Introduction

Our Privacy Policy covers types of information National Inventors Hall of Fame (“we,” “our,” or “us”) may collect from you or that you may provide when you visit https://www.invent.org (our “Website”) and our practices for collecting, using, maintaining, protecting, and disclosing that information.

Please read this policy carefully to understand our policies and practices regarding your information and how we will treat it. If you do not agree with our policies and practices, your choice is not to use our Website. By accessing or using our Website, you agree to our Privacy Policy. This policy may change from time to time (see Changes to Our Privacy Policy). Your continued use of our Website after we make changes is deemed to be acceptance of those changes, so please check the policy periodically for updates.

Children Under the Age of 13

The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 and its rules (collectively, “COPPA”) require us to inform parents and legal guardians (as used in this section, “parents”) about our practices for collecting, using, and disclosing personal information from children under the age of 13 (“children”). It also requires us to obtain verifiable consent from a child’s parent for certain collection, use, and disclosure of the child’s personal information. 

This section notifies parents of:

• The types of information we may collect from children.
• How we use the information we collect.
• Our practices for disclosing that information.
• Our practices for notifying and obtaining parents’ consent when we collect personal information from children, including how a parent may revoke consent.
• All operators that collect or maintain information from children through this Website.

This section only applies to children under the age of 13 and supplements the other provisions of this Privacy Policy. Only the other provisions of this Privacy Policy apply to teens and adults.

Information We Collect from Children

Children can access many parts of our Website and its content and use many of its features without providing us with Personal Information. However, some content and features permit children to submit their Personal Information or require us to collect certain information, including Personal Information, from them. In addition, we use certain technologies, such as cookies, to automatically collect information from our users (including children) when they visit or use our Website.

We only collect as much information about a child as is reasonably necessary for the child to participate in an activity, and we do not condition his or her participation on the disclosure of more Personal Information than is reasonably necessary. 

Information We Collect Directly 

We enable visitors to communicate with others on or through our Website through chat, email, video comments, and comments to our other social media posts (“Social Features”). The nature of these features allows children to disclose Personal Information about themselves. We do not monitor or review this content before it is posted, and we do not control the actions of third parties with whom your child shares his or her information. We encourage parents to educate their children about safe internet use and to monitor their children’s use of our Social Features.

We also provide web forms on our Website through which children could submit information, including their Personal Information.

Indirect Collection of Personal Information from Children

We use technology to automatically collect information from our users, including children, when they access and navigate through the Website and use certain of its features. The information we collect through these technologies may include one or more persistent identifiers that can be used to recognize a user over time and across different websites and online services.

We may combine non-personal information we collect through these technologies with personal information about you or your child that we collect online. 

For information about our automatic information collection practices, including how you can opt out of certain information collection, see the “Indirect Collection of Personal Information” and “Your Personal Information Rights” sections of this Privacy Policy. 

How We Use Your Child’s Information

We use the personal information we collect from your child to: 

• communicate with him or her about activities or features of the Website that may be of interest;
• track his or her performance in games or other activities; and
• to select winners for sweepstakes.

We use the information we collect automatically through technology (see Indirect Collection of Personal Information) and other non-personal information we collect to improve our Website and to deliver a better and more personalized experience by enabling us to:

• Estimate our audience size and usage patterns;
• Store information about the child’s preferences, allowing us to customize the content according to individual interests; and
• Speed up your child’s searches.

Our Practices for Disclosing Children’s Information

We do not share, sell, rent, or transfer children’s Personal Information other than as described in this section.

We may disclose aggregated information about many of our users, and information that does not identify any individual or device. In addition, we may disclose children’s Personal Information:

• To third parties we use to support the internal operations of our Website and who are bound by contractual or other obligations to use the information only for such purpose and to keep the information confidential.
• If we are required to do so by law or legal process, such as to comply with any court order or subpoena or to respond to any government or regulatory request.
• If we believe disclosure is necessary or appropriate to protect the rights, property, or safety of National Inventors Hall of Fame, our customers or others, including to:
  • protect the safety of a child;
  • protect the safety and security of the Website; or
  • enable us to take precautions against liability.
• To law enforcement agencies or for an investigation related to public safety.
• To evaluate or conduct a merger, divestiture, restructuring, reorganization, dissolution, or other sale or transfer of some or all of our assets, whether as a going concern or as part of bankruptcy, liquidation, or similar proceeding, in which Personal Information held by us about our Website users or consumers is among the assets transferred.

Social Features

Our Website offers social features, including instant messaging, email, and the ability to comment on videos and other types of social media posts we make available, that enable children to communicate with others through our Website. We do not control the types of information your child can send or post. We encourage parents to educate their children about safety online and to carefully monitor their children’s use of social features to ensure they do not disclose their personal information through them. 

Accessing and Correcting Your Child’s Personal Information

At any time, you may review the child’s personal information maintained by us, require us to correct or delete the personal information, and/or refuse to permit us from further collecting or using the child’s information. 

You can review, change, or delete your child’s personal information by sending us an email at [email protected]. To protect your privacy and security, we may require you to take certain steps or provide additional information to verify your identity before we provide any information or make corrections.

Operators That Collect or Maintain Information from Children

The following are all operators that may collect or maintain personal information from children through our Website/App/Service:

Please direct inquiries about any third-party operator’s privacy practices and use of children’s information to the individual operator using the contact information provided above.

Information We Collect

We collect information that identifies, relates to, describes, references, is reasonably capable of being associated with, or could reasonably be linked, directly or indirectly, with a particular consumer, household, or device (“Personal Information”). Personal Information does not include:

• Publicly available information from government records.
• Deidentified or aggregated consumer information.

How We Collect Your Personal Information

Direct Collection of Personal Information

The information we collect on or through our Website or directly from you through other means may include:

• Information that you provide by filling in forms on our Website.
• Records and copies of your correspondence (including email address) if you contact us.
• Your search queries on the Website.
• Information submitted when you report a problem with our Website.
• Information submitted when you request further services.
• Your responses to surveys that we might ask you to complete.
• Information required to enter a contest or promotion sponsored by us.
• Information used to create your user account.
• Information used to subscribe to one or more of our services.
• Details of transactions you carry out through our Website and of the fulfillment of your orders. You may be required to provide financial information before placing an order through our Website.
• Information provided while using any other interactive features of our Website.

You also may provide information to be published or displayed (hereinafter, “posted”) on public areas of the Website, or transmitted to other users of the Website or third parties (collectively, “User Contributions”). Your User Contributions are posted on and transmitted to others at your own risk. Although we may limit access to certain pages, or may permit you set certain privacy settings for such information, please be aware that no security measures are perfect or impenetrable. Additionally, we cannot control the actions of other users of the Website with whom you may choose to share your User Contributions. Therefore, we cannot and do not guarantee that your User Contributions will not be viewed by unauthorized persons.

Indirect Collection of Personal Information

As you navigate through and interact with our Website, we may use automatic data collection technologies to collect certain information about your equipment, location, browsing actions, and patterns, including:

• Details of your visits to our Website, including traffic data, logs, location data, other communication data and the resources that you access and use on the Website.
• Information about your computer and internet connection, including your IP address, operating system, and browser type.

The information we collect automatically may include Personal Information, or we may maintain it or associate it with Personal Information we collect in other ways or receive from third parties. It helps us to improve our Website and to deliver a better and more personalized service, including by enabling us to:

• Store information about your preferences, allowing us to customize our Website according to your individual interests.
• Recognize you when you return to our Website.
• Speed up your searches.
• Serve you relevant location-specific content or advertising.
• Estimate our audience size and usage patterns.

Cookies

We may collect information automatically using cookies (or browser cookies). A cookie is a small file placed on the hard drive of your computer. You may refuse to accept browser cookies by activating the appropriate setting on your browser. However, if you select this setting, you may be unable to access certain parts of our Website. Unless you have adjusted your browser setting so that it will refuse cookies, our system will issue cookies when you direct your browser to our Website. For further information, visit https://allaboutcookies.org.

Web Beacons and Tracking Pixels

Pages of our Website and our emails may contain small electronic files known as web beacons (also referred to as clear gifs, pixel tags, and single-pixel gifs) that permit us, for example, to count users who have visited those pages or opened an email and for other related website statistics (for example, recording the popularity of certain website content and verifying system and server integrity).

Behavioral Tracking 

We also may use these technologies to collect information about your online activities over time and across third-party websites or other online services (“behavioral tracking”). Email us at [email protected] for information on how you can opt out of behavioral tracking on our website and how we respond to web browser signals and other mechanisms that enable consumers to exercise choice about behavioral tracking.

Third-Party Use of Cookies and Other Tracking Technologies

Some content or applications, including advertisements, on the Website are served by third parties, including advertisers, ad networks and servers, content providers, and application providers. These third parties may use cookies alone or in conjunction with web beacons, location, or other tracking technologies to collect information about you when you use our website. The information they collect may be associated with your Personal Information or they may collect information, including Personal Information, about your online activities over time and across different websites and other online services. They may use this information to provide you with interest-based (behavioral) advertising or other targeted content.

We do not control these third parties’ tracking technologies or how they may be used. If you have any questions about an advertisement or other targeted content, you should contact the responsible provider directly.

How We Use Your Personal Information

We use information that we collect about you or that you provide to us, including any Personal Information:

• To present our Website and its contents to you.
• To provide you with information, products, or services that you request from us.
• To fulfill or meet the reason you provided the information. For example, if you share your name and contact information to request a price quote or ask a question about our products or services, we will use that Personal Information to respond to your inquiry. If you provide your Personal Information to purchase a product or service, we will use that information to process your payment and facilitate delivery. We may also save your information to facilitate new product orders or process returns.
• To carry out our obligations and enforce our rights arising from any contracts entered into between you and us, including for billing and collection.
• In order to process any orders for products or services, we may send your data to, and also use the resulting information from, credit reporting agencies to prevent fraudulent purchases.
• To fulfill any other purpose for which you provide it.
• To notify you about changes to our Website or any products or services we offer or provide though it.
• To evaluate or conduct a merger, divestiture, restructuring, reorganization, dissolution, or other sale or transfer of some or all of our assets, whether as a going concern or as part of bankruptcy, liquidation, or similar proceeding, in which Personal Information held by us about our Website users or consumers is among the assets transferred.
• To respond to law enforcement requests and as required by applicable law, court order, or governmental regulations.
• As described to you when collecting your Personal Information.
• To allow you to participate in interactive features on our Website.
• For any other purpose with your consent.

We may also use your information to contact you about our own and third parties’ goods and services that may be of interest to you. If you have agreed to receive marketing, you may always opt out at a later date. If you no longer wish to be contacted for marketing purposes, please contact us at [email protected]. For more information, see Your Personal Information Rights.

Who We Share Your Personal Information With

We do not sell your Personal Information to third parties. However, we may share your Personal Information by disclosing it to a third party for business purposes.

We may also share your Personal Information:

• To fulfill the purpose for which you provide it.
• For any other purpose disclosed by us when you provide the information.
• With your consent.
• To comply with any court order, law, or legal process, including to respond to any government or regulatory request.
• To evaluate or conduct a merger, divestiture, restructuring, reorganization, dissolution, or other sale or transfer of some or all of our assets, whether as a going concern or as part of bankruptcy, liquidation, or similar proceeding, in which Personal Information held by us about our Website users or consumers is among the assets transferred.
• To enforce or apply our terms of use found at https://www.invent.org/web-terms-and-conditions and other agreements, including for billing and collection purposes.
• If we believe disclosure is necessary or appropriate to protect the rights, property, or safety of National Inventors Hall of Fame, our customers, or others. This includes exchanging information with other companies and organizations for the purposes of fraud protection and credit risk reduction.

Data Collection, Use and Sharing for the Prior Twelve Months

During the twelve-month period prior to the last update to this Privacy Policy, we have collected, used, and shared the following information:

Restrictions on Future Collection and Use

We will not collect additional categories of Personal Information or use the Personal Information we collected for materially different, unrelated, or incompatible purposes without providing you notice.

Your Personal Information Rights

Accessing and Correcting Your Information

You can review and change your Personal Information by logging into the Website and visiting your account profile page. You may also send us an email at [email protected] to request access to, correct or delete any Personal Information that you have provided to us. If we cannot delete your Personal Information except by also deleting your user account, you understand that we will delete your user account. We may not accommodate a request to change or delete information if we believe the change would violate any law or legal requirement or cause the information to be incorrect.

If you delete your User Contributions from the Website, copies of your User Contributions may remain viewable in cached and archived pages, or might have been copied or stored by other Website users.

Proper access and use of information provided on the Website, including User Contributions, is governed by our terms of use located at https://www.invent.org/web-terms-and-conditions.

Your State Privacy Rights

In addition to the other rights provided in our Privacy Policy, the following sections describe the additional rights available to residents of certain states.

Colorado and Oregon Residents

This portion of our Privacy Policy applies solely to all visitors, users, and others who reside in Colorado or Oregon. These states provide their state residents with rights to:

• Confirm whether we process their Personal Information.
• Access and delete certain Personal Information.
• Correct inaccuracies in their Personal Information, taking into account the information’s nature and processing purpose.
• Data portability.
• Opt-out of personal data processing for:
  • targeted advertising;
  • sales; or
  • profiling in furtherance of decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects.
• Either limit (opt-out of) or require consent to process sensitive personal data.

The exact scope of these rights may vary by state. To exercise any of these rights, or appeal a decision regarding a consumer rights request, please contact us by emailing us at [email protected].

Nevada

Nevada provides its residents with a limited right to opt-out of certain personal information sales. Residents who wish to exercise this sale opt-out rights may submit a request by emailing us at [email protected].

How We Protect Your Personal Information

We employ physical, procedural, and technological security measures to help protect your information from unauthorized access or disclosure. We may use encryption, passwords, and physical security measures to help protect your information against unauthorized access and disclosure.

The safety and security of your information also depends on you. Where we have given you (or where you have chosen) a password for access to certain parts of our Website, you are responsible for keeping this password confidential. We ask you not to share your password with anyone.

We urge you to be careful about giving out information in public areas of the Website like message boards. The information you share in public areas may be viewed by any user of the Website.

Unfortunately, the transmission of information via the internet is not completely secure. Although we do our best to protect your Personal Information, we cannot guarantee the security of your Personal Information transmitted to our Website. Any transmission of Personal Information is at your own risk. We are not responsible for circumvention of any privacy settings or security measures contained on the Website.

Governing Law

Our Website is controlled and operated by National Inventors Hall of Fame. We provide our Website for use only by persons located in the United States. We make no claims that the Website or any of its content is accessible or appropriate outside of the United States. Access to the Website may not be legal by certain persons or in certain countries. If you access the Website from outside the United States, you do so on your own initiative and are responsible for compliance with local laws. By choosing to visit our Website or provide your personal information to us, you agree that any dispute over privacy or the terms contained in our Privacy Policy will be governed in accordance with the governing dispute resolution and arbitration provisions in our terms of use found at https://www.invent.org/terms-and-conditions.

Changes to Our Privacy Policy

We reserve the right to amend our Privacy Policy at our discretion and at any time. It is our policy to post any changes we make to our Privacy Policy on this page. If we make material changes to how we treat our users’ Personal Information, we will notify you by email to the primary email address specified in your account and through a notice on the Website home page. The date the Privacy Policy was last revised is identified at the top of the page. When we make changes to our Privacy Policy, we will post the updated notice on the Website and update the notice’s effective date. You are responsible for ensuring we have an up-to-date active and deliverable email address for you, and for periodically visiting our Website and our Privacy Policy to check for any changes. Your continued use of our Website following the posting of changes constitutes your acceptance of such changes.

Contact Information

If you have any questions or comments about this notice, the ways in which collects and uses your information described here and in the Privacy Policy, your choices and rights regarding such use, or wish to exercise your rights, please do not hesitate to contact us:

• By emailing us at [email protected]
• By mailing us at National Inventors Hall of Fame, 3701 Highland Park NW, North Canton, Ohio 44720

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