Privacy notice for our website, cookies and links

At B&R, compliance with your data protection rights has the highest priority. This privacy notice explains why and how we collect and process your personal data and what your rights are with regard to this data.

The privacy notice relates to the use of our website as well as our email, contact and information services. It applies to the provision of our digital services, some of which contain areas or portals requiring registration. An overview of all privacy notices is available here.

B&R Industrial Automation GmbH and B&R subsidiaries are responsible for your personal data. B&R Industrial Automation GmbH is in turn part of the ABB Group (a 100% subsidiary of ABB Asea Brown Boveri Ltd.). In accordance with applicable data protection laws, the B&R subsidiary that provides services or is in contact with you is the data controller. Each of these companies is considered an independent data controller of your personal data, and this notice applies to all of them (for a list of these companies, see the B&R website).

Responsible B&R subsidiaries located outside the European Union (EU) have appointed a representative for EU data protection issues. For more information about the EU representative, please send a request to www.abb.com/privacy.

In your case, B&R Industrial Automation GmbH, B&R Strasse 1, 5142 Eggelsberg, Austria or the respective company affiliated with B&R Industrial Automation will decide, as the "responsible party" within the meaning of the General Data Protection Regulation ("GDPR") and the Austrian Data Protection Act or other applicable national data protection laws at the headquarters of the respective subsidiary, for what and how your personal data will be used in accordance with this privacy notice (hereinafter also referred to as "we", or "us").

• Visiting the website
• In the course of your visit to this website, we will collect the following information: The date and time you access a page on our website, your IP address, the name and version of your web browser, the website (URL) you visited before accessing this website and certain cookies (see Cookies).
• We process this data for the purpose of providing and updating this website. In addition, processing this data enables us to compile usage statistics and detect, investigate and prevent attacks on our website.
• For data processing, we rely on the protection of our overriding legitimate interests pursuant to Art. 6 (1) f) of the GDPR. Our legitimate interest lies in being able to achieve the purposes listed above.
• We will store your personal data for as long as is necessary for the purposes described above and explained in the privacy notices, unless further processing is necessary in individual cases (e.g. in the event of a hacker attack).
• Contact forms
• We provide contact forms on our website for you to contact us and for us to respond to your inquiries. In doing so, we only process the personal data that you enter in the respective fields. In order to contact you, we base the processing on the protection of our overriding legitimate interest (Art. 6 (1) f) of the GDPR). Your data will be processed for the duration required for us to provide you with a response to your request. We will store your personal data for as long as is necessary for the purposes described above and explained in the privacy notices.
• Newsletter and other emails
• You can subscribe to our newsletter and other emails (e.g. invitations to events or our digital customer magazine) on our website. There we provide you with the latest news about the company, notify you about new products and updates and also provide articles on current industry developments. When you subscribe to our newsletter or other emails, you give your consent for us to process your personal data so that we can send you the selected content.
• For the processing, we base our justification on your consent (Art. 6 (1) a) of the GDPR). In addition, when processing your personal data for the aforementioned purposes, we may use external service providers as data processors (e.g. email service providers). They are generally used with binding instructions within the framework of an existing contractual relationship and receive your personal data only to the extent and for the period of time required to provide the service.
• We process your data for the purposes of sending newsletters and other emails until your consent is revoked. You may revoke your consent to receive these emails at any time. To revoke your consent, simply click the opt-out link in the emails you receive. The withdrawal of consent shall not affect the lawfulness of data processing based on consent before its withdrawal.
• If we send you marketing information via email, we may also require your consent in accordance with Art. 107 (2) of the German Telecommunications Act.
• Ordering the printed customer magazine
• You are welcome to express your interest in subscribing to the printed version of our customer magazine "automotion". This can be done via the contact form on our website. We process the data you provide for the purpose of checking the subscription and delivering the magazine. In addition, when processing your personal data for the aforementioned purposes, we may use external service providers as data processors (e.g. external print and delivery service providers). They are generally used with binding instructions within the framework of an existing contractual relationship and receive your personal data only to the extent and for the period of time required to provide the service.
• By expressing your interest in subscribing to the magazine, you give B&R Industrial Automation GmbH your consent (Art. 6 (1) a) of the GDPR) to process your personal data for the aforementioned purpose. Consent for receiving the customer magazine can be revoked at any time by sending an email to automotion•@•br-automation.com. The withdrawal of consent shall not affect the lawfulness of data processing based on consent before its withdrawal.
• B&R Industrial Automation GmbH reserves the right to cancel the subscription for the print magazine at any time without notice at its discretion. Should we cancel the subscription, the aforementioned purpose for processing your data will no longer apply.
• Automation Studio trial license
• Our website provides you the opportunity to request a free trial license for Automation Studio. In doing so, we only process the personal data that you provide in the respective fields. The purpose of processing this data is to be able to provide you with a trial license for using Automation Studio. We base our justification on the reasons specified in Art. 6 (1) b) of the GDPR (necessary to fulfill or prepare for entering a contract).
• You are not obligated to provide your data; however, a trial license cannot be issued without it. We will not share your data unless legally obligated to do so (Art. 6 (1) c) of the GDPR). After the trial license expires, your data will be stored long enough for us to prevent misuse of Automation Studio through repeated trial license requests by the same person. In doing so, we rely on our overriding legitimate interest (Art 6 para 1 lit f DSGVO) to prevent such continuous use.
• Download notifications
• With this service, we will email you about the latest downloads or products according to your preferences and at the intervals you specify. By selecting download categories and areas and then confirming via the save field, you give your consent for us to process your personal data in order to send you the notifications you have selected.
• For the processing, we base our justification on consent (Art. 6 (1) a) of the GDPR). Your data will be processed until your consent is revoked. You may revoke your consent to receive these notifications at any time. The withdrawal of consent shall not affect the lawfulness of data processing based on consent before its withdrawal. To withdraw your consent, please deselect all download categories or areas and click "Save".
• Use of the upload service
• We offer you the possibility of transmitting large files to our employees. Your personal data will be processed on the basis of our overriding legitimate interest (Art. 6 (1) f) of the GDPR) in order to make your uploaded files exclusively available for download to the B&R Industrial Automation GmbH employee you specified.
• Your data will be available for the employee to download from the server for 14 days. If you have selected a preferred region outside the EU, your data will be transferred to third countries, but for which there is either an adequacy decision by the European Commission or appropriate or adequate safeguards to ensure the level of data protection.
• The provision of this data is voluntary. B&R Industrial Automation GmbH assumes no liability for the content of uploaded files. Use of this service is voluntary and at your own risk. It may only be used for transferring non-copyrighted files or files for which you are the rights holder.
• You also have the option to create a user profile for using the upload service. If inactive for more than 30 days, this user profile will be deleted automatically. In addition, log data concerning the transfer of uploaded files as well as the sender and recipient of the files is stored in the system. This log data is deleted after 365 days.
• User account; access to areas that require registration
• Our website has an internal area that can only be accessed by registered users. You will be registered by one of our sales representatives at your initiative or as a result of an existing business relationship between you and B&R or a B&R business partner. You will be notified by email as soon as the employee has created a user account. Your data will be processed for the purpose of developing or expanding a customer network and for administrative purposes.
• For creating the user account and sending registration emails, we base our justification on our overriding legitimate interest (Art. 6 (1) f) of the GDPR), which is to achieve the aforementioned purpose. By logging in for the first time, you give your consent for processing your personal data in accordance with Art. 6 (1) a) of the GDPR. Processing is carried out for the purpose of allowing you to use the internal area of our website.
• Your personal data will be processed until the account is deactivated. If the activation link is not clicked within 72 hours, your personal data will be automatically deleted. You can revoke your consent at any time by contacting us at office•@•br-automation.com. The revocation shall not affect the lawfulness of the processing until the revocation is issued.
• Use of our internal portals
• Registered users (see User account) can, depending on their configuration, use our portals (MyPortal, B&R Support Portal, Material Return Portal, B&R Product Configurator). Your personal data is processed for the purpose of handling your orders or any returns and to assist you with product configuration. In doing so, we rely on the justification of contract fulfillment or initiation on your initiative (Art 6 para 1 b) of the GDPR).
• Entering data into the respective portals is not required. However, if you do not provide the data, you may not be able to use all the features of the portals. Your data will only be stored for the fulfillment of the respective purposes, unless we are subject to longer statutory retention obligations.
• Seminar registrations
• You are welcome to express your interest in registering for one or more of our seminars on our website. We process the data you provide for the purpose of reviewing the registration and for the seminar registration. In doing so, we process your personal data on the basis of contract fulfillment (Art. 6 (1) b)) of the General Data Protection Regulation - GDPR) in order to register you for your desired seminar.
• If you wish to reserve a room, we will also forward your data to the respective hotel service providers and/or travel agencies in order to arrange the reservation. The input of the mandatory fields is required for conclusion of the contract. If this information is not provided, we will not be able to register you for the requested seminar or make a room reservation. All other data entries are voluntary.

As part of a global corporation, we have business relationships with companies in the B&R Group and external service providers, both within and outside the European Economic Area (EEA), which we may also use to process your personal data.

In this regard, your personal data may also be made available to companies of the B&R Group in countries within and outside of the EEA for the aforementioned processing purposes. In addition, when processing your personal data for the aforementioned purposes, we may use external service providers as data processors (e.g. computer centers, software companies). They are generally used with binding instructions within the framework of an existing contractual relationship and receive your personal data only to the extent and for the period of time required to provide the service.

We are committed to a high level of data protection within our company in order to ensure that your personal data is protected in accordance with the GDPR (as described below).

If you have questions about data protection, complaints about how we are handling your personal data or wish to exercise the rights of data subjects listed below, you can contact us at www.abb.com/privacy. Under certain circumstances, we may have to restrict these rights of data subjects in order to safeguard the public interest (e.g. the prevention or detection of criminal offenses) or our business interests (e.g. maintaining legal privilege). Should you not be satisfied with our response or believe we are processing your personal data unlawfully, you may also contact the Data Protection Authority in your country of residence or work or in which you believe the data breach may have taken place in accordance with your right to lodge a complaint per Art. 77 of the GDPR. In addition to your right to lodge a complaint, you also have the following rights:

• Right to information: In accordance with Art. 15 of the GDPR, you have the right to receive information from us regarding your personal data that we process at any time upon request (in text form). This right is limited by the exceptions of Art. 4 (6) of the Austrian Data Protection Act, according to which the right of information is not applicable in particular if the provision of this information would endanger a business or trade secret of the data controller or of a third party.
• Right to rectification: In accordance with Art. 16 of the GDPR, you have the right to request that we rectify your personal data without delay if it is incorrect. This right is subject to the restrictions set out in Art. 4 (2) of the Austrian Data Protection Act, according to which, in the event that the correction of personal data processed with the aid of automation cannot be carried out immediately because it is only possible at certain times for economic or technical reasons, the processing of the personal data in question must be restricted with the effect of Art. 18 (2) of the GDPR until this point in time.
• Right to erasure:: You have the right to request us to delete your personal data under the conditions set out in Art. 17 of the GDPR. These conditions are particularly met if a) the respective processing purpose has been achieved or otherwise ceases to apply, b) we have processed your data unlawfully, c) you have withdrawn your consent without the data processing being able to be continued on another legal basis, d) you successfully object to the data processing or e) in cases where there is an obligation to delete the data on the basis of EU law or the law of an EU member state to which we are subject. This right is subject to the restrictions set out in Art. 4 (2) of the Austrian Data Protection Act, according to which, in the event that the deletion of personal data processed with the aid of automation cannot be carried out immediately because it is only possible at certain times for economic or technical reasons, the processing of the personal data in question must be restricted with the effect of Art. 18 (2) of the GDPR until this point in time.
• Right to restrict processing: In accordance with Art. 18 of the GDPR, you can request that we only process your personal data to a limited extent. This right exists in particular under the conditions that a) the accuracy of the personal data is disputed, b) you request limited processing instead of deletion under the conditions of a justified request for deletion, c) the data is no longer necessary for the purposes we pursue, but you need the data to assert, exercise or defend legal claims, or d) the success of an objection is still disputed.
• Right to data portability: In accordance with Art. 20 of the GDPR, you have the right to receive your personal data that you provided us in a structured, common, machine-readable format, as well as the right to have us transfer this data to another data controller.
• Right to object: In accordance with Art. 21 of the GDPR, you have the right to object at any time, on grounds relating to your particular situation, to the processing of your personal data, either in the public interest or to safeguard our legitimate interests. Thereafter, we will stop processing your personal data unless we can prove compelling reasons for processing your personal data that are worthy of protection, which outweigh your interests, rights and freedoms or unless such processing serves to assert, exercise or defend legal claims. If you object to the processing of your personal data for marketing purposes, we will stop processing your data in any case.

External sites linked to from B&R websites are developed by persons over whom B&R exercises no control. These other sites may place their own cookies on your computer, collect data or request personal information. For more information, please refer to the privacy notices on the respective pages.

The B&R website uses both first-party cookies (cookies set by the B&R website) and third-party cookies (cookies set by a third-party website that provides a service to the B&R website). We use first-party cookies to maintain the operation of the website, improve user experience, profile your interests (in order to provide you with customized information relevant to your interests and preferences), track user trends and patterns using web statistics providers and store data that is needed when you visit the website.

We use third-party cookies for analysis purposes. Our website may use the following types of cookies:

• Necessary cookies: Used for purposes such as forwarding information through the network and detecting transmission errors, controlling electronic communication channels and traffic load, etc. These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be disabled in our systems.
• Functional cookies: Used for purposes such as saving your settings and preferences, the history of your visit to the website, user authentication (login), increasing security, allowing social network users to share content and playing video or audio content on request. These cookies are necessary to provide you with certain features as part of the services you request on B&R's digital channels.
• Social plug-in tracking cookies: Used by third-party social networks for analysis purposes when we embed content from their website on ours.
• First- and Third-party analytics cookies: Used for B&R purposes, such as measuring traffic, performance and usage patterns on our website, testing website improvements, identifying search engine keywords that lead to a website or identifying website navigation issues. In the case of third-party analytics cookies, the data is anonymized.

Cookie data is generally stored for a period of up to 24 months. For more information about the specific retention periods that apply to cookies, please submit a request to www.abb.com/privacy.

We may provide links to third-party integration opportunities. Third-party integrations are websites or platforms that sync with our website to provide you with additional features, tools or services, such as providing directions, collecting resumes, sharing documents or videos or sending announcements. You acknowledge and hereby agree that we are not responsible for the availability of such sites or resources and do not endorse and are not responsible or liable for any content, advertising, goods, services or other materials on, available from or provided by such sites or resources. We are not responsible for the privacy or other practices of such websites and cannot guarantee the security of any personal information you provide or that is collected by such websites. We advise you to read the privacy policies and terms and conditions of those linked websites.

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Please note that this Privacy Notice will be updated from time to time. In most cases these changes will be minor. In the event of substantial changes, we will undertake actions as possible and appropriate to inform you about them (e.g. via email). Please check the "date of publication" to see when this Privacy Notice was updated.

Last updated: May 18, 2021