This Privacy Policy applies only to personally identifiable information collected on the website(s) operated by the BBF on which this Privacy Policy is posted (collectively, “Website”), and does not apply to any other information collected by the BBF offline or through any other means. At this time, the BBF collects only information about Contributors of Materials (as both terms are defined in the BioBrick® Public Agreement).

Registration Information

The BBF never automatically collects any information that specifically identifies Site Users, such as their name, address, or e-mail address. The BBF may collect personally identifiable information from Site Users only when Site Users voluntarily provide it as part of the registration process (“Registration Information”). We always ask Site Users whenever we need Registration Information that identifies Site Users or allows us to contact Site Users.

The BBF may collect and use personally identifiable information from Site Users for purposes other than Website registration, e.g., such as subscribing to a newsletter, participating in polls, surveys, and questionnaires, or receiving technical support.

Consent and Security

It is Your choice whether or not You provide Your Registration Information to the BBF, but Registration Information may be required in order for the BBF to provide You with certain services (the “Services”).

Use of Personal Information

Your personal information, if collected, which means all Registration Information, namely correspondence address, email address, and telephone number (“Personal Information”), may be used internally within the BBF and affiliated organizations for the purpose of processing such information in conformance with our Privacy Policy and for the BBF’s purposes. We require that any affiliated organizations agree to comply with our Privacy Policy. For example, we may use Your Personal Information internally to provide access to You and process Your contributions to projects, to understand who uses the Website, to improve the Website, to provide updates on special events, news, and announcements of interest to our Site Users, and to contact You if the BBF ever has need to do so.

In addition, the BBF reserves the right to disclose Your Personal Information under limited circumstances in the event the BBF believes that the Website is being used to commit unlawful acts; if disclosure of Your Personal Information is required to comply with applicable laws or regulations, or with a court or administrative order, or will help to enforce our Terms of Use; or to protect Your safety or security, including the safety and security of property that belongs to You, or to protect the safety and security of the Website or third parties.

It is possible that we may merge with an existing non-profit organization and/or re-constitute ourselves as a new non-profit organization, and Your Personal Information may be transferred as part of this process. In this case, the Personal Information transferred would be treated in accordance with this Privacy Policy, if it is practicable and permissible to do so.

Usage Information

Non-personally identifying information (“Usage Information”) comprises information that does not identify any particular Site User. Examples include: information about which of the BBF’s pages are visited on an aggregate level, browser type, operating system type, or IP address of a Site User.

The BBF may collect other types of non-personally identifying information, e.g., age, date of birth, gender, fields of interest, or other demographic information.

Use of Usage Information

Your Usage Information may be disclosed internally within the BBF and to third parties working for us. For example, the BBF may disclose Usage Information in order to better understand which parts of the Website Site Users are visiting, to improve the content of the Website, and for research purposes.

Cookies and Log Files

The Website may place a text file called a “cookie” in the browser files of Your computer. Cookies can be used to provide You with tailored information from the Website. The cookie itself does not contain Registration Information. You can set Your browser to notify You when You receive a cookie, giving You the chance to decide whether or not to accept it. The BBF also records information that Your web browser sends whenever You visit any website, such as Your Internet Protocol address.

The Website may use a variety of technical methods for tracking purposes, including web beacons. Web beacons are small pieces of data that are embedded in images on the pages of websites. We may also use these technical methods to analyze the traffic patterns on the Website, such as the frequency with which our Site Users visit various parts of the Website. These technical methods may involve the transmission of information either directly to us or to another party authorized by us to collect information on our behalf. We may collect information from use of these technical methods in a form that is personally identifiable.

Your Choices

You may, of course, decline to submit personally identifiable information through the Website, in which case the BBF may not be able to provide certain Services or features of the Website to You.

To protect Your privacy and security, the BBF may take reasonable steps (such as requesting a unique password) to verify Your identity before granting You profile access or making corrections. You are responsible for maintaining the secrecy of Your unique password and account information at all times.

Under the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) You may request from the BBF access to and rectification or erasure of Your personally identifiable information, data portability, restriction of processing of Your personally identifiable information, and the right to object to processing of Your personally identifiable information. If at any time You decide to exercise your rights under the GDPR or to remove Your personally identifiable information from our database, You may do so by emailing us at contact@biobricks.org  or contacting us via the following mailing address:

BioBricks Foundation
77 Van Ness Ave., Ste 101-1626
San Francisco, CA 94102-6041

Upon such removal, the BBF may not be able to provide certain Services or features of the Website to You and may change the means by which you may establish privacy settings at any time.

Links to Other Sites

This Privacy Policy applies only to the Website(s) operated by the BBF, and not to any other websites to which We may link.

Our Commitment To Data Security

BBF uses reasonable physical, managerial, and technical safeguards to preserve the integrity and security of Your personally identifiable information. We cannot, however, ensure or warrant the security of any information You provide to the BBF and You do so at Your own risk. Once We receive Your transmission of information, the BBF makes reasonable efforts to ensure the security of our systems. However, please note that this is not a guarantee that such information may not be accessed, disclosed, altered, or destroyed by breach of any of our physical, technical, or managerial safeguards.

Our Commitment To Children’s Privacy

Protecting the privacy of young children is especially important. For that reason, the BBF does not knowingly collect or maintain personally identifiable information or non-personally-identifiable information on the Website from persons under 13 years of age, and no part of our website is directed to persons under 13. If You are under 13 years of age, then please do not use or access the Website at any time or in any manner. If the BBF learns that personally identifiable information of persons under 13 years of age has been collected on the Website without verified parental consent, then the BBF will take appropriate steps to delete this information.

Your California Privacy Rights

If you are a resident of the State of California, we provide you with information on how to exercise your disclosure choice options such as your right to opt-out (which we may sometimes refer to as “unsubscribe“) or opt-in for use of Your Personal Information by third parties. Therefore, pursuant to the California Civil Code, we are not required to maintain or disclose a list of the third parties that received Your Personal Information for marketing purposes during the preceding year.

If you are a California resident and wish to request information about how to exercise your third party disclosure choices, please send a request by email to contact@biobricks.org or contact us via the following mailing address:

BioBricks Foundation
77 Van Ness Ave., Ste 101-1626
San Francisco, CA 94102-6041

All requests must be labeled “Your California Privacy Rights” on the email subject line or envelope or post card. For all requests, please clearly state that the request is related to “Your California Privacy Rights“, include your name, street address, city, state, zip code and e-mail address (your street address is optional if you wish to receive a response to your request via email) and indicate your preference on how our response to your request should be sent (email or postal mail). We will not accept requests via the telephone or by facsimile. We are not responsible for notices that are not labeled or sent properly, or do not have complete information.

Special Note to International Users

The Website is hosted in the United States and is intended for and directed to Site Users in the United States. If You are accessing the Website from the European Union, Asia, or any other region with laws or regulations governing personal data collection, use, and disclosure, that differ from United States laws, please be advised that through Your continued access and use of the BBF Website, which is governed by U.S. law, this Privacy Notice, and our Terms of Use, You are transferring Your personally identifiable information to the United States and You consent to that transfer.

Effective Date

This Privacy Policy is effective as of March 1, 2011 and will remain in effect unless changed. BBF may modify this Privacy Policy at any time, and such modifications shall be effective immediately upon the posting of the modified Privacy Policy on the Website.

Contacting the Website

If You have any questions about this Privacy Policy, the practices of this Website, or Your dealings with this Website, please contact: legal@biobricks.org.