Privacy Policy for the Use of the SDN Community Platform

1. Preamble

1.1 By logging on to the Service Design Network Community Platform (which will be called “SDN Platform” in the following), coordinated by the Service Design Network Office (which will be called “SDN Office” in the following), users accept the following Privacy Policy for using the Platform.

1.2 The Privacy Policy shall govern the contract relationship between the user and the SDN Office.

1.3 The user enters into this agreement on the use of SDN Platform services with the Service Design Network Office, Prof. Birgit Mager, KISD Köln International School of Design, Ubierring 40, 50678 Köln.

1.4 The services provided by the SDN Platform are intended exclusively for persons of legal age.

1.5 The user can call up, print out, download and/or save this Privacy Policy at any time, even after the agreement has been closed, under the “privacy policy” link that appears at the bottom of all SDN Platform Website pages.

2. Registration

2.1 Users must register prior to using any of the services on the SDN Platform.

2.2 The user guarantees that all of the data provided by the user for registration is accurate and complete. The user shall report any changes in the registration data to the SDN Office without delay.

2.3 The user guarantees that he or she is of legal age at the time of registration.

2.4 The user shall choose a password upon registration. The user is obliged to keep this password secret. The SDN Office shall not disclose the password to any third party and shall not ask for the user's password at any time.

2.5 By completing the registration process, the user consents to enter the agreement to use the services of the SDN Platform.

2.6 Each user is entitled to register for the SDN Platform only once and may establish one user profile only.

2.7 It is technically impossible for the SDN Office to determine with certainty whether any user registered for the SDN Platform is in fact the person he or she represents to be. Therefore, the SDN Platform assumes no liability for the actual identity of a user. Each user is solely responsible for checking the actual identity of another user.

3. Obligations of the User

3.1 The user is obliged to provide only true and non-misleading statements in the user profile and in communications with other users, and to refrain from using any pseudonyms or pen names.

3.2 The user is obliged to comply with all applicable legislation, and respect all third-party rights. In particular, the user shall not use any insulting or defamatory contents, regardless of whether directed at another user or at SDN Office personnel.

3.3 The user shall not use any contents that violate any applicable legislation for the protection of minors; or advertise or promote, offer or distribute any products, which do not comply with any applicable legislation for the protection of minors. The user shall not unreasonably annoy (particularly with spam) any other user or SDN Office personnel.

3.4 The user shall not use any contents protected by law (e.g. by copyright, trademark, patent, utility patent, or design patent laws) without authorization, or advertise, promote, offer or distribute any goods or services protected by law.

4. Responsibility for the User’s Content, Data or other Information

4.1 The SDN Office does not make any guarantees regarding any data and/or information provided or made available by any user on the SDN Platform or on any external websites linked to it. In particular, the SDN Office does not guarantee or represent that said/posted data and/or information is true or accurate, or that it fulfils or serves any particular purpose.

4.2 The user may report any activities of any other user that violate applicable laws and/or any of the terms of this Privacy Policy to info@service-design-network.org.

5. Information and Data

5.1 When you register with the SDN Platform, you provide the SDN Office with certain personal information, such as your name, your email address, your telephone number, your address, and any other personal or preference information that you provide to us.

5.2 The user posts user content on the platform at his or her own risk. Please be aware that no security measures are perfect or impenetrable. The SDN Office cannot control the actions of other users with whom the user may choose to share pages and information. Therefore, the SDN Office cannot and does not guarantee that unauthorised persons will not view posted user content. The SDN Office is not responsible for circumvention of any privacy settings or security measures contained on the site. The user understands and acknowledges that, even after removal, copies of user content may remain viewable in cached and archived pages or if other users have copied or stored your user content.

5.3 Any improper collection or misuse of information provided on the SDN Platform is a violation of the SDN Platform’s Privacy Policy and should be reported to the SDN Office at info@service-design.network.org.

5.4 By using the SDN Platform, you consent to having your personal data transferred to and processed in Germany.

6. Use of Information

6.1 The SDN Office recognizes that any data provided by the user to the SDN Office is extremely important to the user, and will therefore be particularly sensitive in handling such data. The SDN Office shall comply with all applicable legal provisions regarding data protection. In particular, the SDN Office shall not provide or otherwise disclose any personal data of the user, with the exception of his or her profile material, to any third party without authorization.

6.2 When using the SDN Platform, the user may set up his or her personal profile, form relationships, send messages, perform searches and queries, form groups, set up events, and transmit information through various channels. The SDN Office collects this information in order to provide certain services and offer personalised features but does not pass this information on to unauthorised third parties.

6.3 When the User posts his or her contribution to the platform, the user grants the SDN Office an unlimited, irrevocable and assignable right of use of the respective contribution, which the SDN Office is entitled to utilize for any purpose. The SDN Office is entitled to keep contribution to the platform for as long as necessary or desired. Consequently, the SDN Office has a right of use over all contributions to the platform. Duplication or the use of these contributions or their contents in other electronic or printed publications is prohibited without the explicit written consent of the SDN Office.

6.4 When a user registers with the SDN Platform, he or she creates his or her own profile. The profile information is displayed to people in the network to enable the user to connect with people on the platform. We may occasionally use the user’s name and email address to send him or her notifications regarding new services offered by the SDN Platform or other information related to the Service Design Network, which the user may find valuable.

6.5 All sharing of information with other users is done at the user’s own risk. Please keep in mind that if personal information is disclosed in the user’s profile or when comments, messages, photos, videos, or other items are posted, this information may become publicly available.

7. Links

7.1 The SDN Platform may contain links to other websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of other websites. We encourage our users to be aware when they leave our site to read the privacy statements of each and every website that collects personally identifiable information. This Privacy Policy applies solely to information collected on the SDN Platform and by the SDN Office.

8. Changing or Removing Information

8.1 Access and control over most personal information on the SDN Platform is readily available through the profile editing tools. Users may modify or delete any of their profile information at any time by logging into their account.

8.2 Removed profile information may persist in backup copies for a reasonable period of time but will not be generally available to members of the SDN Platform.

8.3 Where the user made use of the communication features of the service to share information with other individuals on the SDN Platform (e.g. sending a personal message to another platform user), such communications can generally not be removed.

9. Changes to the Services

9.1 The SDN Office reserves the right to modify the services available on the SDN Platform and/or to offer services different from those offered at the time of the user's registration at any time, unless this is unreasonable for the user.

10. Security

The Service Design Network Office takes appropriate precautions to protect our users' information. If you have any questions about the security of the SDN Platform, please contact us at info@service-design-network.org.

11. Privacy Policy Revisions

11.1 We reserve the right to change our Privacy Policy at any time.

11.2 If the SDN Office makes changes, it will post them and indicate them at the top of this page. We encourage you to refer to this policy on an ongoing basis so that you understand our current Privacy Policy.

12. SDN Platform Membership Termination

12.1 As membership with the SDN Platform is connected to SDN Membership, your member status ends with the cancellation of your sdn membership – be it on your own or the SDN Office’s initiative. Read more about your SDN Membership under the “terms & conditions” link, that appears at the bottom of all SDN Platform Website pages.

13. Contacting the Website

13.1 If you have any questions about this website or the Privacy Policy, please contact us at info@service-design-network.org. You may also contact us at KISD Köln International School of Design, Prof. Birgit Mager, Ubierring 40, 50678 Köln.