The public web site includes information, software or media on which it is operated or contained,individually and collectively the "Information" which is made available by any users using Acrobat reader 7.0 and Macromedia Flash player 8. Our goal is to keep this information timely and accurate. If errors are brought to our attention, we will try to correct them.

However the European Commission doesnt accept any responsibility or liability what so ever with regard to the material on this public site. This material is:

• Common Information only which is not intended to address the specific circumstances of any particular individual or entity.
• Not necessarily comprehensive, complete, accurate or up to date.
• Sometimes linked to external sites over which neither the IRC Secretariat nor the European Commission has control nor for which IRC Secretariat and European Commission could not assume any responsibility.
• Not professional or legal advice.If you need specific advice, you should always consult a suitably qualified professional.

It is our goal to minimize disruption caused by technical errors.

However some data or information on our site might have been created or structured in files or formats that are not error-free and we cannot guarantee that our service will not be interrupted or otherwise affected by such problems.

The IRC Secretariat and the European Commission do not accept any responsibility with regard to such problems, or the consequences thereof, incurred as a result of using this site or any linked external sites.

This disclaimer is not intended to contravene any requirements laid down in applicable national law or to exclude liability for matters that may not be excluded under that law.

The Web sites include information, and the software and media on which it is operated or contained, individually and collectively known as the "Information", which is made available by IRC Secretariat.

The Information has been supplied by European Commission staff, the IRC Secretariat and/or by companies or organizations involved in the IRC Network.

All title and intellectual property rights, including, but not limited to, trademarks, copyrights in and to the Information, and any copies thereof in whatever form, are owned by the Information Suppliers and/or by the IRC Secretariat , and/or by other parties, and are protected by the applicable national or transnational laws.

Any trademarks or names being used are for editorial purposes only, and to the benefit of the trademark owner, with no intention of infringing upon that trademark.

Except where otherwise noted, all site contents are: European Communities - All rights reserved.

Reproduction is NOT authorized without prior written agreement. For requests to use or reproduce any of the contents of this site please contact IRC Secretariatfor a Re-publication Licence.

The IRC Secretariat thanks you for visiting the Innovation Relay Centre network public website.

The web site is operated on behalf of the European Union to facilitate the exchange of information between the various players active in the fields of R&D and technological innovation. The purpose of this Privacy notice is to inform users of the Public -Intranet Web site about what information might be collected about them when they visit this site, how this information is used, if it is disclosed and the ways in which we protect users' privacy.

Legal sources *

The Internet is overturning traditional market structures by providing a common, global infrastructure for the delivery of a wide range of electronic communications services. Publicly available electronic communications services over the Internet open new possibilities for users but also new risks for their personal data and privacy. **

The policy on "protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data by the Community institutions" is based on Regulation (EC) N 45/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18th December 2000. This general policy acts the requirements from the art.286 of the EU Treaty, the Directive 95/46/EC and the Directive 97/66/EC concerning the processing of personal Data and the protection of privacy in the telecommunications sectors and most of all Directive 2002/58/EC.

This general policy covers the European Union "family" of institutional Web Sites, including the IRC Network web sites as well as services from IRC Secretariat.

You can browse freely through our web sites without giving any information about yourself. However, in some cases, personal information may be required in order to enable us to provide the e-services you request (Automatic Matching Tool, Whos who etc).

In such cases, this personal information is treated according to the policy described in the above-mentioned Regulation. Please note that we collect no personal information about you when you visit our Web site unless you choose to provide that information to us.

Personal Data Protection Policy

The European Union is committed to user privacy.

To better protect your privacy, we provide this notice explaining our on-line information practices and the choices you can make about the way your information is collected and used by the bodies of the EC as the IRC Secretariat for the IRC Network. Each IRC or organization which is member of the Network should be inform its own users about the national act(s) for the personal data protection:

Whereas the art.15 of Directive 2002/58/EC and Directive 97/66/EC requires that each states members adopt legislative measures related to this.

Whereas The provisions applicable to the Community institutions and bodies should correspond to those provisions laid down in connection with the harmonisation of national laws or the implementation of other Community policies, notably in the mutual assistance sphere. It may be necessary, however, to specify and add to those provisions when it comes to ensuring protection in the case of the processing of personal data by the Community institutions and bodies.

Whereas each national law is applied to the national user concerned by the using of the Web site without of the principles the international law.

Data Protection by Third-party Sites

Some web pages contain links to other sites whose information practices may be different to those of IRC Network. Neither IRC Secretariat nor the European Commission is necessarily responsible for the privacy practices within any of these other sites. You should be aware of this when you leave the IRC Network web site and we encourage you to read the privacy statements on other Web sites you visit, as we have no control over information that is submitted to, or collected by, these third parties.

The information we collect from visitors to THE IRC NETWORK WEB SITE

Traffic data may, inter alia, consist of data referring to the routing, duration, time or volume of a communication, to the protocol used, to the location of the terminal equipment of the sender or recipient, to the network on which the communication originates or terminates, to the beginning, end or duration of a connection. They may also consist of the format in which the communication is conveyed by the network. *

Log files allow us to record visitors' use of the site. The IRC Secretariat puts together log file information from all our visitors, which we use to improve our understanding of user needs and patterns of behaviour, and to make improvements to the layout of the site and to the information in it, based on the way that visitors move around it. Log files do not contain any personal information about you. We automatically collect non-personal information such as:

• The type and version of the operating system of your computer (e.g. MS Windows 2000).
• The type and version of the browser (e.g. Internet Explorer 6) used to access THE IRC NETWORK WEB SITE.
• The Internet domain (for example, "xcompany.com" if you use a private Internet access account or "yourschool.edu" if you connect from a university's domain).
• The IP address from which you access THE IRC NETWORK WEB SITE. (NB: an IP address is a number that is assigned to your computer whenever you are surfing the Web - it may be the always the same or different each time, depending on how your Web access is configured.)
• The date and time you access THE IRC NETWORK WEB SITE.
• The pages you visit.
• If you linked to THE IRC NETWORK WEB SITE from another Web site, the address of that Web site.
• If you follow a link from THE IRC NETWORK WEB SITE to another Web site, the address of that Web site.
• Etc.

Any visitor to IRC Network web site may voluntarily register their details if they wish to.

In some cases, the IRC Network web site requires users to register in order to gain access to certain pages or e-services as ones provides on our intranet as the BBS, Automatic Matching Tool, the TTT Database even, the Whos who section or to subscribe to one of our services such as our on-line newsletters, or to participate in one of our on-line forums or communities.

The types of personally identifiable information that may be collected on registration include:

• Information we need to provide the e-service you require (mandatory) - e.g. name, organization, address, e-mail address, etc.
• Information you may choose to provide, and which can help us to have a clearer understanding of the IRC NETWORK WEB SITE user community as a whole - e.g. telephone number, fax number, age group, information about your interests in, and use of, various products, programs, and services, etc.

The member recognizes that he has all the necessary tools for:

• updating his own information, and in particular his postal and electronic addresses,
• modifying his subscriptions to various communication supports (newsletters, alerts, flash, etc.),
• suppressing all or part of his account.

A member engages himself to modify his personal data if needed in order to remain identifiable and reachable by the IRC Secretariat and by the site visitors.

Feedback Facilities and Help Desk

The IRC NETWORK WEB SITE seeks to provide a high level of interactivity with and between visitors, the European Union institutions and other players in the R&D and Technological innovation domain.

A feedback form assists visitors to provide comments about the service, and the support help desk line has a specialist team waiting to assist visitors to make the best possible use of the IRC NETWORK WEB SITE service.

Personal information may be required in order to enable us to properly understand your situation, and of course to provide you with the particular response or information you expect.

In these cases, only the personal information required to respond is solicited - e.g. name, e-mail address, etc. and of course your comments and questions.

Data Records

Some of the IRC NETWORK WEB SITE databases (e.g. TTT Database, Automatic Matching Tool, Whos who, etc.) may contain personal information that you have already provided to IRC Network members (e.g. information concerning your involvement in an EU-funded R&D project).

This information is considered as "public information", and is published by the IRC NETWORK, as provided by the European institution concerned, in good faith. Such "public information" is not subject to the present Privacy Notice.

Cookies

In general, a cookie is a small file created in your computer from a site using the Internet network to store information, such as your preferences when visiting that site.

For example, a cookie might contain a record of the pages you looked at within the site you visited, to help the site customize the view for you the next time you visit.

Cookies can also store personally identifiable information that can be used to identify or contact you, such as your name, e-mail address, home or work address, or telephone number.

However, a Web site only has access to the personally identifiable information that you provide - for example, the IRC NETWORK WEB SITE cannot determine your e-mail address unless you provide it. Also, a Web site cannot use a cookie to gain access to other information on your computer.

Once a cookie is saved on your computer, only the Web site that created the cookie can read it.

There are several types of cookies:

• A persistent cookie is one stored as a file on your computer, and which remains there when you close your browser (MS Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator, etc.) The cookie can be read by the Web site that created it when you visit that site again.
• A temporary or session cookie is stored only for your current browsing session, and is deleted from your computer when you close your browser.
• A first-party cookie either originates on, or is sent to, the Web site you are currently viewing. These cookies are commonly used to store information, such as your preferences when visiting that site.
• A third-party cookie either originates on, or is sent to, a Web site different from the one you are currently viewing. Third-party Web sites usually provide some content on the Web site you are viewing. For example, many sites use advertising from third-party Web sites and those third-party Web sites may use cookies. A common use for this type of cookie is to track your Web page use for advertising or other marketing purposes. Third-party cookies can either be persistent or temporary.
• Unsatisfactory cookies are cookies that might allow access to personally identifiable information that could be used for a secondary purpose without your consent.

Most browsers allow you to choose whether to allow some, none, or all cookies to be saved on your computer.

Please check the Help facility provided within your browser to understand your available options and how to manage these.

If you do not allow cookies at all, you may not be able to view some Web sites or to take advantage of certain customization features.

1. The IRC NETWORK WEB SITE does not use cookies in any systematic manner, but only in a limited number of specific circumstances in which the user benefits from the use of particular cookies - for example by not having to repeatedly provide a password.


2. No use is made of cookies by the IRC NETWORK WEB SITE to gather any personal information about you. Any personal information you provide (e.g. by registering for use of certain services) is not connected with cookies, is solely for use by the IRC NETWORK WEB SITE service, and will not be communicated to third parties.


3. The IRC NETWORK WEB SITE does not permit the use of third party cookies.


4. Users should be aware that by following links provided in the IRC NETWORK WEB SITE pages they may arrive on Web pages that are not part of the IRC NETWORK WEB SITE and thus not under our control or responsibility. Some of these pages may be published by organisations with different cookie policies and may set cookies.


5. The IRC NETWORK WEB SITE reserves the right to modify its policy and practice in the use of cookies at any moment without prior notice - however, our objectives to respect the privacy of each user and to use cookies solely for the purpose of improving the service provided (e.g. by saving the user time, reducing inconvenience, anticipating requirements, etc.) will remain unchanged. We will also notify users of any changes in cookie policy by announcement on the IRC NETWORK WEB SITE Web site.


6. Users who set their PC browsers to block cookies (either in general, or - on some browsers - just for a particular Web site URL such as the IRC NETWORK WEB SITE) will still be able to view and use the IRC NETWORK WEB SITE pages. However, by blocking cookies, the user may experience inconveniences such as needing to repetitively provide passwords, or to repeatedly refuse an automatic transaction request. (NB: We have observed that users working with some older browser versions may experience some operating difficulties with cookies.)

Any personal information you provide to the IRC NETWORK WEB SITE will be held securely, and your personal details will not normally be disclosed to third parties.

In some circumstances however we may need to disclose your personal details to a third party so that they can provide a service you have requested, or fulfil a request for information. Any information about you that we pass to a third party will be held securely by that party, and used only to provide the services or information you have requested.

The IRC NETWORK WEB SITE will not divulge your personal data to third parties for direct marketing purposes. We will disclose information we maintain when required doing so by law, for example in response to a court order. We also may disclose information in response to a legitimate request from an official law enforcement agency (e.g. the police, or an investigating magistrate).

We have put in place, and we regularly review and update, appropriate physical, electronic, and managerial procedures to safeguard and help prevent unauthorized access, maintain data security, and correctly use the information we collect on-line. Agents and contractors of the European Union who have access to personally identifiable information held by the IRC NETWORK SITE are required to protect this information in a way that is consistent with this Privacy Notice by, for example, not using the information for any purpose other than to carry out the services they are performing for the IRC NETWORK SITE.

Although we take appropriate measures to safeguard against unauthorized disclosures of information, we cannot guarantee that personally identifiable information will never be disclosed in a manner that is inconsistent with this Privacy Notice.

Inadvertent disclosure may result, for example, when third parties misrepresent their identities in asking the site for access to personally identifiable information about themselves for purposes of correcting possible factual errors in the data.

The IRC NETWORK SITE has set up a number of automatic checking systems (e.g. if an e-mail address provided no longer exists) that may indicate if a particular registered user appears to be no longer making use of the service. In the event that such a case is detected, we will make every effort to contact the registered user concerned before deleting the information, but the IRC NETWORK SITE reserves the right to delete personal information records, and associated service and access rights, that appear to be no longer in use and/or valid.

The IRC NETWORK e-mailing action

The IRC NETWORK service respects the principles of privacy in electronic communications.

It strictly follows the protocol below in order to accomplish its mandate within legal and ethical guidelines.

Basic principles :

• Legal mandate
  
  

  The European Commission, through the instrument of the Framework Programmes, has a mandate to seek to improve the research and innovation environment throughout Europe.

  In doing so it undertakes many interventions and actions including, via the IRC NETWORK services, both passive publication and active communication.

  These are information services undertaken in the public interest. The IRC NETWORK does not have any commercial interests or make any commercial solicitations.

  As supra-national bodies the Commission and the Publications Office are not subject to the laws of any specific Member State. However, in the area of data protection and electronic communication they comply with Directive 2002/58/EC and its predecessor directive 1995/46/ECon privacy and electronic communications, and undertake to adopt current accepted best practice as agreed by international treaties.



• Application of opt-in and opt-out principles
  
  

  All mailings, including those to registered subscribers, will contain an opt-out option.

  The exercise of this option will be as simple as is practicable, and will be immediately, globally, and permanently effective for that e-mail address. It is a 'positive' opt-out in that the address is stored in an opt-out list against which all newly acquired addresses are checked and any matches removed.

  Where an electronic communication is sent to a recipient who has not had a previous relationship with the IRC NETWORK WEB SITE it will make a specific request to obtain the permission of that recipient for further communications.

  If a negative reply is received the same principles will apply as if the recipient had unsubscribed. If no reply is received the address will be stored in a reserve list.

  The reserve list will not be used for normal mailing communications, but may be used a maximum of two times per year for the communication of significant information. Each such request will be regarded as a first time mailing and will again request the permission of the recipient.



• Reasonableness of communication
  
  
  the IRC NETWORK WEB SITE will always use its best endeavors to ensure that:
  *Message content is inoffensive.
  *Communication to any one recipient is not undertaken more frequently than is reasonable.
  *Other than in special circumstances, such as a general new announcement that may be of interest to all users, mailings will always contain selected content that meets the user's known preferences.

Registration and opt-out

Individuals may register with various the IRC NETWORK WEB SITE services.

All such registrations are kept centrally as a single record and are used to build a composite profile of the user and their requirements in order that the IRC NETWORK WEB SITE can design and deliver services that are relevant and avoid unwanted communications.

All users who opt-in as a result of an electronic communication are registered as a 'the IRC NETWORK WEB SITE users'.

Registered users have a password protected which directs them to a Web access with their profile. They are able to enhance or edit it, to cancel their registration, or to request "un-subscription" from specific services. A Help Desk Support is provided to deal with other user enquiries or problems, and the contact details of the Help Desk are provided on every automated communication.

The IRC Secretariat will take all reasonable steps to protect the privacy of registered users.

It will not release any individual user details to third parties.

Should the legal mandate for its actions cease, the IRC Secretariat will under supervision of the European Commission erase the data or will seek the permission of the registered users, on an individual basis, for whatever alternative action is proposed.

Contractors operating information services on behalf of IRC Secretariat are legally bound by confidentiality clauses.

Message format

By default all messages will be HTML unless the recipient had opted-in for other formats.

All messages will:

• Identify the sender.
• Identify the source of the recipient's e-mail address including a special message if this is the first contact.
• Make clear the purpose and draw attention to the opt-out facility.
• Contain the message content.
• Give contact details (or those of a mailing partner in the case of a joint mailing).

Mailing delivery

In order to avoid unnecessary Internet traffic, and wastage of server resources, all mailing addresses will be checked for integrity and validity. All non-working addresses will be de-activated.

All sources will be checked against the central database and de-duplicated such that users do not receive multiple mailings if an identical address is obtained from more than one source.

The frequency of mailings in certain subscription services is determined by the availability of data and speed is in some cases of the essence in getting information to subscribers in a timely fashion.

Other mailings will be governed by a mailing plan constructed such that users generally only receive mailings about once per month and never receive two mailings closer than two weeks apart.

The IRC NETWORK cannot avoid sending bulk mail in response to its users' subscriptions. However, each e-mail is a customized collection of information for an individual subscriber and so is sent separately and never as a bulk addressed single e-mail.

In addition the IRC NETWORK will when possible:

• Avoid sending bulk mail at times when the Internet traffic levels are known to be high.
• Batch deliveries and spread them over time so that it does not overload servers.
• Notify major ISPs that the IRC NETWORK bulk e-mail is from a known and respectable source and should be delivered to the recipient.
• Send automated messages from a special address and server in order to avoid anti-spam systems blocking normal correspondence between the IRC NETWORK and its users.

How You Can Access or Correct Information

You have the right to request a copy of your personal details at any time to check the accuracy of the information held, and/or to correct or update this information. You may also delete your personal information completely - this will mean that you will also terminate all services and access rights that may be linked to this information. (NB: To assist users who accidentally delete their personal information, the IRC NETWORK Help Desk support keeps an archive of deleted data)

To protect your privacy and security, we will take reasonable steps to help verify your identity before granting access or making corrections.

If you wish to access or correct your personal information, you may either do this yourself on-line, or ask It support to help you.

Changes to this Privacy Notice

If this Privacy Notice changes in any way, we will place an updated version on this page.

Regularly reviewing this page ensures that you are always aware of what information we collect, how we use it and under what circumstances, if any, we will share it with other parties.