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Privacy Policy

The McCrone Group, Inc. and its related companies ("McCrone") recognize the importance of protecting the privacy of Personal Information collected about the visitors, users, members and/or subscribers of the McCrone Web sites (each, a “User”). "Personal Information" includes, but is not limited to, usage data, along with the name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, credit card information, company affiliations and interests of McCrone Users.

McCrone will analyze and utilize User data in order to effectively optimize the User experience and to present certain opportunities to Users for their benefit. McCrone has adopted this Privacy Policy to inform Users how it collects, stores, and uses Personal Information. Any Personal Information you send us or that we otherwise collect will be used only for the purpose indicated in this Privacy Policy.

By accessing, browsing, or using this Site, you acknowledge that you have read, understood and accept the practices described in this Privacy Policy. Please read this Privacy Policy carefully and be aware that McCrone may make changes to this Privacy Policy at any time.

Our Commitment to Privacy.
McCrone is committed to respecting the privacy of visitors to its family of Web sites and parties related to them. Except as otherwise noted, this Privacy Policy applies to all of the McCrone sites, which include, but are not limited to, McCrone.com, McCroneAtlas.com, McCroneMicrosopes.com, and ModernMicroscopy.com. To better protect your privacy, we provide this notice explaining our online information practices and the choices you can make about the way your information is collected and used at these McCrone sites.

The Information We Collect.
To help us achieve our goal of providing the highest quality services, we collect and apply information from our interactions with Users of the McCrone sites, as well as from other parties. Because we respect your privacy, we have procedures to ensure that your personal information is handled in a safe, secure, and responsible manner. The information we receive and collect depends on what a User does when visiting one of the McCrone sites.

Your Personal Information.
McCrone recognizes the importance of protecting the privacy of personal information collected about its Users and other third parties. In general, our Users are able to visit many of our Web pages without telling us who they are or revealing any information about themselves. As discussed under "Usage Data" below, we may track the Internet domain or "Internet protocol" addresses from which Users visit us and analyze this data in the aggregate to determine usage for trends and statistics. Individual Users will remain anonymous, unless they voluntarily tell us who they are.

There may be times, however, such as when subscribing to our services on McCrone.com, McCroneAtlas.com, or ModernMicroscopy.com, making purchases from McCroneMicroscopes.com, or registering for a course with McCrone College of Microscopy when we ask Users to provide certain Personal Information about themselves. Whether or not a User provides such information is completely his or her own choice. If a User chooses not to provide the Personal Information we request, he or she may be unable to access certain services and content on our McCrone sites or purchase products from us.

Demographic Information.
There will also be opportunities for subscribers to provide us with demographic or profile information regarding their preferences and interests. This information may include, but is not limited to, age, gender, level of education completed, and personal-interest information. This demographic information, however, is not required and is completely optional on a subscriber's part.

Prospect and Referral Information.
If a User visits any McCrone site and submits an e-mail address to McCrone but fails to complete the registration process, we may use such "prospect" information to contact the prospective User from time to time with McCrone offers and information about new features, new services, and special discounts we think they may see as valuable. All of our "prospect" and "referral" communications contain clearly marked opt-out instructions. The types of personally identifiable information that may be collected in relation to "prospects" or "referrals" include: name and e-mail addresses. We do not sell or rent any contact information for such "prospects" or "referrals."

Cookies.
To help you personalize your online experience, McCrone uses "Cookies." "Cookies" are pieces of information that McCrone transfers to the hard drives of Users for record-keeping purposes. One of the primary purposes of Cookies is to provide a convenience feature to save you time. For example, Cookies allow us to recognize you when you re-visit a McCrone site so that you will not have to log in each time. Cookies also allow us to count the number of unique and return visitors who use the McCrone sites. Most browsers are initially set up to accept Cookies. If you prefer, you can reset your browser to notify you when you've received a Cookie or, alternatively, to refuse to accept Cookies. It is important to note that you may not be able to use certain features on a McCrone site if you choose not to accept Cookies. The use of Cookies is an industry standard and occurs at most major Web sites.

How We Use the Information We Collect.

Personal Information
McCrone uses Personal Information for the following purposes: allowing McCrone site Users to obtain an account and to receive communications they request; making ongoing enhancements to the McCrone sites; providing Users information we think they might find useful or interesting regarding our products and services or those of our affiliates or third parties; communicating with our Users; and evaluating Web site usage by analyzing and otherwise using Personal Information and related data in the aggregate, but not with respect to any individual McCrone site User.

If you supply us with your telephone number, you may receive telephone contact from us with information regarding the information or applications you submit via this site. You may also receive telephone contact from us with information regarding new products and services or upcoming events that we determine may be of interest to you. If you supply us with your postal address and/or e-mail address, you may receive periodic mailings and/or emails from us with information about new products and services or upcoming events that we determine may be of interest to you. If you do not wish to receive further telephone contact or periodic mailings or emails regarding new products or services, please see the section titled "How to Opt Out, Correct, Update, or Remove Personal Information" below.

Demographic Information.
In an ongoing effort to improve its services, McCrone may use aggregated demographic information to draw conclusions about Users' wishes and preferences. McCrone may also provide demographic information in the aggregate regarding McCrone site Users to third parties in connection with McCrone advertising campaigns and marketing programs; however, no personally identifiable demographic information relating to any individual McCrone site User is disclosed without the consent of such User. In addition, any such User may withdraw his/her consent at any time in connection with future disclosures by following the instructions provided under the heading "How to Opt Out, Correct, Update, or Remove Personal Information" below. As stated above, submitting such demographic information is not required and is completely optional on a subscriber's part.

Usage Data.
We only use Usage Data in the aggregate -- that is, we look at the data on a collective basis, in summary form, rather than on an individual basis. This data helps us determine the extent to which our visitors use certain parts of a McCrone site, which, in turn, enables us to make the McCrone sites as appealing as possible. We may also provide statistical "ratings" about how our visitors collectively use our Web sites to advertisers and other companies with which we do business ("Business Partners"). We do this so they, too, can understand how often people use their areas of the Web sites in order for them to provide you with the best possible experience. These statistical ratings do not contain any personally identifiable information about any of our individual Users.

Disclosure Exceptions.
McCrone is not in the business of selling Personal Information to others. In addition to the disclosures of Personal Information described above, McCrone does or may share or disclose your Personal Information to other companies and people under the following circumstances:

· Agents and Service Providers. We sometimes employ or contract with other companies and individuals to perform functions on our behalf, such as sending e-mail or providing Internet hosting services. They have access to only such information about Users as is needed to perform their functions, but are contractually restricted from using this information for other purposes.

· Business Transfers. As we continue to develop our business, we might sell or buy assets. In such transactions, customer and User information generally is one of the transferred business assets. Also, if any of the affiliated McCrone companies or substantially all of any McCrone’s companies’ assets were acquired, User information would be one of the transferred assets. We do not offer for sale personally identifiable information other than in connection with business-related transfers.

· Legal Matters. McCrone has the right to disclose any Personal Information about you or your use of the Services or this Web site without your prior permission if McCrone has a good faith belief that such action is necessary to: (a) protect and defend the rights, property or safety of any McCrone company or affilate, customers or suppliers, other Users of this Site or the public; (b) enforce the Web site Terms and Conditions of Use; or (c) respond to claims that any content violates the rights of third-parties. We may also disclose information as we deem necessary to satisfy any applicable law, regulation, legal process or governmental request.

· Your Instructions. We may share any information you submit on or to the Web site when we have your consent to do so or when we need to share it in order to provide the information or service you have requested.

Subscriber Communications.
As a benefit of membership, McCrone site subscribers may receive the following communications from us:

Communications related to subscription maintenance activities. These communications may include, without limitation, notices regarding material changes to McCrone site policies, service updates, service enhancements, and account management procedures. Since these communications are necessary to ensure McCrone provides its subscribers with the highest quality of services, our subscribers are not permitted to opt out from receipt of these communications.

Newsletter Communications. As a benefit of a McCrone subscription, we may send our McCrone subscribers our exclusive McCrone Newsletters. These newsletters are full of useful McCrone content. To unsubscribe to a newsletter, a User can either (i) follow the instructions at the bottom of any newsletter or (ii) follow the instructions set forth below in "How to Opt Out, Correct, Update, or Remove Personal Information."

Communications containing information about McCrone products and services. We may send promotional e-mails and other outbound communications to McCrone site subscribers regarding products and services from McCrone. Any McCrone site subscriber that does not wish to receive such product and service communications can choose to remove his or her contact information from our contact list at any time by (i) following the instructions at the bottom of any promotional e-mail or (ii) following the instructions set forth below in "How to Opt Out, Correct, Update, or Remove Personal Information."

Our Commitment to Security.
McCrone only collects information from McCrone site Users to the extent deemed reasonably necessary to serve its legitimate business purposes, and it uses reasonable security, in light of available technology and the type of Personal Information at issue, to ensure the security, integrity, and privacy of all collected information. In addition, McCrone uses security measures in connection with the collection and transmission of McCrone site User information during each McCrone site's registration process. Nonetheless, McCrone is not responsible for any breach of its security or for the unapproved actions of any third parties that may obtain any McCrone site User information, including Personal Information or demographic information, without consent of McCrone.

How to Opt Out, Correct, Update, or Remove Personal Information.
Users may opt out of certain services or correct, update, or remove Personal Information that McCrone has collected about them through any of the means listed below. We may take a reasonable period of time to respond. If you request the deletion or change of information on our system, such information may be retained for a period in our backup systems as a precaution against systems failures. Some information may be retained for longer periods as required by law, contract or auditing requirements.

If you do not wish to receive telephone contact or periodic mailings or emails concerning new products and services or upcoming events, you may opt-out of receiving such information by sending us a written request to the address listed below or by following the opt-out instructions in an e-mail you receive from us.

Please be sure to include the following information in your correspondence to webmaster@mccrone.com:

Your e-mail address

Your first and last name

The name of the McCrone site to which the request applies

The service or section of the site to which you are registered/subscribed

Online: (1)Visit our Help page and enter your e-mail address in the unsubscribe section form to view the newsletters you current receive. Clear the check box of any newsletter your prefer not receive and click the submit button to remove the e-mail address given from that list. (2) Changes to information provided to McCrone by a member or subscriber can be made at anytime by visiting your account information in the My Account section of McCrone sites. (Please note: "Unsubscribe and changes" are an automatic process. We will not respond to these messages.)

Links to Other Web sites.
The McCrone sites each contain links to other Web sites. McCrone is not responsible for the privacy practices or content of these third-party Web sites. We urge all McCrone site Users to follow safe Internet practices: Do not supply personal information to these Web sites unless you have verified their security and privacy policies.

Usernames and Passwords.
You must maintain the confidentiality of your username and password, and are responsible for restricting unauthorized access to your computer.

Your Consent and Changes to Privacy Policy.
By using any one of the McCrone sites, you consent to the collection and use of your information by McCrone in the manner specified in this Privacy Policy. McCrone reserves the right to change or amend this Privacy Policy at any time by posting the revised Privacy Policy on the McCrone sites. McCrone encourages each McCrone site User to periodically review this Privacy Policy to be informed of how we are protecting their information.

Contact and Complaints.

This Site is operated by McCrone Associates, Inc., 850 Pasquinelli Drive, Westmont, IL 60559, United States. If you any questions or concerns about this Policy, please e-mail us at webmaster@mccrone.com.