Privacy policy

1) Information on the collection of personal data and contact details of the controller

1.1 We are pleased that you are visiting our website and thank you for your interest. Below we inform you about how your personal data is handled when you use our website. Personal data is any data by which you can be personally identified.

1.2 The controller for data processing on this website within the meaning of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is:

mezzo-forte CF Instruments
Owner: Dr. Jörg Kleinalstede
Ziegelstrasse 31
33824 Werther
Germany
Email: info@mezzo-forte.de

The controller is the natural or legal person who alone or jointly with others determines the purposes and means of the processing of personal data.

1.3 For security reasons and to protect the transmission of personal data and other confidential content, this website uses SSL or TLS encryption. You can recognise an encrypted connection by the string https:// and the padlock symbol in your browser bar.

2) Data collection when visiting our website

If you use our website for information purposes only, that is, if you do not register or otherwise transmit information to us, we collect only the data that your browser transmits to our server, known as server log files:

  • the page visited
  • date and time of access
  • volume of data sent in bytes
  • the source or referrer from which you reached the page
  • browser used
  • operating system used
  • IP address used, where applicable in anonymised form

Processing takes place pursuant to Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR on the basis of our legitimate interest in improving the stability and functionality of our website. The data is not passed on or otherwise used. We reserve the right to review the server log files subsequently if there are specific indications of unlawful use.

3) Hosting and shop system

Our website is operated on the Shopify platform. The provider is Shopify International Limited, Dublin, Ireland. Shopify processes the data arising from your visit to the website and from the ordering process on our behalf as a processor pursuant to Art. 28 GDPR, on the basis of a data processing agreement.

Further information is available in Shopify's privacy policy at https://www.shopify.com/legal/privacy.

4) Cookies

To make visiting our website attractive and to enable the use of certain functions, we use cookies on various pages. These are small text files stored on your device.

Some of the cookies we use are deleted at the end of the browser session, known as session cookies. Others remain on your device and allow us or our partner companies to recognise your browser on your next visit, known as persistent cookies. Persistent cookies are deleted automatically after a defined period, which may vary from cookie to cookie.

Some cookies serve to simplify the ordering process by storing settings, for example by remembering the contents of a shopping cart for a later visit. Where individual cookies also process personal data, processing takes place pursuant to Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR for the performance of the contract, or pursuant to Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR to safeguard our legitimate interests in the best possible functionality of the website.

You can set your browser to inform you about the setting of cookies and to decide individually whether to accept them, or to exclude the acceptance of cookies generally. Each browser manages cookie settings differently; this is described in the help menu of each browser. If cookies are not accepted, the functionality of our website may be limited.

5) Language and currency selection

Our website allows you to select language and currency. To determine a suitable default, your IP address may be processed in order to establish your approximate location. The selection you make is stored in a cookie in your browser so that it is retained as you continue browsing.

The legal basis is Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR, on the basis of our legitimate interest in presenting our website in the appropriate language and currency.

6) Contacting us

When you contact us, for example by contact form or email, personal data is collected. In the case of a contact form, the data collected is apparent from the form itself. This data is stored and used exclusively for the purpose of responding to your enquiry and for the associated technical administration.

The legal basis is our legitimate interest in responding to your enquiry pursuant to Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. If your enquiry is aimed at concluding a contract, the additional legal basis is Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR. Your data is deleted once your enquiry has been finally dealt with, provided that no statutory retention obligations apply.

7) Data processing for customer accounts and contract performance

Pursuant to Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR, personal data is collected and processed when you provide it to us for the performance of a contract or when opening a customer account. The data collected is apparent from the respective input forms.

You may delete your customer account at any time by sending a message to the address given above. Once the contract has been fully performed or your customer account has been deleted, your data will be blocked in view of tax and commercial law retention periods and deleted after those periods have expired.

8) Data processing for order fulfilment

8.1 The personal data we collect is passed on to the transport company commissioned with delivery, to the extent necessary to deliver the goods. The legal basis is Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR.

8.2 We pass on your payment data to the commissioned credit institution or to the relevant payment service provider, to the extent necessary for payment processing.

Shopify Payments

If you select a payment method processed via Shopify Payments, for example credit card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Shop Pay or country-specific methods, payment is processed by Shopify International Limited, Dublin, Ireland, using the technical service provider Stripe. We pass on the information you provide during the ordering process together with information about your order pursuant to Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR, and only to the extent necessary for payment processing. Further information is available at https://www.shopify.com/legal/privacy.

PayPal

If you pay via PayPal, we pass on your payment data to PayPal (Europe) S.à r.l. et Cie, S.C.A., 22-24 Boulevard Royal, L-2449 Luxembourg. The transfer takes place pursuant to Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR and only to the extent necessary for payment processing.

For certain payment methods, PayPal reserves the right to carry out a credit check. For this purpose your payment data may be passed on to credit agencies pursuant to Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR, on the basis of PayPal's legitimate interest in establishing your creditworthiness. PayPal uses the result to decide whether to make the respective payment method available. The credit report may contain probability values, known as scores, which are based on a scientifically recognised mathematical and statistical procedure. Further information is available in PayPal's privacy policy at https://www.paypal.com/de/webapps/mpp/ua/privacy-full.

You may object to this processing at any time by sending a message to PayPal. PayPal may nevertheless remain entitled to process your personal data where this is necessary for contractual payment processing.

Klarna

In order to offer you Klarna's payment methods, we may pass on your personal data in the form of contact and order data to Klarna Bank AB (publ), Sveavägen 46, 11134 Stockholm, Sweden during checkout, so that Klarna can assess whether these payment methods are available to you. The data transmitted is processed in accordance with Klarna's privacy policy, available at https://www.klarna.com/international/privacy-policy/.

9) Use of your data for direct marketing

If you subscribe to our email newsletter, we will regularly send you information about our products. The only mandatory detail is your email address. Providing any further data is voluntary and is used to address you personally.

We use the double opt-in procedure. We will only send you a newsletter once you have expressly confirmed that you consent to receiving it. You will receive a confirmation email containing a link for this purpose. By activating the link you give us your consent pursuant to Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR.

When you subscribe we store your IP address and the date and time of subscription, so that any misuse of your email address can be traced at a later point. The data collected is used exclusively for the purposes of the newsletter.

You may unsubscribe at any time using the link provided in the newsletter or by sending a message to the controller named above. Once you have unsubscribed, your email address will be deleted from our distribution list without delay.

Newsletters are sent using Shopify Email, a service of Shopify International Limited, Dublin, Ireland, which acts as a processor on our behalf.

10) Chat function

We use Shopify Inbox on our website, a chat service provided by Shopify International Limited, Dublin, Ireland. If you use the chat, the information you provide and technical connection data are processed in order to answer your enquiry.

The legal basis is Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR, on the basis of our legitimate interest in answering enquiries directly. If your enquiry is aimed at concluding a contract, the additional legal basis is Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR.

11) Rights of the data subject

11.1 Applicable data protection law grants you comprehensive rights in relation to the processing of your personal data:

  • Right of access under Art. 15 GDPR: you have the right to obtain information about the personal data we process, the purposes of processing, the categories of data processed, the recipients, the envisaged storage period, the existence of a right to rectification, erasure, restriction of processing, objection and complaint to a supervisory authority, the origin of your data, and the existence of automated decision-making including profiling.
  • Right to rectification under Art. 16 GDPR: you have the right to have inaccurate data corrected without delay and incomplete data completed.
  • Right to erasure under Art. 17 GDPR: you have the right to request the erasure of your personal data where the conditions of Art. 17(1) GDPR are met.
  • Right to restriction of processing under Art. 18 GDPR: you have the right to request the restriction of processing under the conditions set out there.
  • Right to notification under Art. 19 GDPR: if you have exercised the right to rectification, erasure or restriction, we are obliged to inform all recipients to whom your data has been disclosed, unless this proves impossible or involves disproportionate effort.
  • Right to data portability under Art. 20 GDPR: you have the right to receive your data in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format, or to have it transmitted to another controller where technically feasible.
  • Right to withdraw consent under Art. 7(3) GDPR: you have the right to withdraw consent at any time with effect for the future. The lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal remains unaffected.
  • Right to lodge a complaint under Art. 77 GDPR: you have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority, in particular in the member state of your residence, place of work or the place of the alleged infringement.

11.2 Right to object

Where we process your personal data on the basis of our overriding legitimate interest following a balancing of interests, you have the right to object to that processing at any time, with effect for the future, on grounds relating to your particular situation.

If you exercise your right to object, we will cease processing the data concerned. We reserve the right to continue processing where we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds which override your interests, rights and freedoms, or where the processing serves to establish, exercise or defend legal claims.

Where your personal data is processed for direct marketing purposes, you have the right to object at any time. If you exercise that right, we will cease processing your data for direct marketing purposes.

12) Duration of storage of personal data

The duration of storage is determined by the applicable statutory retention periods, for example under commercial and tax law. Once the period has expired, the data is deleted as a matter of routine, provided it is no longer required for the performance or initiation of a contract and no legitimate interest in further storage remains.