Privacy policy
1. Introduction
1.1 This privacy policy (Privacy Policy) sets out the ways in which we, ERS (we, us, our), may collect and use your personal data on our publications and manuscript submissions websites. You should also refer to our Terms and conditions (http://www.ersjournals.com/subscriptions/individuals-members), the privacy policy provided by ERS in relation to membership and other activities (https://www.ersnet.org/privacy) and the privacy policy provided on our manuscript submission platforms (https://clarivate.com/legal/scholarone-privacy-notice/scholarone-privacy-notice-en/).
1.2 In this privacy policy:
1.2.1 ‘Contribution’ means any submissions, edits, information or data (in any form) you make available via your ScholarOne account including without limitation uploading of any articles or edits to articles;
1.2.2 Your ScholarOne account is a registered account which enables you to submit, edit or review any articles intended for publication in one of our publications;
1.2.3 ‘Site’ means our websites http://ersjournals.com and http://books.ersjournals.com/ and their subdomains, including ScholarOne sites;
1.2.4 ‘Submitting Author’ means an author submitting an article intended for publication in one of our publications (whether for himself/herself or on behalf of a group of authors or an institution); and
1.2.5 ‘You’ and ‘your’ refer to you, the person visiting the Site, registering for a ScholarOne account or otherwise using services on the Site.
1.3 By visiting our site, registering for a ScholarOne account or using the services on the Site as may be applicable, you consent to our processing of your personal data in accordance with this Privacy Policy.
2. About us
We are a branch of a Swiss Verein, based in England.
You can contact us either via the “Help” option on the Site, or as follows:
Postal Address: European Respiratory Society Publications office, 442 Glossop Road, Sheffield, S10 2PX, UK
Email: journals@ersnet.org
3. Information we may collect about you
3.1 Information that you provide
3.1.1 We will collect any information that you provide to us when you register for a ScholarOne account or other user account (for example, ecommerce), provide us with your details by email or over the phone, or subscribe to our table of contents alerts. This information might include your name, password, address, email address, phone number and age, and may include additional information about your academic and work history, references and any other such similar information as may be required.
3.2 Information we collect about you
3.2.1 We may collect any information contained in any correspondence. For example, if you contact us using the feedback form via the Site or by email or telephone, we may keep a record of that correspondence.
3.2.2 We will collect information that you add to your ScholarOne account and/or any correspondence or interactions that you may have with other ScholarOne account holders during the peer review process.
3.2.3 We will also collect certain information about how you use the Site and the device that you use to access the Site. This might include your IP address, geographical location, device information (such as your hardware model, mobile network information, unique device identifiers), browser type, referral source, length of visit to the Site, number of page views, the search queries you make on the Site and similar information. This information may be collected by a third-party website analytics service provider on our behalf and/or may be collected using cookies. For more information on cookies, please refer to clause 6 below.
3.3 Information we receive from third parties
3.3.1 We may receive information about you from third-party providers. For example, if you choose to register for a ScholarOne account and submit an article for publication you may be asked to provide your ORCID ID. By providing your ORCID ID, you are authorising that third-party provider to share certain information about you.
3.3.2 We may also use third-party providers to verify information provided by you via your ScholarOne account, including any articles you submit to us for publication. For example, we may use plagiarism-checking service providers and/or any other third-party databases or websites to confirm your publication history.
3.3.3 We may receive information about you from third parties that are referring you to us. For example, if you are a co-author of an article, the Corresponding Author may be required to provide information about you. If you are the referring party, you warrant that you have obtained the necessary consent to share this information with us.
3.3.4 We might also receive information about you from third parties if you have indicated to such third party that you would like to hear from us.
4. How we use information about you
4.1 You agree that we may use your information for the following purposes:
4.1.1 to provide you with access to the Sites;
4.1.2 to enable submission, peer-review, editing, production and publication of articles in our publications;
4.1.3 to provide you with details about your ScholarOne account;
4.1.4 to keep in contact with you about ERS publications news, new ScholarOne features or services, new publications or special issues that we believe may interest you, where you have subscribed to receive them;
4.1.5 where you give us your consent to do so, to share your information with selected third parties, to enable them to contact you with information about things that may interest you;
4.1.6 to provide customer service and support, deal with enquiries or complaints about the Site;
4.1.7 to improve our Site and to ensure that content from our Site is presented in the most effective and optimal manner;
4.1.8 to carry out aggregated and anonymised research about engagement with the different elements of our Site and the products and the ERS products and services;
4.1.9 to carry out aggregated and anonymised research about geographical and institutional trends in engagement with our Site and the ERS products and services;
4.1.10 to protect, investigate, and deter against fraudulent, unauthorised, or illegal activity, including without limitation plagiarism and identity fraud;
4.1.11 to comply with our policies, procedures and legal obligations; and
4.1.12 to enable us to enforce our legal rights, or to protect the rights, property or safety of our employees.
5. Whom we might share your information with
5.1 You agree that we can share your personal information with:
5.1.1 any affiliates or selected third parties that we work with, where necessary for the purposes of delivering to you the Site or any services associated with it (including for example, hosting or operating the Site, site analytics, delivering marketing communications (where you have subscribed), providing journal production services and providing fraud and plagiarism detection services);
5.1.2 other ScholarOne account users, where required for the purpose of using your contribution (for example, during the peer review process);
5.1.3 any selected third party that you consent to our sharing your information with for marketing purposes;
5.1.4 any prospective seller or buyer of such business or assets, only in the event that we decide to sell or buy any business or assets; and
5.1.5 any other third parties (including regulatory authorities, courts and government agencies) where necessary to enable us to enforce our legal rights, or to protect the rights, property or safety of our employees or where such disclosure may be permitted or required by law.
5.2 We require third parties to maintain appropriate security to protect your information from unauthorised access or processing.
6. Cookies
6.1 We use cookies to ensure that you get the most out of our Site. Cookies are small amounts of information in the form of text files which we store on the device you use to access the Site. Cookies allow us to monitor your use of the software and simplify your use of the site. For example, a temporary cookie is also used to keep track of your "session".
6.2 If you do not wish for cookies to be installed on your device, you can change the settings on your browser or device to reject cookies. For more information, consult the “Help” section of your internet browser or visit https://www.aboutcookies.org. If you do set your browser to reject cookies, you may not be able to access all of the functions of the Site.
6.3 For more information about how we use cookies, please see: http://erj.ersjournals.com/site/cookie-policy
6.4 Our Site may contain content and links to other sites that are operated by third parties that may also operate cookies. Please consult the terms and conditions of the relevant third-party site to find out how that site collects and uses your information.
7. How we look after your information and how long we keep it for
7.1 We use appropriate technological and operational security measures to protect your information against any unauthorised access to or unlawful use.
7.2 We will retain your information for as long as is necessary to provide you with the services that you have requested from us or for as long as the law otherwise permits.
7.3 The transmission of information over the internet is not always completely secure. Although we do our best to implement measures to protect your information from unauthorised access, we cannot always guarantee the security of information that you send over the internet.
8. International transfers of your information
8.1 Our company is located outside the European Economic Area (EEA). We also engage third parties and affiliates around the world to assist us in providing our Site and services to you, such as by providing hosting and IT services and journal production servers.
8.2 We will take all steps necessary to ensure that any of your information is adequately protected and processed in accordance with this Privacy Policy, including but not limited to by using all appropriate cross-border transfer solutions such as the European Commission’s Standard Contractual Clauses. You consent to this transfer and processing of your information.
9. Your rights to the information we hold about you
9.1 You have certain rights in respect of the information that we hold about you, including:
9.1.1 the right to ask us not to process your personal data for marketing purposes;
9.1.2 the right to request access to the information that we hold about you; and
9.1.3 in certain circumstances, the right to ask us to stop processing information about you.
9.2 You may exercise your rights by contacting us using the details in clause 2.
9.3 Please note that we may need to retain certain information for our own record-keeping and research purposes. We may also need to send you service-related communications relating to your ScholarOne account even when you have requested not to receive marketing communications.
10. Changes to this privacy policy
We may make changes to this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will post any changes to our site, or notify you of any material changes by e-mail. Any changes will come into effect the next time you engage with us after the changes have been notified.
This page was updated on 18 December, 2020