Partner

Protection of copyrights

As with any other content creator, the work of our photographers and photojournalists must be protected from misuse and illegal use.

dpa Picture-Alliance has retained PIXRAY, European Copyright Research GmbH, PicRights and KSP Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH to assist us in our efforts to protect copyrights.

If you have been contacted by the law firm KSP, Pixray or European Copyright Research GmbH, we ask you to clarify these matters directly with the offices concerned.

As with any other content creator, the work of our photographers and photojournalists must be protected from misuse and illegal exploitation. Anyone who licenses Picture Alliance content for legitimate use is aware of the value of that content and the investment and creative effort that went into its production.

dpa Picture-Alliance, a wholly owned subsidiary of dpa Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH, supplies print media, broadcasters, online providers and other corporate clients in Germany and abroad with photos, graphics and other content. A global network of in-house and supplying photographers and partner agencies guarantees up-to-date international photo coverage as well as the provision of a comprehensive photo archive. Both the remuneration of the photographers and worldwide partners as well as the editorial, documentary and technical preparation of the material must be financed through the sale of our content and services. It is therefore in the interests of Picture Alliance and our paying customers to protect the content to which we are entitled to the rights of use.

Data Protection Information for Individuals Whose Data We Process in the Context of Enforcing Our Copyrights

The detection, examination, and enforcement of copyright infringements, as well as the assertion of resulting claims, involve the processing of personal data (hereinafter referred to simply as "data"). To ensure transparency, we provide the following information to give you an overview of these processing activities. To guarantee fair processing, we also inform you about your rights under the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

For our business contacts, our data protection notices for business contacts apply additionally. These can be found at: https://www.dpa.com/de/datenschutzerklaerung

1. Controller / Contact, Data Protection Officer

dpa Picture-Alliance GmbH
Gutleutstrasse 110
60327 Frankfurt am Main

Tel.: +49 69 2716-0
Fax: +49 69 2716-34269
Email: mail@picture-alliance.com

(hereinafter also referred to as "dpa," "we," or "us")

If you have any questions or suggestions regarding data protection or this information, wish to assert your rights, or have general inquiries about our services, please direct your request to the contact details provided above.

You can reach our Data Protection Officer at the following contact details:

dpa Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH
Data Protection Officer
Mittelweg 38
20148 Hamburg

Email: datenschutz@dpa.com

2. Data Subjects

The processing concerns exclusively the following individuals: providers of services or media (e.g., websites, social media, etc.) where the use of copyright-protected image material has been identified; legal representatives of these providers; individuals named in the imprint or corresponding provider information of the service or medium; external advisors (e.g., external lawyers) engaged by the provider or the aforementioned individuals.

3. Data Processing

To protect our copyrights, we have engaged the following partners for the detection, examination, and enforcement of copyright infringements, as well as the assertion of resulting claims:

Pixray GmbH, Eisenhartstr. 4, 14469 Potsdam, Germany
ECR European Copyright Research GmbH, Friedrichstr. 95, 10117 Berlin, Germany
KSP Kanzlei Dr. Seegers, Dr. Frankenheim Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH, Kaiser-Wilhelm-Str. 40, 20355 Hamburg
Rights Control, a division of Image Professionals GmbH, Tumblingerstr. 32, 80337 Munich
PicRights Europe GmbH, Unterdorfstr. 12, 8808 Pfäffikon SZ, Switzerland

For the assertion, exercise, or defence of our copyright rights and resulting claims, including their examination, we process personal data that we either collect ourselves or receive from our aforementioned partners. This includes personal data, contact details, and, if applicable, professional information (e.g., position) of the individuals mentioned in section 2, as well as details of the specific legal infringement, including documentation of the use of the copyright-protected image material and the imprint or provider information of the service or medium, and details of the status of the proceedings (procedural steps, claims, etc.).

If you contact us in connection with a reported copyright infringement, we also process the data you provide to us in this context, including personal data of third parties contained in this communication. This involves the data categories mentioned above. We also process the time and date of this communication.

For the purposes mentioned above, we also transmit your personal data to our partners. If data is transferred to PicRights Europe GmbH in Switzerland, this transfer is based on an adequacy decision pursuant to Article 45(1) GDPR.

The legal basis for the processing is Article 6(1)(f) GDPR. The processing is necessary for the pursuit of our legitimate interests in examining, asserting, exercising, or defending our copyrights and resulting claims.

Unless otherwise specified in this data protection information, we collect the relevant personal data from public sources, including websites, social media channels, and other public directories and registers.

4. Further Processing of Your Data

We also process the same data collected for the aforementioned purposes for the following reasons:

In cases of specific indications of criminal offences, for criminal prosecution, hazard prevention, or legal enforcement;
For evidence purposes;
To comply with legal obligations.

The processing is based on our legitimate interests in maintaining our business operations, fulfilling our tasks, asserting, exercising, or defending claims, pursuant to Article 6(1)(f) GDPR, or based on a legal obligation under Article 6(1)(c) GDPR.

5. Disclosure of Your Data

Beyond the disclosures described in this data protection information, your data is shared only to the following extent:

If necessary for investigating unlawful use of our website or services, or for legal enforcement, particularly concerning the use of our image material, personal data is forwarded to external advisors (e.g., lawyers and affiliated companies of the dpa group engaged for examination and legal enforcement), law enforcement authorities, and, if applicable, injured third parties. This occurs only when there are specific indications of illegal or abusive behaviour. Disclosure may also occur to enforce our terms of use or to assert, exercise, or defend claims, including for evidence purposes. We are also legally obliged to provide information to certain public authorities upon request. These include law enforcement authorities, authorities prosecuting administrative offences subject to fines, and tax authorities.

Furthermore, your personal data may be disclosed if we are subject to other third-party claims that may include a request for information about your data. These may include, in particular, claims by data subjects exercising their rights under Chapter III of the GDPR.

The disclosure of this data is based on our legitimate interest in combating abuse, prosecuting criminal offences, and asserting, exercising, or defending claims, pursuant to Article 6(1)(f) GDPR, or based on a legal obligation under Article 6(1)(c) GDPR.

We also employ the following categories of processors:

IT service providers
Cloud service providers
Software service providers

6. Transfers to Third Countries

We also process personal data in so-called third countries or transfer such data to recipients in third countries. Third countries are all countries outside the European Economic Area (EEA). When we transfer personal data to third countries, we ensure that one of the following conditions is met:

An adequacy decision by the EU Commission pursuant to Article 45 GDPR exists.
We have concluded the EU Commission's approved standard data protection clauses pursuant to Article 46(2)(c) GDPR and have taken additional measures in line with the criteria of the European Court of Justice (Schrems II ruling).
Other appropriate safeguards within the meaning of Article 46(1) GDPR exist to ensure an adequate level of data protection.
An exemption under Article 49 GDPR applies, e.g., if the transfer is necessary for the establishment, exercise, or defence of legal claims (Article 49(1)(e) GDPR).

Information about the appropriate safeguards we have implemented to protect your personal data, including a copy of any standard data protection clauses concluded, can be requested using the contact details provided in section 1.

7. Deletion of Your Data

As a rule, we delete or anonymise your data as soon as it is no longer necessary for the purposes for which we collected or further processed it in accordance with this data protection information. Furthermore, we store your data for the duration required for criminal prosecution or for the establishment, exercise, or defence of legal claims, including enforcement. This constitutes our legitimate interest, pursuant to Article 6(1)(f) GDPR. Storage then occurs until the conclusion of the respective process plus the statutory limitation period.

Further storage occurs only if we are legally obliged to do so, pursuant to Article 6(1)(c) GDPR, beyond the legally prescribed period. Legal storage obligations may arise, in particular, from the retention periods stipulated in the German Commercial Code (HGB) or the Fiscal Code (AO). The retention period under these provisions is usually between 6 and 10 years from the end of the year in which the respective process was concluded, e.g., when we have fully processed your request. If data must be retained for legal reasons, processing is restricted. The data is then no longer available for further use.

8. Your Rights

Regarding the processing of your personal data, you have the rights described below. In addition to the options already mentioned, you can assert your rights by submitting a request by post or email to the address provided in section 1.

8.1 Right of Access
You have the right to request information from us at any time about the personal data concerning you that we process, within the scope of Article 15 GDPR and § 34 BDSG.

8.2 Right to Rectification
You have the right to request the immediate correction of inaccurate personal data concerning you.

8.3 Right to Erasure
You have the right to request the deletion of personal data concerning you under the conditions described in Article 17 GDPR and § 35 BDSG.

8.4 Right to Restriction of Processing
You have the right to request the restriction of processing in accordance with Article 18 GDPR.

8.5 Right to Data Portability
You have the right to receive the personal data concerning you, which you have provided to us, in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format, in accordance with Article 20 GDPR.

8.6 Right to Object
You have the right to object at any time, on grounds relating to your particular situation, to the processing of personal data concerning you, which is based on Article 6(1)(f) GDPR, in accordance with Article 21 GDPR. We will cease processing your personal data unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds for the processing that override your interests, rights, and freedoms, or the processing serves the establishment, exercise, or defence of legal claims.

If we process your personal data for direct marketing purposes, you have the right to object at any time to the processing of your personal data for such purposes, including profiling related to direct marketing. After your objection, we will cease processing for these purposes.

8.7 Right to Withdraw Consent
You have the right to withdraw your consent at any time, pursuant to Article 7(3) sentence 1 GDPR. The withdrawal of consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing based on consent before its withdrawal.

9. Right to Lodge a Complaint

You have the right to contact a supervisory authority of your choice if you believe that the processing of your personal data violates applicable data protection law.

10. data processing when exercising your rights

Finally, we would like to point out that we process the personal data provided by you when exercising your rights in accordance with Art. 7 para. 3 sentence 1 GDPR and Art. 15 to 22 GDPR for the purpose of implementing these rights and to be able to provide evidence of this and, if necessary, to defend legal positions.

In this context, we store your data for as long as is necessary to prove the complete fulfillment of your rights as a data subject.

This processing for the purpose of implementation and proof of legally compliant implementation is based on the legal basis of Art. 6 para. 1 c) GDPR in conjunction with Art. 7 para. 3 sentence 1 GDPR and Art. 15 to 22 GDPR as well as § 34 para. 2 BDSG. Insofar as we process the personal data for the purposes of legal defense, this also constitutes our legitimate interest, Art. 6 para. 1 f) GDPR.

You are neither contractually nor legally obliged to provide your personal data, but we may refuse to fulfill your request to exercise your rights as a data subject in accordance with Art. 12 para. 2 sentence 2 GDPR if you do not provide us with the data required for your unambiguous identification, if necessary after being requested to do so.