PRIVACY POLICY

A legal disclaimer

We process personal data (hereinafter referred to as "data") only to the extent necessary and for the purpose of providing a functional, user-friendly website, including its content and the services offered.

According to Article 4(1) of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (the General Data Protection Regulation, "GDPR"), "processing" means any operation or set of operations performed on personal data or sets of personal data, whether or not by automated means. This includes collection, recording, organization, structuring, storage, adaptation or alteration, retrieval, consultation, use, disclosure by transmission, dissemination, or otherwise making available, linking or matching, restriction, erasure, or destruction.

This privacy policy aims to inform you about the type, scope, purpose, duration, and legal basis of personal data processing, particularly when we decide on the purposes and means of processing, either alone or jointly with others. Additionally, we provide details about third-party components we use to optimize and improve user experience, in cases where these third parties process data under their own responsibility.

Our privacy policy is structured as follows:

I. Information about us as the responsible party

The responsible provider of this website under data protection law is:

Lic. José Delio Marmolejos
Marmolejos & Asociados Law Firm
Calle Colon con Benito Monción 23, Edificio Teruel, 2nd level
41000 La Vega, Dominican Republic
Telephone: +1 829-201-5014, +1 829-745-8864

II. Rights of users and data subjects

Regarding the data processing described below, users and data subjects have the following rights:

To confirm whether data concerning them is being processed, to access the data, and to obtain additional information about the processing and copies of the data (Art. 15 GDPR).
To correct or complete inaccurate or incomplete data (Art. 16 GDPR).
To request the immediate deletion of their data (Art. 17 GDPR) or, if further processing is necessary under Art. 17(3) GDPR, to request restrictions on processing under Art. 18 GDPR.
To receive their data and transmit it to other providers or controllers (Art. 20 GDPR).
To lodge a complaint with the supervisory authority if they believe their data is being processed in violation of data protection regulations (Art. 77 GDPR).

Furthermore, the provider is obliged to inform all recipients of data disclosures about any rectification, erasure, or restriction of processing, unless such notification is impossible or involves disproportionate effort. Users also have the right to information about these recipients.

According to Art. 21 GDPR, users and data subjects have the right to object to future processing of their data, especially when processed under Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. Objections to data processing for direct marketing are specifically permitted.

III. Information on data processing

Your data will be deleted or restricted once the storage purpose is no longer valid, there are no legal retention obligations, and no other information regarding individual processing procedures applies.

Server Data

For technical reasons and to ensure a secure, stable website, data is transmitted to us or our web hosting provider via your internet browser. These server log files record the type and version of your browser, operating system, referrer URL, visited pages, access date and time, and IP address.

This data is stored temporarily and separately from other data about you, based on Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. Our legitimate interest is in improving the stability, security, and functionality of our website. The data is typically deleted after seven days unless further retention is required for evidentiary purposes or incident resolution.

Session Cookies: We use cookies to improve user experience, effectiveness, and security. These small text files are stored on your device via your browser and can process information such as your browser, location, or IP address. If these cookies are used to initiate or perform a contract, the legal basis is Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR; otherwise, our legitimate interest is in enhancing website functionality under Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. These cookies are deleted when you close your browser.

Third-party Cookies: Our website may also incorporate cookies from partners for advertising, analysis, or functionality purposes. Details about such cookies, purposes, and legal bases are provided below.

Cookie Management: You can prevent or restrict cookie installation by adjusting your browser settings or delete cookies already stored. Please note that disabling cookies may limit website functionality.

Newsletter

If you subscribe to our free newsletter, the data you provide—namely your email address, and optionally your name and address—will be transmitted to us. We also record the IP address of your internet connection, along with the date and time of your registration. During the registration process, we will obtain your consent to send the newsletter, describe its content in detail, and refer you to this privacy policy. We use the collected data solely for newsletter dissemination; it will not be shared with third parties.

The legal basis for this processing is Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR.

You may revoke your consent to receive the newsletter at any time for the future, in accordance with Art. 7(3) GDPR. To do so, simply notify us of your revocation or click the unsubscribe link included in each newsletter.

Contact Requests / Contact Options

If you contact us via the contact form or email, the data you provide will be used exclusively to process your inquiry. Providing this data is necessary to respond to your request; without it, we may be unable to respond or may only respond to a limited extent.

The legal basis for this processing is Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR.

Your data will be deleted once your inquiry has been conclusively addressed and there are no legal retention obligations, such as contractual or statutory requirements, preventing deletion.

Google Analytics

We use Google Analytics on our website, a web analytics service provided by Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA ("Google").

Google guarantees compliance with EU data protection regulations through certification under the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield: [link].

Google Analytics helps us analyze user behavior on our website. The legal basis for this is Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR, with our legitimate interest being the analysis, optimization, and efficient operation of our website.

Usage and user-related information, such as IP address, location, time, and visit frequency, are transmitted to a Google server in the USA and stored there. We enable IP anonymization, which shortens your IP address within the EU or EEA before transmission.

Google uses this data to evaluate visit and activity patterns and may provide related services. Google states it will not associate your IP address with other data, and further information can be found here: https://www.google.com/intl/de/policies/privacy/partners.

You can control data collection by using Google's deactivate add-on: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=de, which prevents your visit data from being transmitted to Google Analytics. This does not prevent data transfer to us or other analysis services we may use.

Google+ Social Plugin

Our website uses the Google+ ("Google Plus") plugin, a social network provided by Google LLC. Google guarantees compliance with European data protection laws via certification under the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield: [link].

The legal basis is Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR, with our legitimate interest in improving our website.

When the plugin is installed on a page you visit, your browser downloads a representation of the plugin from Google's servers. For technical reasons, Google processes your IP address and records the date and time of your visit.

If you are logged into your Google account, Google can associate this information with your personal account. To prevent this, you must log out of Google before visiting our site or adjust your account settings.

Further details are available here: https://developers.google.com/+/web/. Additional privacy information can be found at https://policies.google.com/privacy.

Google Maps

We utilize Google Maps on our website to display our location and provide directions. This service is provided by Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA ("Google").

Google is certified under the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield: [link], guaranteeing compliance with EU data protection regulations when processing data in the USA.

When you visit our website, a connection to Google’s server in the USA is established to enable the display of certain fonts. If you access the Google Maps component integrated into our site, Google stores a cookie on your device via your internet browser to facilitate location display and directions. Your user settings and data are processed for this purpose. We cannot rule out that Google uses servers in the USA.

The legal basis for this processing is Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. Our legitimate interest is in optimizing the functionality of our website.

Through this connection, Google can determine from which website your request was sent and to which IP address the directions should be sent.

If you do not agree to this processing, you can prevent the installation of cookies by adjusting your browser settings, as detailed in the "Cookies" section above.

Additionally, the use of Google Maps and the information obtained are subject to the Google Terms of Use: https://policies.google.com/terms?gl=DE&hl=de and the Google Maps Terms of Service: https://www.google.com/intl/de_de/help/terms_maps.html.

Further information is available at:

Facebook Social Plug-in

Our website uses plug-ins from Facebook, provided by Facebook Inc., 1601 S. California Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA. In the EU, this service is operated by Facebook Ireland Limited, 4 Grand Canal Square, Dublin 2, Ireland.

Facebook is certified under the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield: [link], ensuring compliance with EU data protection regulations in the USA.

The legal basis for processing is Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. Our legitimate interest is in improving the quality of our website.

You can find more information about Facebook plug-ins and their functions at https://developers.facebook.com/docs/plugins/.

If the plug-in is present on a page you visit, your browser downloads a representation of it from Facebook’s servers. For technical reasons, Facebook processes your IP address and records the date and time of your visit.

If you are logged into your Facebook account while visiting our website, Facebook can associate this information with your personal account. To prevent this, you should log out of Facebook beforehand or use browser add-ons to block the plug-in.

Further information about data collection, use, and your rights is available at https://www.facebook.com/policy.php.

YouTube

We use YouTube on our website. This is a video portal provided by YouTube LLC, 901 Cherry Ave., 94066 San Bruno, CA, USA, hereinafter referred to as "YouTube."

YouTube is a subsidiary of Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043 USA, hereinafter referred to as "Google".

Through certification under the EU-US Privacy Shield

https://www.privacyshield.gov/participant?id=a2zt000000001L5AAI&status=Active, Google, and thus also its subsidiary YouTube, guarantees that EU data protection regulations will also be complied with when processing data in the USA.

We use YouTube in conjunction with the "Enhanced Privacy Mode" feature to display videos for you. The legal basis is Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR. Our legitimate interest lies in improving the quality of our website. According to YouTube, the "Enhanced Privacy Mode" feature ensures that the data described in more detail below is only transmitted to the YouTube server when you actually start a video.

Without this "Extended Data Protection", a connection to the YouTube server in the USA will be established as soon as you visit one of our websites on which a YouTube video is embedded.

This connection is necessary to display the respective video on our website via your internet browser. In the process, YouTube will collect and process at least your IP address, the date and time, and the website you visited. A connection to Google's "DoubleClick" advertising network will also be established.

If you are logged in to YouTube at the same time, YouTube will assign the connection information to your YouTube account. If you want to prevent this, you must either log out of YouTube before visiting our website or configure the appropriate settings in your YouTube user account.

For functionality and to analyze user behavior, YouTube permanently stores cookies on your device via your internet browser. If you do not agree to this processing, you have the option of preventing cookies from being stored by adjusting your internet browser settings. Further information on this can be found above under "Cookies."

Further information about the collection and use of data as well as your rights and protection options in this regard can be found on Google's available data protection information. https://policies.google.com/privacy

Google AdWords with Conversion Tracking

We use Google AdWords, a service known as conversion tracking, on our website. This is a service provided by Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA, hereinafter referred to as "Google."

Through certification under the EU-US Privacy Shield

https://www.privacyshield.gov/participant?id=a2zt000000001L5AAI&status=Active, Google guarantees that EU data protection regulations will also be complied with when processing data in the USA.

We use conversion tracking to target our advertising. The legal basis is Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR. Our legitimate interest lies in the analysis, optimization, and economic operation of our website.

If you click on an ad placed by Google, the conversion tracking we use will store a cookie on your device. These so-called conversion cookies expire after 30 days and are not used to identify you personally.

If the cookie is still valid and you visit a specific page of our website, both we and Google can evaluate that you have clicked on one of our ads placed on Google and that you were subsequently redirected to our website.

Using the information collected in this way, Google compiles statistics about visits to our website. This also provides us with information about the number of users who clicked on our ad(s) and the pages of our website subsequently accessed. However, neither we nor third parties who also use Google AdWords are able to identify you in this way.

You can also prevent or restrict the installation of cookies by adjusting your browser's settings. You can also delete cookies that have already been saved at any time. However, the steps and actions required to do this depend on the specific browser you are using. If you have any questions, please refer to your browser's help function or documentation, or contact its manufacturer or support.

Furthermore, Google also offers further information on this topic, and in particular on the options for preventing the use of data.

Google AdSense

We use Google AdSense to integrate advertisements on our website. This is a service provided by Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043 USA, hereinafter referred to as "Google."

Through certification under the EU-US Privacy Shield

https://www.privacyshield.gov/participant?id=a2zt000000001L5AAI&status=Active

Google guarantees that EU data protection regulations will also be complied with when processing data in the USA.

Google AdSense stores cookies and web beacons on your device via your internet browser. This enables Google to analyze your use of our website. The information collected in this way, along with your IP address and the advertising formats displayed to you, is transmitted to Google in the USA and stored there. Google may also share this information with contractual partners. However, Google states that your IP address will not be merged with any other data held by you.

The legal basis is Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR. Our legitimate interest lies in the analysis, optimization, and economic operation of our website.

If you do not agree to this processing, you have the option of preventing the installation of cookies by selecting the appropriate settings in your browser. Details can be found above under the "Cookies" section.

Google also offers further information, in particular on the options for preventing the use of data.

Affilinet Tracking Cookies

We also advertise third-party offers and services on our website. If you enter into a contract with the third-party provider as a result of our advertising for these third-party offers, we receive a commission.

In order to accurately record successful referrals, we use the so-called affilinet tracking cookie. However, this cookie does not store any of your personal data. It only records our identification number as the referral provider and the serial number of the advertising material you clicked on (e.g., a banner or text link). We need this information for the purpose of processing payments and paying out our commissions.

If you do not agree to this processing, you have the option of preventing cookies from being stored by adjusting your browser settings. Further information can be found above under "Cookies."

Newsletter via WhatsApp

You can also receive our free newsletter via the instant messaging service WhatsApp. WhatsApp is a service provided by WhatsApp Ireland Limited, 4 Grand Canal Square, Grand Canal Harbour, Dublin 2, Ireland, a subsidiary of WhatsApp Inc., 1601 Willow Road, Menlo Park, California 94025, USA, both hereinafter referred to as "WhatsApp." User data is partially processed on WhatsApp servers in the USA. Through certification under the EU-US Privacy Shield Framework ("EU-US Privacy Shield")

https://www.privacyshield.gov/participant?id=a2zt0000000TSnwAAG&status=Active

However, WhatsApp guarantees that EU data protection regulations will be complied with when processing data in the USA.

WhatsApp also offers https://www.whatsapp.com/legal/#privacy-policy further data protection information to

To receive our newsletter via WhatsApp, you need a WhatsApp user account. Details about what data WhatsApp collects during registration can be found in WhatsApp's privacy policy, as described above.

If you then sign up for our newsletter via WhatsApp, the mobile phone number you entered during the registration process will be processed by WhatsApp. Your IP address and the date and time of your registration will also be saved. As part of the further registration process, your consent to receive the newsletter will be obtained, the content will be described in detail, and reference will be made to this privacy policy.

The legal basis for sending the newsletter and the analysis is Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR.

You can revoke your consent to receive the newsletter at any time with future effect, in accordance with Art. 7 (3) GDPR. To do so, you simply need to notify us of your revocation. You can also block newsletter receipt by changing the settings in the WhatsApp software on your device.

Sample data protection declaration of the law firm Weiß & Partner