Privacy Policy Notice

Topalsson GmbH, (hereinafter “Topalsson”) processes Personal Data (as defined below) in the course of its business, including the Personal Data of people browsing the websites of Topalsson (the “Sites”).

The purpose of this “Privacy Policy” is to inform all individuals from whom Personal Data is collected by Topalsson (“You” or “Your”) how Topalsson collects and uses such Personal Data and how You can control its use.

1. Scope of this privacy policy

This Privacy Policy sets forth the principles and guidelines governing the protection of Your Personal Data including the Personal Data collected on or through the Sites.

Topalsson collects Personal Data either online (including via email) or offline and this Privacy Policy is applicable regardless of the means of collection or processing.

Personal data (“Personal Data”) means any information relating to an identified or identifiable person. An identifiable person is a person who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identification number or to one or more factors specific to the person. Non-Personal Data means any information that does not result in the identification of a person.

For visitors and users of the Sites: each Site is subject to Terms of Use that can be found on each Site and are incorporated into this Privacy Policy. Your use of the Sites and any Personal Data You provide on the Sites are subject to the terms of this Privacy Policy and the applicable Terms of Use.

2. Data collected

1. Visitors

Visitors are individuals who visit the Sites without registering themselves. Their Personal Data likely includes:

  • IP and/or MAC address
  • Cookies (as described in section 10)
  • And any other Personal Data as may be relevant for the purposes listed below.

2. Users

Personal Data collected (including from those who visit Sites and enter information) for the purposes listed below likely includes:

  • title
  • first and last name
  • postal address
  • email address
  • telephone number(s)
  • login and password
  • university, degree and courses taken
  • type of organization (company, school, university, etc.), organization name, organization size, department and job title
  • industry and industry sub-industry sectors
  • people to whom purchases are shipped
  • financial data (credit card number and expiry date,
  • name and address of the cardholder)
  • IP and/or MAC address
  • Cookies (as described in section 10) and
  • any other Personal Data as may be relevant for the purposes listed below.

In all cases, however, the Personal Data gathered is limited to data necessary for the purposes described in Article 4 below.

For visitors and users of the Sites: in order to use certain functions and features of the Site, Topalsson requires that You provide certain Personal Data when visiting or using the Site. You are free to decide whether or not to provide all or part of Your Personal Data. However, if You choose not to provide all or part of this Personal Data, the purposes as described in Article 4 hereafter might not be achieved or not properly achieved, some areas and functions of the Sites may not function properly and/or You may be refused access to certain pages on the Site. In particular, You will not be authorized to purchase software licenses or other products or services via the Site.

3. Protection of personal data concerning children

For visitors and users of the Sites: in order to use certain functions and features of the Site, Topalsson requires that You provide certain Personal Data when visiting or using the Site. You are free to decide whether or not to provide all or part of Your Personal Data. However, if You choose not to provide all or part of this Personal Data, the purposes as described in Article 4 hereafter might not be achieved or not properly achieved, some areas and functions of the Sites may not function properly and/or You may be refused access to certain pages on the Site. In particular, You will not be authorized to purchase software licenses or other products or services via the Site.

Certain Topalsson products and services may be appropriate for use by children, however, in which case children below the age of consent under local data protection laws must seek consent from their parents or guardians prior to creating a Topalsson account or registering a product. Teachers and school administrators may act in the place of parents and guardians and provide consent for the collection of Personal Data from children (schools should always ensure that they have received permission from parents or guardians to do so).

If parents or guardians become aware that their child has provided Topalsson with Personal Data without their consent or without a teachers or school administrator consent, they can ask Topalsson to remove such Personal Data and terminate the child’s account by sending an email to gdpr@topalsson.com

If Topalsson becomes aware that it has collected Personal Data from a child below the age of consent under local data protection laws without consent from a parent or guardian, Topalsson will take steps to seek the parent’s or guardian’s consent for that processing or to remove such Personal Data and terminate the child’s account.

2. Purposes and legal grounds for processing personal data

Whether You are a visitor or a user, Topalsson collects Your Personal Data for the following legal grounds and for the following purposes:

Processing activities based on Your consent:

  • To improve Your user experience
  • To recognize that You have given a Personal Data so You don’t need to do it for every web page requested

Processing activities based on Topalsson’s legitimate interest:

  • To enable Topalsson to manage surveys.

In addition, when You are a user, Topalsson collects Your Personal Data on the following legal grounds and for the following purposes:

Processing activities based on Your prior consent:

  • To enable You to request and receive information on Topalsson and Topalsson products and services from Topalsson or a third party engaged by Topalsson
  • To ascertain Your requirements and interests and provide You with the most suitable products and/or services
  • To enable Topalsson to manage its marketing activities
  • To enable You to register for a seminar, webinar, or event
  • To enable You to enter a contest
  • To enable You to create a user profile (“TLogin”). Topalsson provides You with the possibility of using its Sites (including forums, blogs, and networks), and Topalsson products and services that require You to register and create a TLogin. User profiles provide the option to display personal information about You to other users, including but not limited to Your name, photo, social media accounts, postal or email address, or both, telephone number, personal interests, skills, and basic information about Your company. These profiles may relate to a single Site or may also allow You to access Topalsson products and services, or both.

Topalsson may provide a hashed user ID to third party operated social networks or other web offerings (such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, or Google) where this information is matched against the social networks’ data own data bases in order to display to You more relevant information.

Processing based on Topalsson’s legitimate interest:

  • To enable Topalsson to manage its marketing activities for similar goods and products if You are already using Topalsson products and services
  • To manage the Topalsson obligations related to applicable export laws, trade sanctions, and embargoes issued, without limitation, by the European Union and its member states, and of the United States of America. This may include (i) automated checks of any user registration data as set out herein and other information You provide about Your identity against applicable sanctioned-party lists; (ii) regular repetition of such checks whenever a sanctioned-party list is updated or when You update Your information; (iii) blocking of access to Topalsson services and systems in case of a potential match; and (iv) contacting You to confirm Your identity in case of a potential match
  • To manage the Topalsson License Compliance program.

Processing based on the performance of a contract:

  • To provide You with a personalized interactive use of the Sites
  • To allow You to open and maintain an account in order to obtain specialized documentation and technical assistance
  • To access all the features and options offered by the Sites
  • To enable You to exchange with other users of the Sites
  • To enable Topalsson to manage its business relationships, including sales opportunities, commercial offers, purchasing, contracts, orders, invoices, which may include conversational data triggered via chat functionalities on the Sites, contact forms, emails, and voice messaging data
  • To provide You with commercial or support-type services
  • To enable You to purchase software licenses, or products or services, download software and/or register software licenses and
  • To manage Your training and/or certification on Topalsson products and services. Topalsson may also track users’ learning progress in order to make this information available to them.

Generally, when consent is not required, You cannot opt out of non-marketing related communications that are required for the relevant business relationship. With regard to marketing-related communications (e.g., emails and phone calls), Topalsson will (i) where legally required, only send You such communications after You have opted in, and (ii) provide You the opportunity to opt out of receiving further marketing-related communications from Topalsson.

When You register for an event organized by Topalsson, Topalsson may share Your name, company, and email address with other participants and sponsors of the same event for the purpose of communication and the exchange of ideas. In addition, Topalsson may ask You for information about Your health for the sole purpose of identifying and being considerate of individuals who have disabilities or special dietary requirements throughout the event.

Subject to applicable local law, by providing Personal Data such as but not limited to e-mail address, You hereby expressly authorize Topalsson and its affiliates and subsidiaries (“Topalsson Group Companies”) to use it together with other relevant Personal Data to send You commercial or marketing communications. Topalsson might also use Your email address for administrative or other non-marketing purposes (for example, to notify You of significant changes to the Sites).

5. Personal data retention period

Topalsson does not store Your Personal Data for more time than necessary. Retention periods may vary depending on the data categories and the processing activities.

Where Topalsson is processing and using Your Personal Data as permitted by law or under Your consent, Topalsson will store Your Personal Data (i) only as long as required to fulfill the purposes set out above, (ii) where Topalsson has a legitimate interest in using Your Personal Data, until You object to Topalsson’s use of Your Personal Data, or (iii) where You gave Your consent, until You withdraw it. However, where Topalsson is required by applicable law to retain Your Personal Data longer or where Your Personal Data is required to assert or defend against legal claims, Topalsson will retain Your Personal Data until the end of the relevant retention period or until the claims in question have been settled

6. Transfer of personal data

If You are accessing the Sites from a location outside of the European Union, with laws or regulations governing data collection, use, and disclosure that differ from those of the European Union, please note that through Your continued use of the Sites, which are governed by German law, the corresponding Terms of Use and this Privacy Policy, You are transferring Your Personal Data to the European Union and You consent to that transfer.

Please note that Topalsson may transfer Your Personal Data outside of the European Union, as long as before transferring Your Personal Data, Topalsson has ascertained that non-European Union entities, including Topalsson Group Companies, offer an adequate level of protection in accordance with European legislation.

7. Right access, to rectification and other rights

Topalsson will take reasonable steps to ensure that the Personal Data collected is used for the purposes stated in this Privacy Policy and that such Personal Data is correct and up to date.

You have a right to access Your Personal Data. In addition, You have a right to request the rectification, completion, update or erasure of Your Personal Data. You have a right to restrict processing. You also have a right to obtain a copy of Your Personal Data stored by Topalsson. You have a right to object, in relation to specific processing of Your Personal Data. Additionally, You may have a right to data portability.

If You have an account, You can exercise Your rights by logging on to Your account. Otherwise, You may exercise Your rights by sending an email to: gdpr@topalsson.com

Depending on the scope of the request, Topalsson reserves the right to charge a reasonable fee to cover any out-of-pocket costs incurred in connection with such access, modification and deletion of Personal Data. Topalsson may deny access to Personal Data in limited circumstances, defined by applicable laws and regulations.

8. Data recipients

Your Personal Data may be disclosed to and used by a Topalsson GmbH for the purposes stated in Article 4 of this Privacy Policy.

Where Topalsson has knowledge that a third party to which Topalsson has provided Personal Data for the purposes listed in Article 4 above is using or disclosing Personal Data contrary to this Privacy Policy or to applicable laws, Topalsson will take reasonable steps to prevent or stop such use or disclosure. Topalsson will also disclose Your Personal Data to third parties if Topalsson determines that such disclosure is necessary for technical reasons (such as hosting services by a third party) or to protect Topalsson’s legal interests (such as in the event of a sale of assets to a third company, or a change of control or a total or partial liquidation of Topalsson).

Additionally, Topalsson may share Your personal Data with the reseller assigned to You or in the territory where You are located for the purpose of Topalsson business. Topalsson may also share Your Personal Data with business partners when Topalsson and the business partner sponsor an event together or participate in a marketing promotion together and in which you engage.

Topalsson may also disclose Your Personal Data if required by law or if Topalsson believes in good faith that such disclosure is reasonably necessary to comply with legal process (for example, a warrant, a subpoena, or other court order) or protect the rights, property, or personal safety of Topalsson, Topalsson’s customers, or the public. If allowed by applicable law, Topalsson may also share Your Personal Data with third parties in order to offer You targeted marketing or advertising.

9. Data security

Topalsson undertakes to ensure the protection and security of Personal Data that You choose to communicate, in order to ensure the confidentiality of Your Personal Data and prevent Your Personal Data from being distorted, damaged, destroyed or disclosed to unauthorized parties.

Topalsson maintains reasonable physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards to protect Personal Data from loss, misuse and unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration and destruction. As part of those safeguards, Topalsson employs sophisticated technology designed to protect Personal Data during its transmission and prevent transmission errors or unauthorized acts of third parties. However, while Topalsson strives to protect Your Personal Data, in light of the inevitable risks of data transmission over the internet, Topalsson cannot guarantee full protection against any error occurring during the course of Personal Data transmission which is beyond Topalsson’ reasonable control.

Since all Personal Data is confidential, access is limited to employees, contractors and agents of Topalsson or Topalsson Group Companies who have a need to know such data in carrying out their tasks. All the people who have access to Your Personal Data are bound by a duty of confidentiality and subject to disciplinary actions and/or other sanctions if they fail to meet these obligations.

However, it is important for You to exercise caution to prevent unauthorized access to Your Personal Data. You are responsible for the confidentiality of Your password and information appearing on Your account. Consequently, You must ensure that You log out of Your session in the event of shared use of a computer.

10. Cookies

The Sites may use cookies or other technologies serving the same or similar purpose (together referred to as “cookies”), that may collect or store Personal Data. Cookies are text files stored and used to record Non-Personal and Personal Data concerning Your browsing and use of the Sites. Cookies can be either persistent (i.e. remain after You logoff from the Sites in order to be used on Your subsequent visits to the Sites) or transient (i.e., removed when You close the web browser).

To view the list of cookies Topalsson uses and their purpose, follow the link below:

Topalsson uses cookies in order to:

Improve Your user experience through, for example:

  • enabling a service to recognize Your device so You don’t have to give the same information several times during one task
  • recognizing that You may already have given a username and password so You don’t need to do so for every web page requested;

analyze traffic and data on the Sites to:

  • measure how many people are using the Sites, so the Sites can be made easier to use and navigate and to make sure there is enough capacity to ensure the Sites have adequate response times
  • help Topalsson understand how users interact with the Sites so Topalsson can improve their functionality and performance.

Topalsson may also use third party services (such as Adobe Analytics, Google Analytics, Piwik, DART, LinkedIn) to perform services on its behalf, in particular to:

  • analyze Your browsing habits and measure the Sites audience,
  • analyze Your interests and offer You targeted marketing or advertising,
  • allow You to share content from the services with other people on social networks or to let these other people know what You are looking at or what You think (e.g., the “Like” button on Facebook)

In such a case, cookies provided by such third party vendors may be used and stored. By transmitting the information generated by these cookies, the cookies’ settings ensure that an IP address is anonymized before geo-localization and before storage. Our providers will use this information for the evaluation of Your use of the Sites, compiling reports on the Sites activity for Topalsson, to propose better services to You that are suited to Your needs, and display advertisements You that are suited to Your needs. Cookies will not associate Your IP address with any other data they hold.

When You browse the Sites, cookies are enabled by default and data may be read from or stored locally on Your device if Your browser settings allow. You will be notified of the use of cookies the first time You access the Sites with a different device; Topalsson will not install any cookies before obtaining Your explicit consent. You may decide to accept or refuse some or all cookies. You can configure Your browser software to refuse all cookies (including cookies used for web analytics services); if You do so, however, some areas and features of the Sites may not function properly and/or You may not be able to access some parts or services of the Sites.

11. Links to websites not controlled by Topalsson or its subsidiaries

The Sites might offer links to third party websites that may be of interest to You

Topalsson does not exercise any control over the content of third party websites or the practices of these third parties in connection with the protection of Personal Data that they might collect and are thus not in the control of Topalsson. Consequently, Topalsson shall have no liability for the content of third party websites or the practices of these third parties concerning the protection of Personal Data.

It is therefore Your responsibility to inform yourself of the privacy policies of these third party websites.

12. Dispute resolution

Although Topalsson has put in place reasonable safeguards to protect Personal Data, Topalsson recognizes that there is no method of transmitting or storing Personal Data that is completely secure.

However, Topalsson is committed to ensure the privacy of Personal Data: if You have a reason to believe that the security of Your Personal Data has been compromised or misused, You should contact Topalsson via the following address: gdpr@topalsson.com

Topalsson will investigate and attempt to resolve complaints regarding use and disclosure of Personal Data in accordance with the principles contained in this Privacy Policy. Unauthorized access to Personal Data or the improper use of Personal Data may constitute offenses under local law. If Your usual place of residence is in European Union, Lichtenstein, Norway or Iceland, You have a right to file a complaint with Your competent data protection authority

13. Contact

For any additional question concerning this Privacy Policy, to opt out of receiving information from Topalsson or any request regarding Your rights in Your Personal Data You may send an email to the following email address: gdpr@topalsson.com

Please note that You may also contact Topalsson Data Protection Officer via the following address isb@topalsson.com

14. Date of entry into force of the privacy policy and changes to it

This Privacy Policy may be updated according to Topalsson’ requirements and circumstances, or where required by applicable laws and regulations so please check back periodically for updates.

If major changes occur to this Privacy Policy, Topalsson may inform You via email or via posting a notice on the Site.

Last modification: Apr 21th 2020.