Privacy Information Center

Introduction

In pursuing our mission to improve the human condition by providing leading products, services and systems to researchers, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. and its affiliates collect and process personally identifiable information (also known as personal data) in a variety of circumstances.

This Privacy Information Center is intended to explain how we collect, use, process and disclose your personally identifiable information (also known as personal data) across all of our business activities. In all cases, we are committed to protecting the privacy of individuals in accordance with global privacy laws.

Privacy statements begin with a description of the activities and individuals to which that statement applies. Statements may vary by country, region, or Thermo Fisher Scientific business group. Please make sure that you read these descriptions carefully so that you can view the disclosures that apply to you based on how you interact with us and where you are located.

Quick links:

• Thermo Fisher’s Privacy Standards
• Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. Online Privacy Statement

Thermo Fisher’s Privacy Standards

Across all of our business activities, members of the Thermo Fisher Scientific Corporate Group (see: http://resource.thermofisher.com/page/DB_17_0119/?cid=fl-legalentities) recognize and seek to base our privacy practices on accepted principles utilized by various regulatory and industry groups.  In summary, these principles are as follows:

• Collection Limitation: To obtain personal data by lawful and fair means and, where appropriate, with the knowledge and consent of the individual whom particular personal data is about (the “data subject”).
• Data Quality: To process personal data that is, taking into account the purposes for which it was collected, accurate, complete and up-to-date.
• Purpose Specification: Tospecify the purposes for which personal data is collected before such collection takes place.
• Use Limitation: To use personal data only in accordance with the purposes that were specified before it was collected, except with the data subject’s consent or by the authority of law.
• Security Safeguards: To protect personal data using reasonable security safeguards.
• Openness: To be open about privacy practices, policies and developments, and the details of any processing that takes place.
• Individual Participation: To respond to data subjects’ requests to know what personal data is being processed and guide how that data should be processed, as required by applicable law.
• Accountability: To be accountable for complying with measures that give effect to these privacy principles.

Privacy standards may vary by country, region, or Thermo Fisher Scientific business group, depending on applicable law and regulations.  Please refer to the website for the country or region in which you are located, or to websites that may apply to specific business groups.

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Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. Online Privacy Statement

Last Updated: May 25, 2018

In this Online Privacy Statement, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (for the purposes of this Online Privacy Statement, “we” “us” or “our”) provides information about how it receives, collects, uses and transfers information about any user or visitor (for the purposes of this Online Privacy Statement, “you”) of our Online Services where these Online Services directly link to this Online Privacy Statement.  Examples of Online Services include thermofisher.com, fishersci.com and the mobile application available through thermofisher.com.  If you are located in the European Economic Area, please refer to the Supplemental European Online Privacy Statement.

Information You Actively Submit. If you create an account, order products, register for services, or otherwise submit data using the Online Services, we collect information about you and the company or other entity you represent (e.g., your name, organization, address, email address, phone number, fax number). You may also provide information specific to your interaction with the Online Services, such as payment information to make a purchase, shipping information to receive a purchase, or a resume to apply for employment.  In such instances, you will know what personal data is collected by us, because you will have actively submitted it.

Information Passively Submitted. We automatically collect information during your use and navigation of the Online Services, including the URL of the website you came from, the browser software you use, your Internet Protocol (IP) address, IP ports, date/time of access, data transferred, pages visited, amount of time you spend on the Online Services and information about actions and transactions conducted on the Online Services.

If you use our mobile applications, then we also collect technical information about your device (including device operating system version and device hardware), unique device identifiers (including device IP address), and, if you activate the relevant feature on your device, geolocation data.  This data is generated and collected automatically, as part of the standard operation of the Online Services.

We also use “cookies” to enhance and customize your experience of the Online Services.  A cookie is a small text file that may be stored on your computer or device used to access the Online Services.  You may set your browser software to reject cookies, but doing so may prevent us from offering conveniences or features on the Online Services.  To reject cookies, refer to information about your specific browser software.  We also use eTags, which are opaque identifiers assigned by a web server to specific versions of a resource found at a URL.  If the resource at that URL changes, a new and different eTag is assigned.  This allows us to track which pages you visit while on the Online Services.  In addition, we use electronic images known as web beacons (also called pixel tags or clear GIFs) to track users who have visited the Online Services.  Web beacons allow us to deliver content and marketing communications tailored to your interests.  We strive to provide a customized, personalized experience to website visitors.  Our websites do not currently respond to ‘do not track’ signals in web browsers.

Use of Information.  We use personal data that we collect about you through the Online Services to:

• Upon request, create an account for you or the organization for which you work;
• Fulfill your orders for products and services;
• Provide requested services and information;
• Respond appropriately to your inquiries;
• Update your account, orders and transactions;
• Discharge our contractual obligations to you;
• Comply with any legal obligations that apply to us; and
• Customize your experience on the Online Services.

To the extent permitted by applicable law, including in accordance with your consent where required by applicable law, we use may engage in the following activities:

• We may use your email address to send you marketing emails to a designated email address.  If you do not wish to receive such marketing emails, you may opt out by declining to receive such emails when registering or at other information collection points on the Online Services or by following opt-out instructions included in such emails.
• We may collect personal data about you (namely, your position, specialty and publications) from publicly-available resources such as company, university, and publications websites, and combine it with personal data we have collected about you, to complete our customer profile of you in support of our sales and marketing activities.
• We may display advertisements to you regarding products and services that we believe are relevant to you based on your activities on the Online Services.  Such advertisements may be shown on our Online Services or the online services of others.  We achieve this purpose by using, and allowing third parties (Facebook is one of the best-known, but these are too numerous to list) to use, certain cookies, eTags, web beacons and other tracking technologies to track your activities on our Online Services and other online services.  For more information about these activities and how to manage or opt out of them, please see our statement on Cookies (https://www.thermofisher.com/us/en/home/global/how-cookies-are-used.html) or contact us at dataprivacy@thermofisher.com. 

We also perform statistical analyses of the users of our Online Services to improve the content, design and navigation of the Online Services.  In these cases, we use aggregate or statistical data that cannot reasonably be used to identify you.

Sharing and Transfers of Information.  We will not disclose your personal data to third parties, except in the following circumstances and in accordance with applicable law:

• With your consent;
• To our global subsidiaries, divisions and groups worldwide (see http://resource.thermofisher.com/page/DB_17_0119/?cid=fl-legalentities) and third-party service providers, who act on our behalf and instructions to fulfill product orders, deliver services, provide IT support, and fulfill the other purposes set forth above;
• To our affiliates, who work with us to improve our and their products, services and business practices;
• As required by applicable law, including, without limitation, in response to any government or regulatory agency request, to cooperate with law enforcement investigations, or upon receipt of any court order;
• To a prospective or actual purchaser or seller in the context of a merger, acquisition or other reorganization or sale of our business or assets; and
• To courts and public authorities to protect you, us, or third parties from harm, including fraud or instances where somebody’s physical safety is at risk.

Service providers acting on our behalf shall be obliged to adhere to confidentiality requirements no less protective than those described in this Online Privacy Statement and will only receive access to your personal data as necessary to perform their functions.

Uses and disclosures of personal data by third-party individuals and organizations acting on our behalf are governed by agreements that require personal data to be protected appropriately. In these cases, personal data about you will only be used and disclosed by us and individuals and organizations working on our behalf, in a manner consistent with this policy, other applicable privacy notices, and as explicitly permitted or required by applicable laws, rules and regulations.

Our third-party service providers are located in the United States and other jurisdictions.

Retention. We generally retain personal data for as long as needed for the specific business purpose or purposes for which it was collected. In some cases, we may be required to retain personal data for a longer period of time based on laws or regulations that apply to our business or for other necessary business purposes. Where possible, we aim to anonymize the information or remove unnecessary identifiers from records that we may need to keep for periods beyond the original retention period.

Access. You may access, correct, and/or update your information by accessing your accounts or profiles on the Online Services.  Alternately, you may at any time request access to information that we hold about you; you may also request corrections, updates, or deletion of your information. We will make reasonable efforts to respond promptly to such requests in accordance with applicable laws. You can make a request by contacting dataprivacy@thermofisher.com, or, if you are a data subject in the European Economic Area, by submitting an Individual Rights Request form.

Information Security. We take commercially reasonable technical, physical, and organizational steps to safeguard any information you provide through the Online Services, and to protect it from unauthorized access, loss, misuse, or alteration.  Although we take reasonable security precautions, no computer system or transmission of information can ever be completely secure or error-free, and you should not expect that your information will remain private under all circumstances.  In addition, it is your responsibility to safeguard any passwords, ID numbers, or similar individual information associated with your use of the Online Services.

Changes to this Online Privacy Statement. We reserve the right to change this Online Privacy Statement from time to time.  We will alert you when changes have been made by indicating the date this Online Privacy Statement was last updated as the date the Online Privacy Statement became effective.  It is recommended that you periodically revisit this Online Privacy Statement to learn of any changes.

Questions and Comments. If you have questions or comments about this Online Privacy Statement or about how any information you submit through the Online Services is used, please contact dataprivacy@thermofisher.com.

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