Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy for WCS Websites

This Privacy Policy describes, in general, the practices related to the online collection and use of personal information utilized by the websites operated by the Western Coatings Societies (“WCS”) and its chapters at which this Privacy Policy is posted (the “Sites”). However, some Sites may include features that do not appear on other Sites, and you should see the applicable terms of each Site for the specific policies for each Site. This Policy applies only to the Sites and not to any third party websites that may be accessible from any Site. This Policy does not describe WCS’s offline personal information collection and use practices, or the practices it employs when collecting personal information online through means other than these Sites (for example, if you send us an e-mail message).

Please be sure to read this Privacy Policy before using any Site or submitting information through a Site. This Privacy Policy is current as of 11/1/2013 but may change from time to time, so please check this area periodically for updates. If we make any substantive changes to this Policy, we will announce it on our Sites and, if you have provided us with contact information, we will also send you a notice to the e-mail or physical address we have on file for you. Once the changes have been made, your continued use of any of the Sites will constitute your acceptance of the revised Policy. If you have questions or concerns regarding our Privacy Policy, we may be reached at the WCS.

This Privacy Policy refers to the WCS Terms and Conditions of Use

What information does WCS collect and how is it used?

Our Sites actively collect information volunteered by our users in several areas, including for magazine subscription pages, trade show registrations, bookstore transactions, newsletter sign up pages, website registrations and online surveys. The information we request for you to participate in these features may include personally identifiable information (that is, information that can be uniquely identified with you) such as your name, address, telephone and fax numbers, and e-mail address, as well as “demographic” information such as the type of business you work for, your job responsibilities and certain information about your company. We will tell you at the time we collect information whether the information requested is necessary for you to participate in a particular feature.

The information we collect is used to respond to your specific requests, to send you periodic information and special offers from WCS and our sponsors, to provide you with updates on WCS offerings and features, to provide you with product information from manufacturers in our database, to provide notice of changes to our Terms and Conditions of Use and Privacy Policy, and to provide our sponsors and business partners with data about our users. The information you provide is also used to understand users’ interests and behavior, and may be combined and analyzed with information WCS may have from other online or offline sources for marketing or other purposes.

As you navigate through a website, certain information can be passively collected (that is, gathered without you actively providing the information) using various technologies and means. Like most website operators, WCS uses cookies, web beacons, log files and other electronic information collection mechanisms to track IP addresses and gather certain information from website users. IP addresses are collected for system administration purposes and for studying how people use our Sites and how we can improve them. When you use a Site, we may record information about your usage of the Site, such as by using the Site’s groups, forums or blogs and/or uploading images or photos. If you are logged into a Site, we may associate the login information with your account information. In order to ensure the quality of our Sites’ services to you, we may place a tag (also called a web beacon) in HTML-based customer support e-mails to or other communications with you in order to confirm delivery. WCS uses cookies to identify registered Site users and to automatically give them access to “member only” content areas such as articles and reports, and to provide them with access to previously-stored information. WCS also uses cookies to estimate our audience size and usage patterns and to track the aggregate number of customer returns at our Sites. Finally, WCS uses cookies to help simplify the process of filling out certain forms on our Sites that allow you to request information from manufactures in our catalog and/or our advertisers. You can choose whether or not you accept cookies by changing the settings of your browser. However, certain parts of our Sites may not work if you turn off cookies on your browser.

With whom does WCS share your information?

WCS shares your information with its affiliates and business partners, including agents such as third-party mail processing facilities. We may employ contractors to help with our operations. Some or all of these contractors may access the databases of user information. These contractors are and will be subject to confidentiality agreements that restrict their use and disclosure of all information they obtain through their relationship with WCS. In limited circumstances, WCS may also share information about its subscribers with third parties in whose products or services WCS believes you may be interested. We may sell, rent, license, trade or otherwise disclose your personal information, including but not limited to your mailing address, phone number and other registration information, to third parties for marketing, merchandising or other purposes, and you should presume that your personally identifiable information may thus be subject to future transactions. When sharing your information with third parties, WCS endeavors to oblige the third parties, via limited use or nondisclosure obligations, to follow practices substantially similar to those of WCS with respect to such information. WCS will also share your information if required by law to do so, to comply with applicable laws or valid legal process, or to protect the rights or property of WCS. Additionally, if part or some of our assets are purchased by a third party, WCS will share your information with the purchaser of all or part of our assets.

If you use our “tell a friend” service to e-mail one of our articles, reports or product descriptions to a friend or colleague, WCS will automatically send this person a one-time e-mail, attaching to the e-mail the content you wished for your friend to receive. Your e-mail address will appear on the “From” line of this e-mail, thereby disclosing this information to whoever opens and reads the e-mail.

WCS may provide users with the opportunity to request additional information from product manufacturers in our online directory or from our advertisers. If you specifically request information from a manufacturer or from one of our advertisers, your contact information will be given to that manufacturer or advertiser, to allow them to decide the best way to fulfill your request.

Some of our advertisers may display ads on the Sites that solicit, or contain technology to collect, information about our users. This information is collected and used by our advertisers, and is outside of our control. If you have any questions about an advertisement, you should contact the responsible advertiser directly.

What options do you have about how WCS uses or shares your information?

If you no longer wish for us to share your mailing address or other contact information with our sponsors or other third parties, please send us an e-mail at donotdisclose@hanleywood.com. For us to be able to locate your record, your e-mail must include your name, mailing address, e-mail address, and must identify the WCS product, event, or service for which you are registered. We will endeavor to process your request within 10 days, and thereafter we will no longer share your contact information with third parties. Please note that we will not be able to stop third parties from sending you information about their products or services if your information was shared with them before we received your request.

Regarding e-mail specifically, you have the opportunity to elect to stop receiving advertising messages from WCS about our products or services each time you receive such a communication from us. To unsubscribe from such advertising e-mail messages, please follow the directions included in that e-mail message. We will endeavor to process your request within 10 days. Please note that during that time, you may continue to receive e-mail messages from WCS about its products or services. Additionally, regardless of whether you have unsubscribed from receiving advertising and promotional material from WCS, you will continue to receive transactional information from us, such as information relating to your account or payment or bill information.

If you receive broadcast e-mail messages that we may send about third party manufacturers in whose products or services we believe you may be interested, and no longer wish to receive such messages, you can do so by following the directions included in the e-mail message you receive.

If you have further questions regarding your options with respect to your account information, please contact us at the e-mail or mailing address included at the beginning of this Privacy Policy.

What kind of security measures does WCS use?

We have put in place physical, electronic, and managerial procedures to attempt to safeguard and help prevent unauthorized access, maintain data security, and correctly use the information we collect online. However, please remember that no transmission of data over the Internet or any wireless network can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. As a result, while we strive to protect your personal information, we cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information that you transmit to us or from us, and you do so at your own risk. Once we receive your transmission, we use our best efforts to ensure its security on our systems. WCS, however, will have no liability for disclosure of information obtained due to errors in transmissions or the unauthorized intervention of third parties.

Passwords may be used by a Site to protect your personal data. We recommend that you do not share your passwords with anyone, and notify us promptly if you believe your password security has been breached. WCS will never ask you for your password in an unsolicited phone call or in an unsolicited e-mail. Also, if you are using a computer that others have access to, such as one in a computer lab, Internet cafe or public library, always remember to log out and close your browser window when leaving any of our Sites. In addition, any personally identifiable information or sensitive data that you disclose through any discussion boards or other public online forums hosted on the Sites may be collected and used by others. We recommend caution when giving out personal information to others in these public online forums. When you provide information on these forums, you do so at your own risk. The information you share may be viewed by any other user of the Sites.

What is WCS’s position on children under 13 visiting the Sites?

These Sites are not intended for children under the age of 13. We will not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from Site visitors in this age group. We encourage parents to talk to their children about their use of the Internet and the information they disclose online. If a child has provided us with personally identifiable information, a parent or guardian of that child may contact us via e-mail at the above e-mail address if they would like this information deleted from our records. We will use reasonable efforts to delete the child’s information from our databases.

Links to non-WCS Websites

Many of our Sites contain links to websites owned and operated by unaffiliated third parties. These links are provided as a service to you, and do not constitute WCS’s endorsement or support of the third party websites. The third parties who operate these sites have their own information collection and use practices, and WCS is not responsible for either the privacy practices or the content of these sites. When you follow a link and leave a Site, you do so at your own risk. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of each third party site before providing your personal information, and to contact the providers directly if you have any questions about their privacy policies.

Social Media Sites

A Site may contain links to third party social media sites, such as Ning, Facebook, Twitter or YouTube. The operators of such social media sites may collect personal information and use and disclose such information in accordance with their own privacy policies. For each such site, you should check with the site operator regarding its policies regarding the collection, use and disclosure of personal information.

International Users

The Sites are hosted in the United States. If you use the Sites from any region with laws governing data collection and use that may differ from U.S. law, such as the European Union, please note that you are transferring your personal information to the United States. The United States does not have the same data protection laws as the European Union and other regions. By providing personal Information under this Privacy Policy, you consent to the use of personal Information in accordance with this Privacy Policy and the transfer of your personal Information to the United States.