Privacy

Responsible organization

Progressive Matter GmbH i.G. (in Gründung), Krumme Ecke 9, 27367 Sottrum, Germany. Represented by Thomas Wolgast, managing director (Geschäftsführer).

Website resources

Fonts and images are served with this website. This website includes no advertising, embedded third-party media or visitor analytics scripts.

We process the technical connection data needed to deliver this website on the basis of Article 6(1)(f) GDPR. Our legitimate interest is to provide a reliable and secure website.

Hosting and operational logs

We host this website on an Akamai/Linode server in Frankfurt, Germany. To protect the website and investigate technical problems, our logging policy limits access records to the time, IP address, HTTP method, requested path without query strings, response status and response time. Error records are limited to time and severity. Routine logs are deleted within seven days and are accessible only to authorized administrators. Relevant extracts may be retained to investigate a specific security incident and are reviewed for deletion when no longer needed.

Operational logging is based on Article 6(1)(f) GDPR. Our legitimate interests are protecting the website against misuse, investigating technical failures and maintaining its availability.

Email inquiries

We use Namecheap Private Email (privateemail.com), provided by Namecheap, Inc., to handle email correspondence. Namecheap may process personal data in the United States. Its Data Processing Addendum describes processing arrangements and includes Standard Contractual Clauses for applicable international transfers. You can read those safeguards at the linked page or contact us for further information.

When you contact us by email, we use your email address and message to respond to your inquiry. Providing this information is voluntary. Without the contact details and information needed to handle your request, we may be unable to respond or prepare an offer.

General inquiries and correspondence with people representing journals or other organizations are processed under Article 6(1)(f) GDPR. Our legitimate interest is to respond to inquiries and manage business relationships. Where processing is necessary to enter into a contract with you at your request, or to perform a contract to which you personally are a party, Article 6(1)(b) GDPR applies.

Our policy is to delete ordinary inquiries 12 months after resolution, unless the correspondence is still needed for an ongoing relationship, a legal retention obligation or a legal claim.

Correspondence needed for an ongoing customer or partner relationship is reviewed annually, and unnecessary material is removed. Emails qualifying as commercial correspondence are generally retained for six years from the end of the calendar year in which they were sent or received. Invoices and accounting vouchers are generally retained for eight years from the end of the relevant calendar year. These statutory periods depend on the record’s function and do not apply to every email.

Where retention is required by law, we rely on Article 6(1)(c) GDPR in conjunction with the applicable obligations, including § 257 of the German Commercial Code (HGB) and § 147 of the German Fiscal Code (AO). Retention needed for ongoing business correspondence or to establish, exercise or defend legal claims is based on Article 6(1)(f) GDPR, where applicable. Our legitimate interests are maintaining necessary business records and protecting our legal rights; retention remains limited to what those purposes require.

Relevant records needed for a dispute or legal claim are retained for the applicable period, with a documented reason and review date. We delete personal data once the applicable purposes and retention obligations end.

Your rights

Subject to the conditions of the GDPR, you may request access to your personal data, correction of inaccurate data, deletion or restriction of processing. Where processing is automated and based on consent or a contract with you, you may also have a right to receive the data you provided in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format and to transmit it to another controller.

If processing is based on your consent, you may withdraw it at any time without affecting the lawfulness of processing before withdrawal. We do not use this website for automated decision-making or profiling.

Your right to object

You may object at any time, on grounds relating to your particular situation, to processing based on Article 6(1)(f) GDPR. We will stop that processing unless we demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds that override your interests, rights and freedoms, or the processing is needed to establish, exercise or defend legal claims.

Complaints

You may complain to a data protection supervisory authority, particularly in the EU country of your habitual residence, place of work or the alleged infringement. Our local supervisory authority is Der Landesbeauftragte für den Datenschutz Niedersachsen.

Contact

For privacy questions or to exercise your rights, contact us at contact@progressivematter.com. You can also write to the company address above.