PRIVACY POLICY
Effective Date: October 21, 2007
This is the Privacy Policy effective as of October 21, 2007, for the Web site
http://www.Equistone.com,
operated by Equistone Partners, Inc.,
the legal owner of the site and its affiliated
companies (referred to as "Equistone Partners",
"we", "us" or "our"). This privacy
statement discloses what information we gather, how we use it, and the use and disclosure of certain information relating to your use of
the site. Your use of this site signifies your understanding about how we collect your information as well as your acceptance
of the terms of our Privacy Policy.
This Privacy Policy
is incorporated into, and part of, the terms and conditions located at http://www.Equistone.com/Public/TermsOfUse.aspx, which govern your use of the site in general.
Your privacy
We at Equistone Partners recognize the importance
of protecting your privacy. Our
Privacy Policy is created to assist you in understanding
how we collect, use and safeguard the personal information you provide to us and to aid you in making informed decisions when using the site. Our Privacy
Policy will be continuously evaluated
against new technologies, business practices
and our clients' needs. This
Privacy Policy may evolve as we update and diversify our products and services.
We will aim to post updates before they become effective.
If we make any material changes to this Privacy Policy, we will notify you here,
by email or by means of a notice on our site's home page.
If you have questions regarding
our Privacy Policy or wish to exclude your personal information
from our direct marketing, please feel free to contact us at michael.harrison@equistone.com
or by sending your
questions, by mail, to: Director of Web Marketing, Equistone Partners, Inc., 160 Franklin Street, Suite 200A, Jack London Square - Oakland, CA 94607.
Please note: by using or registering with our site or by providing personal information, you agree to the terms of our
Privacy Policy.
What types of information do we collect?
We have several areas
where you can submit information to us, and we also have features that automatically
collect information from you, the user of our site. References to "personal and
account information" contained in this Privacy Policy denote your name, company name,
account number, address, telephone number, e-mail address, subscription details
( i.e., particular types of markets or property types on which you request information),
and any other information that personally identifies you or would permit us to contact
you.
How do we collect information from you?
Registration: When you visit
or conduct business on our Web site, we may request that you voluntarily supply
us with personal information. When you provide us with your information, we will let
you know how we may use it. If you desire that we not use this information as a basis for further
contact (by accessing our opt-out procedure described below), we will respect
your wishes. We may also offer options for you to sign up for our newsletters.
During the registration process, you must provide us with a member name and password,
your name, address and phone number and a valid email address. It is your
responsibility to keep your password confidential.
Communications from us; newsletters and promotional offers: In order to keep
our users informed about our latest news, products and services, we may send e-mails
and announcements to your personal email address that you provided to us while registering
on our site. If you elected to opt–in to any of our email lists and later
decide that you no longer wish to receive newsletters or promotional e-mail from
us, you may unsubscribe from such list by following the instructions contained in every email we send you to unsubscribe from such e-mail list. [Note:
User opt-in registration procedures should clearly provide notice to the user that
he or she is signing up to receive both newsletters and promotional e-mails or, alternatively,
the company should provide a signup option for just newsletters or newsletters
and promotional e-mails.]
You are always
free to contact us with any issues related to your use of the site.
Our standard business practice is to retain any communications from our site visitors
to help us to serve each of you better.
Links: When using our site, you may click through certain links or promotions that will enable you to
purchase products or use services provided by our partners. Some of these
partners may share certain information that you provide to them with us. By
clicking on a link or promotion on our site, you agree to allow us
to receive and use any information (except for credit card information) that you
may provide to our partners, under the same terms and conditions as though you provided
your information directly to us. We are not, however, responsible for any
other Web site, or their respective Privacy Policy or how they treat information
about their users. Accordingly, we recommend that
you review their privacy and information collection policies before providing any
information to such third-parties.
Cookies: We use what are
commonly called cookies when you use our site. We use these cookies to identify
you as a valid user, to ensure that no one else can sign on simultaneously with
your account from another computer and to help us serve you better based on your
registration preferences. We may also use cookies to help us facilitate any
promotions or surveys that we provide.
Performance tracking: We use cookies and other performance tracking devices
like web beacons within the promotional
emails that we send to our subscribers or advertisements for our site. These
performance tracking devices help us to track whether an e-mail recipient has completed
an event, such as signing up for a free trial, and ultimately follow the success of our marketing campaigns. Such information
is non-personally identifying and collected on an aggregate level. We sometimes
utilize third party service providers to help us track the activity within our site.
These third parties may use temporary cookies and/or web beaconing technology to
facilitate such tracking but the data would not be tracked in a personally identifiable
way. Third parties whose products or services are accessible on our site may
also use cookies, and we advise you to check their privacy policies for information
about their cookies and other privacy practices.
Third Party Usage: You may also
separately share your information with other Web sites or entities, such as those
that create professional marketing lists, to receive special offers and promotions
from their affiliates. These Web sites or entities may agree to share your
information with us. Whether or not any third party actually shares your information
with us and to what extent they do share your information with us will depend on
their agreement with us and their respective privacy policies. Equistone Partners is not responsible for, and will assume no liability if a partner or other Web site
or entity collects, uses or shares any information about you in violation of its
own Privacy Policy or applicable law.
Marketing Data: We may purchase
marketing data from third parties and add it to our existing user database to better
target our advertising and help us
create a better experience for users of our Web site. We may also associate this marketing data to the personally
identifiable information that you provide to us.
How do we protect your information?
Equistone Partners endeavors to protect the security of your personal information and your choices
for its intended use. We use Secure Socket Layers or SSL technology to protect the
transmission of sensitive personal information such as your credit card number.
We store your personal information on a secure server and take
appropriate measures to ensure that the information disclosed to us is kept secure,
accurate and up to date and kept only for so long as is necessary for the purposes
for which it is used.
Although we will take
(and require our third-party providers to take) commercially reasonable security
precautions regarding your personal information collected from and stored on the
site, due to the open nature of the Internet, we cannot guarantee that any of your
personal information stored on our servers, or transmitted to or from a user, will
be free from unauthorized access, and we disclaim any liability for any theft or
loss of, unauthorized access or damage to, or interception of any data or communications.
By using the site, you acknowledge that you understand and agree to assume these
risks.
When and with whom we may share your information
Vendors: We may share
your personal information with companies acting as our authorized agents in providing
our service (e.g., credit card processing, customer/support services) to you, all
of which agree to use it only for such specified purposes. Each vendor must
agree to implement and maintain reasonable security procedures and practices appropriate
to the nature of your information in order to protect your personal information
from unauthorized access, destruction, use, modification or disclosure. Because
we operate globally, we may transfer your information to countries or jurisdictions
that do not provide the same level of data protection as the country in which you
are based. If we make such a transfer, we or our vendors, will, as applicable,
provide for the proper safeguards required by applicable law to ensure that your
information is protected.
Legally affiliated entities: In the event that Equistone Partners is merged, or in the event of a transfer of
our assets, site or operations, Equistone Partners
may disclose or transfer your
personal information in connection with such transaction. In the event of
such a transfer, Equistone Partners will notify you via email or by posting a prominent
notice on our site for 30 days of any such change in ownership of Equistone Partners resulting in a change of control of your personal information.
Legally compelled disclosure: We will also disclose your personal information when required to do so by law, for
example, in response to a court order or a subpoena or other legal obligation, in
response to a law enforcement agency's request, or in special cases when we have
reason to believe that disclosing your personal information is necessary to identify,
contact or bring legal action against someone who may be causing injury to or interference
with (whether intentionally or unintentionally) our rights or property.
Bankruptcy: You should also
be aware that courts of equity, such as U.S. Bankruptcy Courts, may have the authority
under certain circumstances to permit your personal information to be shared or
transferred to third parties without your permission.
Consent to processing: By providing
any personal information to us, you fully understand and unambiguously consent to
the transfer of such personal information to, and the collection and processing
of such personal information in, the United States and other countries or territories.
Your personal information will be stored and processed on our computers in the United States. The laws on holding personal information in the
United States may vary and
be less stringent than laws of your state or country. We will use commercially
reasonable efforts to hold and transmit your personal information in a safe, confidential
and secure environment. If you object to your personal information being transferred
or used in this manner please do not register with or use the site.
Alteration of your choices and preferences
Opt-out right: If you would
like to opt out of any of our marketing programs, or wish to withdraw your consent
to us contacting you via your e-mail, fax or phone number, or if your personal details
change, please contact us through one of the following: (i) by telephone, at 510-868-8555
and ask for our Director of Web Marketing; (ii) by facsimile, at 866-303-2843; (iii) by e-mail,
by following the opt-out instruction contained in the body of any marketing e-mail from us or
by sending us an e-mail to michael.harrison@equistone.com by including a copy
of the e-mail you have received and by typing "Remove" in the subject line of your
e-mail; or (iv) by mail, care of Director of Web Marketing, Equistone Partners, Inc., 160 Franklin Street, Suite 200A, Jack London Square - Oakland, CA 94607.
Your election not
to receive newsletters or promotional and marketing correspondence from us will
not: (a) preclude us from corresponding with you, by email or otherwise, regarding
your existing or past relationship with us, and (b) preclude us, including our employees,
contractors, agents and other representatives, from accessing and viewing your personal
information in the course of maintaining and improving the site.
Your acceptance of this Privacy Policy: By using this site, you signify your acceptance of our Privacy Policy. If
you do not agree to this Privacy Policy, please do not use our site. We reserve
the right, at our discretion, to change, modify, add, or remove portions from this
Privacy Policy at any time. Your continued use of our site following the posting of changes
to these terms means you accept those changes.
2007 Equistone Partners, Inc.