Statement of Privacy

Last updated October 2004

Simply put: We promise never to share your information with anyone unless we have to.

Melmed Center is committed to protecting your privacy and developing technology that gives you the most powerful and safe online experience. This Melmed Center Statement of Privacy applies to Melmed Center's family of Web sites and governs data collection and usage at all Melmed Center sites and services. Please read the Melmed Center Statement of Privacy below and also any supplementary information at the end of this statement for additional details about particular Melmed Center sites and services that you may use.

Melmed Center is a general audience web site, intended for users of all ages. Personal information of all users is collected, used and disclosed as described in this Statement of Privacy.

Collection of your Personal Information

At some sites, Melmed Center collects personal information, such as your email address and name. At other sites, Melmed Center collects anonymous demographic information, that is not unique to you,such as your ZIP code, age, gender, preferences, interests and favorites. Some sites collect a combination of the two types of information. In some cases,information collected by Melmed Center may be combined with information obtained from other Melmed Center services and other companies.

There is also information about your computer hardware and software that is automatically collected by Melmed Center and may be shared with other Web sites within the Melmed Center family of web sites. This information may include: your IP address, browser type, domain names, access times and referring Web site addresses. This information is used by Melmed Center for the operation of the service, to maintain quality of the service, and to provide general statistics regarding use of Melmed Center.

Melmed Center uses encryption technology to provide registration and sign-in services. All of the registration information you provide will be stored by Melmed Center on our servers.

Please keep in mind that if you directly disclose personal information through Melmed Center Discussion forums, this information may be collected and used by others. Note: Melmed Center may read all email sent through our web site such as your Melmed Center Tell a friend or Contact the author emails.

Melmed Center encourages you to review the privacy statements of Web sites you choose to link to from Melmed Center so that you can understand how those Web sites collect, use and share your information. Melmed Center is not responsible for the privacy statements or other content on Web sites outside of the Melmed Center family of Web sites.

Use of your Personal Information

Melmed Center and its operational service partners collect and use your personal information to operate Melmed Center and deliver the services you have requested. Melmed Center also uses your personal information to inform you of other products or services available from Melmed Center and its affiliates. Melmed Center may also contact you via surveys to conduct research about your opinion of current services or of potential new services that may be offered.

Melmed Center does not sell, rent or lease its customer lists to third parties.

We occasionally hire other companies to provide limited services on our behalf, such as handling the processing and delivery of mailings, providing customer support, processing transactions, or performing statistical analysis of our services. We will only provide those companies the personal information they need to deliver the service. They are required to maintain the confidentiality of your information and are prohibited from using that information for any other purpose.

Melmed Center keeps track of the Web sites and pages our customers visit within Melmed Center, in order to determine what Melmed Center sites and services are the most popular. This data is used to deliver customized content and advertising within Melmed Center to customers whose behavior indicates that they are interested in a particular subject area.

Melmed Center may disclose your personal information if required to do so by law or in the good faith belief that such action is necessary to: (a) conform to the edicts of the law or comply with legal process served on Melmed Center or the site; (b) protect and defend the rights or property of Melmed Center, including its Melmed Center family of Web sites; or (c) act under exigent circumstances to protect the personal safety of users of Melmed Center, its web sites, or the public.

Personal information collected on this site may be stored and processed in the United States or any other country in which Melmed Center or its affiliates, subsidiaries or agents maintain facilities, and by using this site, you consent to any such transfer of information outside of your country. Melmed Center abides by the safe harbor framework as set forth by the U.S. Department of Commerce regarding the collection, use, and retention of data from the European Union.

Control your Personal Information

Melmed Center allows you to modify the information we hold about you by visiting your membership profile page. Please contact us if you wish to delete your membership account.

You may stop the delivery of future email from Melmed Center by following the specific instructions in the email you receive. The instructions explain how to stop receiving such emails.

There are occasions when you will receive emails informing you of technical service issues, product surveys, new feature announcements and news about Melmed Center products and services. You may not be able to unsubscribe to these mailings.

Security of your Personal Information

Melmed Center strictly protects the security of the personal information you provide. Melmed Center secures the personal information you provide on computer servers in a controlled, secure environment, protected from unauthorized access, use or disclosure. When highly confidential information (such as a credit card number) is transmitted over the Internet, it is protected through the use of encryption, such as the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) protocol.

Use of Cookies

Melmed Center uses "cookies" to help you personalize your online experience. A cookie is a text file that is placed on your hard disk by a Web page server. Cookies cannot be used to run programs or deliver viruses to your computer. Cookies are uniquely assigned to you, and can only be read by a web server in the domain that issued the cookie to you.

One of the primary purposes of cookies is to provide a convenience feature to save you time. For example, if you personalize Melmed Center's pages, or register with Melmed Center sites or services, a cookie helps Melmed Center to recall your specific information on subsequent visits. This simplifies the process of recording your personal information, such as member ID, email address, and so on. When you return to Melmed Center, the information you previously provided can be retrieved, so you can easily use the Melmed Center features that you customized.

You have the ability to accept or decline cookies. Most Web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer. If you choose to decline cookies, you may not be able to fully experience the interactive features of the Melmed Center services or Web sites you visit. Read "What's a cookie?" for more information.

Use of Third Party Ad Networks

Melmed Center does not use any third-party Advertising Networks.

Enforcement of this Statement of Privacy

If you have questions regarding this statement, you should contact Melmed Center.

Melmed Center Discussion Forums

While participating in chats, communities or other public forums, Melmed Center cautions you against giving out personal information (such as names and addresses, phone numbers, social security numbers, credit card numbers, and driver's license numbers) to strangers online, which they may use for illegal or harmful purposes.

Melmed Center Newsletters and Watches

When you subscribe to an Melmed Center Newsletter or Watch a page, Melmed Center requests your email address. Melmed Center uses your email address to send you the newsletter(s) or watch(es) you have requested. Melmed Center does not share your email address with third parties except as required to deliver the service. Each Melmed Center newsletter or Watch you receive will have instructions on how to unsubscribe prominently mentioned in it.

Changes to this Statement

Melmed Center will occasionally update this Statement of Privacy to reflect company and customer feedback. When Melmed Center posts changes to this Statement, you will see the word "updated" next to the Privacy Statement link on the front page of Melmed Center. If there are material changes to this Statement or in how Melmed Center will use your personal information, Melmed Center will prominently post such changes prior to implementing the change. Melmed Center encourages you to periodically review this Statement to be informed of how Melmed Center is protecting your information.

Contact Information

Melmed Center welcomes your comments regarding this Statement of Privacy. If you believe that Melmed Center has not adhered to this Statement, please contact Melmed Center by email.

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