Protecting your privacy is important to us. Please take a few moments to review this Policy.
Introduction
This is a website of the Committee of Publication Ethics, which is a UK based unincorporated association. We take privacy issues seriously and are committed to protecting your personal information.
This privacy policy explains what information has been collected about you, how personal information is being used, to whom personal information is being disclosed and how this personal information is stored and protected. This privacy policy has been developed in accordance with our legal obligations and may be updated from time to time.
If you have any queries concerning your personal information or any questions on our use of the information, please contact us.
The information we collect and how we use it:
1.1 What information is being collected and how is it used?
When you apply to become a COPE member, we collect information indicated on the application form and collected so to process your application and so we can fulfil our obligations to you. We then use this information to hold your customer details and generally fulfil our obligations to you. We will then contact you by email, fax, post and telephone in relation to your membership. Journal names of publishers who subscribe to COPE, are displayed on our website.
1.2. What else do we collect when you use our website?
Each time you use the internet, an IP address is assigned to your computer via the internet service provider. This number may either be the same or different each time. Each time your computer requests information from our website, we log your IP address on our server. We may use this in order to gather information about the website traffic and usage.
Whether you are a registered user or not, our web server collects certain information such as (a) IP address; (b) host names (c) domain name (d) time and date information as requested (e) the browser version and platform when it is requested, (f) a record of which pages have been requested, but we do not identify any individual from this data.
1.3 What else do we use personal information for?
Other than for fulfilling our obligations to you (where these exist), on some occasions we use the information provided to produce aggregate statistics in relation to pages being accessed. We may also use it to monitor usage patterns on the website in order to improve navigation and design features to help you get information more easily. This information is collected to provided to us as daily logged files. In order to help us develop the website and our services, we may provide such aggregate information to third parties. The statistics however will not include any information that can be used to identify any individual.
2. To whom will personal information be disclosed?
We will not disclose your personal data to any third party other than our contractors who must keep this date secure and confidential. Corporate location information however may be shared.
3. How long do we keep the information we collect?
We keep your personal information for as long as necessary to fulfil our obligations to you and protect our legal interests. This will never be longer than six years from the end of your subscription period.
4. Can you change information we hold about you?
Where you have provided us with an email address or any information which becomes outdated, you should inform us by using the contact form on the website.
5. How is personal information stored and protected?
Your personal data is stored by us in electronic and paper-based form. Website usage information is stored electronically
Security
The information we collect about site visitors the site, is stored in secure environments and we do not share any data that identifies any individual, to any other individual or party. We have mechanisms in place to protect data. One such mechanism is called a "firewall". A firewall is a barrier that allows only authorised traffic through. It safeguards our computer systems and your information. We also use system and application logs to track all access. We review these logs periodically and investigate any anomalies or discrepancies.
We understand that the security of your information is important to you. We also understand that our continued success, relies on our ability to communicate with you in a secure manner. We adhere to the highest standards of decency, fairness, and integrity in our operations. We use several measures to authenticate your identity when you visit our site. We also take steps to protect your information as it travels the internet, and to make sure all information is as secure as possible against unauthorised access and use (for example, by hackers). We review our security measures regularly.
Despite our best efforts, and the best efforts of other firms, "perfect security" does not exist on the internet, or anywhere else. As a result, whilst we strive to protect your personal information, we cannot warrant the security of the information you transmit to us online. You therefore do so at your own risk.
Once we receive your transmission, we make our best efforts to ensure its security on our system.
Any email between you and COPE is not encrypted. It will be stored securely within our corporate firewall (see above).
Cookies
We do not use Cookies on our website. More information about Cookies can be found at www.AboutCookies.org.
Contact Us
If you have any concerns or queries about the information we hold about you or wish to provide feedback about this site, please contact us
Linking to external sites
You will encounter links to other sites that are not those which we control. Please be aware that once you click to one of these sites, you are subject to that site’s privacy policy and not to ours. You may wish to review the privacy policy for each site you visit.
Your Consent
By using this website you consent to the use of any data we collect as set out in this policy. You should review this privacy policy regularly, to note any changes relating to how we collect and use your information.