PRIVACY POLICY

Last Modified: May 12, 2020

Introduction

Protecting the privacy and confidentiality of your information is critically important to Harvard Business Services, Inc. ("Harvard" or "we" or "us"). We adhere strictly to the policies and procedures described herein (the “Privacy Policy”) in order to maintain the integrity of that information.  As a fundamental principle embodying our respect for your privacy, we do not sell your information to third parties.  Except for the limited reasons set forth below, primarily to provide you with your requested services (with your consent) or to comply with applicable law, we do not transfer your information to third-parties.

You should read these Privacy Policies, as well as the Terms of Use, carefully before using the Website.

 

Ways We Collect Information

This Privacy Policy describes the types of information we may collect from you or that you may provide when you visit the website www.delawareinc.com (our "Website"), as well as our practices for collecting, using, maintaining, protecting, and disclosing that information.

This policy applies to information we collect:

• On this Website (including all forms and information requested for ordering or subscribing for services),

• When you provide information to our “chatbot” on the Website which seeks to address questions and locate information for users after business hours, when representatives are not available,

• In email, text, and other electronic messages between you and us (including through the “chat” function with representatives via in the Website),

• When you provide contact information in signing up to receive our weekly blog, periodic webinars, podcasts, surveys, etc.,

• When you interact with our advertising and applications on third-party websites and services, if those applications or advertising include links to this Website, and

• In telephone calls or other off-line communications with our staff.

It does not apply to information collected by:

• Any third-party collection, retention, use, or storage of information, including through any application or content (including advertising) that may link to or be accessible on the Website.

Please read this policy carefully to understand our policies and practices regarding your information and how we will treat it.  If you do not consent to our policies and practices, you may not access or use this Website.  By continuing to access or use this Website (or to use the services we provide), you acknowledge and agree to the terms of this Privacy Policy. We may revise this Privacy Policy to account for developing or changing business practices, new or changing services or product offerings, joint ventures, or other reasons, including to comply with applicable law and regulation. (See Changes to our Privacy Policy.) Your continued use of this Website after we make changes to this Policy is deemed to be acceptance of those changes, so please check the Privacy Policy (and the Terms of Use more generally) periodically for updates. When we update the Privacy Policy, we will post a notice on the Website for a period of time we determine appropriate.

For purposes of this Privacy Policy, “personal data” or “personal information” is any data that (1) is recorded in any form, (2) is about or pertains to a specific individual, and (3) can be linked to that individual. For example, without limitation, “personal data” or “personal information” would include your first and last names, address, email address, telephone number, and other contact information, and the services or products you have purchased from the Company.

 

Minors under the Age of 18

Our Website is not intended for children under 18 years of age. No one under the age of 18 may provide any information to or on the Website. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 18. If you are under 18, do not use or provide any information on this Website or through any of its features, register on the Website, make any purchases through the Website, use any of the interactive or public comment features of this Website (primarily through the blog), or provide any information about yourself to us.  If we learn we have collected or received personal information from a child under 18 without verification of parental consent, we will delete that information promptly. If you believe we might have any information from or about a child under 18, please contact us at privacy@delawareinc.com.

 

California Law Rights

 

CA Rights Generally

If you are a California resident, California law provides you with additional substantive and disclosure rights regarding our use of your personal information.  See “Choices About How We Use and Disclose Your Information” below for a link to a supplement to these Privacy Policies regarding California law and privacy regulation.

 

CA “Shine the Light” Law

California’s “Shine the Light” Law allows persons to understand how their information is shared with third-parties for marketing persons and the ability to opt out of such sharing.  Because the Company does not share or sell information to third parties for marketing purposes, we do not include such disclosure or the ability to opt out.

 

Information We Collect About You and How We Collect It

We collect several types of information from and about users of our Website, including:
 

Information you Provide to Us

• Personal information, such as name, postal address, email address or telephone number, when you correspond with us by email or the Website’s “chat” function (chatting with a representative or our after-hours “chatbot”), call us to make a purchase or request service, or participate in an online survey.

• The social security number or tax identification number of a person serving as the “Responsible Party” for the application if you authorize us to obtain an employment identification number for your new Delaware company.

• Information that you provide by filling in any forms on our Website whether in purchasing Services or products, or otherwise.

• Details of transactions you carry out through our Website, over the phone, or by email and of the fulfillment of your orders.

• You may be required to provide financial information before placing an order through our Website or by phone or email, although all payment information (e.g., bank account numbers, credit card numbers, etc.) is destroyed in a secure manner and not maintained in hard copy or on our servers immediately after each payment is processed.

 

Information we Collect through Automatic Data Collection Technology

When you browse the Website, you are able to do so anonymously. Generally, we don't collect personal information when you browse, not even your email address. We do not collect personal information automatically using automatic data collection tools (discussed below), but we may tie this information to personal information about you that we collect from other sources or that you provide to us.  Your browser, however, does automatically tell us the type of computer and operating system you are using.

The automatic data collection tools we may employ include:

• Cookies (or browser cookies). A cookie is a small file placed on the hard drive of your computer. You may refuse to accept browser cookies by activating the appropriate setting on your browser. However, if you select this setting you may be unable to access certain parts of our Website. Unless you have adjusted your browser setting so that it will refuse cookies, our system will issue cookies when you direct your browser to our Website. Cookies help us understand which parts of our websites are the most popular, where our visitors are going and how long they spend there. We use cookies to study traffic patterns on our site so we can make the site even better.

• Flash Cookies. Certain features of our Website may use local stored objects (or Flash cookies) to collect and store information about your preferences and navigation to, from, and on our Website. Flash cookies are not managed by the same browser settings as are used for browser cookies. For information about managing your privacy and security settings for Flash cookies, see Choices About How We Use and Disclose Your Information.

• Web Beacons. Pages of the Website may contain small electronic files known as web beacons (also referred to as clear gifs, pixel tags, and single-pixel gifs) that permit the Company, for example, to count users who have visited those pages and for other related website statistics (for example, recording the popularity of certain website content and verifying system and server integrity).

• Action Tags.  Harvard uses action tags. An action tag is a small piece of code that is placed on a webpage or in an email in order to track the pages viewed or the messages opened, the date and time when someone visited our website, the website from which the visitor came, the type of browser used, and the domain name and address of the user's Internet Service Provider. Action tags allow us to better understand how users and visitors use our site or browse through our pages, so that we can improve access to and navigation through the site, add or modify pages, according to our user's patterns. Action tags cannot be removed or deleted by our users, because they are part of the programming of a webpage.

• Log Files.  Log file information is automatically reported by your browser each time you access a web page. When you use Harvard’s website, our servers automatically record certain information that your web browser sends out whenever you visit any website. These server logs may include information such as your web request, IP address, browser type, referring/exit pages, operating system, date/time stamp, the files viewed on our site (e.g., HTML pages, graphics, etc.) and URLs, number of clicks, domain names, landing pages, pages viewed, and other similar information.

• Behavioral Targeting. We partner with a third party to either display advertising on our website or to manage our advertising on other sites. Our third-party partner may use cookies or similar technologies on other websites in order to provide you advertising based upon your browsing activities and interests. If you wish to opt out of interest-based advertising whether you are located in the U.S., the European Union, or elsewhere, send an email to privacy@delawareinc.com. Please note you will continue to see generic ads on the Website which are not in the Company’s control.

Harvard does not track or recognize Do Not Track signals.

The information we collect automatically is used primarily as statistical data and does not include personal information. It helps us to improve our Website and to deliver a better and more personalized service, including by enabling us to estimate our audience size and usage patterns. However, we may store information about your preferences, allowing us to customize our Website according to your individual interests, speed up your searches, and recognize you when you return to our Website, although you may opt out of such use as discussed below.

 

How We Use Your Information

We use the information collected about you or that you provide to us in certain limited ways.  As noted above and throughout these Privacy Policies, we do not sell your information to third parties for any reason. We use information that we collect about you or that you provide to us, including personal information:

• To present our Website and its contents to you in a more efficient manner customized to your past use (unless opted out).

• If you register on the Website, affirmatively elect to receive certain information, or otherwise provide your information for such purpose, we will use that contact information to provide you with information about, for example, our products or services or to notify you about certain changes to our business.

• To fulfill any other purpose for which you provide information at the time (including personal information), including in connection with products we may offer in conjunction with third-party service providers, who will not make use of this information except to provide such services or provide for the use of relevant products.

• To provide you with ongoing registered agent services, including to provide you with notices about your business entity, key deadlines and required actions, including franchise tax reminders, franchise tax materials, notices of various sorts from the State of Delaware and any other relevant states, invoices and payment reminders for invoices, service of process, as well as other communications related to our role as formation agent/incorporator and/or registered agent. Upon receipt, and at least quarterly thereafter, we will compare the personal information you have provided against the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s lists of designated persons maintained by the Office of Foreign Asset Control (“OFAC”) to ensure we are in compliance with applicable law and trade restrictions.  These comparisons are required by Delaware law governing registered agents.

• To contractors, service providers, and other third parties we use to support our business (e.g., legal counsel if needed, etc.) and who are bound by contractual obligations to keep personal information confidential and use it only for the purposes for which we disclose it to them.

• To a buyer or other successor in the event of a merger, divestiture, restructuring, reorganization, dissolution, or other sale or transfer of some or all of the Company’s assets, whether as a going concern or as part of bankruptcy, liquidation, or similar proceeding, in which personal information held by the Company about our Website users is among the assets transferred, provided that such buyer or successor shall be under a strict confidentiality and non-use obligation prior to the close of such a Key Transaction, beginning no later than the time the Company shares access to any personal information.

• To allow you to participate in interactive features on our Website, such as webinars allowing for Q&A sessions and other recordings as well as any podcast we may offer on Delaware business entity issues, or to participate in periodic surveys we may send seeking a rating of our services or seeking to gauge client interest products and services under consideration (unless you opt out).

We may also disclose your personal information:

• To comply with any U.S. or non-U.S. court order, subpoena, or other directive, or any U.S. or non-U.S. law, regulation, or rule, including those of a recognized self-regulatory organization (e.g., the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc.), or legal process, including to respond to any law enforcement, government or regulatory request.

• To enforce or apply our Terms of Use and other agreements, including for billing and collection purposes and to enforce our rights under contracts entered into between you and the Company.

• If we believe disclosure is necessary or appropriate to protect the rights, property, or safety of the Company, our customers, or others.

 

Choices About How We Use and Disclose Your Information

We strive to provide you with choices regarding the information you provide to us. We have created mechanisms to provide you with the following control over your information:

• Tracking Technologies and Advertising. You can set your browser to refuse all or some browser cookies, or to alert you when cookies are being sent. To learn how you can manage your Flash cookie settings, visit the Flash player settings page on Adobe's website. If you disable or refuse cookies, please note that some parts of this site may then be inaccessible or not function properly.

• Promotional Offers from the Company. If you do not wish to receive emails from the Company describing our products or services (whether offered by us alone or in conjunction with another provider), you can opt-out by checking the relevant box located on the form on which we collect your data or by sending us an email stating your request to privacy@delawareinc.com. This opt-out does not apply to emails documenting or providing information about a product or service purchase you have made, our emails or calls related directly to our registered agent services (e.g., franchise tax reminders, invoices for payment, service of process, etc.).

• Weekly Blog/Podcasts/Surveys. You can opt out of receiving our weekly blog update or notices of webinars or podcasts by checking the relevant box on the form on which you sign up to receive our services, or simply follow the instructions in the email to unsubscribe from all or part of such communications.  Similarly, you can opt out of periodic surveys we may send to you gauging client interest in certain contemplated services or for other reasons.’

• Testimonials. We display testimonials of satisfied customers on the Website in addition to other endorsements.  With your consent, we may post your testimonial along with your name, or anonymously. If you wish to update or delete your testimonial, you can contact us at privacy@delawareinc.com.

We do not control third parties' collection or use of your information to serve interest-based advertising. However these third parties may provide you with ways to choose not to have your information collected or used in this way. You can opt out of receiving targeted ads from members of the Network Advertising Initiative ("NAI") on the NAI's website (www.networkadvertising.org).

California-Specific Notice. California residents may have additional personal information rights and choices. Please see Your California Privacy Rights for more information.  Your rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act are described in brief here.

Nevada-Specific Disclosure. We do not currently sell data triggering Nevada’s Chapter 603A; therefore, the opt-out available to residents under that statute is inapplicable.

 

Accessing and Correcting Your Information

You can review and change your personal information by logging into the Website, visiting your account profile page, and changing any information.  You may also send us an email at privacy@delawareinc.com to correct or delete any personal information that you have provided to us. We cannot delete the entirety of your personal information without deleting your account. We may not accommodate a request to change information if we believe the change would violate any law or legal requirement or cause the information to be incorrect.  As a registered agent, we must by statute maintain accurate contact information for our clients.  If you are a registered agent client of the Company, you have the affirmative duty to access your account and update the contact person information page with accurate, updated information as needed.

If you delete your User Contributions from the Website, copies of your User Contributions may remain viewable in cached and archived pages, or might have been copied or stored by other Website users.

 

How We Protect Your Personal Information

We do not give or sell your name, email address, physical address or any other personal information to any third party for marketing purposes, and will reveal such information only if required by law to disclose such information and as otherwise described in this Privacy Policy.

Every effort to secure your data against criminal outside disclosure is being taken over the internet.

Our records are protected by biometric fingerprint scanners and monitored by personnel on site. Access to your data is monitored by a 16-camera infrared system, backed up by independent propane power supplies, generators and a state of the art, digitally-controlled power management system. Your records are stored in secure facilities with 24-hour surveillance and, in case of a regional disaster, we can start servicing your requests within 48 hours at our location of choice. To learn more about how we protect your information, please ask one of our team members to provide you with a more detailed explanation.

Harvard uses industry-standard Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption on all web pages where personal information is required. To place on-line orders with Harvard, you must use an SSL-enabled browser. This protects the confidentiality of your personal and credit card information while it is transmitted over the internet.

We urge you to take every precaution to protect your personal data when you are on the Internet. Change your passwords often, use a combination of letters and numbers and make sure you use a secure browser.

Unfortunately, the transmission of information via the internet is not completely secure. Although we do our best to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee the security of your personal information transmitted to our Website. Any transmission of personal information is at your own risk. We are not responsible for illegal or unauthorized circumvention of any privacy settings or security measures contained on the Website.

 

Changes to Our Privacy Policy

It is our policy to post any changes we make to our Privacy Policy on this page with a notice that the Privacy Policy has been updated on the Website home page. If we make material changes to how we treat our users’ personal information, we will notify you by email to the email address specified in your account, if you register on the site and become a client, or through a notice on the Website home page. The date the Privacy Policy was last revised is identified at the top of the page.

You are responsible for ensuring we have an up-to-date active and deliverable e-mail address for you, and for periodically visiting our Website and this Privacy Policy to check for any changes.

 

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

The GDPR is an EU Regulation to improve the protection of the personal data of EU citizens and increase the obligations of organizations who collect or process personal data. These new regulations took effect on the 25th of May 2018.

Harvard functions as both a controller and processor of our clients’ personally information.

As a controller of data, we store personal information such as customer names, email addresses, physical addresses, IP addresses, phone numbers and avatars. We use databases through GDPR compliant service providers (MSSQL) to store sensitive customer data. We may employ sub-processors with which we may partner to provide you with certain services, to which we transmit data for storage or processing beyond our immediate control.  We have entered into agreements with such sub-processors to protect your private information and other data and to ensure such parties comply with necessary privacy laws and regulations in the U.S. and, if applicable and to a very limited extent, outside the U.S. You will receive notification and disclosure regarding any transfer to a sub-processor that assists in providing you with services either as part of the applicable Services Agreement or otherwise.

Harvard is also a processor of customer data. We use customer data to compile legal documents as a core part of our services to clients in creating filings to form, amend, and otherwise service Delaware entities.

If you wish to delete/remove/deactivate your profile or account, remove your testimonial from our site, or opt out of sharing basic information we may transmit to provide you services or maintain our servers and systems, please email us at privacy@delawareinc.com. We will respond to your request within 30 days.  Such Deletion may result in our inability to provide you with services, and may result in your inability to access the Website under our policies.

For more information about your rights under the GDPR, see the GDPR supplement (the “GDPR Supplement”), available here.

As a core principle we have reiterated throughout our Privacy Policy, we do not sell your information to third-parties.

 

Data Retention

Except as otherwise permitted or required by applicable law or regulation, the Company retains personal data for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes the Company collected it for, as required to satisfy any legal, accounting, or reporting obligations, or as necessary to resolve disputes.

To determine the appropriate retention period for personal data, the Company considers the amount, nature, and sensitivity of personal data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorized use or disclosure of personal data, the purposes for processing the personal data, whether the employer can fulfill the purposes of processing by other means, and any applicable legal requirements. The Company does not retain payment information (e.g., credit card numbers, checking account numbers, etc.) after the payment is processed; such information is securely destroyed immediately after payment processing is complete.

Generally, the Company maintains client records of details regarding our formation and registered agent services indefinitely.  Other information is retained only for so long as there is a reason to retain it (e.g., blog and podcast info, questions put to our chatbot, or questions posed to or information collected by our sales and filing staff that do not result in a contract for services).

 

Social Media Widgets

Our Web site includes social media features, such as the Facebook and Twitter button. These features may collect your IP address, which page you are visiting on the Website, and may set a cookie to enable the feature to function properly. Social media features and widgets are either hosted by a third party or hosted directly on our Website. Your interactions with these features and any information collected by such features are governed by the privacy policy of the company providing it (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, etc.).

 

Limitation of Liability 

The Company exercises all efforts to safeguard the security and confidentiality of your personal data; however, transmissions protected by industry standard technology and administered by humans cannot be guaranteed to be secure. The Company will not be liable for unauthorized disclosure of personal data that occurs through no fault of the Company including, but not limited to, errors in transmission, access to your account by anyone uses your user ID and password, or your failure to comply with your security obligations.

Contact Information

If you have any questions regarding the terms or application of this Privacy Policy, you should contact us immediately via telephone at 1-302-645-7400 or via mail privacy@delawareinc.com.