Privacy Notice

Our users access news, information, products, content, and events related to the high-tech field of photonics (optics, lasers, imaging, fiber, etc.). Content and data on some areas of our website is only viewable by member account holders.

This privacy notice applies to all users of our website, Photonics.com.

Laurin Publishing is the "controller" of your personal data, which means we determine the purpose and means of processing your personal data. This privacy notice explains those purposes and means to you, and you have choices over the collection and use of your data.

As a user of our websites, the collection, use, and disclosure of your personal data is subject to this privacy notice and any subsequent updates.

We only collect and use your personal data when we have a lawful basis to do so. Legal bases include your consent (you have granted us permission to use your personal data) and situations where processing is necessary to fulfill a contractual obligation, such as providing services you request.

When you grant us permission to use your data for a specific, articulated purpose, we will process your data. We ask for consent to send you our publications and marketing materials, to participate in our interactive features, and to share your contact information with our advertising partners.

Where we rely on your consent for processing, you have the right to change, withdraw, or withhold your consent.

In some circumstances, we process your data to fulfill our obligation to you, including to respond to a request or communication from you and to complete a purchase you made.

As part of our ongoing business operations, we may process your personal data based on our legitimate interest or the legitimate interest of a third party (e.g., your employer or company), except were such interests are outweighed by your rights and freedoms.

Our legitimate interests include:

• Investigating, preventing, and protecting against fraud, security risks, threats to you and others, and violations of this policy
• Verifying your identity and qualification for a free subscription
• Protecting and defending our rights and properties, including intellectual property
• Complying with laws and regulations that apply to us, as well as responding to requests from law enforcement or government authorities or as otherwise required by law
• Understanding and improving our website, user experience, and customer relationships
• Enabling our business operations

We collect personal data you knowingly choose to disclose to us. "Personal data" is information that can be used to individually identify you. We also collect information that is sent to us automatically by your web browser when you view and navigate our website, as well as information provided to us by third parties.

Account Management

When you register a member account, you will be asked to provide basic contact information, including your name, company, address, telephone and fax numbers, and email address. As part of your account, we will ask you to create a user name and provide a password.

We collect this information for the purpose of providing you with access to certain features on our websites or services you request. Maintaining a member account also makes it easier for you to register for webinars, access member-only exclusive content, download white papers, and request information by prepopulating submission forms with your contact information, which you may edit before sending for these purposes.

Registering an account is voluntary, and we collect your personal data only upon your consent when you submit the registration form. You can withdraw your consent and cancel your account at any time by contacting us at [email protected] with your request.

Purchase Fulfillment

To process an order made through our bookstore, we will collect basic contact and billing information, including name, address, telephone number, and if applicable fax number, email address, and payment information. We collect this information for the purpose of completing our transaction with you. We will only collect this information if you initiate a purchase through our bookstore. If you do not complete your purchase, we will retain the information you have input to allow you to easily return and complete your purchase at a later time.

Subscription and Communication Management

If you choose to subscribe to our newsletters and publications, we will ask you to submit your name, company, address, telephone and fax numbers, and email address.

We use this information for the purpose of delivering requested copies of our content. Delivery of our newsletter and publication content directly to you does require your contact information, but you can manage your communication preferences as described in this section under "Manage Your Communication Preferences."

As part of registering for our free subscriptions, we also collect information about your employment, such as job title and technologies and products you work with. We use this information to verify that you are eligible for a free subscription, as well as to provide you with additional communications regarding information we think you may find interesting. When we collect this information, we ask for your consent to use this information for marketing purposes. You can change, withdraw, or withhold your consent at any time by managing your communication preferences.

If you contact us directly, such as to request information on advertising rates or order copies of our publications, your communications with us may include your contact information. In such circumstances, we only collect your contact information when you initiate contact with us.

You can manage your communication preferences in several ways:

• Photonics.com members can login and manage their print and newsletter subscriptions here
• Click the "Unsubscribe" link at the bottom of our communications
• Click here and follow the instructions to manage your email preferences
• Contact us at [email protected] to request to be removed from a subscription list

Content Submitted for Publication

When you choose to submit articles, white papers, press or product releases, event listings, videos, or other material to be considered for publication on our website or in our magazines, you will be asked to provide your name, phone number, and email address, which we may use to follow up with you regarding publication. When we choose to publish the content you submit, we will publish the contact information you provided as part of your submission to allow readers to contact you to request more information. When you choose to submit a company listing for publication in the Photonics Buyers' Guide, you will be asked to provide your company contact information, a description of business products and capabilities, the contact information of key personnel, including email address, and other company demographics.

Please note that information you submit for publication can be viewed by anyone who subscribes to our print publications or accesses our website. Some information for the Buyers’ Guide is only collected for aggregate demographics about the industry and markets, and those fields are marked as such. Do not submit any information you do not want published publicly or used for these purposes.

Interactive Feature Participation

You may also choose to participate in different interactive features we offer. We only collect this information for the purpose of facilitating your participation in our interactive features.

Comment Sections

To leave a comment on our website, you must create a member account. We require the use of an account to minimize unwanted spam and to ensure the comment sections of our website remain a pleasant experience for all our users.

When you choose to leave a comment on an article, we will access your member account or ask you to login to your account to enable the comments feature. We will collect and display your username and the content of your comment, which can include any additional personal data you wish to disclose to other users of our website. If you post a comment to an article of our website, please note that this information can be viewed by others with access to those areas.

Outbound Messages

When you choose to initiate contact via our website with one of our advertising partners or a company in our directory, you will be asked to provide your name, organization, and email address, and you can edit this information before sending your message. In some cases, we may also request your address, telephone and fax numbers, and country to provide the entity you wish to contact with more options to contact you. Some of these fields are optional and your message can still be sent without providing optional details.

We also collect and retain a copy of your outbound message, which will contain any additional personal information you provide. This information is only collected when you request we contact a company or advertiser on your behalf and will only be used for such purposes.

Contests

When you enter a contest, you may be asked to provide your name, email address, company name, and telephone and fax numbers. This information is used to verify your identity, notify you that your entry has been received, and contact you if you are a winner and/or prize recipient.

As part of your entry in our contests, we may choose to provide you with the option of receiving information about our subscriptions and publications. If you consent to receive this information, we will collect the personal data you provided as part of your contest entry for this purpose. You can change, withdraw, or withhold your consent at any time.

Conferences, Webinars, White Papers, and Sponsored Content

When you register for any of our conferences or webinars, or download any of our white papers or other sponsored content, we ask you to provide your name, company, job title, address, email address, and telephone and fax numbers. We also ask you a few questions about your interest in the topic.

We provide this content at no cost to you and rely on sponsors to help keep this content available to you at no charge. In exchange for sponsoring our content, we provide our advertising partners with the personal data you provide when you choose to register for or download the sponsored content, and we will tell you which of our partners will receive the personal data you submit.

When you register for conferences, you may contact us for a list of partners that will receive your information.

Surveys

We occasionally conduct surveys. If you choose to participate in the survey, you may be asked to provide basic demographic information, such as job function and technologies and products you work with. You also will be asked to provide additional information related to the survey topic, which may include personal data. We use this information to conduct statistical analyses on topics of interest to our users, and your data will only be reported in aggregate form. Additionally, if you choose to provide a free-text comment in your survey response, we may publish your response, but we will remove your name and any identifying information before publication. We only collect this information when you consent to participate in the survey.

Cookies and Passive Tracking

In certain circumstances, we may obtain non-personal information about your use of this website through cookies. "Cookies" are small files placed on your computer by your browser and are often used to make websites work, as well as provide information to the website operator. We also collect information on read and click-through rates of our email communications through the use of beacons.

We use these web-based technologies for the purposes of:

• Analyzing the traffic on our website and in our emails to improve functionality, user experience, and content relevancy
• Providing you with communications tailored to your preferences and interests

You have the ability to accept or decline cookies by modifying the settings in your browser. If you disable cookies in your browser, you may not be able to use all of the interactive features of our website.

Please note that some advertisers may use cookies when you click on their advertisements on our site. Those cookies are controlled by the advertisers and are not subject to this privacy notice.

Third Parties

When you interact with content provided by or about our advertisers, we compare your IP address against our own databases, as well as databases provided by third parties, to match your IP address to your company and geographic location (at a country-level). The IP matching database provided to us by a third party is housed on our internal network, and when we access the database, your information is only read by our network. We do not share your IP address with the third party.

We match your IP address to your company and country only when you interact with our advertiser content or information, as we collect and share this information with our advertisers for the purpose of helping our advertisers make decisions about the relevancy and usefulness of content they provide to our users. We do not share more than your company and country location with our advertisers without your consent.

We also collect social media handles, content, and other data posted on our official social media pages as well as information (such as email address and other information) you allow to be shared through our social media apps, tools, widgets, and plug-ins.

How we use your personal data will depend on what services you are using and the permissions you have given us.

Provide Requested Services

We will use your personal data to enable you to create a member account, subscribe to our newsletters, publications, and mailings, and participate in special events. We will also use your data to respond to communications you have initiated.

When you initiate contact through our website with one of our advertisers, we use the personal data you provide through your request form to notify the advertiser of your interest, as well as sending the content of your outbound message. We also use your personal data to create a record of your outbound message on our website for our advertisers to reference in the future should they lose your original message. This record is restricted and only accessible by us and the advertiser to which you sent the message. Our advertisers will only have access to your message for two years after you send it.

Publishing Submitted Content

When you have chosen to submit content to be considered for publication on our website or in our magazine, as well as our Buyers' Guide, we will use the information you provide to follow up with you about your submission, and, where we have elected to publish your content, we will publish your information in conjunction with the material you submit. Some information is collected for statistical purposes, which we use to understand the demographics of your industry and the markets. Such information is only used in aggregate and not tied to you individually.

Enhance User Experiences

We use Google Analytics to determine which areas of our website users like and don't like, based on traffic to those areas. This helps us continue to build a better service for you. For our website analytics, we only use aggregate, anonymous data that cannot be traced back to you individually by us or Google Analytics.

For information about Google Analytics' information practices and related opt-out choices, click here.

Communications and Marketing

We use the contact information you provide to communicate with you directly, both to fulfill any requests for our publications and to share with you news and updates on our products. You are able to manage your communication preferences.

When you consent to receive marketing communications from us, we also use your personal data to provide carefully selected and screened mailings, prepared and sent by us, from certain advertisers or other companies that we think may be of interest to you.

Advertising

We use your data to create aggregate, anonymous reports on user demographics and traffic patterns for advertisers. This allows our advertisers to advertise more effectively and allows you to receive advertisements that are pertinent to you.

We also use your personal data to inform our advertising partners which users have accessed or downloaded their sponsored content or requested further information on their product.

Security and Fraud Prevention

We use your data (including your communications) when necessary for security purposes or to investigate possible fraud or other violations of this policy and/or attempts to harm our users.

We share your personal data with your consent or when necessary to provide a service or complete a transaction you requested.

Additionally, we also share your data with service vendors we have engaged to help provide requested services or transactions, such as payment processing, content publishing and mailing vendors, subscription and communication management vendors, and website hosting and management.

Advertising Partners

We share your personal data with outside partners when you consent to sharing or interact with content provided by or about our advertisers. Where you consent to sharing your personal data with advertisers, such as when you download sponsored content, register for a conference or sponsored webinar, request more information, or initiate contact with an advertiser, we share your name, organization, email address, the content you viewed, and any other personal data you choose to share.

When we send you communications on behalf of our advertising partners, we will share your company and country with our advertising partners when you click on their promotional links in our communications. We will only share this information if you click on the links, and we will not share your name or contact information with our advertising partners unless you specifically request more information from an advertiser.

When you access content from or about our advertisers but do not engage in activities that trigger further interaction with the advertiser, such as clicking on an advertisement or viewing the advertiser's information in our buyers' guide, we share your company name and country with our advertisers. Additionally, we share aggregate data on website traffic, which can include anonymized personal data that cannot reasonably be traced back to you.

You have choices about how your information is shared with advertisers and may chose not to receive communications from third parties.

As Required by Law

When required by law, regulation, or legal process we will share your personal data with government authorities, enforcement officials, or third parties as necessary to meet our legal obligations. We may also disclose personal information if we believe disclosure is necessary to prevent or investigate a possible crime, such as fraud or identity theft, or to protect our own rights or property or the rights, property, or safety of others.

Sale of Business

We reserve the right to transfer your personal information in the event we sell or transfer all or a portion of our business or its assets. In such event, your personal information will continue to be protected by this privacy notice.

If you are accessing our website from within the European Economic Area ("EEA"), you have certain rights and choices about the collection, use, and disclosure of your personal data processed from the EEA. Your rights include:

• Accessing your data to know what information we have collected and how it has been used and shared
• Requesting the deletion of all or some of your personal data
• Changing or correcting inaccurate or outdated information
• Objecting to, limiting, or restricting the use of all or some of your personal data
• Requesting a copy of your personal data

To exercise your rights, you can contact us at [email protected] or:

Laurin Publishing Co., Inc.
P.O. Box 4949
Pittsfield, MA 01202-4949
Telephone: +1 413-499-0514
Fax: +1 413-442-3180

Where we are processing your personal data that came from within the EEA, you also have the right to lodge a complaint with the appropriate supervisory authority if you believe we have violated your privacy rights or applicable data protection laws.

We provide our California consumers with specific rights regarding their personal data. The section describes the rights that you have under the California Consumer Privacy Act ("CCPA") and explains how to exercise those rights. In the past 12 months, we have collected the following categories of personal data under CCPA:

Category of Information	Examples	Collected
Personal Identifiers	First and last name, email address, company, telephone number, address, online identifier, device identifier, internet protocol (IP) address	Yes
Personal Information under California Customer Records Statute*	First and last name, address, telephone number, employment, credit or debit card number, or any other financial information.	Yes
Commercial Information	Products or services purchased, obtained, or considered, or other purchasing or consuming histories or tendencies	Yes
Internet or Network Activity Information	Browsing history, search history, and information regarding interactions with an Internet Web site, application, or advertisement	Yes
Geolocation Data	Address, GPS	Yes
Professional or Employment-Related Information	Company, job title	Yes
Financial Information	Credit or debit card information	Yes

* Some personal data included in this category may overlap with other categories.

We have disclosed the above information for business purposes to our affiliates, service providers, customers, and other users as described in this policy.

Sale of Personal Data
In the preceding twelve (12) months, we sold (as defined by CCPA) personal data from all of the categories of personal data listed above. We only share your name and personal contact information when you affirmatively authorize us to do so. To understand what personal information we may share and when, please refer to this section or our privacy policy. We have not and will not sell the personal data of minors under 16 years of age to non-affiliated third parties without affirmative authorization.

Right to Know About Personal Data Collected, Used, or Disclosed
You have the right to request that we disclose certain information to you about our collection, use and disclosure of your personal data over the past 12 months. Once we receive your request and verify your identity, we will disclose to you: (1) the categories of personal data we collected about you; (2) the categories of sources for the personal data; (3) our business or commercial purpose for collecting or disclosing that personal data; (4) the categories of third parties with whom we shared that personal data; and (5) the specific pieces of personal data we collected about you in the preceding 12 months.

Right to Delete Personal Data Collected or Maintained
You have the right to request that we delete any of your personal data that we collected from you and retained, subject to certain exceptions. Once we receive and confirm your request and verify your identity, we will permanently delete (and direct our service providers to delete) your personal data from our records, unless a legal exception to deletion applies. In our response to your request to delete, we will specify the manner in which we have deleted your personal data or, if we must deny your deletion request, the basis for this refusal.

Right to Non-Discrimination for Exercise of Privacy Rights
We will not discriminate against you for exercising any of your rights by: (1) denying you goods or services; (2) charging you different prices or rates for goods or services, including through granting discounts or other benefits, or imposing penalties; (3) providing you a different level or quality of goods or services; or (4) suggest that you may receive a different price or rate for goods or services or a different level or quality of goods or services.

Exercising Your Rights
To exercise the rights described above, please submit a verifiable consumer request to us:

Laurin Publishing Co., Inc.
P.O. Box 4949
Pittsfield, MA 01202-4949
Telephone: (800) 553-0051
Email: [email protected]

Authorizing an Agent
You may designate an authorized agent to submit your consumer request on your behalf, so long the authorized agent has your written permission to do so and you have taken steps to verify your identity directly with us.

Verifying Your Request
We cannot respond to your request or provide you with personal data if we cannot verify your identity or authority to make the request and confirm the personal data relates to you. Making a verifiable consumer request does not require you to create an account with us. We will only use personal data provided in a verifiable consumer request to verify your identity or authority to make the request. You may only make a verifiable consumer request for access or data portability twice within a 12-month period.

To verify your identity, we ask that you to provide us with the following information when you submit your request: (1) first name, (2) last name, and (3) phone number or email. We will use the above information to verify your identity. Depending on your type of request or the information requested by you, we may require additional information to verify your identity and fulfill your request.

Cross-Border Data Transfers

We process data both inside and outside the United States and will only transfer your data if an appropriate level of protection for your personal data is guaranteed. We may also transfer your personal data if one of the approved legal exceptions can be invoked.

It is important to note that the data protection laws in the United States may be different, and potentially not as protective, as the laws in your country.

Security

We have implemented organizational and technical safeguards to protect your personal data from unauthorized access, use, and disclosure. We use secure socket layer (SSL) to help protect the data you share with us.

Children Under the Age of 16

Our website is not intended for children under the age of 16, and no one under the age of 16 may provide information on this website.

Third-Party Websites

This website may contain links to websites owned or operated by third parties. This privacy notice applies only to our websites and not to any third-party websites.

Changes to this Policy

We will periodically review and revise our privacy notice and post a revised version to this website. Any changes will apply to your personal data from the "Effective Date" on the notice. You can find the current version of our privacy notice at any time by clicking on the "Privacy Policy" link at the bottom of our web page.

Contact Information

Please contact us with any questions, concerns, or to exercise your rights. You can contact us at [email protected] or at:

Laurin Publishing Co., Inc.
P.O. Box 4949
Pittsfield, MA 01202-4949
Telephone: +1 413-499-0514
Fax: +1 413-442-3180