The following statement has been developed to demonstrate our commitment to your privacy. This statement discloses the information gathering and dissemination practices for RAIN Alliance’s websites and the capture of data related to membership of, and events run by, the Alliance.
At RAIN, we respect your privacy. We want to ensure that you get the information, content, and experiences that matter most to you. RAIN is committed to protecting the privacy of its members, customers, volunteers, and other contacts.
By using our Website, you consent to policies and practices described in this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with the data practices described in this Privacy Policy, you should not use our Website.
Scope
This privacy policy applies to all personal data processed by full-time and part-time employees, volunteers when acting on behalf of RAIN, contractors and partners doing business on behalf of RAIN, as well as all legal entities, all operating locations in all countries, and all business processes conducted by RAIN.
What information do we collect?
RAIN may collect the following personal data in line with the use purposes explained in a subsequent section:
- Your name and contact details (including phone number and email address)
- Professional demographics such as title, profession, and job function
- Online profile data/usage
- Social media profile information
- Copies member registration forms
- Purchasing and payment information (including billing and shipping address)
- Registration and participation in RAIN events and activities
- Subscription preferences
- Cookies
- Information collected by your use of a browser such as:
- Information about the device(s) you use
- Information about service usage
- Authentication data
- Location information
- Author and peer review information
- Submission information for presentations, surveys, awards, and other requests
- Other information you upload or provide to us
How do we use your information?
RAIN uses (and, where specified, shares) your personal information for the following purposes:
To process transactions. RAIN uses personal information such as name, physical address, telephone number, email address, and company/institution to engage in interactions with you, including contacting you about your order, donation, subscription, event participation, or membership. We use financial/credit card and payment information to process your order and may need to share some of this information with delivery services, credit card clearing houses, and other third parties to complete the transaction.
To provide support or other services. RAIN may use your personal information to provide you with support or other services that you have ordered or requested. RAIN may also use your personal information to respond directly to your requests for information, including registrations for newsletters, webinars, or other specific requests, or pass your contact information to the appropriate RAIN distributor or reseller for further follow-up related to your interests.
To provide information based on your needs and respond to your requests. RAIN may use your personal information to provide you with notices of new product releases, meeting announcements, and service developments.
To provide online forums and social networks. Some services available on the websites permit you to participate in interactive discussions, post comments, opportunities, or other content to a bulletin board or exchange, or otherwise engage in networking activities. Some of these services are moderated; all may be accessed for technical reasons (for example, for improvements or fixes). RAIN does not control the content that users post to these forums or social networks. You should carefully consider whether you wish to submit personal information to these forums or social networks and tailor any content you submit appropriately and in accordance with the relevant terms of use. You should also review any additional terms and conditions that may govern your use of these services, including terms related to sharing your personal information and receiving communications.
To administer products. RAIN may contact you if you purchase products to confirm certain information about your order (for example, that you did not experience problems in the download process). We may also use this information to confirm compliance with licensing and other terms of use and may share it with your company/institution.
To select content, improve quality, and facilitate use of the websites. RAIN may use your personal information, including the information gathered as a result of site navigation and electronic protocols and cookies (including third-party cookies), to help create and personalize website content, improve website quality, track marketing campaign responsiveness, evaluate page response rates, conduct usability testing, and facilitate your use of the websites (for example, to facilitate navigation and the login process, avoid duplicate data entry, enhance security, keep track of shopping cart additions, and preserve order information between sessions).
To serve personalized advertising to you. We don’t share your information with advertisers without your consent. We allow advertisers to choose the characteristics of users who will see their advertisements, and we may use any of the non-personally-identifiable attributes we have collected to select the appropriate audience for those advertisements. When you click on or otherwise interact with an advertisement, there is a possibility that the advertiser may place a cookie in your browser and that your attributes meet the criteria the advertiser selected.
Behavioral Advertising. We may use your Personal Information to provide you with targeted advertisements or marketing communications we believe may be of interest to you. For more information about how targeted advertising works, you can visit the Network Advertising Initiative’s (“NAI”) educational page at http://www.networkadvertising.org/understanding-online-advertising/how-does-it-work .
You can opt out of specific targeted advertising by:
- FACEBOOK – https://www.facebook.com/settings/?tab=ads
- GOOGLE – https://www.google.com/settings/ads/anonymous
- BING – https://advertise.bingads.microsoft.com/en-us/resources/policies/personalized-ads
Additionally, you can opt out of some of these services by visiting the Digital Advertising Alliance’s opt-out portal at: http://optout.aboutads.info/ .
To assess usage of RAIN products and services. RAIN may track your usage of RAIN products and services (e.g., RAIN Members Only, Webinars, or Members Directory) to determine your level of usage, and those usage statistics may be made available to RAIN’s content licensors and your company/institution.
To communicate with you about a meeting, conference, or event. We may communicate with you about a meeting, conference, or event hosted or co-sponsored by RAIN or one of our business associates. This may include information about the event’s content, event logistics, payment, updates, and additional information related to the event. Information you provide when registering for or participating in a conference managed or co-sponsored by parties, other than or in addition to RAIN may be shared with those parties, and the treatment of such information is further subject to the privacy policies of those parties. RAIN and its conference co-sponsors may contact you after the event about the event, subsequent iterations of the event and related events. Please note that RAIN conference, meeting or event organizers, co-sponsors, exhibitors, and other third parties may directly request your personal information at their conference booths or presentations. Providing your information to them is optional, and you should review their privacy policies to address your particular needs and concerns about how they will treat your personal information.
To consider you for a RAIN award. RAIN may use personal information such as your name, education, work history, and volunteer activities to consider you for a RAIN award. RAIN may need to share this information with your nominators, references, judges, and other parties involved in evaluating your eligibility.
To include you in RAIN Member Listing, Buyers Guide and Forum. If you are an active member of RAIN, at your request, we may include your information in the RAIN Member Listing and Buyers Guide, and, if applicable, the RAIN Forum. We may also enable private member to member messaging (your email address is never shared). Active members can customize their member directories visibility preferences any time in account settings.
To document workgroup or RAIN meeting participation. If you are a participant in RAIN workgroups, RAIN uses your personal information to comply with policies and procedures, legal and accreditation requirements, and evaluation of patent claims by patent offices. RAIN must capture your personal data for these purposes and provides information about activities related to workgroup activity in which you participate. RAIN workgroup and meeting participation is documented through various methods, e.g., rosters, submission documents, email reflectors, records of meeting attendance, responses to ballots, publicly available participation lists, and declaration of affiliations.
To assist in your participation in RAIN activities. RAIN will communicate with you, if you are participating in certain RAIN activities such as RAIN conferences, authoring or reviewing a RAIN periodical article, or RAIN humanitarian activities. RAIN may send you information such as newsletters related to those activities.
To update you on relevant RAIN benefits, programs, and opportunities. RAIN may communicate with you regarding relevant RAIN benefits, programs, and opportunities available to you, through your membership with RAIN.
To engage with third parties. RAIN may share your personal data with third parties in connection with services that these individuals or entities perform for or with RAIN. These third parties are restricted from using this data in any way other than to provide services for RAIN or for the collaboration in which they and RAIN are contractually engaged (for example, hosting a RAIN database or engaging in data processing on RAIN’s behalf, or mailing you information that you requested). These third parties are carefully selected by RAIN and obligated to keep your data secure. From time to time, we may also share your information with third parties whom we think might provide content, products, or services of interest to you.
To protect RAIN content and services. We may use your information to prevent potentially illegal activities and to enforce our terms and conditions. We also use a variety of technological systems to detect and address anomalous activity and to screen content to prevent abuse, such as spam. These efforts may, on occasion, result in a temporary or permanent suspension or termination of some functions for some users.
To get feedback or input from you. In order to deliver products and services of most interest to our customers, from time to time, we may ask members, customers, volunteers, and website visitors to provide us input and feedback (for example through surveys, usability studies, focus groups).
How can you control your information?
You can control the information we have about you and how we use it in several ways.
- Use the unsubscribe method provided in our various communications
- Contact RAIN at [email protected] to request details about the information that we have recorded and to request changes to that information.
Personal data about minors and children RAIN does not knowingly collect data from or about children under 16 without the permission of parent(s)/guardian(s). If we learn that we have collected personal information from a child under 16, we will delete that information as quickly as possible. If you believe that we might have any information from or about a child under age 16, please contact us.
How will you know if the Privacy Policy is changed?
RAIN may update its Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make any material changes we will notify you by email if you have a RAIN Account, or by means of a notice on this website prior to the change becoming effective. We encourage you to periodically review this page for the latest information on our privacy practices.
Technical & Regulatory Information
Logging practices
RAIN automatically records the Internet Protocol (IP) addresses of visitors. The IP address is a unique number assigned to every computer on the internet. As well as recording the IP addresses of users, RAIN may also keep track of sites that users visited immediately prior to visiting RAIN’s website and the search terms they used to find it. We keep track of the pages visited on RAIN’s website, the amount of time spent on those pages and the types of searches done on them. Your searches remain confidential and anonymous. RAIN uses this information only for statistical purposes to find out which pages users find most useful and to improve the website.
RAIN also captures and stores information that you transmit. This may include:
- Browser/Device type/version
- Operating system used
- Media Access Control (MAC) address
- Date, time, and time zone of the server request
- Volume of data transferred
- Internet service provider
- Referring/exit pages
External links behavior
Some of RAIN’s websites link to other sites created and maintained by other public- and/or private-sector organizations. RAIN provides these links solely for your information and convenience. When you transfer to an outside website, you are leaving the RAIN domain, and RAIN’s information management policies no longer apply. RAIN encourages you to read the privacy statement of each external website that you visit before you provide any personal data.
Cookies and web beacons
Cookies and web beacons are electronic placeholders that are placed on your device by websites to track your individual movements on that website over time. RAIN uses both session-based cookies (which last only for the duration of the user’s session) and persistent cookies (which remain on your device and provides information about the session you are in and waits for the next time you use that site again).
These cookies and web beacons provide useful information to RAIN, enabling us to recognize repeat users, facilitate the user’s access to and use of our sites, allows us to track usage behavior, and to balance the usage of our websites on all RAIN web servers.
Tracking cookies, third-party cookies, and other technologies such as web beacons may be used to process additional information, enable non-core functionalities on the RAIN website and enable third-party functions (such as a social media “share” link). We may also include web beacons and other similar technology in promotional email messages to determine whether the messages have been opened.
Do Not Track (DNT)
The online advertising industry has self-regulatory initiatives designed to provide consumers a choice in the types of ads they may see online and to conveniently opt-out from online behavioral ads served by some or all of the companies participating in these programs. Our websites do not respond to DNT consumer browser settings.
Collaboration with authorities
RAIN has appointed and mandated a privacy officer who represents the regulatory authorities inside the RAIN organization, and in return represents the RAIN organization to regulatory authorities.
The RAIN privacy officer will ensure proper communication with the relevant regulatory authority for privacy. The privacy officer will lead investigative action, complaint handling and data breach notification. The privacy officer will also monitor regulatory changes and consult the regulatory authority where implementation of a regulatory or technological change leads to doubt.
Transfer of information to other countries
As a global organization, RAIN engages in a number of international activities. In connection with the management of those activities, RAIN may transfer information to other countries. By submitting your information to RAIN via the websites, or in connection with your interactions with RAIN offline, you consent to such transfers and to the processing of this information in other countries.
Responses to legal requests
RAIN reserves the right to share your information to respond to duly authorized information requests of governmental authorities or where required by law. In the event of bankruptcy, merger, acquisition, reorganization or sale of assets, your information may be sold or transferred as part of that transaction. The promises in this privacy policy will apply to your information as transferred to the new entity.
Your European Union privacy rights
Under the General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation EU 2016/679) (also known as GDPR), if you are an individual protected by the GDPR you may have certain rights as a data subject. To request information about or avail yourself of those rights, please send an email to [email protected] with “GDPR Request” in the subject line. In the email please describe, with specificity, the GDPR right you are requesting assistance with. Please note additional information may be requested prior to initiation of a request and that RAIN reserves the right to charge a fee with respect to certain requests. Upon RAIN’s completion of its review you will be notified if your request has been granted, denied, or exemptions apply.
Your California privacy rights
Under California Civil Code Section 1798.83 (also known as S.B. 27), if you are a California resident and your business relationship with RAIN is primarily for personal, family, or household purposes, you may request certain data regarding RAIN’s disclosure, if any, of personal information to third parties for the third-parties’ direct marketing purposes. To make such a request, please send an email to [email protected] with “Request for California Privacy Information” in the subject line. You may make such a request up to once per calendar year. If applicable, we will provide you, by email, a list of the categories of personal information disclosed to third parties for their direct marketing purposes during the immediately preceding calendar year, along with the third parties’ names and addresses. Please note that not all personal information sharing is covered by S.B. 27’s requirements.
UK data protection law
Under UK data protection law, you have the right to request details of Personal Data which we hold about you. We will comply with your request promptly and by no later than 40 days from receipt of any such request. We may charge a reasonable fee for dealing with your request which we will notify to you. If you would like to make any such request, please write to our privacy officer at [email protected].
Please help us to ensure that the information about you that we hold is accurate and up to date. If you think that any information we have about you is incorrect or incomplete, please write to our privacy officer in the manner set out above. We will correct or update any information about you as soon as reasonably possible.
Data Retention
When you place an order through the Site, we will maintain your order Information for our records unless and until you ask us to delete this information.
How do I contact you if there is an issue?
If you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or about the use of your personal information, please feel free to contact us by email at [email protected].
Additional Information
RAIN Inc. reserves the right to alter our Privacy Policy as business needs require. Any changes will be posted to our web site in a timely manner. This statement and the policies outlined here are not intended to and do not give you any contractual or other legal rights.
9 February, 2021
[email protected]
RAIN RFID Alliance
401 Edgewater Place, Suite 600,
Wakefield, Massachusetts 01880