Legal & Privacy

Legal & Privacy

Effective: May 25, 2018 – Last Modified: June 30, 2023

The materials on Foundation Medicine’s website (foundationmedicine.com) and Foundation Medicine’s LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube pages (collectively, the “Site”) are provided by Foundation Medicine, Inc. (“Foundation Medicine” or “we”) as a service to its customers and the general public and shall be used for informational purposes only. This Privacy Policy applies when you use any website, mobile application, or other online service that links to or refers to this Privacy Policy or otherwise interact with Foundation Medicine (collectively, the “Services”).

By accessing and/or downloading materials from the Site, you agree to the terms of this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to these terms, you are not authorized to use the Site or Services or to download any materials from the Site. You may withdraw your consent at any time, unless such withdrawal would frustrate our ability to comply with a legal obligation.

 

Information You Provide to Us. In order to take advantage of certain Services or features offered or provided on the Site, you may be asked to provide personal information. For example, we may collect identifiers, such as your name, email address, employment information, and education-related information. We collect these categories of information when you visit the Site or provide information directly to a Foundation Medicine representative at the office. Foundation Medicine is dedicated to protecting the privacy of your personal information. Foundation Medicine maintains reasonable safeguards to protect your personal information and complies with applicable U.S. and international privacy standards, including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”) and the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”). While you are not obligated to provide us with personal information, your ability to use certain Services or features may be limited if you do not.

Information About Use of the Services. When you use the Services, we collect internet or other electronic network activity information related to your use of the Services, including device information (such as internet protocol address (IP address), device identifiers, operating system) and usage information (such as time and duration of use, interaction with content, information stored in cookies or similar technologies), including through the use of cookies, web beacons and other tracking technologies. We collect this information directly from you or your device.

Information From Third-Party Sources. We may receive personal identifiers, commercial information, professional or employment, or education-related information about you from publicly and commercially available sources, as permitted by law, which we may combine with other information we receive from or about you.

 

To Provide and Manage the Services You Request and Better Understand our Users.  This includes, for example, enabling you to participate in features provided by the Services. We also may use information we gather to better understand and serve users and to improve our services.

To Contact You. We may use your personal information to respond to questions you submit via the Services or to communicate with you regarding news, updates, or educational and marketing materials. You may opt out of receiving commercial email messages from us by following the instructions in those messages.

To Protect the Rights of the Services and Others. We may use your information as we believe is necessary or appropriate to protect, enforce, or defend the legal rights, privacy, security, safety, or property of the Services, its employees or agents, or other users, and to comply with applicable law.

 

Affiliates. We may share your personal information within our family of affiliated companies as part of our shared systems and administration.

Service Providers. We rely on third parties to perform a variety of services for us, such as providing information technology services, data analysis, consulting and communication services, and cloud and web hosting services. To do so, we may need to provide your information to those businesses as necessary for them to perform the Services.

Other Parties When Required by Law or As Necessary to Protect Our Services. We may share information when we have reason to believe that doing so is necessary to identify, contact, or bring legal action against someone who may be causing injury to or interference with the rights or property of us, other visitors, or anyone else that could be harmed by such activities. We may also share your information where otherwise required or permitted by law or legal process.

Other Parties in Connection With a Corporate Transaction. We may transfer information collected on the Services in the event that we sell or transfer all or a portion of our business or assets to a third party in connection with a corporate transaction or bankruptcy.

We may otherwise use information and share information about you with third parties with your consent. We also may provide to third parties information that is not directly identifiable as connected to you, such as information that has been aggregated or deidentified pursuant to the HIPAA expert determination method or HIPAA safe harbor method.

 

Cookies, Web Beacons, and other Tracking Technologies. We and third-party service providers that provide content or functionality on the Services may use cookies and similar technologies to facilitate administration and navigation on the Services, to improve the Services, and to provide you with a customized online experience.

What Are Cookies?

A ‘cookie’ is actually a small file that our web server or the web server of one of our service providers or third-party partners may send to your computer when you access one of our sites. This file is then stored on your computer. They enable you to be recognized as the same user across one or more browsing sessions. Cookies save you the trouble of reentering certain information in some registration areas, help to deliver content-specific information to you, and track which sections of the site are most popular.

What types of personal information is collected through the use of cookies?

Cookies may obtain information identifying your computer or browser, including a device ID, your IP address, and/or an ad ID, as well as information relating to your browsing history. The information we obtain through the use of cookies may be combined with other personal data relating to you.

What types of cookies and other tracking technologies do we use and for what purposes?

Our site may use the following types of cookies and tracking technologies, for the following purposes:

  • Strictly Necessary Cookies. Strictly necessary cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. These cookies are usually only set in response to actions made by you that amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in, or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but blocking these cookies will prevent the site from working. These cookies typically do not store personal data.
  • Functional Cookies. Functional cookies enable our websites to provide enhanced functionality and personalization. They may be set by us or by third party service providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you reject these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
  • Performance Cookies. Performance cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. These cookies help us understand how our sites are being used, such as which sites are the most and least popular and how people navigate around the site. The information collected in these cookies are aggregated, meaning that the do not relate to you personally. Opting out of these cookies will prevent us from knowing when you have visited our site and will prevent us from monitoring site performance. In some cases, these cookies may be sent to our third party service providers to help us manage these analytics.
  • Social Media Cookies. Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site (such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn) to enable you to share our content with your friends, colleagues, and networks. These cookies are capable of tracking our browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on the other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies, you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.
  • Targeting Cookies. Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant advertisements on other sites. These cookies do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
  • Web Beacons. A web beacon is a piece of software code on a web page or in an e-mail message that is used to track pages viewed or messages opened. Web beacons tell the web site server information such as the IP address and browser type related to the visitor's computer. Web beacons may be placed in online advertisements that bring people to our site and on different pages of our site. Web beacons provide us with information on how many times a page is opened and which information is consulted. Web beacons are also known as internet tags, single-pixel GIFs, clear GIFs, and invisible GIFs.

How can you update your cookie preferences on our site?

You can update your cookie preferences at any time by clicking the “Update Cookie Preferences” link at the bottom of any page of this website. You can also update your cookie preferences and view a list of the cookies and cookie service providers we use by clicking this link and then selecting "Customize Cookies."

What choices do you have regarding the delivery of targeted advertisements on third-party sites?

Most internet browsers allow you to change your browser settings to notify you when you receive a cookie, which lets you choose whether to accept the cookies, or to automatically refuse all cookies. Note that doing so may impact the functionality of some parts of our websites. If you have previously accepted cookies, you can use these same browser settings to reject such cookies if you change your mind.

Additionally, some of our websites may use third party analytics tools to collect and manage Performance Cookies on our behalf. A specific tool we use is Google Analytics, as described below:

  • Google Analytics. Our websites may use certain Google Analytics Advertising Display Features, which collect information through cookies, including Remarketing with Google Analytics and Demographics and Interests reporting. If you would like to opt out of having your data used by these cookies, please use Google’s opt-out tool, available here: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout/.

Third Parties that Provide Content or Functionality. When you use our Services, third party service providers may collect or receive certain information about you and/or your use of the Services, including through the use of tracking technologies. We do not have control of these third parties who may use your information consistent with their own privacy policies. Some of these companies participate in industry-developed programs designed to provide consumers choices regarding targeted advertising. Please visit the websites operated by the  Network Advertising Initiative and Digital Advertising Alliance to learn more.

Other Data Analysis

We may also analyze information that you provide about you or your patients’ use of our Services and products and use that information for the purposes described in this policy.

 

Your information may be stored, processed, and accessed in the United States or any other country where Foundation Medicine has facilities. By using the Services, you consent to the collection, transfer, storage, and processing of information outside of your country.

If you are located in a jurisdiction that specifies relevant legal grounds for processing personal information, the legal grounds for our processing activities are to perform our contract(s) with you; to meet your legal obligations; and for our legitimate business purposes, such as to maintain the privacy, security, safety, or property of the Services and in relation to any sale or transfer of all or a portion of our business.

 

As a data subject under applicable law, you may have the right to request, access, update, delete, or correct inaccuracies in the personal information we hold about you, subject to certain exceptions prescribed by law. We do not discriminate against any person who makes such a request, but deleting certain of your personal information may interfere or prevent us from being able to provide certain services to you. If you would like to exercise these rights, please contact us at:

Foundation Medicine, Inc.
Attn: Privacy Officer
150 Second Street
Cambridge, MA 02141
privacy@foundationmedicine.com
+1 (888) 988-3639

When submitting your request, please include your name, your contact information and any other information that may help us confirm the authenticity of the request. We may request reasonable authentication upon receipt of a request regarding your personal information for identity verification purposes.

If you are a resident of California, please see our supplemental California Privacy Notice for information about your privacy rights.

If you are a resident of the European Union (“EU”) or the United Kingdom (“UK”), please see our supplemental EEA/UK Notice for information about your privacy rights.

If you have questions about our privacy practices, or wish to request this information in a different format, please contact us at the following:

Foundation Medicine, Inc.
Attn: Privacy Officer
150 Second Street
Cambridge, MA 02141
privacy@foundationmedicine.com
+1 (888) 988-3639
 

 

Foundation Medicine GmbH
Attn: Data Protection Officer
Nonnenwald 2, Building 433
D-82377 Penzberg, Germany
dpo.fmi-germany@foundationmedicine.com
 

Updates to Privacy Policy. We may modify this Privacy Policy from time to time. Please look at the Effective Date at the top of this Privacy Policy to see when it was last revised. Any changes to this Privacy Policy will become effective when they are posted.

Linked Services. The Services may link to sites operated by third parties or offer content developed and maintained by third parties. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these third parties and when you interact with them you may be providing information to them directly. Such parties will have their own rules and policies with respect to the collection, use, and disclosure of personal information and we encourage you to review those rules and policies.

Children’s Privacy. We do not knowingly collect any personal information from children under the age of 13 without parental consent, unless permitted by law. If we learn that a child under the age of 13 has provided us with personal information, we will delete it in accordance with applicable law.

Retention of your personal information. We retain your personal data for as long as required to provide the Services you request, and as necessary to comply with our legal obligations and resolve disputes.

Use of Personally Identifiable Information (PII)

Information submitted to Foundation Medicine through web forms or e-mail will be managed according to Foundation Medicine’s Privacy and Security policies.

No Unlawful or Prohibited Use

As a condition of your use of the Site or its content, you agree to not use the Site or its content for any purpose that is unlawful or prohibited by this Privacy Policy. The Site and its content may not be used in any manner that could damage, disable, overburden, or impair the Site or interfere with any other party’s use of the Site. No content from the Site may be downloaded or otherwise exported in violation of United States law.

Personal and Non-Commercial Use

The Site is intended for personal, non-commercial use. The Site and its content are protected by United States copyright law. Except as specifically permitted, you may not copy, modify, distribute, transmit, display, publish, reproduce, license, create derivative works from, or sell any information obtained from the Site.

Links to Other Web Sites

The Site may contain hyperlinks or references to websites owned, operated, or controlled by other parties. Foundation Medicine does not endorse, warrant, or guarantee the products, services, or information described or offered on other parties’ websites and is not liable for any damages or injury arising from such content. Foundation Medicine does not control the content of other parties’ websites and provides these links as a convenience only. Accessing any other website is undertaken at your own risk, and Foundation Medicine is not responsible for the completeness, accuracy, or reliability of any information, data, opinions, advice, or statements made on these websites.

Trademarks

Unauthorized use of any Foundation Medicine trademark, service mark, or logo may be a violation of federal and state trademark law. Foundation Medicine products, service marks, and logos referenced by the Site are trademarks or registered trademarks of Foundation Medicine and/or its affiliates in the United States and other countries. Other trademarks, products, service marks, or logos are the property of their respective owners.

The Site Does Not Provide Medical or Professional Services Advice

The medical information contained on the Site is presented for the purpose of general education for the public regarding cancer genomics and diagnostic testing, personalized cancer care, genomic research, and other general information concerning Foundation Medicine. No information provided on the Site is intended to constitute medical advice, instruction for medical diagnosis, or instruction for medical treatment. Any information provided on the Site should not be considered complete, nor should it be relied on to suggest a diagnosis or course of treatment for a particular individual. Information received from the Site should not be relied upon for personal, medical, legal, technical, or financial decisions. It should not be used in place of the consultation or advice of a physician or other qualified healthcare provider. Should you have any healthcare related questions, please consult with your physician or other qualified health care provider promptly. The information contained on the Site is compiled from a variety of sources. Foundation Medicine does not, through the Site or otherwise, directly or indirectly practice medicine, render medical advice, or provide medical services.

No Warranties

Foundation Medicine makes no representations or warranties about the suitability, reliability, availability, timeliness, completeness, or accuracy of the information, services, or related graphics contained on the Site for any purpose. All such information, services, and related graphics are provided “as is” without warranty of any kind. To the fullest extent permitted by law, Foundation Medicine and its officers, directors, employees and agents hereby disclaim all express or implied warranties and conditions with regard to the information, services, and related graphics, including all implied warranties or conditions of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title, and non-infringement.

Limitation of Liability

In no event shall Foundation Medicine be liable for any direct, indirect, punitive, incidental, special, or consequential damages or any claim for lost profits or lost data arising out of or in any way connected with the use or performance of the Site, or with any delay or inability to use the Site, whether arising in contract, tort, negligence, strict liability, or otherwise, even if Foundation Medicine has been advised of the possibility of damages. This limitation of liability shall apply to the fullest extent permitted by law in the applicable jurisdiction.

Updates

The information and services included in or available through the Site may include inaccuracies or typographical errors. Foundation Medicine may make revisions, improvements, and/or changes to the Site at any time without notice but expressly disclaims any obligation to update such information.

Foundation Medicine may revise this Privacy Policy at any time without notice. Certain provisions of these terms may be modified or superseded by legal notices or other terms located on particular pages within the Site. You are responsible for regularly reviewing this Privacy Policy.

Contact Information

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please use the contact information listed on our Contact page.