This privacy policy (“Privacy Policy”) applies to the personal information we collect about you through the websites operated and made available by CHOR, Inc., d/b/a CHORUS (“CHORUS”, “we”, “us” and “our”) located at www.chorusaccess.org and any other websites under our control (the “Websites”). This Privacy Policy applies regardless of media platform (e.g., computer, smartphone, tablet, etc.) used to access our Websites, but does not apply to information you submit to us offline.

Your privacy is important to us, and this Privacy Policy is designed to make clear our intentions and approach to the collection and use of personal information in connection with our Websites and the choices you have. If you have any questions regarding this Privacy Policy, please contact us at info@chorusacess.org.

YOUR CONSENT

By using the Websites, you agree to the terms of this Privacy Policy.  If you do not agree with the terms of this Privacy Policy, please refrain from using the Websites.

INFORMATION WE COLLECT & HOW WE COLLECT IT

For the purposes of operating, improving, and monitoring the user experience on our Websites and our operations generally, we collect various information from those using the Websites. This information is broadly of two types: (1) Non-Personal Information (information which cannot be used to identify you, such as the number of users—but not their names—who have viewed an article) and (2) Personal Information (information which is personal to you and can be used to identify you, such as your name and email address).

Non-Personal Information & Cookies/Web Beacons
When you access our Websites, we may collect Non-Personal Information including, but not limited to, pages visited, hyperlinks used, type of device used, date and time spent on our Websites.

Collecting such Non-Personal Information may involve logging the IP address, operating system and browser software used by individual site visitors, and from such information a user’s Internet Service Provider, geographic location, and other data could be inferred, but nothing that can be used to personally identify you. We use this information to understand how to service users of our Websites and improve our Websites and services by using Google Analytics or other website analysis tools.

We may also use cookies and/or other technologies to store and help track information to provide members with customized services.  Most browsers are initially set to accept such technologies and offer easy instructions on setting your browser to reject some or all of them. For example, you may choose to delete cookies at any time. However, please note that various functions and benefits of the Websites may not work properly if you reject cookies or other web technologies.

Personal Information
You can access content on our Websites and use most features of our Websites without revealing any Personal Information. We only collect Personal Information when you provide it to us directly, for example:

  • If you register with us to receive email newsletters or other communications from us;
  • If you contact us in order to join CHORUS as a member;
  • If you contact us to obtain a trial subscription to the CHORUS Institution Dashboard Service;
  • If you contact us for other reasons through the Websites; or
  • If you contest the open accessibility of any article identified by the CHORUS Search tool.

When you interact with any CHORUS page or account on a social media platform, such as Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, Tumblr, YouTube, or Pinterest, or when you use your social media account or credentials to log into the Website, we may also collect the Personal Information that you make available to us on that page or through that account.

COLLECTION OF INFORMATION BY THIRD PARTIES

Third parties cannot collect personally identifiable information about users while they are on CHORUS Websites.

HOW WE USE PERSONAL INFORMATION WE COLLECT

We use Personal Information in any of the following ways:

  • To communicate with you periodically via email, if you have subscribed to one of our email lists;
  • To communicate with you in connection with your membership or membership application;
  • To communicate with you regarding your subscription or trial subscription to the CHORUS Institution Dashboard Service;
  • To communicate with you if you contest the open accessibility of any article identified by the CHORUS Search tool;
  • To respond to you when you contact us. We may also archive this information and/or use it for future communications with you;
  • To investigate any activities that may violate our policies or be illegal; or
  • To manage and operate our Websites and services in general.

DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

Except as set forth in this Privacy Policy or as specifically agreed to by you, we will not disclose any Personal Information we gather from you through the Websites.

Third Party Service Providers/Program Partners. We might share Personal Information with trusted third party vendors to help us in operating our Websites and services. For example, if we hire or collaborate with a third party to process our email or handle our help desk function, we might share our email list with them. Under all circumstances, however, these organizations will be required to maintain the confidentiality of your Personal Information either by contract with us or under the terms of their Privacy Policies.

Legal and Governmental Authorities/Protection. To comply with legal requirements that may arise, we may share your Personal Information if requested to do so by legal or government authorities. We also may share your Personal Information when necessary to investigate, prevent, or take action regarding illegal or suspected illegal activities and to protect and defend the rights, property, or safety of CHORUS and its staff, users of our Websites, or others.

YOUR CHOICES AND COMMUNICATIONS PREFERENCES

You can manage your communications preferences by using the “opt-out” or unsubscribe mechanism or other means provided within the communications that you receive from us or by contacting us at info@chorusacces.org.

ACCESS, REVIEW, CHANGING AND DELETING PERSONAL INFORMATION

You may review, edit and delete the Personal Information you have provided to us by contacting us at info@chorusacess.org. Please note, however, that even if you delete your information, there may still be residual information about you in our systems, for example in our log files.

YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES

You are responsible for ensuring the accuracy of the Personal Information you submit to us in order to receive communications from us. You can update your Personal Information at any time by contacting us at info@chorusaccess.org.

EXTERNAL LINKS

We provide links to websites operated by outside parties, including publisher websites where links to articles reporting on funded research are made available (all such third-party sites, “Third Party Websites”). We do not disclose your Personal Information to these Third Party Websites without obtaining your consent. However, if you choose to interact with Third Party Websites from our Websites (such as by viewing a linked article), then your activities will be governed by the privacy policy on that Third Party Site and not by this Privacy Policy. We do not review and expressly do not endorse and are not responsible for the privacy policies and practices of these Third Party Websites.

SECURITY

We are committed to protecting the security of our users’ Personal Information. To that end, we use industry standard security practices to keep your Personal Information private. Please note, however, that we do not and cannot guarantee the security of Personal Information, and there is some risk that an unauthorized third party may find a way to circumvent our security systems, or that transmission of your information over the Internet will be intercepted. We disclaim all liability involving Personal Information submitted through our Websites.

CHANGING OUR PRIVACY POLICY

We review our privacy practices from time to time, and these practices are subject to changes and updates, which will be effective immediately. We will notify you of any material change to this Privacy Policy at minimum by posting the new Privacy Policy and by updating the Effective Date located at the bottom of this page. To ensure familiarity with the current version of our Privacy Policy, return to this page periodically. We will not apply any changes retroactively.

GOVERNING LAW

This Privacy Policy shall be governed by the laws of the State of New York (United States), excluding any laws that might direct the application of the laws of another jurisdiction.

INTERNATIONAL USERS

Note that we store and process Personal Information on servers in the United States or on a cloud.   By using our Websites, you agree and consent that your Personal Information may be transferred to, processed and stored in facilities in the United States. While the data protection laws of New York and the United States generally may not be as comprehensive or the same as those in the country where you are located, please rest assured that we take your privacy seriously and will always adhere to the practices set forth in this policy.

QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS

If you have any trouble logging in, or have any privacy-related questions or unresolved problems, contact us at info@chorusacess.org.

Effective as of January 17, 2019.