Revised June 2006
1. Introduction. BNA publishes its information services in print and
various electronic media, including Web-based formats. We are continually
adapting to changes in technology to bring you the information you rely on
faster and more efficiently than ever before.
BNA publishes this Privacy Policy to reaffirm our commitment to maintaining
the privacy of our customers in the electronic environment and inform you of our
practices concerning the collection and use of information you provide us.
In this Privacy Policy you will find a description of the policies and
procedures that make this Privacy Policy work for them. We have included in this
Privacy Policy an explanation of our information practices, such
as:
- What information we collect
- How we collect the information
- How we use the information
- How we provide choice to Users about how we use the information we collect
- Whether we disclose the information we collect to third parties
- Whether third parties collect information through our Products
BNA reserves the right to make changes to any part of this Privacy Policy in
its sole discretion, at any time and without prior notice. Continued use of any
Product following any such change will constitute acceptance of those changes.
If we decide to revise this Privacy Policy, we will post changes in the Products
so Users are aware of our information practices. To continue to stay informed
about this important issue, please check this Privacy Policy
frequently.
This Privacy Policy applies to all Customers and Users (collectively referred
to as “Users”). In addition, this Privacy Policy applies to all Products.
To make this Privacy Policy as easy to read as possible, BNA has simplified
certain sentences by substituting defined terms for certain concepts.
Accordingly, the capitalized terms used throughout this Privacy Policy shall
have the meanings assigned to such terms in Section 9 (“Definitions”) of this
Privacy Policy.
2. BNA's Privacy Pledge. BNA makes the following pledge to you:
- BNA is committed to protecting the privacy of Users at all times.
- BNA only shares Customer Information and other Personally Identifiable
Information with third parties as described in Sections 5 and 7 in this Privacy
Policy.
- BNA maintains security standards and procedures designed to protect Customer
Information and other Personally Identifiable Information. We will continue to
test and update our technology to improve our ability to protect Customer
Information and other Personally Identifiable Information.
3. Consent To Use Information. By using any Product and/or by
affirmatively accepting the License Agreement or this Privacy Policy, each User
consents to the collection and use of all information that the User provides to
BNA, all information that is provided to BNA on behalf of that User, and all
information that BNA collects based on that User's use of the Products,
including, without limitation, all Customer Information and other Personally
Identifiable Information.
4. Our Policies Regarding the Collection of Information. At BNA, our
goal is to provide Users with quality information, products, and services. We
are also committed to providing Users with responsive, personalized service, and
keeping Users informed about new information, products, and services that may be
of immediate interest to Users or that can help Users derive the greatest value
from the Products.
Customer Information is at the heart of our ability to provide superior
service to Users. We describe in this Privacy Policy the types of Customer
Information and other Personally Identifiable Information that we collect, and
how and why we may share that Customer Information and other Personally
Identifiable Information with others.
A visitor who browses the BNA Web site is not required to reveal any
Personally Identifiable Information, such as name, address, or telephone number,
unless subscribing to a product. Nor is such information collected passively by
electronic means. BNA Web servers collect other information such as the make of
a visitor's browser software and the Internet domain name of the location from
which the visitor enters. This information helps us diagnose technical problems
and manage our sites by tracking user interests.
The primary reason that we collect and maintain Customer Information and
other Personally Identifiable Information is to serve Users and administer our
customer relationships. BNA may collect Customer Information and other
Personally Identifiable Information from a variety of sources, such as the
following:
- Information Users provide to us, such as information Users provide to us in
the registration process.
- Information we receive from a Customer that purchases Subscriptions for
Users, such as registration information.
- Information about transactions by Users as part of the Products or other
User experiences with BNA, such as the information we receive when a User
submits a question through a search box in a Product. We collect Customer
Information and other Personally Identifiable Information in a number of ways,
such as the following:
- Registration Process:
- In order to use our Products, each User may be asked to complete a
registration process, which requires providing certain registration information
to BNA.
- Credit Cards:
- We collect credit card information for billing purposes. For convenience of
our customers, we do not store, use, or share credit card information for any
other purpose
- Log Files:
- We track information about each User's usage of the Products in log files.
We use this information as follows:
- To analyze trends
- To administer the Products
- To track statistical information about how Users
- use the Products
- To gather broad demographic information for aggregate use
- BNA does link information regarding a User's usage of the Products to the
User's Personally Identifiable Information
- Cookies:
- Use of Cookies Generally:
- A cookie is a piece of data stored by each User's browser that contains
information about the user of a computer. Cookies help Web sites recognize
return visitors. When you return to a Web site you visited before and that Web
site uses cookies, your browser gives this data back to the Web site's server.
- Contrary to reports about cookies and online privacy, cookies do not contain
viruses and most cannot reveal any Personally Identifiable Information about you
unless you willingly provide it as a user on a Web site.
- You will find that cookies are an industry standard and are used at most
major Web sites in much the same way we use them here at BNA. You can learn most
everything there is to know about cookies at www.cookiecentral.com. We also
encourage you to read the privacy policies of all Web sites you visit before you
accept cookies from these Web sites.
- You can set your browser to reject or to accept cookies. You have the option
to reject cookies when you are just browsing the Web and accept cookies when you
want to use the Products.
- BNA's Use of Cookies:
- Each Product places a cookie on the hard drive of each User's computer. If a
User rejects any cookie offered by a Product, that User may not use the features
of the Product.
- BNA stores your User ID in your cookie.
- BNA uses your cookie to make your experience with the Products more
efficient and effective. For instance, by setting a cookie for a Product on a
User's hard drive, the User does not have to log in to the Product more than
once, which saves time.
- Setting cookies also enables BNA to track and target the interests of Users.
- Surveys and Promotional Activities:
- From time to time BNA may request information from Users via voluntary
participation in promotional or market research activities.
- The information that we request may include contact information (such as
name and business address), and demographic information (such as zip code and
age level).
5. Our Policies Regarding the Use and Disclosure of Information.
a) Information Use and Sharing. We may use and share the
Customer Information and other Personally Identifiable Information that we
collect among various departments within BNA and its subsidiaries that perform
functions such as servicing User accounts, preparing reports regarding Product
use, market research, and promotional activities. The reasons that we share this
Customer Information and other Personally Identifiable Information include the
following:
- To protect Users.
- We use the Customer Information and other Personally Identifiable
Information we maintain about Users and their use of the Products, including
registration information, as follows:
- To help us identify Users.
- To help us prevent unauthorized persons from accessing Customer Information
and other Personally Identifiable Information and the Product features that we
make available to specific Users for their use.
- To provide superior service.
- We use Customer Information and other Personally Identifiable Information to
respond quickly and efficiently to User needs.
- To tell you about new or enhanced services and/or products.
- By understanding more about Users and their use of the Products, we can
better meet User needs and determine how other Product features could be of
value to Users.
- E-mail Updates:
- Once a User completes the registration process, BNA may keep the User
updated by e-mail on important news and events concerning BNA, Product features,
and other information that BNA deems relevant.
- By accepting the License Agreement and this Privacy Policy and by using any
Product, each User agrees that BNA may contact the User by e-mail with respect
to BNA and any aspect of the Products whatsoever.
- To improve and develop our information, products and services.
- Every Product feature that we offer is designed to reflect the ways Users
actually use the Products.
- We collect and analyze information about Product use so that we can tailor
new types of information, products and services to meet User needs.
- When it comes to sharing Customer Information and other Personally
Identifiable Information outside BNA, we do so only for specific purposes. We
share Customer Information and other Personally Identifiable Information with
third parties as follows:
- General
- We reserve the right to share with BNA subsidiaries and/or other reputable
organizations the following information, for purposes of permitting those
organizations to sell their products and services to our Customers:
- With respect to each Customer, the following current information: company
name, industry, business mailing address, and primary contact information (name,
e-mail address, street address, mailing address, and telephone number).
- With respect to each User, the following current information: name,
industry, job title, business e-mail address, office name (branch and main
office), and mailing address.
- We reserve the right to share Customer Information and other Personally
Identifiable Information with third parties that provide hot links to the BNA
Web page at http://www.bna.com to promote the
Products, such as web portals, or otherwise sell Subscriptions on our behalf
through their own marketing channels. In certain instances, these parties will
co-own certain Customer Information and other Personally Identifiable
Information about Product revenue generating activity that originates from that
third party. Such Customer Information and other Personally Identifiable
Information may include, without limitation, the following information: company
name, street address, e-mail address, contact name, lead date, first sale date,
and services accessed.
- We reserve the right to share Customer Information and other Personally
Identifiable Information with other third parties that perform services on our
behalf, such as companies that help us market Products, renew subscriptions, or
assist new customers.
- We reserve the right to share all Customer Information and Personally
Identifiable Information with third parties who act as independent contractors
to help us administer the Products, such as data centers that host our servers
and technical system consultants who program our hardware and Software.
- We reserve the right to share Customer Information and Non-Identifying
Information in the form of aggregated demographic information that is not linked
to Personally Identifiable Information with our subsidiaries, advertisers, and
other third parties.
- We reserve the right to disclose certain Customer Information and Personally
Identifiable Information to government agencies and consumer reporting agencies
as permitted or required by applicable law. BNA may make these disclosures for
specific, limited purposes, such as verifying individuals' identities (reducing
fraud and identity theft).
- BNA will also disclose a User's Customer Information and Personally
Identifiable Information when and to the extent we believe, in good faith, that
we are legally compelled to do so pursuant to an order of a court of competent
jurisdiction or other governmental body (including, without limitation, such
disclosures required by applicable securities laws as are necessary to comply
therewith or with the rules and regulations of any applicable stock exchange).
In such an event, BNA will use reasonable efforts to do the following:
- Give the User reasonably prompt written notice of such requirement so that
the User has an opportunity to comment thereon or object thereto and to preserve
the confidential nature of the Customer Information and Personally Identifiable
Information that BNA is required to disclose.
- At the User's expense, use commercially reasonable efforts to cooperate with
any of the User's efforts to preserve the confidential nature of the Customer
Information and Personally Identifiable Information that BNA is required to
disclose.
- User Information
- We reserve the right to share a User's Customer Information and Personally
Identifiable Information with the Customer who purchased the User's
Subscription.
- We also reserve the right to share a User's Customer Information and other
Personally Identifiable Information in the manner described in Section 6 of this
Privacy Policy.
- Customer Information
- We also reserve the right to share the aggregate Customer Information and
other Personally Identifiable Information for any Customer with respect to all
Users for which that Customer purchased a Subscription in the manner described
in Section 6 of this Privacy Policy.
b) Our Policies Regarding the Use and Disclosure of Information About
Former Customers. For a period of time after a Customer relationship
ends, our policies and practices regarding the use and disclosure of Customer
Information about former Customers are the same as those regarding the
collection and disclosure of Customer Information and other Personally
Identifiable Information about existing Customers. See the information under the
heading in Section 6 of this Privacy Policy. However, after the relationship
ends, we may use such Customer Information and other Personally Identifiable
Information about former Customers less and less over time. We reserve the right
to eventually remove such Customer Information and other Personally Identifiable
Information about former Customers from our records.
c) Links to Third Party Web Sites. The BNA Privacy Policy
applies solely to the Products. The Products may contain links to Web sites
owned and operated by third parties. Any User's use of third party Web sites is
at their own risk and subject to any terms and conditions of use, policies
regarding the collection of information, privacy policies, and other practices
and procedures for such Web sites. BNA is not responsible for any such terms and
conditions of use, policies regarding the collection of information, privacy
policies, or other practices and procedures of the third party Web sites that a
User may access through hot links in the Products. We cannot guarantee how these
third parties use cookies or whether they place cookies on your computer that
may include Customer Information and other Personally Identifiable Information.
We encourage Users to be aware when they leave the Products and to read any
terms and conditions of use, policies regarding the collection of information,
privacy policies, and other practices and procedures of each Third Party Web
site before Users provide them with any Customer Information and other
Personally Identifiable Information.
6. Information Confidentiality and Security. BNA is committed to
prevent any unauthorized access to each User's Customer Information and other
Personally Identifiable Information. We maintain procedures and technology
designed to prevent such unauthorized access.
a) Security
Programs. No one can guarantee that data transmission over the Internet
will be 100% secure. Nevertheless, BNA has taken technical, administrative, and
physical steps to protect against unauthorized access to Customer Information
and other Personally Identifiable Information used to administer its customer
accounts. All such information is handled securely within BNA and is not
disclosed to unauthorized third parties.
b) User IDs and Passwords. Each User is responsible for
maintaining the confidentiality of his or her User ID and password, and are
responsible for all Product activities that occur under his or her User ID and
password, including, without limitation, all related Customer Information and
other Personally Identifiable Information. Each User agrees to immediately
notify BNA of any unauthorized use of his or her User ID or password or of his
or her Customer Information and other Personally Identifiable Information or any
other breach of security regarding the Products or his or her Customer
Information and other Personally Identifiable Information. BNA will not be
liable for any Loss whatsoever arising from a User's failure to comply with
these security requirements and each User agrees to hold BNA harmless from any
and all Losses that arise from that failure to so comply.
7. Tips To Help You Protect Customer Information. If any User suspects
that someone has had unauthorized access to his or her BNA account, or access to
his or her Customer Information and other Personally Identifiable Information,
such as his or her User ID or password, the User should send an email to customercare@bna.com immediately so we
can take appropriate action to protect the User and his or her Customer
Information and other Personally Identifiable Information.
In addition, Users may want to consider if it is important to report the
crime to local law enforcement agencies and to the Federal Trade Commission
(FTC). To speak with a trained FTC telephone counselor, call toll-free
1-877-IDTheft (1-877-438-4338). Or, to enter information about any complaint
into a secure FTC online database, sign onto www.consumer.gov/idtheft. The site also provides links to
numerous consumer education materials.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding BNA data protection
practices, please send an e-mail message to BNA's Web site administrator at webmaster@bna.com.
8. Definitions. For all purposes of this Privacy Policy, the terms
used throughout this Privacy Policy shall have the meanings set forth below:
- “Customer Information” means any information about a Customer,
its employees, contractors, suppliers, licensors, agents, distributors, and
others who have any business or personal relationship with such Customer, that
(i) BNA has an obligation to keep confidential or use for limited purposes or
(ii) BNA has any legal obligation to keep confidential or use for limited
purposes, including under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, the Health Insurance
Portability and Accountability Act, any laws regarding invasion of privacy, or
other privacy laws. “Customer Information” does not include publicly available
information.
- “License Agreement” means the License Agreement, as it may be
amended from time, which can be found at http://www.bna.com/corp/license.htm.
For all purposes, all references to the License Agreement include the Privacy
Policy, the Copyright Guidelines, and any applicable Order Form.
- “Non-Identifying Information” means information that, taken
alone, cannot be used to identify or locate a Person, including, without
limitation, age or date of birth, gender, occupation, education, ZIP code with
no address, interests, hobbies, types of hardware or Software used by a Person,
income. “Non-Identifying Information” refers to this type of information,
regardless of whether such information is collected along with, or is linked to,
Personally Identifiable Information.
- “Personally Identifiable Information” means information that
can be used to identify or locate a Person, including, but not limited to,
e-mail address, name, street address, phone number, fax number, credit card
number, Social Security number, and tax identification number.
- “Privacy Policy” means this “Privacy Policy” as it may be
amended from time to time, which can be found at http://www.bna.com/corp/privacy.htm.
- The terms “we,” “us,” and other similar terms shall be deemed
to refer to BNA, as appropriate.
- The terms “you,” “your,” and other similar terms shall be
deemed to refer to Customer and all individual Users, as appropriate.
Revised June 2006