Privacy Policy

1. Data protection at a glance

General Information

The following notes provide a simple overview of what happens to your personal information when you visit our website. Personal data is any-and-all data with which you can be personally identified. Detailed information on data protection can be found in our privacy policy.

Data collection on our website

Who is responsible for data collection on this website?

The data processing on this website is carried out by the website operator. The contact details can be found on the Imprint page of this website.

How do we collect your data?

On one hand, your data is collected by you directly communicating it to us. This can be data that you enter in a contact form, for example.
Other data is automatically collected by our IT systems when you visit the website. This is primarily technical data (e.g. Internet browser, operating system, or time of the page visit). This data is collected automatically as soon as you enter our website.

Why do we need your data?

Some of the data is collected to ensure that the website remains error-free. Other data may be used to analyse your user behaviour.

What rights do you have regarding your data?

You have the right at any time (and free of charge) to receive information about the origin, recipient, and purpose of your stored personal data. You also have the right to request the correction, blockage, or deletion of this data. You can contact us at any time at the address provided on the Imprint page for this and other questions on the subject of data protection. Furthermore, you have the right to appeal to the responsible supervisory authority.

Analysis Tools and Third-Party Provider Tools

When you visit our website, your surfing behaviour can be statistically evaluated. This is done primarily with cookies and so-called analysis programs. The analysis of your surfing behaviour is usually performed anonymously, so the surfing behaviour cannot be traced back to you. You can object to this analysis or prevent it by not using certain tools. You will find detailed information on this in the following data privacy policy.
You can object to this analysis. We will inform you about the possibilities for objection in this data privacy policy.

2. General Information and Mandatory Information

Data Protection

The operator of these pages take the protection of your personal data very seriously. We treat your personal data with full confidentiality and in accordance with the statutory data protection regulations and this data privacy policy.

When you use this website, various personal data is collected. Personal data is any-and-all data with which you can be personally identified. This data privacy policy explains which data we collect and for which purpose we use it. It also explains how and for which purposes this is done.

Please note that data transmission over the Internet (e.g. e-mail communication) can be subject to security vulnerabilities. Complete protection of the data from access by third-parties is not possible.

Information on the Responsible Body

The responsible body for the data processing of this website is:

kothes GmbH 
Von-Ketteler-Str. 19
47906 Kempen

Telephone: +49 (0) 2152 / 8942 - 0
Email: info@kothes.com

The responsible body is the legally-named person who alone (or, with the cooperation of others) decides on the purposes and means of processing personal data (e.g. names, e-mail addresses, etc.).

Name and Address of the Data Protection Registrar

The name and address of the Data Protection Registrar is:

DataCo GmbH

Nymphenburger Str. 86
80636 Munich

Telephone: +49 89 7400 4584 0
E-mail: behoerdenmeldung@dataguard.de
Website: www.dataguard.de

Revocation of your Consent to Data Processing

Many data processing operations are only possible with your express consent. You can revoke your consent at any time. For this purpose, an informal notification by e-mail to us is sufficient. The legality of the data processing operations already in place remains unaffected by the revocation.

Right of Appeal to the Responsible Supervisory Authority

In the event of breaches of data protection law, the person concerned shall have the right to file a complaint with the responsible supervisory authority. The responsible supervisory authority for data protection issues is the data protection registrar of the federal state in which our company is based. A list of data protection registrars and their contact details can be found on the following site: https://www.bfdi.bund.de/DE/Infothek/Anschriften_Links/anschriften_links-node.html.

Right of Data Portability

You have the right to receive data which we process automatically, either on the basis of your consent or in fulfilment of a contract, sent directly to you or to a third-party, in a common, electronic format. If you request the direct transfer of the data to another responsible person, then this will only be done as far as it is technically feasible.

SSL or TLS Encryption

This site uses either SSL or TLS encryption for security reasons, and to protect the transmission of confidential content, such as orders or requests that you send to us. An encrypted connection is indicated by your browser's address bar changing from "http://" to "https://" and the lock icon in your browser bar.
If either SSL or TLS encryption is enabled, the data you submit to us will not be able to be read by third-parties.

Disclosure, Blocking, Deletion

Within the framework of the applicable legal provisions, you have the right (at any time) to free-and-open information about your stored personal data, its origin, recipient, and the purpose of data processing and, if applicable, a right to the correction, blocking, or the deletion of this data. You can contact us at any time at the address provided on the Imprint page for this and other questions on the subject of data protection.

3. Data Collection on our Website

Cookies

Some of our internet pages use so-called cookies. Cookies do not harm your computer and do not contain viruses. Cookies serve to make our offer more user-friendly, more effective, and secure. Cookies are small text files which are stored on your computer by your web browser.

Most of the cookies we use are called "session cookies". They are automatically deleted at the end of your visit. Other cookies remain stored on your device until you delete them. These cookies enable us to recognise your browser on your next visit.

You can set your browser so that you are informed about the setting of cookies and only allow cookies in individual cases, accept cookies for certain cases, or generally exclude them and activate the automatic deletion of cookies when closing your web browser. Disabling cookies may restrict the functionality of this website.

Cookies, which are necessary for the execution of the electronic communication process — or for the provision of certain functions you've requested (e.g. shopping basket function), are stored in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO. The website operator has a legitimate interest in the storage of cookies for the technically accurate and optimised provision of its services. The manner in which other cookies (for example, cookies for the analysis of your surfing behaviour) are stored, is treated separately in this data privacy policy.

You can determine your cookie preferences here: Cookie settings

Server Log Files

The provider of the pages automatically collects and stores information in server log files, which your browser automatically transmits to us. These are:

• Browser Type and Browser Version
• Operating System Used
• Referrer URL
• Hostname of the Accessing Computer
• Time of the Server Request
• IP Address

This data will not be merged with any other data sources.

The basis for data processing is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO, which permits the processing of data for the fulfilment of a contract or pre-contractual measures.

Contact Form

If you send kothes enquiries via the contact form, your details from the enquiry form (including the contact data you provide there) will be stored by kothes for the purpose of processing the enquiry and in the event of follow-up questions. We do not share this data without your consent.

The processing of the data entered on the contact form is therefore carried out exclusively on the basis of your consent (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO). You can revoke your consent at any time. For this purpose, an informal notification by e-mail to us is sufficient. The legality of the data processing operations already in place remains unaffected by the revocation.

Entered data remains with us until you request deletion, revoke your consent to storage or the purpose for data storage is no longer legitimate (e.g. after the completed processing of your application). Mandatory statutory provisions – in particular, retention periods – remain unaffected.

Registration (smart space web portal)

You can register on our website to use additional features on the site. We use the data entered strictly for the purpose of using the respective offer or service for which you have registered. The mandatory information requested during registration must be provided in full. Otherwise, we will not accept the registration.

In the case of important changes, for example, within the scope of our services or in the case of technically necessary changes, we will use the e-mail address you provided during registration to inform you.

The processing of the data entered when registering is carried out exclusively on the basis of your consent (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR). You can revoke your consent at any time. For this purpose, an informal notification by e-mail to us is sufficient. The legality of the data processing operations already in place remains unaffected by the revocation.

The data collected during registration will be stored by us as long as you are registered on our website and will subsequently be deleted. Legal retention periods remain unaffected.

Processing of Data (Customer and Contract Data)

We collect, process, and use personal data only to the extent necessary for the establishment, content, or modification of the legal relationship (inventory data). This is done on the basis of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b GDPR, which permits the processing of data for the fulfilment of a contract or pre-contractual measures. We collect, process, and use personal data about the use of our internet pages (usage data) only to the extent necessary to enable the user to make use of the service or to bill the user.<br/> The collected customer data will be deleted after completion of the order or at the conclusion of the business relationship. Legal retention periods remain unaffected.

4. Social Media

We use various social media buttons in order to provide a visually and functionally appealing website.

The social media icons in the footer of our website – evident by the logos of the corresponding social networks (Facebook, Twitter, Xing, LinkedIn und YouTube) – are merely static links, which point to our company channels on the respective social networks.

All other social media buttons are generally being utilised in the blog, news or event sections of our website. These buttons are so called sharing buttons, which allow users to share our website content on the respective social media networks. All sharing buttons are embedded according to current european data privacy law using the safe-sharing tool "Shariff". You can find detailed information concerning individual sharing buttons that have been implemented with "Shariff" in the paragraphs below.

Facebook (Like & Share-Button)

Our website includes the safe-sharing plugin "Shariff" for the use of the social network Facebook. The Shariff plugin can be recognized by the Facebook logo or the Like button on our site.

When you visit our site, no connection between your browser and the Facebook servers is established and no data is transferred. Only when you click on the Facebook "Like" or "Share" button, Facebook is enabled to receive information that you have visited our site from your IP address. If you click on the Facebook "Like" or "Share" button while you are logged into your Facebook account, you can link the content of our site to your Facebook profile. This allows Facebook to associate visits to our site with your user account. Please note that, as the operator of this site, we have no knowledge of the content of the data transmitted to Facebook or of how Facebook uses these data. For more information, please see Facebook's privacy policy at https://de-de.facebook.com/policy.php.

If you do not want Facebook to associate your visit to our site with your Facebook account, please log out of your Facebook account.

XING

Our website includes the safe-sharing plugin "Shariff" for the use of features provided by the Xing network.

When you visit our site, no connection between your browser and Xing servers is established and no data is transferred. Only when you access XING features or click on the Xing social buttons, your browser establishes a direct connection to the XING servers. To the best of our knowledge, no personal data is stored in the process. In particular, no IP addresses are stored nor is usage behavior evaluated.

For more information about data protection and the XING Share button, please see the XING privacy policy at https://www.xing.com/app/share?op=data_protection.

LinkedIn

Our website includes the safe-sharing plugin "Shariff" for the use of functions of the LinkedIn network.

When you visit our site, no connection between your browser and LinkedIn servers is established and no data is transferred. Only when you access LinkedIn features or click on the LinkedIn social buttons, your browser establishes a direct connection to the LinkedIn servers. LinkedIn is then informed that you have visited our web pages from your IP address. If you use the LinkedIn “Recommend” button and are logged into your LinkedIn account, it is possible for LinkedIn to associate your visit to our website to your user account. We would like to point out that, as the provider of these pages, we have no knowledge of the content of the data transmitted or how it will be used by LinkedIn.

More information can be found in the LinkedIn privacy policy at https://www.linkedin.com/legal/privacy-policy.

Within the scope of LinkedIn campaigns, we use the so-called LinkedIn Insight Tag. When you click on an ad placed by LinkedIn, a cookie is set for conversion tracking. Cookies are small text files that the internet browser stores on the user's computer. These cookies lose their validity after 30 days and are not used to personally identify the user. If the user visits certain pages of our website and the cookie has not yet expired, Google and we can recognise that the user clicked on the ad and was redirected to this page.

Each user receives a different cookie. The cookies cannot be tracked across clients' websites. The information collected using the LinkedIn Insight tag is used to create conversion statistics for LinkedIn customers who have opted in to conversion tracking. Customers learn the total number of users who clicked on their ad and were redirected to a page tagged with a conversion tracking tag. However, they do not receive any information that can be used to personally identify users. If you do not wish to participate in the tracking, you can object to this use by easily deactivating the cookie of the LinkedIn Insight tag via your internet browser under user settings. You will then not be included in the conversion tracking statistics.

The storage of "conversion cookies" is based on Art. 6 (1) lit. f DSGVO. The website operator has a legitimate interest in analysing user behaviour in order to optimise both its website and its advertising.

More information on the LinkedIn Insight tag and LinkedIn Marketing Solutions can be found in the privacy policy: https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/87150/linkedin-marketing-solutions-und-die-datenschutz-grundverordnung-dsgvo

You can set your browser so that you are informed about the setting of cookies and only allow cookies in individual cases, exclude the acceptance of cookies for certain cases or in general and activate the automatic deletion of cookies when closing the browser. If you deactivate cookies, the functionality of this website may be limited.

You can object to the collection and storage of data at any time with effect for the future. To object to data collection and storage within the scope of LinkedIn and LinkedIn Marketing Solutions for the future, you can deactivate these services on our "Cookie settings" page.

This has the effect that the corresponding code will no longer be issued for you and no data from your browser will be collected and stored for this domain in the future. To store your cookie preferences, a cookie with a storage period of one year is set in your browser. Please do not delete this cookie as long as you wish to maintain your objection.

5. Analytics and advertising

Google Analytics

This website uses Google Analytics, a web analytics service. It is operated by Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA.
Google Analytics uses so-called "cookies". These are text files that are stored on your computer and that allow an analysis of the use of the website by you. The information generated by the cookie about your use of this website is usually transmitted to a Google server in the USA and stored there.

Google Analytics cookies are stored based on Art. 6 (1) (f) DSGVO. The website operator has a legitimate interest in analyzing user behavior to optimize both its website and its advertising.

IP anonymization

We have activated the IP anonymization feature on this website. Your IP address will be shortened by Google within the European Union or other parties to the Agreement on the European Economic Area prior to transmission to the United States. Only in exceptional cases is the full IP address sent to a Google server in the US and shortened there. Google will use this information on behalf of the operator of this website to evaluate your use of the website, to compile reports on website activity, and to provide other services regarding website activity and Internet usage for the website operator. The IP address transmitted by your browser as part of Google Analytics will not be merged with any other data held by Google.

Browser plugin

You can prevent these cookies being stored by selecting the appropriate settings in your browser. However, we wish to point out that doing so may mean you will not be able to enjoy the full functionality of this website. You can also prevent the data generated by cookies about your use of the website (incl. your IP address) from being passed to Google, and the processing of these data by Google, by downloading and installing the browser plugin available at the following link: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=en.

Google Ads and Google Conversion Tracking

This website uses Google Ads. Ads is an online advertising program from Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheater Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States ("Google").

As part of Google Ads, we use so-called conversion tracking. When you click on an ad served by Google, a conversion tracking cookie is set. Cookies are small text files that your internet browser stores on your computer. These cookies expire after 30 days and are not used for personal identification of the user. Should the user visit certain pages of the website and the cookie has not yet expired, Google and the website can tell that the user clicked on the ad and proceeded to that page.

Each Google Ads advertiser has a different cookie. Thus, cookies cannot be tracked using the website of an Ads advertiser. The information obtained using the conversion cookie is used to create conversion statistics for the Ads advertisers who have opted for conversion tracking. Customers are told the total number of users who clicked on their ad and were redirected to a conversion tracking tag page. However, advertisers do not obtain any information that can be used to personally identify users. If you do not want to participate in tracking, you can opt-out of this by easily disabling the Google Conversion Tracking cookie by changing your browser settings. In doing so, you will not be included in the conversion tracking statistics.

Conversion cookies are stored based on Art. 6 (1) (f) DSGVO. The website operator has a legitimate interest in analyzing user behavior to optimize both its website and its advertising.

For more information about Google Ads and Google Conversion Tracking, see the Google Privacy Policy: https://www.google.de/policies/privacy/.
You can configure your browser to inform you about the use of cookies so that you can decide on a case-by-case basis whether to accept or reject a cookie. Alternatively, your browser can be configured to automatically accept cookies under certain conditions or to always reject them, or to automatically delete cookies when closing your browser. Disabling cookies may limit the functionality of this website.

You can object to the collection and storage of your data at any time with future effect. To object to the collection and storage of your data as part of Google Analytics or Google Ads in the future, you can deactivate these services here: Cookie settings

This means that the corresponding tracking code will no longer be issued for you and that no data from your browser will be collected and stored by Google for this domain in the future. To save your cookie preferences, a cookie with a storage period of one year is set in your browser. Please do not delete this cookie as long as you wish to maintain your objection. 

kununu

On this website we use functions of the network kununu (kununu GmbH, Neutorgasse 4-8, Top 3.02, A - 1010 Vienna).

For an attractive presentation of our web presence, we integrate our current employer ratings from the social platform kununu into our career section. s an advertising third party, kununu sets cookies for analysis and/or marketing purposes when accessing a site that includes kununu employer ratings.

We would like to point out that as the provider of this website, we do not have any knowledge of the content of the transmitted data or its use by kununu. Further information on this can be found in kununu’s privacy policy: https://privacy.xing.com/en/privacy-policy/printable-version.

The use of kununu is based on Art. 6 Sect. 1 lit. f GDPR. If a corresponding agreement has been requested (e.g. an agreement to the storage of cookies), the processing takes place exclusively on the basis of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR; the agreement can be revoked at any time.

You can object to the use of kununu at any time with effect for the future here: Cookie settings

Within our website kothes-academy.com kununu is not used.

6. Plug-ins and Tools

YouTube with expanded data protection integration

Our website embeds videos of the website YouTube. The website operator is Google Ireland Limited (“Google”), Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland.

We use YouTube in the expanded data protection mode. According to YouTube, this mode ensures that YouTube does not store any information about visitors to this website before they watch the video. Nevertheless, this does not necessarily mean that the sharing of data with YouTube partners can be ruled out as a result of the expanded data protection mode. For instance, regardless of whether you are watching a video, YouTube will always establish a connection with the Google DoubleClick network.

As soon as you start to play a YouTube video on this website, a connection to YouTube’s servers will be established. As a result, the YouTube server will be notified, which of our pages you have visited. If you are logged into your YouTube account while you visit our site, you enable YouTube to directly allocate your browsing patterns to your personal profile. You have the option to prevent this by logging out of your YouTube account.

Furthermore, after you have started to play a video, YouTube will be able to place various cookies on your device. With the assistance of these cookies, YouTube will be able to obtain information about our website's visitors. Among other things, this information will be used to generate video statistics with the aim of improving the user friendliness of the site and to prevent attempts to commit fraud. These cookies will stay on your device until you delete them.

Under certain circumstances, additional data processing transactions may be triggered after you have started to play a YouTube video, which are beyond our control.

The use of YouTube is based on our interest in presenting our online content in an appealing manner. Pursuant to Art. 6 Sect. 1 lit. f GDPR, this is a legitimate interest. If a corresponding agreement has been requested, the processing takes place exclusively on the basis of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR; the agreement can be revoked at any time.

For more information on how YouTube handles user data, please consult the YouTube Data Privacy Policy under:  https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en.

7. Newsletter

Newsletter data

If you would like to receive our newsletter, we require a valid email address as well as information that allows us to verify that you are the owner of the specified email address and that you agree to receive this newsletter. No additional data is collected or is only collected on a voluntary basis. We only use this data to send the requested information and do not pass it on to third parties.

We will, therefore, process any data you enter onto the contact form only with your consent per Art. 6 (1) (a) DSGVO. You can revoke consent to the storage of your data and email address as well as their use for sending the newsletter at any time, e.g. through the "unsubscribe" link in the newsletter. The data processed before we receive your request may still be legally processed.

The data provided when registering for the newsletter will be used to distribute the newsletter until you cancel your subscription when said data will be deleted. Data we have stored for other purposes (e.g. email addresses for the smart space) remain unaffected.

8. Privacy Policy for Applicants

You can find out more about our handling of applicant data in our privacy statement for applicants.

9. Storage and Transfer of Data

How long will your data be stored?

We will store the data you provide only as long as we require them to fulfil the request for which you transferred your data, or as long as required to comply with legal requirements.

Restricted Transfer

When processing your request, kothes may need to transfer your personal data to another connected business within the kothes group or to an external service provider, possibly in another European country, that works exclusively on our behalf. kothes requires all affiliated companies within the kothes group and external service providers to use your personal data solely in accordance with our requirements and in accordance with this privacy policy and the legal requirements for order data processing.

Otherwise we will never pass your personal data to third parties unless requested to do so by you, nor will be sell or rent out your data. We do, however, reserve the right to reveal information about you if we are legally required to do so, or if we receive a demand for data handover from authorities or criminal prosecution bodies who are acting within the law.

10. HubSpot

Use of HubSpot

scope of the processing of personal data

We use functionalities of the content management software HubSpot of HubSpot Inc, 2nd Floor, 25 First Street, Cambridge, MA 02141, USA (hereinafter: HubSpot). These functionalities support our marketing activities, especially in inbound marketing.

Cookies from HubSpot are stored on your end device in the process.

The following personal data can be processed by HubSpot as a result:

• The user's activity (such as information on pages visited and which elements were clicked on).
• Device and browser information (such as a Globally Unique Identifier, user token, IP address, and operating system)
• Data about the advertisements displayed (such as advertisements displayed and information about whether the user clicked on them)
• Data from advertisement partners (such as pseudonymized user IDs).

Part of the order processing agreement with HubSpot are so-called EU standard data protection clauses (Art. 46 para. 2 p. 1 lit. c DSGVO). These are to be classified as an appropriate guarantee for the protection of the transfer and processing of personal data outside the EU.

Other recipients of the data processed by HubSpot are in particular:

• Amazon Web Services, Inc.
• Google, Inc.
• Cloudflare, Inc.
• Twilio, Inc.
• Message Systems, Inc.
• SendGrid, Inc.
• Snowflake, Inc.
• HubSpot, Inc.
• HubSpot Ireland, Ltd.
• HubSpot Germany GmbH
• HubSpot Australia Pty. Ltd.
• HubSpot Asia Pte. Ltd.
• HubSpot Japan KK
• HubSpot Latin America, S.A.S.
• HubSpot Sweden

For more information on the processing of data by HubSpot, please click here: https://legal.hubspot.com/de/privacy-policy

Further information on the cookies used can be found here: https://knowledge.hubspot.com/reports/what-cookies-does-hubspot-set-in-a-visitor-s-browser

purpose of data processing

The use of HubSpot functionalities serves us to optimize our user interactions and to control marketing activities.

legal basis for the processing of personal data

The legal basis for the processing of users' personal data is basically the user's consent in accordance with Art. 6 Para. 1 S.1 lit. a DSGVO.

Duration of storage

Your personal information will be stored for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes described in this Privacy Policy or as required by law, e.g. for tax and accounting purposes.

Information on the lifetime of cookies set by HubSpot can be found here: https://knowledge.hubspot.com/reports/what-cookies-does-hubspot-set-in-a-visitor-s-browser

revocation and removal options

You have the right to revoke your declaration of consent under data protection law at any time. The revocation of consent does not affect the lawfulness of the processing carried out on the basis of the consent until the revocation.

You can prevent the collection as well as the processing of your personal data by HubSpot by preventing third-party cookies from being stored on your computer, by using the "Do Not Track" function of a supporting browser, by disabling the execution of script code in your browser or by installing a script blocker such as NoScript (https://noscript.net/) or Ghostery (https://www.ghostery.com) in your browser.

You can find more information about objection and removal options concerning HubSpot at https://legal.hubspot.com/de/privacy-policy

11. Updates and Modifications

We may modify or update parts of the data privacy statement without prior notice. Please always check our data privacy statement before taking advantage of what we offer; that way, you will be up-to-date whenever there are changes or updates.

Data privacy statement as of: January 2024.