Legal Information

Terms of Use

1. Ownership and Copyright

All photographs, images, and visual content on this website are original works created by Panagiotis Smponias. These works are protected by copyright law and international treaties. The photographer retains all rights, title, and interest in and to the photographs.

2. Permitted Use

Visitors to this website are permitted to:

• View photographs for personal, non-commercial purposes
• Share links to this website on social media platforms
• Reference this work in academic or educational contexts with proper attribution

3. Prohibited Use

The following activities are strictly prohibited without explicit written permission:

• Commercial use of any photographs for business, advertising, or promotional purposes
• Downloading, copying, or reproducing images in any form
• Redistribution of images through any medium, including social media, websites, or print
• Modification, editing, or derivative works based on the photographs
• Use in artificial intelligence training or machine learning datasets
• Reverse engineering or attempting to bypass image protection measures
• Claiming ownership or removing copyright notices from images

4. Licensing and Commercial Use

Commercial licensing is available for businesses, publications, and other commercial entities. All commercial use requires a signed licensing agreement and appropriate compensation. Licensing terms vary based on:

• Intended use and distribution scope
• Duration of use
• Geographic territory
• Exclusivity requirements

5. Attribution Requirements

When permitted use includes attribution, the following credit must be provided:

"Photograph by Panagiotis Smponias / City Frame Photography - cityframe-photography.com"

6. Digital Rights Management

This website employs various technical measures to protect copyrighted content, including:

• Right-click protection and context menu disabling
• Drag-and-drop prevention
• Keyboard shortcut blocking
• Invisible watermarking for tracking unauthorized use
• Server-level hotlinking protection

Attempting to circumvent these protection measures is prohibited and may result in legal action.

7. Enforcement and Legal Action

Unauthorized use of copyrighted material will result in:

• Immediate cease and desist notification
• Demand for removal of infringing content
• Potential legal action for copyright infringement
• Claims for damages and legal fees
• DMCA takedown notices where applicable

8. Fair Use and Educational Purposes

Limited use for educational, academic, or journalistic purposes may qualify as fair use under copyright law. However, such use must:

• Be non-commercial in nature
• Include proper attribution
• Not compete with the original work
• Use only minimal portions necessary for the purpose

When in doubt, please contact the photographer for clarification.

9. International Copyright Protection

These photographs are protected under:

• German copyright law (Urheberrechtsgesetz)
• European Union copyright directives
• International copyright treaties and conventions
• Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works

10. Website Terms

By accessing this website, you agree to:

• Respect all copyright and intellectual property rights
• Use the website only for lawful purposes
• Not attempt to gain unauthorized access to protected content
• Not use automated tools to scrape or download content

Privacy Policy

1. Data Controller

The data controller responsible for your personal data is:

2. Data We Collect

We collect and process the following types of data:

• Analytics Data: IP address (anonymized), browser type, device information, pages visited, time spent on site, referring website (Google Analytics + self-hosted Umami)
• Contact Data: Name, email address, and message content when you contact us
• Technical Data: Language preferences stored locally in your browser
• Cookies: Essential cookies for website functionality and analytics cookies (with consent)

3. Purpose and Legal Basis

We process your data for the following purposes:

• Website Analytics (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR): To understand how visitors use our website and improve user experience
• Communication (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR): To respond to your inquiries and licensing requests
• Legal Compliance (Art. 6(1)(c) GDPR): To comply with legal obligations
• Security (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR): To protect our website and content from unauthorized access

4. Cookies and Tracking

We use the following types of cookies:

• Essential Cookies: Required for basic website functionality (language preferences, security)
• Analytics Cookies: Google Analytics with IP anonymization, and Umami analytics (self-hosted, cookieless, privacy-focused)

You can control cookie settings through our cookie banner or your browser settings. Refusing analytics cookies will not affect website functionality.

5. Data Sharing

We share data only with:

• Google Analytics: For website analytics (with privacy-focused configuration)
• Umami Analytics: Self-hosted analytics (data stays on our servers, no third-party sharing)
• Hosting Provider: For website hosting and technical maintenance
• Legal Authorities: When required by law or to protect our rights

We do not sell, rent, or share your personal data for marketing purposes.

6. Data Retention

• Analytics Data: Automatically deleted after 26 months
• Contact Data: Retained for 3 years or until you request deletion
• Cookies: Expire after 2 years or when you clear browser data

7. Your Rights (GDPR)

Under GDPR, you have the following rights:

• Right of Access: Request information about your personal data
• Right of Rectification: Correct inaccurate personal data
• Right of Erasure: Request deletion of your personal data
• Right of Restriction: Limit processing of your personal data
• Right of Portability: Receive your data in a structured format
• Right of Objection: Object to processing based on legitimate interests
• Right to Withdraw Consent: Withdraw consent for analytics cookies

To exercise these rights, contact us at info@cityframe-photography.com

8. Data Security

We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your data:

• HTTPS encryption for all data transmission
• Limited access to personal data
• Regular security monitoring and updates
• IP anonymization for analytics

9. International Transfers

Some data may be transferred to countries outside the EU/EEA (e.g., Google Analytics servers in the US). These transfers are protected by:

• Adequacy decisions by the European Commission
• Appropriate safeguards such as Standard Contractual Clauses
• Privacy frameworks like the EU-US Data Privacy Framework

10. Right to Complain

If you believe your data protection rights have been violated, you can file a complaint with:

11. Children's Privacy

This website is not intended for children under 16. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 16. If you believe we have collected such data, please contact us immediately.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this privacy policy to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. We will notify users of significant changes by posting a notice on our website.

Cookie Policy

What are Cookies?

Cookies are small text files stored on your device when you visit our website. They help us provide you with a better browsing experience and understand how our website is used.

Types of Cookies We Use

Essential Cookies (Always Active)

These cookies are necessary for the website to function properly:

• Language Preference: Remembers your selected language
• Cookie Consent: Remembers your cookie preferences
• Security: Protects against cross-site request forgery

Analytics Cookies (Optional)

These cookies help us understand how visitors interact with our website:

• Google Analytics: Tracks page views, session duration, and user behavior
• Configuration: IP anonymization enabled, no advertising features
• Retention: Data automatically deleted after 26 months

Self-Hosted Analytics (Always Active)

We also use privacy-focused, self-hosted analytics:

• Umami Analytics: Cookieless, privacy-first analytics hosted on our own servers
• Data Collection: Anonymous page views, device types, and geographic regions only
• Privacy: No personal data collection, no cross-site tracking, data never shared with third parties
• Legal Basis: Legitimate interest (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR) for basic website analytics

Managing Cookies

You can control cookies through:

• Our cookie banner (appears on first visit)
• Your browser settings
• Google Analytics opt-out: Browser Add-on

Third-Party Cookies

We only use Google Analytics as a third-party service. Our Umami analytics is self-hosted and does not involve third parties. No other third-party cookies are set by our website.

Disclaimer

The information on this website is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind. While every effort is made to ensure accuracy, the photographer reserves the right to modify these terms at any time. Continued use of the website constitutes acceptance of any changes.

This website may contain links to external sites. The photographer is not responsible for the content or privacy practices of external websites.