Privacy Policy
Last updated: June 2026
1. Controller and Contact
The controller responsible for the processing of your personal data in connection with the conference is:
Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition Herzog-Max-Str. 4 80333 Munich, Germany E-mail: institut@ip.mpg.de Website: www.ip.mpg.de
The Data Protection Officer of the Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science can be reached at:
Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science e.V. Attn: Data Protection Officer Hofgartenstr. 8 80539 Munich, Germany E-mail: datenschutz@mpg.de
2. Scope and Purpose of this Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy explains what personal data we collect when you register for and attend the Third MPI/EUI Conference on IP, Competition and Innovation (hereinafter "the Conference"), how we use that data, the legal basis for our processing, how long we retain it, and what rights you have as a data subject under the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 ("GDPR") and applicable German data protection law.
3. Data We Collect and Purposes of Processing
3.1 Registration Data
When you register for the Conference, we collect the following personal data:
- First and last name
- Professional title and academic affiliation / employer
- E-mail address
- Postal address (for invoicing purposes, where requested)
- Payment information
- Any dietary requirements or accessibility needs you choose to disclose
We process this data for the following purposes:
- Processing your registration and managing your participation in the Conference
- Communicating with you about the Conference program, logistics, and any changes
- Issuing invoices or payment receipts on request
- Meeting legal obligations (e.g. accounting and record-keeping requirements under German tax law)
- Accommodating dietary requirements or accessibility needs you have indicated
Legal basis: The primary legal basis for processing registration data is Article 6(1)(b) GDPR (performance of a contract or pre-contractual measures). Processing for invoicing and accounting purposes is additionally based on Article 6(1)(c) GDPR (compliance with a legal obligation under §§ 140 ff. of the German Fiscal Code, Abgabenordnung). Processing of special-category data you voluntarily disclose (e.g. dietary requirements that may reveal religious beliefs or health conditions) is based on your explicit consent pursuant to Article 9(2)(a) GDPR.
3.2 Communication Data
If you contact us by e-mail or other means in connection with the Conference, we retain the correspondence and any personal data contained therein for the purpose of handling your enquiry and for documentation purposes.
Legal basis: Article 6(1)(b) and (f) GDPR (legitimate interest in managing conference-related correspondence).
3.3 Attendance and Program Data
We maintain a list of registered and attending participants for internal conference management, safety, and post-event documentation (e.g. confirmation of CPD/CLE attendance where applicable).
Legal basis: Article 6(1)(b) GDPR.
3.4 Photography, Video, and Audio Recordings
The Conference may be photographed, filmed, or audio-recorded for academic documentation and publicity purposes, including publication on the Institute's website, social media channels, and in academic or institutional publications. Where you appear incidentally in such recordings as a conference attendee, we process your image or voice data on the basis of a legitimate interest in documenting the scientific event, balanced against your reasonable expectation in a public professional setting (Article 6(1)(f) GDPR; § 23(1) No. 3 of the German Art Copyright Act, Kunsturhebergesetz – KUG).
Where recordings focus on identifiable individuals (e.g. speaker portraits, named interview sequences), we will seek your explicit prior consent (Article 6(1)(a) GDPR). You may withdraw such consent at any time with effect for the future by notifying us at the contact address in Section 1; withdrawal does not affect the lawfulness of processing prior to withdrawal.
If you do not wish to appear in photographs or recordings, please inform us in writing before the Conference or notify a designated member of the organising team on-site. We will make every reasonable effort to accommodate your request.
3.5 Website and Online Services
If you access the Conference website or registration platform, standard server log data (IP address, browser type, date and time of access, pages visited) may be collected automatically. This data is used exclusively for technical administration and security purposes and is not linked to individual persons.
4. Sharing of Personal Data with Third Parties
We share your personal data only to the extent necessary and only with the following categories of recipients:
Co-organizing institutions: The Conference is organised in cooperation with the European University Institute (EUI). The names and affiliations of registered participants may be shared with the EUI for joint program and logistics management. The EUI acts as a co-controller for this limited purpose and processes data in accordance with its own privacy policy.
Service providers: We may engage third-party service providers (e.g. catering, venue management, IT services, name badge printing) who process personal data exclusively on our behalf and under our instructions, pursuant to data processing agreements in accordance with Article 28 GDPR.
Publishers and academic partners: Where a conference proceedings volume or special journal issue is planned, names and affiliations of contributing speakers may be shared with the relevant publisher under a separate arrangement and with your knowledge.
Legal obligations: We may disclose personal data to competent authorities where required by applicable law.
We do not sell your personal data, and we do not transfer it to third parties for marketing or any other commercial purposes.
5. International Data Transfers
The Conference is organised in Germany, and your data is stored and processed within the European Economic Area (EEA). Where we engage service providers or co-organizers established outside the EEA (including EUI, which is established in Italy within the EEA), we ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place in accordance with Chapter V GDPR.
6. Retention Periods
We retain your personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy or as required by applicable law:
- Registration and payment data are retained for ten years after the end of the calendar year in which the Conference takes place, in accordance with German commercial and tax law retention obligations (§§ 238, 257 HGB; § 147 AO).
- Correspondence is retained for three years from the end of the year in which the correspondence took place, unless a longer statutory retention period applies.
- Photographs and video recordings may be retained indefinitely as part of the Institute's institutional archive, subject to any opt-out you exercise as described in Section 3.4.
- Attendance lists are retained for three years following the Conference.
After the applicable retention period expires, data is securely deleted or anonymised.
7. Your Rights as a Data Subject
Under the GDPR, you have the following rights with respect to your personal data:
Right of access (Article 15 GDPR): You may request confirmation of whether we process personal data about you and, if so, obtain a copy of that data together with information about the processing.
Right to rectification (Article 16 GDPR): You may request correction of inaccurate personal data or completion of incomplete data without undue delay.
Right to erasure (Article 17 GDPR): You may request deletion of your personal data where one of the grounds specified in Article 17(1) GDPR applies (e.g. the data is no longer necessary for its original purpose), unless an exception under Article 17(3) GDPR applies (e.g. legal retention obligations).
Right to restriction of processing (Article 18 GDPR): You may request that processing of your data be restricted in certain circumstances, e.g. while accuracy is contested.
Right to data portability (Article 20 GDPR): Where processing is based on your consent or on a contract and is carried out by automated means, you may request receipt of your data in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format.
Right to object (Article 21 GDPR): Where we process your data on the basis of a legitimate interest (Article 6(1)(f) GDPR), you may object to such processing at any time. We will cease processing unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds that override your interests or the processing is necessary for the establishment, exercise, or defence of legal claims.
Right to withdraw consent (Article 7(3) GDPR): Where processing is based on your consent, you may withdraw that consent at any time with effect for the future. Withdrawal does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.
To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at the address or e-mail set out in Section 1. We will respond within one month of receiving your request (extendable by a further two months in complex cases, with prior notification).
8. Right to Lodge a Complaint
You have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority, in particular in the EU Member State of your habitual residence, place of work, or place of the alleged infringement, if you consider that the processing of your personal data infringes the GDPR. The competent supervisory authority for the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition is:
Bayerisches Landesamt für Datenschutzaufsicht (BayLDA) Promenade 18 91522 Ansbach, Germany Website: www.lda.bayern.de
9. Amendments to this Privacy Policy
We reserve the right to update this Privacy Policy to reflect changes in our data processing practices or legal requirements. The current version is always available on the Conference website and will be communicated to registered participants by e-mail if material changes are made after the date of their registration.
This Privacy Policy applies solely to the processing of personal data in connection with the Third MPI/EUI Conference on IP, Competition and Innovation. For the general privacy policy of the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition, please visit www.ip.mpg.de.