GENERAL PROVISIONS
Thank you for visiting a member of the International Sign Association® family of websites. The International Sign Association, its subsidiaries, and affiliated companies (referred to herein as “ISA,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) maintain these sites (each a “ISA Site” and collectively “ISA Sites”). This Privacy Policy applies to the ISA Sites that incorporate this Policy, as well as all interactions between ISA and visitors and users, whether virtually or during physical programs and events where the exchange of both non-personal and personal information may take place. Please note that this Policy does not apply to other sites affiliated with the ISA, our members, other companies’ or organizations’ websites to which we link, third party sites that link to us.
This privacy policy discloses how we collect, use, share, and protect such information, including but not limited to information gathered from participating ISA Sites and during the ISA International Sign Expo. In addition, please review our terms & conditions, which govern your use of our websites.
THE INFORMATION WE COLLECT
We may collect personal information directly from you, such as information you enter on ISA Sites or when we scan your badge at the ISA International Sign Expo, from your participation during a virtual event, from publicly available sources, and from third parties. The type and amount of information ISA collects about you varies according to how you use ISA Sites, your activities during a virtual event and what information you give to ISA.
COLLECTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION
Many of the features on our websites are offered without collecting any Personal Information from you. “Personal Information” means personally identifiable information, such as your name, position, company, street address, telephone number, fax number, date of birth, email address, biometric data, and other identifiers that permit personal, physical or online identification of a specific individual. You can browse most of our websites and view much of our content on our websites anonymously.
There are certain ISA Site(s) and features that require you to provide certain Personal Information before you may participate in the website and ISA events, such as ISA International Sign Expo and ISA virtual events. For example, we collect Personal Information when you or your company become a member, send us email or otherwise contact us, enter a sweepstakes, register for off-line and online events, subscribe to a newsletter, participate in ISA International Sign Expo® as an exhibitor or attendee, access virtual platforms, booths, sessions, or activities during a virtual event, voluntarily complete a survey or provide feedback via email, or enroll or participate in chats, communities and other online and offline services. Additional information concerning the collection of physical information can be found below.
When you make a purchase, or sign up for a paid service, we will also collect your credit card information as additional Personal Information. We will use credit card information only to complete the transactions you have requested and will not store the credit card number. If ISA processes your product order, it may send your data to, and also use the resulting information from, credit reference agencies to prevent fraudulent purchases.
Providing us with Personal Information is entirely optional and voluntary; however, if you do not provide the Personal Information requested, we may elect to not make the related service available for your use.
We collect personal information about you from third parties. Where an individual has registered to be a member of an affiliated organization, we may collect information about you from that third party.
During the ISA International Sign Expo®, exhibitors receive a tradeshow passcode that they can send to customers inviting them to the Expo. By using such an exhibitor code, your information will be shared with an exhibitor and they may use the information that you provide.
Personal information about you, including your participation in, booths, sessions, or activities, is collected during your participation in a virtual event. If you do not wish to have this Personal Information collected, you should not participate in the virtual event.
ISA may also record virtual events and your participation may be recorded and/or accessible to other participants. By participating in a virtual event, your name, likeness, activities, and participation in the virtual event may be recorded and made available to others.
COLLECTION OF NON-PERSONAL INFORMATION
We may also collect and store non-personally identifiable information about your visit whenever you interact with our websites, including but not limited to any platform used to host virtual events. For example, we may automatically collect your domain name; means of entry to the site; the type of browser and operating system used to access the site; the date, time and duration of each visit; and the pages you visit.
HOW WE USE COLLECTED INFORMATION
Once collected, ISA may use this personal information in a number of ways, including, but not limited to, communicate with you about your membership, if applicable, or to communicate information about ISA; to fulfill your request for our products, programs, or services; to respond to your comments and inquiries; and to offer you other products, programs, or services that we believe may be of interest to you; to administer contests; to include you in the online company directory; to fulfill and/or deliver products and services such as ISA International Sign Expo® registration and services, subscriptions, meeting registrations. For example, Personal Information may be used to communicate with you, such as to notify you when you have won one of our contests, to answer an inquiry, to fulfill a subscription request or product order, or to contact you about a user account with us.
Other purposes for use and processing your data may include:
- Verifying your identity;
- To provide you with prompt and effective customer service;
- To conduct internal assessments of ISA programs and membership; additionally, such personal information, in a consolidated and aggregate form, may be used in publicly distributed statistical descriptions and studies of the ISA constituency;
- Improving the design and style of ISA’s website;
- Sending you service messages about your subscription or account registration and to communicate with you about your membership, if applicable, or to communicate information about ISA. For example, we may send all new users a registration e-mail, and we will also occasionally send important notices or information; and
- To help us understand membership trends, and gender and age differences with respect to perspectives about and usage of programs and the creation of new program offerings.
When ISA International Sign Expo® scans your badge at an in-person event, your personal information is processed pursuant to ISA’s legitimate interest in tracking attendance, traffic flow, and providing a better Expo for attendees. By allowing vendors/exhibitors to scan your badge, all registration information you provided to ISA during the registration process (except financial information) is shared with them. Vendors/exhibitors may then contact you regarding their goods or services. Please review their privacy policies for additional information. If you do not want to share your information, do not permit the vendor/exhibitor to scan your badge. If you do not want to receive communications from a vendor, you must contact that vendor/exhibitor directly.
When you participate in a virtual event by entering/accessing the platform, booths, sessions, or activities, your personal information is collected and processed pursuant to ISA’s legitimate interest in tracking attendance, subject interest, traffic flow, and providing a better virtual experience for attendees. By accessing or entering a vendor/exhibitor booth, sponsored session or hosted activity, all registration information (except financial information) you provided to ISA during the registration process is shared with them. Vendors/exhibitors may then contact you regarding their goods or services. Please review their privacy policies for additional information. If you do not want to receive communications from a vendor, you must contact that vendor/exhibitor directly. ISA may also use this information to send you additional information related to ISA or its events.
Networking with participants, exhibitors, presenters, sponsors, and staff and participating in educational opportunities are important components to ISA’s virtual events. In order to participate in some of these networking and educational opportunities, you agree to have your registration information shared with other participants, exhibitors, and sponsors. Further, there may be certain areas of a virtual event at which a participant’s attendance is conditional on their registration information being provided to third parties which have sponsored or are managing such areas.
If you consent, we may share your data with any partner organizations that ISA has a business relationship with.
In addition to ISA sending you information about products and services that we think you may enjoy, ISA may also send you information about products or services from any partner companies that ISA has a business relationship as listed above. If you have agreed to receive communications from these business partners, you may always opt-out at a later date.
INFORMATION FROM OTHER SOURCES
Personal Information you have provided may be used in combination with other information obtained through other means. For example, we may use your name, company, and email address provided to us in conjunction with our membership records in order to provide you with a user-name and password to access an ISA Site, forum, or specialized area. In other instances, an online inquiry about a purchase from us may prompt a review of an order placed by you over the telephone. We may also receive information from our partners who use separate registration systems for the ISA International Sign Expo® and share your information with us for purposes of the Expo.
INFORMATION FROM ONLINE FORUMS
The information collected in connection with our online forums is used to provide an interactive experience. This information is to facilitate participation in these online forums and communities and, from time to time, to offer you products, programs, or services. Note that online forums may be publicly accessible and other users may view information you post on them.
PHOTOGRAPHY, AUDIO AND VIDEO RECORDING
When you enter an International Sign Association (“ISA”) event or program, including ISA International Sign Expo and a virtual event (the “ISA event”), you enter an area where photography, audio, and video recording may occur. These images will generally be used for ISA’s marketing/publicity materials, though ISA reserves the right to anonymize and aggregate any associated data to advance its legitimate business purposes in accordance with this Policy.
Further, ISA may implement technological tools such as passive facial recognition technology to generate aggregated statistics at ISA Events to further understand Event quality and satisfaction. Metrics collected includes but is not limited to age, gender and attendee sentiment. Any biometric data collected shall not be connected to registration or member information or data. Images will be used solely for analytical purposes and shall be deleted immediately following the collection of such data. ISA shall not retain any images collected using such technology.
IF YOU DO NOT WANT YOUR PICTURE TAKEN OR TO BE RECORDED, PLEASE SPEAK TO ISA EVENT MANAGEMENT OR DO NOT ENTER THE PREMISES OR VIRTUAL PLATFORM.
USE OF NON-PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION
Non-personally identifiable information, including information automatically gathered by our Web servers, is used in many ways, including, but not limited to, to determine overall site traffic, popularity of areas of the site, what our users are looking for, determine future events, and from where our users are linking to us. This information may also be used for aggregate statistical reporting, to improve the design and content of our Sites, and to enable us to personalize your Internet experience.
WHO MAY USE COLLECTED INFORMATION
Information collected, whether personal or non-personal, may be shared within ISA, its parent, subsidiaries, and affiliated companies, and externally. ISA does not disclose to third parties personal information except in the following instances:
- The Personal Information provided to us may be transferred, disclosed, or shared with third parties to fulfill a request for our products, programs, or services and to those who may be engaged by us specifically to handle and deliver certain activities (e.g., sweepstakes, Expo activities, virtual events) and perform other technical and processing functions, such as sending email, fulfilling orders, or otherwise operating our Sites. They have access to Personal Information needed to perform their functions, but may not use it for other purposes.
- Information provided to us through correspondence may be shared (as appropriate) with other interested parties, including our members.
- We will publish a listing of exhibitors at ISA International Sign Expo or virtual events in ISA’s onsite printed or virtual ISA International Sign Expo program guide given to attendees, and on the Internet.
- We may also disclose Personal Information to third parties (and our members): (1) when required by law or when the information is pertinent to judicial or government investigations or proceedings; (2) to protect and defend our rights and property, or to protect the personal safety of ISA officers, personnel, members, volunteers, or members of the public in appropriate circumstances; (3) when necessary to protect our interests, our website(s), the safety of its users, or the public; (4) buy or sell any business or assets, in which case we will disclose your personal information to the prospective buyer or seller of such business or assets; (5) assist with auditing purposes; or (6) permit us to pursue available remedies or limit the damages that ISA may sustain.
- Other than as set forth above, we currently do not intend to share your Personal Information with third parties for other purposes.
LAWFUL BASES
Under certain laws, we are required to rely on one or more lawful grounds to collect and use the personal information that ISA has outlined above. ISA considers the grounds listed below to be relevant:
- Legal obligation: Where the processing of your personal information is necessary for us to comply with a legal obligation to which we are subject (e.g., because we have to provide information to tax authorities).
- Contractual relationship: Where it is necessary for us to use your personal information in order to perform a contract to which you are a party or to take steps at your request prior to entering into a contract.
- Legitimate interests: We rely on this basis where applicable law allows us to collect and use personal information for our legitimate interests and the use of your personal information is fair, balanced and does not unduly impact your rights. For instance, it is in our legitimate interest to use person information about our members to provide membership services. When we process your personal information to achieve such legitimate interests, we consider and balance any potential impact on you (both positive and negative), and your rights under applicable data protection laws. We will not use your personal information for activities where our interests are overridden by the impact on you (for example, where use would be excessively intrusive, unless for instance, we are otherwise require or permitted to by law).
- Consent: We may obtain your consent to use your personal information in certain circumstances, e.g., to send you email marketing. ISA will ensure that when it obtains your consent, you are free both to give it and to decline to give it. Additionally, you may always withdraw your consent at any time without any further detriment to you.
CHILDREN’S ONLINE PRIVACY PROTECTION ACT (COPPA)
We do not solicit or knowingly collect information from minors under the age of 13, in compliance with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). If a parent or guardian becomes aware that his or her child has provided us with information without their consent, he or she should contact us at DataProtection@signs.org. We will delete such information from our files within a reasonable time.
COLLECTION OF INFORMATION BY THIRD PARTIES, THIRD-PARTY SITES AND SPONSORS
Some of our sites may contain links to other sites. Other sites have their own information practices that may be different than ours. If you choose to use any of these links, you will be leaving our website and going to a third party (external) website. We encourage you to read the privacy policies at these external sites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices at these external sites or their use of any information they may collect from you.
In addition, you may have linked to one of our websites through another site. For example, in certain cases you may have linked to a sweepstakes or game site through banner or pop-up advertising on another site. In such cases the site you linked from may collect information from users who click on the banner or link. You may want to refer to the privacy policies on those sites to see how they collect and use this information.
ISA Sites sometimes may offer content, contests, sweepstakes, or promotions that are sponsored by or co-sponsored with third parties. By virtue of their sponsorship, these third parties may obtain personally identifiable information that visitors voluntarily submit to participate in the contest, sweepstakes, or promotion. ISA has no control over the third-party sponsors’ use of this information.
RIGHTS TO PERSONAL INFORMATION
Members or users may modify, correct, change, or update personal information that ISA has collected through the Site or may initiate the removal of their personal record from ISA’s database by contacting us at DataProtection@signs.org.
Please note that we will honor your requests to exercise your rights to the extent possible and required under applicable law. Certain of these rights may only be available to you if you are located in the UK or the EU when you access our Website.
You have the right to:
- Ask us for confirmation of what personal information we hold about you, and to request a copy of that information. If we are satisfied that you have a legal entitlement to see this personal information, and we are able to confirm your identity, we will provide you with this personal information.
- Withdraw your consent at any time if we have relied on consent as the lawful ground to use your personal information.
- Request that we delete the personal information we hold about you, as far as we are legally required to do so.
- Object to the processing of your personal information where we: (i) process on the basis of the legitimate interests ground; (ii) use the personal information for direct marketing; or (iii) use the personal information for statistical purposes.
- As for the provision of your personal information in a machine-readable format to either yourself or a third party, provided that the personal information in question has been provided to us by you, and is being processed by us: (i) in reliance on your consent; or (ii) because it is necessary for the performance of a contract to which you are a party; and in either instance, we are processing it using automated means.
- Ask for processing of your personal information to be restricted if there is disagreement about its accuracy or legitimate use.
Please note that you also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority (if applicable) about how we use your personal information. Please consider raising your concern with us first by contacting us at DataProtection@signs.org. You can exercise any of these rights by contacting us using the Contact Us section on our Site.
KEEPING PERSONAL INFORMATION SECURE
ISA takes reasonable technical and organizational precautions to prevent the loss, misuse or alteration of your personal information. We restrict access to those who have a need to know and we train staff in handling the information securely. Unfortunately, there is no such thing as 100% security in the online environment. As a result, we cannot and do not guarantee the security of any personal information you transmit to us through or in connection with the website.
If you believe that your interaction with us is no longer secure (e.g. you consider that the security of any account you might have with us has been compromised) please immediately notify us by contacting us at DataProtection@signs.org.
For certain Services, it may be necessary to collect payment to conclude the transaction. In such circumstances we use industry-standard secure socket layer (SSL) encryption. Although ISA takes reasonable measures to safeguard against unauthorized disclosure of a user’s data or personal information, we cannot control all Internet transmissions and cannot guarantee or warrant that data or personal information transmitted to ISA will never be compromised, accessed, or disclosed.
DATA RETENTION
In some jurisdictions, there are limits on how long we may retain your personal information. Where these limits apply, in general, unless still required in connection with the purpose(s) for which it was collected and/or processed, we remove your personal information from our records seven (7) years after the date it was collected. However, if before that date (i) your personal information is no longer required in connection with such purpose(s), (ii) we are no longer lawfully entitled to process it or (iii) you validly exercise your right of erasure (please see section 12 below), we will remove it from our records at the relevant time. When a user’s account is terminated or expired, all Personal Information collected through the platform will be deleted, as required by applicable law.
If you have any questions about the retention periods for holding your personal information, please contact us.
COOKIES AND OTHER TECHNOLOGIES
A “cookie” is a file that a website stores in a user’s computer for future reference. Individuals may set their browsers to reject cookies; however, there are ISA services that may not function unless the user accepts the ISA cookie. “Cookies” may be utilized by third parties that we contract with to provide certain functions. You may block or disable cookies or other trackers by changing the settings on your browser, but doing so may prevent you from accessing certain functionalities on the Site.
INFORMATION CORRECTION OR CHANGES
You have the ability to correct or change certain information in our records, such as your address and contact information. Generally, you may change this information at any time and as often as necessary. If you need assistance or have questions about correcting information, please email DataProtection@signs.org.
GOVERNING LAW AS TO INDIVIDUALS NOT COVERED BY THE GDPR
As to individuals outside of the applicability of the GDPR, this Privacy Policy and the privacy practices of ISA will be subject exclusively to the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia within the United States of America, excluding its conflict of laws provisions, and you submit to personal jurisdiction in Virginia. The parties irrevocably agree that the state and federal courts located in the Commonwealth of Virginia, U.S.A. shall have exclusive jurisdiction in respect of any dispute which may arise out of or in connection with this Privacy Policy. THE PARTIES HEREBY WAIVE TRIAL BY JURY.
OPT-OUT RIGHT
You have the option to “opt-out” of having your personal information collected by ISA, or used by ISA for secondary purposes, by contacting ISA via email at DataProtection@signs.org, or at the telephone number below. Exhibitors may restrict the publication of all or selected elements of their personal information in the ISA International Sign Expo guide given to attendees and available onsite by emailing DataProtection@signs.org. Please note that some or all of the user provided information may be required in order for the Sites to function properly or to provide services.
EMAILS
If you have provided us with your email address to subscribe to one of our services or to receive notifications or updates about one of the offerings at our sites and you wish to change your address or no longer wish to receive these communications, simply follow the unsubscribe instructions that appear in these email communications.
Please note that any information that we have collected may remain in back-up storage, archival, and/or our log files, for some period of time after a deletion request. This may be the case even though no information about your account remains actively used as described in this Privacy Policy.
NOTIFICATION OF CHANGES
Periodically we may make changes to this Policy. You are responsible for periodically checking our website for changes to this Privacy Policy. Any such change will be effective immediately upon posting on the Site. When significant changes are made to the policy which will directly impact how personal information is collected or used, ISA will notify you by additional means, where possible, such as posting a notice on the Site or sending you an email, or some other prominent mechanism.
CONTACT INFORMATION
We welcome your feedback regarding this Privacy Policy. If you have any comments, questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy you may contact us at:
International Sign Association
1001 N. Fairfax St., Ste. 301
Alexandria, VA 22314
Phone: (703) 836-4012
Fax: (703) 836-8353
DataProtection@signs.org
LAST UPDATED
This Privacy Policy was last updated February 2021.
