. Unless otherwise specified in this Privacy Policy, all access data and all data collected on this website are processed on the service provider’s servers. If you have any questions regarding our service provider and the basis of our collaboration with them, please use the contact information provided in this Privacy Policy.

We use the hosting provider to provide information about our law firm to our potential and existing clients and to safeguard our legitimate interests in the secure and efficient provision of this online service (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR).

Our hosting provider will process your data only to the extent necessary to fulfill their service obligations and will follow our instructions regarding this data.

We use the following hosting provider:

Hetzner Online GmbH
Industriestr. 25
91710 Gunzenhausen
Germany

Conclusion of a Data Processing Agreement

To ensure data processing complies with data protection regulations, we have entered into a data processing agreement with our hosting provider.

Your personal data will not be transferred to third parties for purposes other than those listed below.

We will only disclose your personal data to third parties if:

• You have given your explicit consent pursuant to Article 6(1)(a) GDPR;
• the disclosure is necessary pursuant to Article 6(1)(f) GDPR to assert, exercise, or defend legal claims, and there is no reason to believe that you have an overriding legitimate interest in the non-disclosure of your data;
• in the event that there is a legal obligation to disclose the data pursuant to Article 6(1)(c) GDPR; and
• this is permitted by law and necessary under Article 6(1)(a) GDPR for the performance of contractual relationships with you.

Cookies are small files that your browser automatically creates and that are stored on your device (laptop, tablet, smartphone, etc.) when you visit our website. Cookies do not cause any damage to your device and do not contain viruses, trojans, or other malware.

We use only technically necessary cookies on this website. Specifically, we store the language version you have selected (cookie pll_language) so that you do not have to choose between German and English again when navigating between pages. Storage occurs in accordance with Section 25(2)(2) of the German Telemedia Act (TDDDG) without your consent, as it is strictly necessary for the display of the website you have requested; we base further processing on our legitimate interest in providing a fully functional online service in accordance with Article 6(1)(f) GDPR.

We do not use analytics or tracking cookies, nor do we use cookies for advertising purposes, and we do not integrate any services that analyze your behavior across websites or devices.

Most browsers automatically accept cookies. However, you can configure your browser so that no cookies are stored on your computer or so that a notification always appears before a new cookie is created. Please note, however, that completely disabling cookies may prevent you from using the full range of features of our website.

You have the right:

• pursuant to Art. 15 GDPR, to request information about your personal data processed by us to the extent specified therein;
• pursuant to Art. 16 GDPR, to request the immediate rectification of inaccurate personal data or the completion of your personal data stored by us;
• pursuant to Article 17 GDPR, the right to request the erasure of your personal data stored by us, unless further processing is necessary:
  • for the exercise of the right to freedom of expression and information;
  • for compliance with a legal obligation;
  • for reasons of public interest; or
  • for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims;
• pursuant to Article 18 GDPR, to request the restriction of the processing of your personal data, provided that:
  • you contest the accuracy of the data;
  • the processing is unlawful, but you oppose its erasure;
  • we no longer need the data, but you require the data for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims; or
  • you have objected to processing pursuant to Article 21 GDPR;
• pursuant to Article 20 GDPR, to receive your personal data that you have provided to us in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format, or to request that it be transmitted to another controller;
• pursuant to Article 77 GDPR, to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority. For this purpose, you can typically contact the supervisory authority at your habitual residence, at your place of work, or at our corporate headquarters.

If your personal data is processed on the basis of legitimate interests pursuant to Article 6(1)(f) GDPR, you have the right, pursuant to Article 21 GDPR, to object to the processing of your personal data, provided there are grounds arising from your particular situation or the objection is directed against direct marketing. In the latter case, you have a general right to object, which we will honor without requiring you to specify a particular situation.

If you wish to exercise your right of withdrawal or objection, simply send an email to datenschutz@advotec.de

During your visit to our website, we use the widely adopted SSL (Secure Socket Layer) method in conjunction with the highest encryption level supported by your browser. This is typically 256-bit encryption. If your browser does not support 256-bit encryption, we will use 128-bit v3 technology instead. You can tell whether a specific page on our website is being transmitted securely by the closed key or lock icon displayed in the status bar at the bottom of your browser.

We also employ appropriate technical and organizational security measures to protect your data against accidental or intentional manipulation, partial or complete loss, destruction, or unauthorized access by third parties. Our security measures are continuously improved in line with technological developments.

This Privacy Policy is currently valid and is effective as of August 2026.

Due to the ongoing development of our website and the services offered through it, or due to changes in legal or regulatory requirements, it may become necessary to amend this Privacy Policy. You can access and print the most current version of the Privacy Policy at any time on our website at www.advotec.de/datenschutz/.

We maintain publicly accessible profiles on social media platforms. You can find a list of the specific social media platforms we use below. Social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, etc., can typically analyze your user behavior in detail when you visit their website or a website with integrated social media content (e.g., “Like” buttons or advertising banners). Visiting our social media pages triggers numerous data processing operations relevant to data protection. Specifically: If you are logged into your social media account and visit our social media page, the operator of the social media portal can associate this visit with your user account. However, your personal data may also be collected even if you are not logged in or do not have an account with the respective social media platform. In this case, data collection occurs, for example, via cookies stored on your device or by recording your IP address. Using the data collected in this way, the operators of the social media platforms can create user profiles that store your preferences and interests. In this way, interest-based advertising may be displayed to you both on and off the respective social media platform. If you have an account with the respective social network, interest-based advertising may be displayed on all devices on which you are currently logged in or have previously been logged in. Please also note that we cannot track all processing activities on the social media platforms. Depending on the provider, additional processing operations may therefore be carried out by the operators of the social media platforms. For details, please refer to the terms of use and privacy policies of the respective social media platforms.

9.1 Legal Basis
Our social media presence is intended to ensure the most comprehensive online presence possible. This constitutes a legitimate interest within the meaning of Article 6(1)(f) GDPR. The analytics processes initiated by the social networks may be based on different legal grounds, which must be specified by the operators of the social networks (e.g., consent within the meaning of Article 6(1)(a) GDPR).

9.2 Data Controller and Exercising Your Rights
When you visit one of our social media pages (e.g., Facebook), we are jointly responsible with the operator of the social media platform for the data processing operations triggered by that visit. You may generally exercise your rights (right of access, rectification, erasure, restriction of processing, data portability, and the right to lodge a complaint) both against us and against the operator of the respective social media platform (e.g., against Facebook). Please note that, despite our joint responsibility with the social media platform operators, we do not have full control over the data processing activities of the social media platforms. Our options depend largely on the corporate policies of the respective provider.

9.3 Retention Period
Data collected directly by us through our social media presence will be deleted from our systems as soon as you request deletion, revoke your consent to storage, or the purpose for storing the data no longer applies. Stored cookies remain on your device until you delete them. Mandatory legal provisions – in particular retention periods – remain unaffected. We have no influence over the retention period of your data that is stored by the operators of social networks for their own purposes. For details on this, please contact the operators of the social networks directly (e.g., in their privacy policies, see below).

9.4 Social Networks in Detail

9.4.1 Facebook
We maintain a profile on Facebook. The provider of this service is Meta Platforms Ireland Limited, 4 Grand Canal Square, Grand Canal Harbour, Dublin 2, Ireland. According to Facebook, the data collected is also transferred to the United States and other third countries. We have entered into a joint processing agreement (Controller Addendum) with Facebook. This agreement specifies which data processing operations we or Facebook are responsible for when you visit our Facebook page. You can view this agreement at the following link: facebook.com/legal/terms/page_controller_addendum. You can adjust your ad settings yourself in your user account. To do so, click the following link and log in: facebook.com/settings?tab=ads. Data transfers to the U.S. are based on the EU Commission’s Standard Contractual Clauses. Details can be found here: facebook.com/legal/EU_data_transfer_addendum and de-de.facebook.com/help/566994660333381. For details, please refer to Facebook’s Privacy Policy.

9.4.2 Instagram
We maintain a profile on Instagram. The provider of this service is Meta Platforms Ireland Limited, 4 Grand Canal Square, Grand Canal Harbour, Dublin 2, Ireland. Data transfers to the United States are based on the European Commission’s Standard Contractual Clauses. For details, see: facebook.com/legal/EU_data_transfer_addendum, help.instagram.com/519522125107875, and de-de.facebook.com/help/566994660333381. For details on how Instagram handles your personal data, please refer to Instagram’s Privacy Policy.

9.4.3 XING
We have a profile on XING. The provider is New Work SE, Dammtorstraße 30, 20354 Hamburg, Germany. For details on how they handle your personal data, please refer to XING’s Privacy Policy.

9.4.4 LinkedIn
We have a profile on LinkedIn. The provider is LinkedIn Ireland Unlimited Company, Wilton Plaza, Wilton Place, Dublin 2, Ireland. LinkedIn uses advertising cookies. If you wish to disable LinkedIn advertising cookies, please use the following link: linkedin.com/psettings/guest-controls/retargeting-opt-out. Data transfers to the U.S. are based on the EU Commission’s Standard Contractual Clauses. Details can be found here: linkedin.com/legal/l/dpa and linkedin.com/legal/l/eu-sccs. For details on how LinkedIn handles your personal data, please refer to LinkedIn’s Privacy Policy.