The Epernicus Privacy Policy exists to help you understand how Epernicus collects and uses information that you decide to share. Epernicus was created to make the lives of researchers more efficient and enjoyable. We believe that a central part of this mission is honoring our members' privacy needs, so we are committed to protecting your personal information and communications. The Privacy Policy describes the ways in which we hope to do this. By accessing Epernicus, you agree to the collection and use of your information as described below. As our site develops, we reserve the right to make changes to our Privacy Policy, and we will keep you informed about such changes. Please email us at policies@epernicus.com if you have any questions or comments about the Privacy Policy. We welcome your feedback.
There are two types of information that we collect - information that you choose to enter and information about how you interact with our site. Information that you choose to enter includes personal information such as your name, education history, advisors, and research interests. It also includes content that you may post, messages to other users or groups, and memberships in groups.
We also collect information about how you interact with Epernicus in order to continuously improve the Site's utility and functionality for you. For example, knowing what features you are accessing and how often helps us understand which features are useful to you. Knowing the types of searches that you do and which search results are useful to you, helps us create a search tool that will more efficiently meet your needs. Additionally, we collect information on the web browser, operating system, and IP address from which you are accessing Epernicus. This helps us to ensure that users have flexibility accessing Epernicus from as many technical platforms as possible. Some of the information we obtain from your browser is done via "cookies." Cookies are pieces of data about your usage patterns that are stored on your computer. They enable us to personalize the site and track usage patterns. For example, the option to remember your username and password is made possible by cookies. If you decide that you do not want your browser to accept cookies, you can specify this through your web browser. If you are not sure how to do this, the Help section of your browser can guide you.
Information that you choose to enter in your profile will be accessible to all members of the Epernicus community. In the future, we may create the option of restricting who can see your profile within your networks and contact lists.
In order to improve the site, members of the Epernicus team will have access to information that you enter. All Epernicus team members are required to keep any such information obtained in the execution of their work under strict confidence. This means that information about an Epernicus member will not be communicated to another party in any form without the express consent of the member. In the course of building and improving the site, it may be necessary for us to work with partners (e.g. designers, programmers, business consultants). In all such cases, we will require all partners to comply with this confidentiality policy and/or sign a confidentiality agreement.
Epernicus will not sell your personal contact information (e.g. your email address). Additionally, we will not make your personal contact information available to other Users on the Site. Epernicus may use information that is entered by you to create aggregated data about groups or trends. Such information may be provided to third parties but they would not contain identifying information (i.e. we would not tell them who you are) unless you consent to this. We believe that providing such aggregated information to third parties has a number of potential benefits. It can enable service providers and vendors to better understand the challenges that Epernicus members face and to create effective tools and services that are tailored to members' needs.
There are some situations where Epernicus may be required by law to provide information about users. Such situations include, court orders, subpeonas, and efforts to respond to legal claims. We may also disclose information in circumstances where we suspect our Terms of Use have been violated or that illegal activity or potential threats to the safety of any person are taking place.
Epernicus has created an internal messaging system and discussion forums for the purposes of facilitating communication. The content of the messages and the recipients designated are entirely up to the user. We ask that you take care when deciding what to include in the text of your message and to whom it should be sent. Once messages are sent, we cannot reverse this action. In particular, if communicating about patients, we ask that you observe the guidelines of the 1996 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) which prohibit the transmission of any individually identifiable medical information without PRIOR authorization from the respective patient.
Epernicus is not responsible for the content of messages, for advice given or received, or for any loss of privacy that may occur because of information that is sent through our internal communication tools. Messages and posts also do not reflect the opinions or beliefs of Epernicus. We strongly encourage the use of internal communication tools in a manner consistent with our goal of creating a cooperative, enriching, positive environment. While we respect the privacy of all communication, we ask that you notify us if you become aware of communications that are inappropriate (profanity, threats, harassment, etc.). We are committed to creating a safe and trusting environment in which our members can interact and share.
The above Privacy Policy applies to the Epernicus alpha version and to all subsequent versions. Epernicus reserves the right to revise or update this policy at any time, and if we do so, we will post a new Privacy Policy on the site and/or notify you. Please visit this page periodically if you wish. Feel free to contact us at policies@epernicus.com with any questions or comments.