Policy Regarding the Protection of Personal Information at Immunotec Inc.
At Immunotec Inc., we are committed to respecting the privacy of our customers. In the spirit of this commitment, we have developed and implemented a policy regarding the protection of personal information.
This document contains questions and informative answers about our policy regarding the protection of personal information and about your rights with regards to the collection, access, use, retention, correction and communication of personal information in our possession.
What is personal information?
“Personal information” refers to any information about a private individual or information that makes it possible to identify said individual. This includes but is not limited to your name, mailing address, phone numbers, e-mail address, credit card numbers, social security number, etc.
Why do we retain personal information
The personal information that we retain about our customers serves primarily to open a file and process orders. Personal information about our distributors is used for payment of commissions and for fiscal requirements (e.g.: 1099 Form).
On occasion, this personal information will be used (a) for statistical purposes; (b) to contact certain customers in the event of credit or inventory problems; (c) to offer our customers information about Immunotec Inc.’s products and services; and (d) to satisfy legislative and regulatory requirements.
What personal information do we retain about our customers, and where does it come from?
At Immunotec Inc., we only retain personal information that you submit when you make a request for automatic shipment of Immunotec products, when you purchase online or when you submit a request to become a distributor. These forms ask for your consent for us to use your personal information in accordance with the uses set out in our policy regarding the protection of personal information.
This information includes:
- your name;
- your address;
- your credit card number (if you choose this method of payment);
- your phone numbers; a photocopy of your cheques (as this is a fiscal requirement);
- your social security number (distributors only);
- your business identification number (distributors only).
When you visited our site, did we gather any personal information?
It is possible to visit our Web site without revealing your identity. However, our Web server may register the IP address and the domain that you used to access the site, the type and version of Web browser and operating system that you use, the number, duration and frequency of visits made to our site, as well as the previous and next Web sites that you visit. This anonymous information cannot be associated with a particular user. This information is useful to us to monitor the performance of the site for system administration purposes, to make the site more user-friendly, to improve our services and to collect summary information (e.g.: the number of visitors who accessed the site).
We use cookies, which are small files that your Web browser installs on your computer’s hard drive, to memorize the user code, password and preferences of users who visit our Web site, and to facilitate their navigation of the site.
Our Web site includes security mechanisms that protect the information that you entrust to us against loss, abuse and modification. Our servers use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), a state-of-the-art encryption technology that is compatible with both Netscape Navigator (version 2.0 and later) and Microsoft Internet Explorer (version 3.0 and later). This technology protects your personal information and ensures its confidentiality. Personal information, in particular credit card numbers, names and addresses are encrypted and cannot be read by anyone while it is being transferred over the Internet.
Our Web site contains links to Web sites operated by third parties. Our policy regarding the protection of personal information does not cover these Web sites, and we recommend that users read the personal information policies that affect these sites. We cannot be held responsible for the content of Web sites operated by third parties or for the practices of third parties in terms of protecting personal information.
Who other than Immunotec has access to your personal information?
You, your distributor and the sponsoring distributors of your distributor have access to your personal information. However, authorized access for distributors and their sponsors is strictly limited to your name, address, phone number and purchasing history.
We are committed not to reveal your personal information to third parties other than those mentioned in our policy regarding the protection of personal information at Immunotec Inc., or unless we are required to do so by law or regulation. As well, we will obtain your consent in the event that we would like to disclose your personal information to third parties other than those mentioned here.
How do we protect your personal information?
Because we are concerned about protecting the personal information of our customers, Immunotec employees are trained to ensure all personnel information is respected, protected and handled appropriately. Only employees who have a legitimate need to access your personal information to fulfill their duties are authorized to do so. As well, a highly sophisticated computer system ensures the protection of personal information supported by this medium. All files, photocopies of cheques and written requests for automatic shipments of Immunotec products and for distribution are kept in locked filing cabinets in offices with limited access. Finally, all our service providers that require access to our facilities or our computing services are contractually obligated to neither divulge nor use personal information that we retain about our customers.
What are your rights?
- You have the right to have access to the personal information that we retain. (Please allow for a minimal charge for each request for access);
- You have the right to refuse to consent to the disclosure of your personal information or to limit this disclosure (however, this could affect our ability to offer you our products by mail or to allow you to become a distributor); and
- You have the right to request that we correct any errors contained in your personal information file.
Note that Immunotec Inc. reserves the right to refuse your request for access to your personal information in the following cases:
- If the information is protected by attorney-client or physician-client privilege;
- If the information was gathered for the purposes of detecting or preventing a criminal act;
- If disclosure is likely to reveal personal information about a third party and its communication is likely to risk compromising the life or the security of the third party.
To have access to, modify or limit the use of your personal information, please contact our Officer in Charge of the Protection of Personal Information in writing at the address found at the end of this document.
Do we have the right to verify that you are in fact the person making the request for access to your personal information?
To ensure that your personal information is well protected, we are required to request adequate proof of your identity. This obligation applies to all requests for access, use, retention, correction, modification of consent and communication of any of your personal information in our possession. This proof of identity will be used only for this purpose.
How long does it take to receive a response?
We are committed to responding to your requests for access, correction or modification of consent for the use of your personal information within 30 days of receipt of said request.
How long do we keep your personal information?
We limit the length of time we retain personal information about our customers to a period that allows us to supply our products and services, that allows us to respect the timeframes imposed by laws and regulations and that allows us to fulfill legal requirements.
At the end of this period, we close each file, and we ensure that all personal information in our possession is destroyed.
Do we keep your personal information up to date?
We keep the contents of your personal file up to date. This means that we may ask you to inform us of any changes. You can also help us maintain up-to-date information by periodically verifying the personal information about you in our possession, by informing our Officer in Charge of the Protection of Personal Information of any change to the personal information in our possession or by filling out the update form on our Web site at www.immunotec.com.
Why did you receive a letter by mail that contains our policy regarding the protection of personal information at Immunotec Inc.?
Some of our customers and distributors received a letter by mail informing them of the implementation of a policy regarding the protection of personal information at Immunotec Inc. We wanted to ensure that each of our customers and distributors had been duly informed of their rights in terms of the collection, retention and use of their personal information, and that we had the appropriate consent to use, disclose, retain and collect personal information about our customers in accordance with the norms set out in our policy.
Where can I obtain more information about the protection of personal information, obtain a copy of laws that protect personal information in the private sector or lodge a complaint?
An excellent source of information is available to you from the: Federal Trade Commission’s Web site at: www.ftc.gov/privacy/index.html.
To send us your comments, questions, complaints or for any request for access, correction or modification of your consent for the use of your personal information, please communicate in writing with:
Officer in Charge of the Protection of Personal Information
Immunotec Inc.
300 Joseph Carrier
Vaudreuil-Dorion, Quebec, Canada
J7V 5V5
Or by e-mail: infopriv@immunotec.com
