Legal
Privacy Policy
Data Controller
The controller responsible for data processing on this website within the meaning of the GDPR is Ben Cöppicus, trading as Ben Coepp Publishing ("it-scholar"), Vürfels 102, 51427 Bergisch Gladbach, Germany. Email: [email protected]. Phone: +49 171 6572320.
What Data We Collect
Inquiry data: when you request a quote or contact us, we collect the information you provide (name, organization, email, phone, message). Visitor and usage data (only with your consent, see "Cookies & Analytics" below): a randomly generated visitor and session identifier, the pages you view, button/link clicks, scroll depth, and form-interaction events; the approximate country and city derived from your IP address (we do not store your IP address itself); coarse device, browser, and operating-system family; and, for your first visit in a session, the referring website and any campaign parameters (UTM) in the URL. We never collect precise location, and we do not use cookies or scripts from third-party advertising or social-media networks.
How We Use Your Data
Inquiry data is used to respond to your request, prepare quotes, deliver booked seminars, and meet legal and contractual obligations (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR) and our legitimate interest in a secure, functioning website (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR). Visitor and usage data is used only to understand how the site is used and to improve it - for example, which pages and seminars are most useful - and is processed internally by our own lead-management system. It is collected only with your explicit consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR) and is never used for automated decision-making or profiling, and never shared with third parties or used for advertising.
Hosting & Content Delivery
This website runs on our own self-hosted server infrastructure located in the European Union. We use Cloudflare, Inc. as a content delivery and security service in front of our servers; Cloudflare processes technical connection data (such as IP address, browser type, and request timestamps) on our behalf under a data processing agreement pursuant to Art. 28 GDPR. We also use Cloudflare Web Analytics, a privacy-focused analytics service that does not use cookies, local storage, or other client-side identifiers and does not track individual visitors across websites.
Cookies & Analytics
We use one strictly necessary cookie at all times, to remember your selected language and a functional session identifier required for the site to work; this does not require consent. If you accept analytics cookies in the cookie banner, we additionally set a cookie holding a random analytics visitor identifier and record the visitor/usage data described above, forwarded to our own internal lead-management system - never to a third party. A separate cookie stores your consent choice itself (so we don't ask again) for up to one year, or until you withdraw it. We honor the Global Privacy Control (GPC) browser signal: if your browser sends it, we treat analytics as declined by default without asking. No cookies are set for marketing/advertising purposes, and this site uses no third-party advertising or social-media trackers.
How Long We Keep Your Data
We retain personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes described above. Inquiry and quote-related data is deleted once the inquiry is resolved and no contract results from it. Data relating to booked seminars, invoices, and business correspondence is retained for the statutory retention periods under German commercial and tax law (typically 6 to 10 years, §§ 147 AO, 257 HGB). Visitor and usage data (page views, clicks, scroll depth, session/attribution data) is automatically deleted after 395 days. Records of your consent decisions themselves are kept indefinitely as required evidence that consent was properly obtained, independent of the underlying visitor data they relate to.
Your Rights
Under GDPR, you have the right to access, correct, delete, or restrict processing of your personal data, to object to processing based on legitimate interest, to withdraw consent at any time with future effect, and to data portability. Contact us at [email protected] to exercise these rights. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority, in particular the Landesbeauftragte für Datenschutz und Informationsfreiheit Nordrhein-Westfalen (LDI NRW), the authority responsible for our registered location. If applicable local law (e.g. CCPA/CPRA) grants you a right to opt out of the "sale" or "sharing" of personal information: we do not sell or share personal information with third parties, and we additionally honor the Global Privacy Control signal as an opt-out request where recognized.
Contact
Questions about this privacy policy can be directed to [email protected] or Ben Cöppicus, Vürfels 102, 51427 Bergisch Gladbach, Germany.
Managing Your Cookie Preferences
You can change or withdraw your cookie consent at any time using the button below, or via the "Cookie Settings" link in the footer of every page.