Privacy Policy - Woodentec Company

Directory – Privacy Policy of Timberline AG

Principle
Data Protection Officer
Collection and Processing of Personal Data
Purposes of Data Processing and Legal Bases
Cookies/Tracking and Other Technologies Related to the Use of Our Website
Transfer of Data to Third Parties
Duration of Retention of Personal Data
Data Security
Obligation to Provide Personal Data
Profiling and Automated Decision-Making
Rights of the Data Subject
Amendments
Third-Party Cookies and Tracking Technologies

1. Principle

Protecting your privacy is an important concern for us. With the following privacy policy, we explain which personal data we process when you visit our website or use our online services, or more generally, when we provide services for you.
Your personal data is collected and processed carefully, only for the purposes described in this privacy policy, only to the extent necessary, and in accordance with applicable laws. We retain your personal data only as long as necessary to provide our services or as required by law. In close cooperation with our hosting providers, we take all possible measures to protect databases against unauthorized access, loss, misuse, or falsification.
This privacy policy is particularly aligned with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Although the GDPR is an EU regulation, it is relevant to us. Swiss data protection law (FADP) is strongly influenced by EU law, and companies outside the European Union or the EEA must comply with the GDPR under certain circumstances.

2. Data Protection Officer

Responsible for compliance with the applicable data protection regulations is the Legal Service General Law, Designs and Enforcement of Rights. If you have any data protection concerns, you can send them to the following contact address:
Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property
Department of Law and International Affairs
Legal Service General Law, Designs and Enforcement of Rights
Stauffacherstrasse 65/59g
3003 Bern
R+I_Allgemeines_Recht@ipi.ch

3. Collection and Processing of Personal Data

We primarily process the personal data that we receive in the course of enforcing intellectual property law, in particular the management of industrial property rights (patents, trademarks, designs, and topographies), the management of the patent attorney register, and the supervision of copyright collecting societies. In addition, we process personal data as part of our information services (patent and technology searches) as well as our training and course offerings.
Where permitted, we also obtain certain data from publicly accessible sources (e.g., debt enforcement registers, land registers, commercial registers, press, Internet) or receive such data from authorities and other third parties, particularly so we can conclude or perform contracts with you or register your intellectual property rights correctly.
For the purpose of credit checks, your personal data will be forwarded to and may be stored by Intrum AG.
For the conduct of teleconferences, online meetings, video conferences, and/or webinars (“online meetings”), we use the service “Zoom” via local deployment (“on premise”). The following data are processed in this context: username, general information about service preferences, information about the device as well as the network and Internet connection of each user (e.g., IP address(es), MAC address, other device IDs (UDID), device type, operating system type and version), client version, information about the use of or interaction with Zoom products (“usage information”), other information uploaded, provided or created by the user while using the service, as well as metadata used for maintenance of the provided service. Where applicable—common to collaborative tools—other personal data may also be exchanged between the IPI and participants, such as chat messages, images, files, audio or video recordings, contact details, or metadata used for service maintenance. Only a minimum of data is processed when you join a Zoom “online meeting” without registration. Recordings of “online meetings” are made only with prior notice and are generally stored locally. Additional information about Zoom’s processing of personal data can be found in their privacy policy.

4. Purposes of Data Processing and Legal Bases

We primarily use the personal data we collect to examine, grant, and manage industrial property rights (patents, trademarks, designs, topographies), and to maintain the patent attorney register. Furthermore, we use the data to conclude and perform contracts with our customers and business partners, in particular in connection with our research services with customers and the purchase of products and services from suppliers and subcontractors, as well as to comply with our legal obligations domestically and abroad. If you work for such a customer or business partner, your personal data may also be processed in this context.
In addition, we process personal data from you and other persons, where permitted and deemed appropriate, for the following purposes in which we (and sometimes third parties) have a legitimate interest consistent with the purpose:

Information about offers, services, websites, and other platforms where we are present;
Communication with third parties and handling their inquiries (e.g., applications, media inquiries);
Review and optimization of procedures for demand analysis for direct customer contact, as well as collection of personal data from publicly accessible sources for customer acquisition;
Advertising and information about our services and offers (including events and the annual report), provided you have not objected to the use of your data (if, as an existing customer, we send you advertising, you may object at any time; we will then place you on a suppression list for further advertising mailings);
Market and opinion research, media monitoring;
Assertion of legal claims and defense in connection with legal disputes and official proceedings;
Prevention and investigation of crimes and other misconduct (e.g., conducting internal investigations, data analyses for fraud prevention);
Ensuring the operation of our business, in particular IT, our websites, and other platforms;
Measures for IT, building and system security, and protection of our employees and other persons, as well as assets belonging to or entrusted to us (e.g., access controls, visitor lists, network and mail scanners, telephone recordings);
Conducting “online meetings”.

Where you have given us consent to process your personal data for certain purposes (for example, when registering to receive newsletters or other requests via online forms on our website), we process your personal data on the basis of and within the scope of that consent, unless we have another legal basis and require one. Consent given may be revoked at any time, although this does not affect data processing already carried out.

Where the processing of your personal data relates to the management of industrial property rights, laws and regulations stipulate which data we must process and in what form. We are legally obliged to inform the public about the IP rights valid in Switzerland and the related personal data.

5. Cookies / Tracking and Other Technologies Related to the Use of Our Website

5.1 Cookies and Image Elements
On our websites we typically use “cookies” and similar technologies that can identify your browser or device. A cookie is a small file that is sent to your computer or automatically stored by your web browser on your computer or mobile device when you visit our website. When you visit this website again, we can recognize you, even if we do not know who you are. In addition to cookies that are used only during a session and deleted after your visit (“session cookies”), cookies can also be used to store user settings and other information over a certain period of time (e.g., two years) (“permanent cookies”). You can set your browser to reject cookies, save them only for one session, or delete them early. Most browsers are preset to accept cookies. We use permanent cookies to better understand how you use our offers and content. If you block cookies, certain functionalities (such as language selection) may no longer work.
In our newsletters and other marketing emails, we may also include visible and invisible image elements, insofar as permitted, that allow us to determine whether and when you opened the email, so we can measure and better understand how you use our offers and tailor them to you. You can block this in your email program.

5.2 Newsletters and Marketing Emails
By using our websites and consenting to receive newsletters and other marketing emails, you agree to the use of these techniques. If you do not want this, you must adjust your browser or email program accordingly.

5.3 Google Analytics
We may use Google Analytics on our websites. This is a third-party service that may be located in any country (in the case of Google Analytics, it is Google LLC in the USA, www.google.com).
With Google Analytics we can measure and evaluate the use of the website (not personally identifiable). Permanent cookies set by the provider are also used for this purpose. The provider does not receive personal data from us (and does not store IP addresses either), but may track your use of the website, combine this information with data from other websites you have visited that are also tracked by the provider, and use this information for its own purposes (e.g., advertising management). If you are registered with the provider yourself, the provider also knows you. The processing of your personal data by the provider is then the responsibility of the provider in accordance with its data protection regulations. We only receive information from the provider on how our respective website is used (no information about you personally).
We have activated IP anonymization on this website, i.e., the IP addresses transmitted to the Google Analytics servers are shortened automatically within a short time. For more information, see Google Marketing Platform.

5.4 Google reCAPTCHA
We may use Google reCAPTCHA on our websites. These are services provided by third parties that may be located in any country (in the case of Google reCAPTCHA, it is Google LLC in the USA).
We use Google reCAPTCHA to protect online forms on our website. Data processing is based on your consent. reCAPTCHA is intended to check whether data entered on our websites (e.g., in a contact form) is entered by a human or by an automated program. For this purpose, reCAPTCHA analyzes the behavior of the website visitor using various features. Cookies set by the provider are also used for this analysis. The analysis begins automatically and runs entirely in the background as soon as the visitor opens the website. Visitors are not informed that an analysis is taking place.
To perform the analysis, Google may evaluate all information on these form pages (including IP address, time spent on the website, or mouse movements). The data collected during the analysis is transmitted to Google. The use of reCAPTCHA is subject to the Google Privacy Policy; for more information, see the reCAPTCHA website.

5.5 Plug-ins
We also use so-called plug-ins from social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Xing, and LinkedIn. This is visible to you (typically via the corresponding icons). We have configured these elements so that they are disabled by default. If you activate them (by clicking), the operators of the respective social networks can register that you are on our website and where, and can use this information for their own purposes. The processing of your personal data is then the responsibility of the operator in accordance with its data protection regulations. We do not receive any information about you from them.

6. Transfer of Data to Third Parties

Your personal data will not be passed on, sold, or otherwise transferred to third parties unless this is necessary for the purpose of processing contracts or fulfilling our legal tasks, or unless you have expressly consented (e.g., to ensure the security of our input forms on the website). In addition, data may be transferred to third parties if we are legally obliged to do so or ordered by enforceable official or court order.
The recipients of such data may be located domestically or anywhere in the world. If we transfer data to a country without adequate legal data protection, we ensure an appropriate level of protection through suitable contracts or rely on statutory exemptions such as consent, contract performance, determination, exercise or enforcement of legal claims, overriding public interests, published personal data, or because it is necessary to protect the integrity of the persons concerned.
The “Zoom” service used for online meetings is provided by a provider in the USA; thus, personal data is also processed in a third country. An appropriate level of data protection is contractually guaranteed. Even with local deployment (“on premise”), user and meeting metadata as well as cloud recordings are managed in the public Zoom cloud. As additional safeguards, our Zoom configuration ensures that, as a rule, only data centers in Switzerland and the EU are used for online meetings.
You may at any time request information on the contractual guarantees mentioned from the office listed in section 2. However, we reserve the right to redact copies for data protection or confidentiality reasons or to provide only excerpts.
Registers maintained by us can be inspected by anyone by law and therefore recipients of the personal data processed there. The same applies to the inspection of the case file once the IP right has been entered in the register or the disclosure publication has been made. Under certain conditions, inspection of the file may be requested even before this point. The requirements are regulated in the respective ordinances.
Register data and other documents, such as publications, patent applications, and search reports, may – within the framework of legal provisions – be transmitted to international organizations (EPO, WIPO, EUIPO) and other trademark and patent offices.

7. Duration of Retention of Personal Data

We process and store your personal data as long as it is necessary to fulfill our contractual and legal obligations or other purposes pursued with processing, i.e., for example, for the duration of the entire business relationship (from initiation and execution to termination of a contract) and beyond in accordance with statutory retention and documentation obligations. It is possible that personal data will be retained for the period during which claims can be made against our institute and insofar as we are otherwise legally obliged or authorized or have legitimate business interests (e.g., for evidence and documentation purposes). The duration of record retention in the management of industrial property rights is regulated in the respective ordinances and is generally five (5) years after deletion, withdrawal, or rejection of the right (patents, trademarks, designs, topographies).

Please note that the data in our IP registers remain visible even after deletion, as the registers must also provide information about past legal relationships. Therefore, this data remains visible in the Swissreg online publication even after deletion.

8. Data Security

We take appropriate technical and organizational security measures to protect your personal data from unauthorized access and misuse, such as issuing instructions, training, IT and network security solutions, access controls and restrictions, encryption of data carriers and transmissions, pseudonymization, and monitoring.

9. Obligation to Provide Personal Data

In the context of our business relationship, you must provide the personal data necessary to establish and conduct a business relationship and to fulfill the associated contractual obligations (as a rule, you are not legally obliged to provide us with data). Without this data, we will generally not be able to conclude or perform a contract with you (or the entity or person you represent) or fulfill our legal tasks.

10. Profiling and Automated Decision-Making

Your personal data is not subject to automated decision-making. We do not carry out profiling with personal data.

11. Rights of the Data Subject

Within the scope of the data protection law applicable to you and where provided therein (such as in the case of the GDPR), you have the right of access, rectification, erasure, restriction of processing, objection to our processing, and the right to receive certain personal data for transfer to another controller (so-called data portability). Please note that we reserve the right to enforce the statutory restrictions on our side. For example, where we are obliged to retain or process certain data, have an overriding interest (to the extent we may rely on it), or need the data to assert claims. If costs arise for you, we will inform you in advance. We have already informed you in section 4 about the possibility of revoking your consent. Note that exercising these rights may conflict with contractual agreements and may have consequences such as early termination of the contract or cost implications. We will inform you in advance in such cases, where this is not already regulated contractually or by law.

Exercising such rights generally requires that you clearly prove your identity (e.g., by providing a copy of an ID, where your identity is otherwise not clear or cannot be verified). To assert your rights, you can contact us at the address given in section 2.

Each data subject also has the right to enforce their claims in court or to lodge a complaint with the competent data protection authority. The competent data protection authority in Switzerland is the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (www.edoeb.admin.ch).

12. Amendments

We may amend this privacy policy at any time without prior notice. The current version published on our website applies. Where appropriate, we will inform you of the change by email or in another suitable manner in the event of an update.

13. Third-Party Cookies and Tracking Technologies

The following technologies are used on our site. Detailed information on the tools can be found at the links provided.

Solution
Google Analytics

Category / Purpose
Website analytics

Provider
Google Inc.

Address
600 Amphitheatre Parkway
Mountain View, CA 94043
USA

Links
https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en
https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout