Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

Spark Biomedical, Inc. (“Company,” “we,” or “us”) respects your privacy and is committed to protecting it through this Privacy Policy.

This Privacy Policy describes what information we collect about you, how we collect it, how we use it, with whom we may share it, and what choices you have regarding it. This Privacy Policy applies to your  use of our websites, including  Sparkbiomedical.com, SparrowRx.com, and any other present or future website, mobile website, mobile app, or any other platform that links to this Privacy Policy  (the “Website“), whether as a guest or a registered user, as well as any other means by which we may collect information about you.

Please read the Privacy Policy carefully before you start to use the Website. By using the Website and/or by clicking to accept or agree to the Terms of Use when this option is made available to you, you accept and agree that you have read and understand this Privacy Policy and that you accept and consent to the privacy practices (and any uses and disclosures of information about you) that are described in this Privacy Policy.

This Privacy Policy does not apply to any websites operated by third parties. We are not responsible for, and this Privacy Policy does not apply to, the privacy practices of other companies or other websites, including those which may indicate a partnership or other relationship with us or to which we may link to from the Website. We encourage you to seek out and read the privacy policy of each website that you visit.

Children Under The Age Of 13

Our Website is not intended for children under 13 years of age. No one under age 13 may provide any information to or on the Website. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you are under 13, do not use or provide any information on this Website or on or through any of its features/register on the Website, including your name, address, telephone number, email address, or any user name you may use.  If we learn we have collected or received personal information from a child under 13 without verification of parental consent, we will delete that information. If you believe we might have any information from or about a child under 13, please contact us at info@sparkbiomedical.com.

How Do We Collect Your Information?

We collect information relating to you and your use of the Website to provide services and features that are responsive to your needs. We collect personal information in the following ways:

• From you. The Website provides various places for users to provide information to us through the Website, such as when users fill out forms on the Website, communicate with us via contact forms, respond to surveys, submit search queries on our search feature, and provide comments or other feedback via the Website. We also collect information from you when you send us email, send us postal mail, apply for a job with us, speak with us on the telephone, or otherwise interact with us.
• From our business partners. We may receive information about you from our business partner with whom you establish a treatment relationship.  Such information will only be provided to us with your consent, or as otherwise permitted by applicable law.
• From other third-party sources. We may receive information about you from our third-party service providers who help us to provide services to you, including our Website.
• Automatically, as you navigate the Website. As you navigate through our Website, we may use automatic data collection technologies including Google Analytics, to collect certain information about your equipment, browsing actions, and patterns.

What Information Do We Collect About You and How do We Use It?

Information You Provide To Us

We may collect the following information about you directly from you including, but not limited to:

• First and last name
• Postal address and/or zip code
• Email address
• Phone number
• Date of birth
• Gender
• Website log-in credentials
• Location data
• Demographic information
• Limited health-related information

Information We Collect Through Automatic Data Collection Technology/Third Party Service Providers.

Information collected automatically may include usage details, the type of computer and browser you use, your internet connection,  your IP addresses, and information collected through cookies and other tracking technologies. This information is typically collected through a variety of tools including cookies, web beacons, pixels, social media widgets, other tools to enable data recording and indexing, and similar technology (collectively, “tracking technologies”). The information we collect automatically is used to improve our Website and our service offerings. To the extent that you voluntarily provide personal information to us, our systems may associate the automatically collected information with your personal information.

How do We Use Your Personal Information?

We use your information to provide services and information to you, as well as to respond to communications from you. The precise purposes for which your personal information is processed will be determined by the request and by applicable laws, regulatory guidance, and professional standards.

For example, we use information to:

• Provide services to you, including providing customer service to you.
• Provide you with requested information, such as to respond to requests for white papers. The Company collects your information in order to record and support your participation in the activities you select. If you register to download a book or resources, sign up for our newsletter, and/or purchase a product from us, we collect your information.
• Provide our Website and its functionalities to you.
• Market our services to you. We collect information to track your preferences and to keep you informed about our products, services, and informational resources and any related products and/or services that you may be interested in.  
• Conduct data analytics to support our Website and business.
• Manage our business needs, such as monitoring, analyzing, and improving the services and the Website’s performance and functionality. For example, we analyze website user behavior and conduct research and analysis about the way you and other users use our Sites.
• Comply with our legal and regulatory obligations. We will use your information as necessary to enforce the terms of our Sites and services to comply with all applicable laws and regulations.
• For other purposes for which you provide your consent. For other purposes which are disclosed to you at the time your information is collected or for purposes which can be inferred from or are obvious given the circumstances of collection.

Sometimes we may aggregate and de-identify information by removing identifiers that can be used to associate the information with you. De-identified information helps us develop reports and analyses about how our Website is used. De-identified information does not include contact information or any other information that would identify any specific individual or household.

Do We Disclose Any Of Your Information to Outside Parties?

As a general rule, we do not sell, rent, lease or license your personal information.  But, we may share your personal information in the circumstances described below:

• Affiliates and Third-Party Services Providers.  We may disclose your personal information to our subsidiaries, affiliates, and service providers for the purpose of providing our services to you, supporting our Website, and otherwise operating our business.
• Health Care Provider Partners.  We may disclose your personal information, only after obtaining your consent, to health care providers that are familiar with our product.
• Legal requirements and business transfers. We may disclose personal information: (i) if we are required to do so by law, legal process, statute, rule, regulation, or professional standard, or to respond to a subpoena, search warrant, or other government official requests; (ii) when we believe disclosure is necessary or appropriate to prevent physical harm or financial loss; (iii) in connection with an investigation of a complaint, security threat, or suspected or actual illegal activity; (iv) in connection with an internal audit; or (v) in the event of a merger, divestiture, restructuring, reorganization, dissolution, or other sale or transfer of some or all of the Company’s asserts and/or business. In these types of transactions, personal information may be shared, sold, or transferred, and it may be used subsequently by a third party.

What Choices Do You Have About Your Personal Information

We offer certain choices about how we communicate with you and what personal information we obtain about you and share with others.

• Provision of Personal Information to Use.  Except in instances where you have registered to download a book or resource from up, we do not require you to provide us with your Personal Information.  
• E-mail.  As described below under “Email Information and Policies,” every email that we send to you includes an opportunity to unsubscribe from the receipt of such communications.
• Cookies. We utilize cookies on our Website to provide you with personalized access and information and to enhance functionality. A cookie is a small piece of data that a website can send to your browser, which may then be stored on your hard drive as a “tag” that identifies your computer. Cookies help to navigate from page to page on a website, provide secure connections, gather statistics about the usage and effectiveness of our Website, and remember preferences from a previous visit when you return. We use third-party services for analytics. These service providers may use cookies alone or in conjunction with unique identifiers, beacons, and other tracking technologies to collect information about you when you use our Website or open our emails. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can change your browser settings to disable all or certain cookies if you wish. Please note that by disabling or deleting cookies, you may not be able to access the full functionality of our Website. Disabling or clearing cookies also may affect cookie-based opt-outs by either preventing you from using such cookie-based opt-outs or clearing opt-outs that you previously set.  Cookies are further elaborated on below under “Automatically Collected Data.”
• Do Not Track. Because there currently is not an industry or legal standard for recognizing or honoring Do Not Track (“DNT”) signals, we do not respond to them at this time.

Automatically Collected Data

We use “cookies” and server logs to collect information about how our Website is used. Information gathered through cookies and server logs may include the date and time of visits, the pages viewed, time spent at our site, and the websites visited just before and just after our own, as well as your IP address.

We use Google Analytics to process personal information about your use of our Website. Google sets cookies on your browser or device, and then your web browser will automatically send information to Google. Google uses this information to provide us with reports that we use to better understand and measure how users interact with our Website.

To learn more about how Google uses data, visit Google’s Privacy Policy and Google’s page on “How Google Uses Data When You Use Our Partners’ Sites or Apps.” You may download the Google Analytics Opt-Out Browser Add-On for each web browser you use, but this does not prevent the use of other analytics tools. To learn more about Google Analytics cookies, visit Google Analytics Cookie Usage on Websites.

Google Maps. Our Websites contain maps provided by third parties and/or service providers for your convenience. Company and such third parties and/or service providers parties may collect data about how you interact with the maps. For example, Google may collect usage data on maps embedded on the Website. Even if you do not interact with the maps, Google may still collect certain information about your interactions with our Website if you are signed into your Google account when accessing our Website. Please see Google's Privacy Policy for more information.  

Social Media

We are active on social media, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn (“Social Media”). Anything you post on Social Media is public information and will not be treated confidentially. We may post (or re-post) on the Website and our Social Media pages any comments or content that you post on our Social Media pages.

Our Website allows you to connect and share data with Social Media platforms. These features may require us to use cookies, plug-ins, and APIs provided by such Social Media platforms to facilitate those communications and features.

Email Information and Policies

If you choose to correspond with us through email, we may retain the content of your email messages together with your email address and our responses. We provide the same protections for these electronic communications that we employ in the maintenance of information received online, mail, and telephone. This also applies when you register for our website, sign up through any of our forms using your email address or make a purchase on this site.

We are committed to keeping your e-mail address confidential. We do not sell, rent, or lease our subscription lists to third parties, and will not disclose your email address to any third parties except as allowed in the section titled Disclosure of Your Information.

We will maintain the information you send via e-mail in accordance with applicable federal law.

Our emails provide users the opportunity to opt-out or “unsubscribe” from receiving communications from us.  Users who no longer wish to receive our newsletter or promotional materials may opt-out of receiving these communications by clicking on the unsubscribe link in the e-mail.

If you are outside the European Union, the UK, or Sweden, and opt to receive any free resources, participate in any free training programs, register for a webinar, register for a live event, register for a seminar, or purchase any products sold by the Company on this Website, we will automatically enroll you to receive our free email newsletter. If you do not wish to receive this newsletter, you can unsubscribe anytime by clicking the “unsubscribe” link at the bottom of every email we send. If you ever have trouble unsubscribing, you can send an email to info@sparkbiomedical.com requesting to unsubscribe from future emails.

How Long Do We Retain Your Personal Information?

We will keep your personal information for the period necessary to fulfill the purposes described in this Privacy Policy, unless a longer retention period is permitted or required by law.

How Do We Protect Your Information?

We employ commercially reasonable physical, technical, and administrative safeguards to protect personal information from loss, misuse, alteration, or destruction, and we strive to protect your personal information against unauthorized access, use, or disclosure, using commercially reasonable security technologies and procedures.  
Email is not recognized as a secure medium of communication. For this reason, we request that you do not send private information to us by email.

We use software programs to monitor network traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information, or otherwise cause damage to the Website.

Location of Our Website

Our Website is hosted and operated in the United States. However, we and our service providers may store information about individuals in the United States, or we may transfer it to, and store it within, other countries.

Visitors from jurisdictions outside the United States visit our Website at their own choice and risk. If you are not a resident of the United States, you acknowledge and agree that we may collect and use your personal information outside your home jurisdiction and that we may store your personal information in the United States or elsewhere. Please note that the level of legal protection provided in the United States from which you may access our Website may not be as stringent as that under privacy standards or the privacy laws of other countries, possibly including your home jurisdiction.

Policy Changes

It is our policy to post any changes we make to our Privacy Policy on this page. If we make material changes to how we treat our users’ personal information, we may notify you by email to the email address you have provided to us and/or  through a notice on the Website home page. The date the Privacy Policy was last revised is identified at the bottom of the page. You are responsible for ensuring we have an up-to-date active and deliverable email address for you, and for periodically visiting our Website and this Privacy Policy to check for any changes.

Contact Us

The Company welcomes your questions or comments regarding the Privacy Policy:

Spark Biomedical, Inc.
18208 Preston Road
Suite D9 531
Dallas, Texas 75252
Email Address: info@sparkbiomedical.com
Effective as of  February 5, 2020; last revised July 1, 2023

California Privacy Addendum

Under California Civil Code Section 1798.83, individuals who reside in California and who have an existing relationship with us may request information about our disclosure of certain categories of personal information to third parties for the third parties’ direct marketing purposes, if any.

To make such a request, send an email with the subject heading “California Privacy Rights” to info@sparkbiomedical.com In your request, please attest to the fact that you are a California resident and provide a current California address for our response. Please be aware that not all information sharing is covered by these California privacy rights requirements, and only information on covered sharing will be included in our response. This request may be made no more than once per calendar year. Please note that separate requests related to the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”), as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (“CPRA”), shall be submitted as described below.

CCPA/CPRA Notice

Pursuant to applicable California law, including the CCPA, as amended by the CPRA, we make the following disclosures regarding the Personal Information we have collected and disclosed within the last 12 months, where “Personal Information” (“PI”) has the definition set forth in the CCPA, as amended by the CPRA.  The categories listed below are defined by California state law, and inclusion in the list below indicates only that depending on our relationship with you, we may collect some of the information in that category; it does not mean that we collect all information within a category for all individuals:

CCPA/CPRA Rights

If you are a California resident, you have the following rights:

CCPA/CPRA Verifiable Consumer Request

To submit a request, please contact us at info@sparkbiomedical.com.  You may only make a request to exercise your rights on behalf of yourself. You also have a right to submit requests to exercise your rights under the CCPA, as amended by the CPRA through an authorized agent. An authorized agent must be registered with the Secretary of State in California to conduct business in California. If you choose to use an authorized agent, you may be required to: (a) provide signed permission to that authorized agent to submit requests on your behalf, (b) verify your identity directly with us, and (c) directly confirm with us that you granted permission to the authorized agent to submit the request on your behalf. For clarity, you are required to verify the identity of both yourself and the authorized agent.

If we cannot initially verify your identity, we may request additional information to complete the verification process. We will only use Personal Information provided in a request to verify the requestor’s identity. To verify your identity when you or your authorized agent submits a request, we will match the identifying information you provide us to the Personal Information we have about you. Once we receive your request, we will notify you of receipt within 10 days and promptly take steps to respond to your request within 45 days. If we require additional time, we will inform you of the reason and extension period as permitted by the CCPA, as amended by the CPRA. Any disclosures we provide will only cover the 12-month period preceding our receipt of your request.

We do not charge a fee to process or respond to your requests unless they are excessive or repetitive. If we determine that the request warrants a fee, we will tell you why we made that decision and provide you with a cost estimate before completing your request.

We cannot respond to your request or provide you with Personal Information if we cannot verify your identity and confirm the Personal Information relates to you. We may deny certain requests, or only fulfill some in part, as permitted or required by law. For example, if you request to delete Personal Information, we may retain Personal Information that we need to retain for legal purposes.

Non-Discrimination

We will not discriminate against you in the event you exercise any of the aforementioned rights under the CCPA, as amended by the CPRA, including, but not limited to, by denying goods or services to you or providing you with a different level of quality of goods or services.

Additional Information for Website Users in the European Economic Area, United Kingdom, and Switzerland

Personal information

References to “personal information” in this Privacy Policy are equivalent to “Personal Data” governed by the General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679 and the UK General Data Protection Regulation (collectively, “GDPR”). This means information about an individual, from which that individual is either directly identified or can be identified. It does not include ‘anonymous data’ (i.e., information where the identity of individual has been permanently removed). However, it does include ‘indirect identifiers’ or ‘pseudonymous data’ (i.e., information which alone doesn’t identify an individual but, when combined with certain additional and reasonably accessible information, could be attributed to a particular person).

Controller

Spark Biomedical, Inc. is the controller of your personal information for purposes of GDPR. See the Contact Us section above for contact details.

Processing principles

When we process personal information of individuals in the European Economic Area, United Kingdom, and Switzerland, we adhere to certain data processing principles.

Under these principles, personal data is:

• Processed lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner in relation to the data subject
• Collected for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes and not further processed in a manner that is incompatible with those purposes.  Personal data is collected is adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary in relation to the purposes for which its is processed
• Accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date
• Kept in a form which permits identification of data subjects for no longer than is necessary for the purposes for which the personal data is processed, in a manner that ensures appropriate security of the personal data, including protection against unauthorized or unlawful processing and against accidental loss, destruction or damage, using appropriate technical or organizational measures.

We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures that are designed to give effect to these data protection principles.

Legal bases for processing

We will only use your Personal Data for the purposes for which we collected it as listed below, unless we reasonably consider that we need to use it for another reason that is compatible with the original purpose. If we need to use your Personal Data for an unrelated purpose, we will update this Privacy Policy and we will explain the legal basis which allows us to do so.

With respect to each of the purposes for which we use your Personal Data, the GDPR requires us to ensure that we have a “legal basis” for that use. Most commonly, we will rely on one of the following legal bases:

• Where we need to perform a contract we are about to enter into or have entered into with you (“Contractual Necessity”).
• Where it is necessary for our legitimate interests and your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests (“Legitimate Interests”). More detail about the specific legitimate interests pursued in respect of each Purpose we use your Personal Data for is set out in the table below.
• Where we need to comply with a legal or regulatory obligation (“Compliance with Law”). Where we have your specific consent to carry out the processing for the Purpose in question (“Consent”). Generally, we do not rely on your Consent as a legal basis for using your Personal Data other than in the context of direct marketing communications.

We have set out below, in a table format, the legal bases we rely on in respect of the relevant Purposes for which we use your Personal Data.

If you are in the European Economic Area, United Kingdom, and Switzerland, and opt to receive any free resources, participate in any free training programs, register for a webinar, register for a live event, register for a seminar, or purchase any products sold by the Company on this Website, we will only enroll you to receive our free email newsletter if you affirmatively consent to it. If you consent and then no longer wish to receive this newsletter, you can unsubscribe anytime. We include an “unsubscribe” link at the bottom of every email we send. If you ever have trouble unsubscribing, you can send an email to info@sparkbiomedical.com requesting to unsubscribe from future emails.

If you have questions about the legal basis of how we process your personal information, contact us at info@sparkbiomedical.com.

Use for new purposes

We may use your Personal Data for reasons not described in this Privacy Policy where permitted by law and the reason is compatible with the purpose for which we collected it. If we need to use your personal information for an unrelated purpose, we will notify you and explain the applicable legal basis.

Retention

We will only retain your Personal Data for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which we collected it, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements.

To determine the appropriate retention period for Personal Data, we consider the amount, nature, and sensitivity of the Personal Data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorized use or disclosure of your Personal Data, the purposes for which we process your Personal Data and whether we can achieve those purposes through other means, and the applicable legal requirements.

When we no longer require the Personal Data, we will dissociate such information from the information attached to your content. In some circumstances we may anonymize your Personal Data (so that it can no longer be associated with you), in which case we may use this information indefinitely without further notice to you.

Your rights relating to your Personal Data

Users from the European Economic Area, United Kingdom, and Switzerland have certain rights regarding their personal information. If you are located within the European Economic Area, United Kingdom, or Switzerland you may ask us to take the following actions in relation to your Personal Data that we hold:

• Opt-out. Stop sending you direct marketing communications. You may continue to receive service-related and other non-marketing emails.
• Withdraw consent. This right only exists where we are relying on consent to process your Personal Data. If you withdraw your consent, we may not be able to provide you with access to the certain specific functionalities of our Website. We will advise you if this is the case at the time you withdraw your consent.
• Access. Provide you with information about our processing of your Personal Data and give you access to your Personal Data.
• Correct. Update or correct inaccuracies in your Personal Data.
• Delete. Delete your Personal Data.
• Transfer. Transfer a machine-readable copy of your Personal Data to you or a third party of your choice.
• Restrict. Restrict the processing of your Personal Data.
• Object. Object to our reliance on our legitimate interests as the basis of our processing of your Personal Data.

To exercise these rights, please submit a request to info@sparkbiomedical.com. Applicable law may require or permit us to decline your request. If we decline your request, we will tell you why, subject to legal restrictions. If you would like to submit a complaint about our use of your Personal Data or response to your requests regarding your Personal Data, you may contact us or submit a complaint to the data protection regulator in your jurisdiction. You can find your data protection regulator here.

Cross-Border Data Transfer

We share your Personal Data both with our affiliated companies and certain external third parties who are based outside the European Economic Area, United Kingdom, or Switzerland. Any processing of your Personal Data by these parties will involve an export of your Personal Data outside the European Economic Area European Economic Area, United Kingdom, or Switzerland.

Whenever we transfer your Personal Data out of the European Economic Area, United Kingdom, or Switzerland to countries not deemed by a regulatory authority to provide an adequate level of personal information protection, we ensure a similar degree of protection is afforded to it by ensuring at least one of the following safeguards is implemented:

• Pursuant to the recipient’s compliance with Standard Contractual Clauses, or Binding Corporate Rules
• Pursuant to the consent of the individual to whom the personal information pertains
• As otherwise permitted by applicable requirements.

Please contact us if you want further information on the specific mechanism used by us when transferring your Personal Data out of the European Economic Area, United Kingdom or Switzerland.