PRIVACY POLICY

Privacy Policy

Effective Date: December 2020

Your privacy is of great importance to the Heart Valve Collaboratory, Inc., 1700 Broadway, 9th Floor, New York, United States of America (“HVC”) and HVC is committed to being responsible custodians of the information you provide and the information HVC collects in the course of operating its business.

HVC takes your personal privacy seriously. This privacy statement (this “Statement”) describes how HVC, as a data controller, may collect, use and share information, particularly in association with the operation of HVC’s website (the “HVC Website”) and when you attend any of HVC’s in-person or virtual events. This Statement applies to all personal data collected by HVC from individuals in the United States, European Union or from countries that have similar data protection laws.

Because HVC wants to demonstrate its commitment to your privacy, HVC shares its information practices with you, including:

  • What personal data is collected from users of the HVC Website.
  • The organization collecting the personal data.
  • How the collected personal data is used.
  • With whom the personal data may be shared.
  • What rights and choices are available to users.
  • The security procedures in place to protect the loss, misuse or alteration of information that is under HVC’s control.

What Personal Data is Collected

HVC collects your personal data when you provide it, for instance by visiting HVC’s Website, when you contact HVC, or by attending HVC’s in-person or virtual events, or by entering into a contract with HVC (e.g., such as when you provide donations or grants to HVC or register for a virtual event). “Personal data” is any information that can be used to identify you or that HVC can link to you, such as your name, e-mail address or IP address. HVC may automatically collect certain information when you use, access, or interact with HVC via the HVC Website, for instance through browser settings or cookies. HVC may also collect information from other sources, such as social media platforms that may share information about how you interact with HVC’s social media content, or if you interact with HVC via its social media accounts.

All personal data you provide to HVC or that HVC (automatically) collects is provided voluntarily. However, without providing certain data, such as your e-mail address, HVC may not be able to respond to your requests.

The HVC Website is generally not directed to children under 16. HVC does not knowingly collect personal data from anyone under 16 without parental consent. If you become aware that HVC has collected personal data from a child under the age of 16 without parental consent, please let HVC know so that it can take appropriate action.

How HVC Uses the Information It Collects

HVC will only process personal data where HVC has a legal basis to do so. For example, HVC may use the information it collects:

  • To enter into a contract with you, or to take steps, at your request, prior to entering into a contract (such as registration for virtual events, processing of grants or donations for which HVC requires your name, e-mail address, city, state, country, zip/postal code,);
  • To respond to your inquiries, to provide you with services that you request, to communicate with third-parties to provide services to you, to maintain business administration records and prevent fraud, which is in HVC’s legitimate interest;
  • For other communications with you. For example, members who elect to join one or more of HVC’s electronic communication distribution lists will occasionally receive communications about features, publications, virtual events, or updates from HVC or in relation to the HVC Website. It is in HVC’s legitimate interest to send these communications. Members who elect to join one or more of HVC’s electronic communication distribution lists and consent to receiving third-party communications may also occasionally receive communications about features, publications, virtual events, or updates sponsored by third-parties that may be of interest to users of HVC Website;
  • To keep records and administration on how virtual events, grants, donations, publications, claims and complaints were handled, including the documents underlying such services, claims and complaints, which is in HVC’s legitimate interest;
  • To understand how people use the HVC Website and services and to operate, maintain and improve the HVC Website and services, which is in HVC’s legitimate interest;
  • To comply with legal obligations applicable to HVC, such as responding to legal process or requests for information issued by government authorities or other third-parties.

How HVC May Share the Information It Collects

HVC and its affiliated entities share information with each other or with third-party service providers/subprocessors (including consultants and attorneys) for HVC’s general business purposes, such as internal administration and providing you or your organization with services. HVC also works with third-party service providers/subprocessors to provide a better experience for you when you visit the HVC Website. To do so, HVCHVC may disclose personal data to these third-party service providers/subprocessors, though HVC does not permit such third-party service providers to re-sell or use your personal data for their own purposes. These third-party service providers/subprocessors may collect and profile your information in order to monitor and analyze the HVC Website’s traffic for the purposes of business intelligence, providing content recommendations, and/or monitor the HVC Website for purposes of developing improvements.

HVC and its affiliated entities may share information with other third-parties (including law enforcement agencies and potential transaction partners, sponsors, supporters, exhibitors and investors) where HVC and its affiliated entities have a legal basis to do so.

During your attendance at a virtual event organized by HVC, if you submit comments, questions, feedback or other information during any of the sessions, you understand that your first and last name will be tied to your submission, both of which will be shared publicly with other participants in that session. You further understand that these sessions (and the information you submit during a session) may be recorded and made available publicly on the HVC Website.

If HVC transfers your personal data to a recipient outside of the European Union, HVC will only do so in compliance with the European Union General Data Protection Regulation. If you have questions about the international transfers of your personal data or the appropriate safeguards HVC has in place or wish to obtain a copy of such safeguards, please contact HVC via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Third-Party Services and Content

The HVC Website may include integrated content or links to content provided by third-parties (such as social media platforms). This Statement does not address the privacy, security or other practices of the third-parties that provide such content. HVC does not endorse, screen or approve, and is not responsible for, the privacy practices or content of such other websites. Visiting these other websites is at your own risk. HVC recommends that you review the privacy policies applicable to third-party websites prior to visiting those websites.

HVC engages third-parties that support the operation of the HVC Website, such as analytics providers. For instance, HVC uses Google Analytics, to analyze the audience of the HVC Website and improve HVC’s content. These third-parties may use various technologies to track your online activities over time and across different websites and online platforms. For further information on the privacy policies concerning Google Analytics, please visit:http://www.google.com/analytics/learn/privacy.html.

Protection and Storage of the Information HVC Collects

HVC deploys administrative, technical and physical safeguards designed to safeguard the information that it collects. However, no safeguards or systems can be 100% secure. This means that HVC cannot guarantee the absolute security of your personal data. Moreover, HVC is not responsible for the security of information you transmit to HVC over networks that HVC does not control, including the internet and wireless networks, or that you submit to third-parties through their websites, services or otherwise.

HVC retains the information it collects in an identifiable form as reasonably necessary and only for as long as required to fulfill the purposes for which HVC collected the information and to comply with HVC’s legal obligations.

Your Choices and Rights

HVC encourages you to contact HVC to update or correct your information if it changes or if you believe that any information that HVC collected about you is inaccurate. If provided for under applicable law, you can also ask HVC to see what personal data HVC has about you, to rectify or erase your personal data or to port your personal data. You may also tell HVC if you object to or want to restrict HVC’s use of your personal data. If you would like to discuss or exercise such rights, please notifyThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. You can also use this address to lodge a complaint. Depending on your location, if you are not satisfied about the manner in which HVC handles your complaint, you may also lodge a complaint with the competent data protection authority.

If HVC processes your personal data on the basis of your consent, you may withdraw your consent at any time by contacting HVC atThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Depending on your location, where HVC processes your personal data on the basis of HVC’s or a third-party’s legitimate interest, you may object to such processing at any time by contacting HVC atThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Changes to This Statement

HVC may update this Statement at any time. The effective date of the current Statement is noted at the beginning of this Statement. HVC encourages you to periodically review this page. If HVC makes changes, HVC will inform you by revising the effective date and, in some cases (for example, if HVC intends to use your information in a way that materially differs from what is described in this Statement), HVC may provide you with an additional notice (such as adding a statement to HVC Website homepages or sending you a notification). Your continued use of the Services following the posting of any changes to this Statement means you consent to such changes.

Use of Cookies

HVC collects certain information by automated means when you visit the HVC Website through the use of cookies. A cookie is a small file of letters and numbers that HVC stores on your browser or the hard drive of your computer. Cookies contain information that is transferred to your computer’s hard drive. Cookies are used to speed up your access to the HVC Website and the information you wish to see, as well as for website analytics, marketing efforts and for functionality.

Cookies are also used to distinguish you from other users of the HVC Website. This helps HVC to provide you with a good experience when you browse the HVC Website and allows HVC to improve them. The HVC Website may also use web beacons (either directly or through HVC’s third-party service providers) along with cookies to understand your browsing and to determine if you have visited a particular site, which aids HVC in providing you with more relevant browsing experience. Web beacons allow HVC to obtain information such as the IP address of the computer that downloaded the page on which the beacon appears, the URL of the page on which the beacon appears, the time the page containing the beacon was viewed, the type of browser used to view the page, and the information in cookies set by the third-party. HVC also collects IP addresses. An IP address is a unique identifier that certain electronic devices used to identify and communicate with each other on the internet. When you visit the HVC Website, HVC may view and/or store the IP address of the device you use to connect to the internet. For a third-party cookie or web beacon, the third-party will have access to the collected information in order to provide HVC with information or services to enhance the performance or functionality of the HVC Website.HVC uses this information to determine the general physical location of the device and understand from what regions of the world visitors to the HVC Website come from. HVC uses the information collected from these technologies to compile reports and help HVC improve the HVC Website.

The Types of Cookies HVC Uses

HVC uses the following types of cookies on the HVC Website:

  • Permanent and Strictly Necessary Cookies. These are cookies that are required for the operation of the HVC Website. They include, for example, cookies that enable you to log into secure areas of the HVC Website. They also remember your login details and password, so you don’t have to type them in every time you use the HVC Website.
  • Analytical/Performance Cookies. These are cookies that allow HVC to recognize and count the number of visitors and to see how visitors move around the HVC Website when using them. These cookies help HVC to improve the way the HVC Website work, for example, by helping users to easily find what they are looking for.
  • Targeting Cookies. These are cookies that are used to profile your interests and habits by recording or monitoring your visits to the HVC Website and providing information such as the browser used to access the HVC Website, date and time, the URL of the webpage being loaded, any previously assigned cookie identification, your geographic location, the pages you have visited, the links you have followed, and the length of time spent viewing such items on the HVC Website. HVC will use this information to make the HVC Website more relevant to your interests.
  • Session Cookies. These are temporary cookies that expire when the browser is closed.

Controlling Cookies

You may control cookie settings in your web browser by refusing to allow the setting of all or some cookies. For detailed guidance on how to control or disable cookies, HVC recommends you visitwww.aboutcookies.org. If you view the HVC Website without changing your cookie settings, you are indicating your consent to receive all cookies from the HVC Website. However, if you change your cookie settings to block cookies, some features and functionality of the HVC Website may not operate as expected.

Diversity and Inclusivity policy

The Heart Valve Collaboratory (HVC) has an inclusiveness policy, affirming that an inclusive group of volunteers, staff, and associated stakeholders in the heart valve community is essential to our mission. Further, the HVC pledges to continue efforts to broaden its membership so that our Collaboratory is representative of the larger community dedicated to preventing, treating, and surviving heart valve disease.