Privacy Policy

Thispolicy together with our Terms of Use, available via this link [Insert Link to our Terms of Use], (and any other documents referred to on it) sets out the basis on which any personal data we collect from you, or that you provide to us, will be processed by us.

Please read the following carefully to understand our views and practices regarding your personal data and how we will treat it. For the purpose of the Data Protection Act 1998 (Act), the data controller is the Merck Serono UK Legal Counsel.

a)      Information that you provide by filling in forms (if any) on our site http://www.merckserono.co.uk/ (our site). We may also ask you for information when you report a problem with our site;

b)     If you contact us, we may keep a record of that correspondence;

c)      We may also ask you to complete surveys that we use for research purposes, although you do not have to respond to them; and

d)     Details of your visits to our site including, but not limited to, traffic data, location data and other communication data and the resources that you access.

USE OF IP ADDRESSES
An Internet Protocol (IP) address is a set of numbers that is automatically assigned to your computer whenever you log on to your internet service provider or through your organisation's local area network (LAN) or wide area network (WAN). Web servers automatically identify your computer by the IP address assigned to it during your session online.

Merck Serono, or third party companies acting on behalf of Merck Serono, may collect information about your computer, including where available IP addresses, operating system and browser type, for the purposes of systems administration and to audit the use of our site. We do not ordinarily link a user's IP address to personally identifiable information of that user, which means each user's session will be logged, but the user remains anonymous to us. However, we may use IP addresses to identify users of our site when we feel it is necessary to enforce compliance with the site's Terms of Use, or to protect our service, site or other users.

COOKIES
This site uses a technology called "Cookies". A Cookie is a small text file that is placed on your hard disk by a Web page server. Cookies help provide additional functionality to the site or help us analyse usage of the site more accurately.Cookies help us to improve our site and to deliver a better and more personalised service. They enable us to:

a)      Estimate our audience size and usage pattern;

b)     Store information about your preferences, and so allow us to customise our site according to your individual interests;

c)      Speed up your searches; and

d)     Recognise you when you return to our site.

For instance, our server may set a Cookie that keeps you from having to enter a password more than once during a visit to the site. In all cases in which cookies are used, we will not collect personally identifiable information without your explicit permission. The only personally identifiable information Merck Serono collects is the information you voluntarily provide.

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, or receive a warning before a Cookie is stored, if you prefer. Please refer to your Internet Browser’s instructions or help screen to learn more about these functions. If you choose to decline Cookies, you may not be able to fully experience the interactive features of this site or any other websites that you visit.

WHERE WE STORE YOUR PERSONAL DATA
The data that we collect from you may be transferred to, and stored at, a destination outside the European Economic Area ("EEA"). It may also be processed by staff operating outside the EEA who work for us or for one of our suppliers. By submitting your personal data, you agree to this transfer, storing or processing. We will take all steps reasonably necessary to ensure that your data is treated securely and in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

All information you provide to us is stored on our secure servers. Where we have given you (or where you have chosen) a password which enables you to access certain parts of our site, you are responsible for keeping this password confidential. We ask you not to share a password with anyone.

Unfortunately, the transmission of information via the internet is not completely secure. Although we will do our best to protect your personal data, we cannot guarantee the security of your data transmitted to our site; any transmission is at your own risk. Once we have received your information, we will use strict procedures and security features to try to prevent unauthorised access.

WE USE INFORMATION HELD ABOUT YOU TO:

a)      Ensure that content from our site is presented in the most effective manner for you and for your computer.

b)     Allow you to participate in interactive features of our service (if any), when you choose to do so.

We will not use your data for marketing purposes.

DISCLOSURE OF YOUR INFORMATION
We may disclose your personal information to any member of our group, which means our subsidiaries, our ultimate holding company and its subsidiaries.

We may disclose your personal information to third parties:

a)      In the event that we sell or buy any business or assets, in which case we may disclose your personal data to the prospective seller or buyer of such business or assets.

b)     If Merck Serono or substantially all of its assets are acquired by a third party, in which case personal data held by it about its customers will be one of the transferred assets.

c)      If we are under a duty to disclose or share your personal data in order to comply with any legal obligation, or in order to enforce or apply our Terms of Use, and other agreements; or to protect the rights, property, or safety of Merck Serono, our customers, or others. This includes exchanging information with other companies and organisations for the purposes of fraud protection and credit risk reduction.

THIRD PARTY SITES
Our site may, from time to time, contain links to and from third party websites. If you follow a link to any of these websites, please note that these websites have their own privacy policies and that we do not accept any responsibility or liability for these policies. Please check these policies before you submit any personal data to these websites.

ACCESS TO INFORMATION 
The Act gives you the right to access information held about you. Your right of access can be exercised in accordance with the Act. Any access request may be subject to a fee of £10 to meet our costs in providing you with details of the information we hold about you.

CHANGES TO OUR PRIVACY POLICY
We may occasionally update this Privacy Policy and we encourage you to periodically review it to stay informed about how we are helping to protect the personal information we collect. Your continued use of the site constitutes your agreement to the Privacy Policy and any updates. 
 
CONTACT
Questions, comments and requests regarding this Privacy Policy are welcomed and should be addressed to the Medical Information Department.