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Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy describes the ways in which Project Data Sphere ("Project Data Sphere," "we," "our," or "us") collects, uses, and discloses information about you through http://data.projectdatasphere.org/ and any other website that is linked to this policy (collectively, the "Site"). By using the Site, you consent to the processing of your information as set forth in this Privacy Policy, now and as amended by us.

What information do we collect?

Information You Provide - We collect information that you voluntarily provide when you use the Site, including when you:

  • contact us with a question, comment or request;
  • apply for authorization to access clinical trial data on the website;
  • visit and access clinical trial data as an authorized user;
  • post a profile or other information on a personal or group page or other interactive feature ("Community Tools");
  • participate in chat rooms;
  • utilize messaging capabilities offered through the Site like email; or
  • participate in sweepstakes, contests or promotions with us or promotions partners.

The information that you provide us can include, but is not limited to:

  • your name;
  • contact information such as physical address, email address and phone number;
  • employer name, address and website url;
  • workplace department and position, education and other professional credentials, including professional licenses;
  • username (including a display name used in Community Tools), password, and other registration information; and
  • your photograph or other audiovisual images.

Information Automatically Collected From You - We and our service providers may automatically collect certain technical information from your computer when you use the Site, such as your Internet Protocol ("IP") address, your browser type, your operating system, the pages you view on the Site, the pages you view immediately before and after you access the Site, and the search terms you enter on the Site. This information allows us to recognize you and personalize your experience if you return to the Site using the same computer, and to improve the Site and the services we provide. We and our service providers may collect this information using "cookies," which are small text files that the Site saves on your computer using your web browser and accesses when you return. If you do not want the Site to collect information through the use of cookies, you can set your web browser to reject cookies from the Site. Each browser is different, so you should check your browser's "Help" menu to learn how to change your cookie preferences. If you reject or block cookies from the Site, however, the Site may not function as intended.

How do we use this information?

We may use the information we collect for a number of purposes, including, but not limited to:

  • providing you information if you have submitted a comment or question;
  • communicating to you information about the Site, our service or your account;
  • evaluating and processing applications for authorization to access clinical data;
  • facilitating access to clinical trial data by authorized users;
  • customizing your experience on the Site, such as by recognizing you as an authorized user for more efficient account access;
  • allowing us and our service providers to improve the Site and the services we provide, such as by better tailoring our content to our users' needs and preferences;
  • enabling participation in various Community Tools;
  • generating and analyzing statistics about your use of the Site; and
  • detecting, preventing, analyzing and responding to fraud, intellectual property infringement, violations of obligations and restrictions you have agreed to in our Online Services User Agreement, violations of the website Terms of Use, violations of law, other misuse of the Site.

We also may combine or aggregate any of the information we collect through the Site with information we collect elsewhere including from third parties for any of these purposes.

Under what circumstances do we disclose this information?

We may disclose the information we collect from you through the Site:

  • to affiliates and service providers who we work closely with, or who work on our behalf, and have agreed to use the information solely in furtherance of our operations, including, but not limited to, our Site hosting service provider and its contractors and subcontractors;
  • to third party clinical trial data providers to enable such providers to enforce contractual obligations and restrictions you have agreed to in our Online Services User Agreement;
  • pursuant to a subpoena, court order or other lawful process, including to law enforcement;
  • when we believe in good faith that disclosure is necessary (a) to protect our rights, the rights of others, the integrity of the Site, or your safety or the safety of others, or (b) to detect, prevent, or respond to fraud, intellectual property infringement, violations of the website Terms of Use, violations of law, or other misuse of the Site; and
  • to third parties to the extent reasonably necessary to proceed with the negotiation or completion of a merger, acquisition, or sale of all or a portion of our assets.

In addition, we may share aggregate reports on user demographics and traffic patterns to better understand Site usage. We may also share de-identified information with third parties for various purposes, including research, studies and marketing.

What About Community Tools?

You may be able to contribute to interactive Community Tools on the Site such as message boards, chat rooms, personal web pages or profiles, forums, groups and bulletin boards. We may display your contributions to Community Tools to the public or to others within a group in which you may participate. We also may store your contributions to Community Tools. Note that if you include photos or other information that identifies you in your profile or in contributions to Community Tools, it can be used and viewed by others. Therefore, you understand that you have no expectation of privacy or confidentiality in the content you submit for profiles or to Community Tools, whether or not it identifies you. We are not responsible for the information you choose to include or view in any Community Tools. In addition, by participating in Community Tools, you may receive communications, such as emails or other messages, from other users.

Where is this information stored?

The Site is a United States-based website. Information collected through the Site will be processed in and subject to the laws of the United States, which may not provide the same level of protection for your personal information as your home country provides, and may be available to the United States government or its agencies under a lawful order made in the United States. However, our Site hosting service provider is certified under the U.S.-E.U. and the U.S.-Swiss safe harbor framework. In addition, we may transfer your information outside of the United States to our affiliates, data providers and service providers who may be located in other countries. By using and submitting information to the Site, you consent to such transfer to, and processing in, the United States and other countries.

How is your information secured?

We maintain reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to safeguard the information collected by the Site. However, no information system can be 100% secure, so we cannot guarantee the absolute security of your information. Moreover, we are not responsible for the security of information you transmit to the Site over networks that we do not control, including the Internet and wireless networks. We maintain the information we collect consistent with legitimate business purposes.

What if there are changes to this Privacy Policy?

We reserve the right to update this Privacy Policy from time to time by posting a new Privacy Policy on this page. You are advised to consult this Privacy Policy regularly for any changes, and your continued use of the Site after such changes have been made constitutes acceptance of those changes. If we make any revisions that materially change the ways in which we use or share the information previously collected from you through the Site, we will give you the opportunity to consent to such changes before applying them to that information.

Contact us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or our use of your information collected through the Site, please contact us at info@projectdatasphere.org.

Effective July 2013

Updated September 2014