Terms of Use and Privacy Policy

Updated March 21, 2024

Introduction

The National Association of Theatre Owners (“NATO”) is committed to maintaining the privacy of its members, partners, clients, customers, and all of its constituents.  We value your trust and have created this Terms of Use and Privacy Policy so that you are aware of our commitment to the privacy of our user’s personal information. Our websites, apps or emails are not intended or designed for consumer use.

Contact information

All inquiries or complaints about NATO’s Terms of Use or Privacy Policy, including but not limited to those related to personal data, should be directed to:

National Association of Theatre Owners, 1705 N Street NW, Washington, DC 20036 or via email: nato@natodc.com

TERMS OF USE

The following information reflects the terms and conditions under which you may use this web site.  This site is for NATO members, partners, clients, customers, and constituents and contains various information pertaining to NATO, including content owned by NATO and protected by copyrights, trademarks, service marks, trade secrets, patents, or other proprietary rights.  Only NATO members, partners, clients, customers, and constituents may use content from this website.  This Site is based in Washington, D.C. and NATO makes no representations or warranties concerning whether its content may be downloaded or are appropriate for use outside of the United States.  Users are prohibited from any illegal use of this site or its contents which could give rise to civil or criminal liability or otherwise violate any applicable local, state, national or international law or regulation. 

By accessing or using this site you acknowledge that you have read and agree to be legally bound by the Terms of Use set forth herein and as amended from time to time.   

Limitation of Liability

UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL NATO BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE CAUSED BY YOUR RELIANCE ON INFORMATION OBTAINED FROM THE CONTENT OR OTHER INFORMATION ACCESSED ON THIS SITE.  USERS OF THIS SITE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR EVALUATING THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, OR USEFULNESS OF ANY CONTENT CONTAINED HEREIN.  TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED UNDER APPLICABLE LAW, NATO SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE CONTENT OR INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN AND USERS’ EXCLUSIVE REMEDY FOR ANY CLAIM RELATED TO THEIR USE OF THIS SITE IS TO STOP ACCESSING THIS SITE.

Links to Other Sites

To the extent NATO provides links to third party websites, including but not limited to websites of entities affiliated with NATO, NATO makes no representations or warranties concerning the security of such third part sites or any endorsement of the content or information contained therein.

Non-waiver

NATO’s failure to enforce any provision of these Terms of Use will not constitute a waiver of its right to subsequently enforce such terms. Any claim relating to the content of this site must be brought in the federal or state courts located in Washington, D.C., and users hereby irrevocably consent to the jurisdiction of such courts. 

PRIVACY POLICY

This Privacy Policy is designed to ensure you understand the extent to which we collect, use, and share your personal information when you visit our Sites, Apps or open our emails (“Media Channels”).  This information is automatically collected by cookies, server logs, pixels/beacons, and other means either directly or from other sources including, but not limited to, our websites, mobile sites, applications, Google Analytics, conferences, events, surveys, research, and email communication. We carefully analyze the information we need to provide our services and try to limit the information we collect to that necessary and where possible, delete or anonymize information which no longer supports our goals. 

By visiting or using these Media Channels, you consent to the information collection and use practices described in this privacy policy.  This privacy policy may be updated from time to time as necessary and at the discretion of NATO.

Information we gather about you.

The information we collect from you helps us to personalize and continually improve our services and your experience. We may collect this information when you visit our website, apply to become a member, register for an event, take a survey, participate in a webinar or community forum, contact customer service, or interact with us for any other purpose. The collected information falls into three categories:

  1. Personal data

We may collect and process personal data that you provide or submit to us when, for example, you visit our website, apply to become a member, register for an event, take a survey, participate in a webinar or community forum, contact customer service, or interact with us for any other purpose. This personal data may include your IP address, name, address, email address and/or username, phone number, payment information, employer, social media handles, birthday, and any other information which you voluntarily choose to provide by accessing our websites, apps, or emails.

We may also collect and process personal data provided or submitted by or for our members, including IP address, employers or franchisors that provide personal data on behalf of employees, franchisees or other agents and any other information which you voluntarily choose to provide by accessing Media Channels.  This may include employees’ business and personal contact details, job titles, years of admission, personal data submitted upon registering or renewing membership (including dues payment information).

  1. Personal data we collect from third parties

We may receive personal data about you or your affiliates from third parties, such as social media services, Google Analytics, commercially available sources, and business partners. This personal data may include your name, contact information, transactions/purchase history, demographic data and/or information about your activities on other websites.  If, for example, you access us through a social media service, then the information we collect may include content the social media service will share with us. The information we obtain depends on your privacy settings on the applicable social media service. When you access us through social media services you are authorizing us to collect, store and use such information and content in accordance with this privacy policy.  We may also collect and use personal data obtained from other commercial sources.  At this time, we are not able to track and identify the source of third party derived personal data.

  1. Personal and non-personal data collected via technology

With regard to each of your visits to our website, we collect information that is sent to us automatically by your web browser. We may use this information to:

  • Generate aggregated statistics about visitors to our website.
  • For all other business purposes, such as providing customer service, fraud prevention, market research, identification of other commercial opportunities that may be of interest to you, solicited by you or for improving our website.

Please check your web browser if you want to learn what information your browser sends or how to change or adjust your privacy settings.

How we use your personal data

We may use the personal data collected from you or from third parties to:

  • Fulfill any contract entered into between you and NATO.
  • Deliver member services, conduct our obligations arising from your membership and notify you about membership changes.
  • Process applications or registrations.
  • Email you with the information, products, and services that you have requested, subscribed, purchased, or expressed interest, including membership benefits and subscriptions to our publications (NATO Newsletter, The President’s Report, GR Updates).
  • Offer solicitations or information for additional products and services that we believe may be of interest to you based upon your personal data or prior inquiry or purchases.
  • Comply with the law.
  • Provide our affiliated third parties with affinity programs or similar commercial relationships in order to market and provide products, goods, or services that we believe may be of interest to the industry.
  • Communicate exam results, pending expiration dates or other information regarding your certificate, certification, or similar status.
  • Provide information or other materials relating to registered events, current or past, including information regarding speakers, sponsors, or other attendees.
  • Provide email newsletters or similar materials from us or our affiliates.
  • Respond to inquiries.
  • Customize your website or product experience tailored to your indicated interests.
  • Transfer information as part of a merger or sale of the business.

We may further use the information we automatically collect about you to:

  • Administer our website for internal operations, including troubleshooting, data analytics, resting, research, statistical and survey purposes, and enhancing website security.
  • Improve our website to ensure content is presented most effectively for you as part of our efforts to keep our website safe and secure.
  • Measure and understand the effectiveness of advertising we provide to you and others, and to deliver relevant advertising to you.
  • Make suggestions and recommendations about our website or services that may interest you.

How we share your personal data

We may share your personal data with third parties, including our affiliates or allied organizations such as Certified NATO Regional Associations, affinity partners, service providers, social media sites, strategic business partners and/or as required to comply with applicable law. Such third parties may include the following:

  • Those that perform services on our behalf, including payment card processing companies, online gateways, and the accounting firm that collects the quarterly Admissions Survey data.
  • Other NATO members, including through the publication of the NATO Membership Directory.
  • Partner organizations that offer a benefit to NATO members (such as insurance and technical sponsors) for their direct marketing purposes.
  • Those that assist with services related to our events, including facilities hosting our events.
  • Pursuant to a subpoena, court order, governmental inquiry, or other legal process or as otherwise required by law, or to protect our rights or the rights of third parties.
  • Those you have requested or consented to have such information disclosed at the time of data collection or sharing.

We will at all times use commercially reasonable efforts to ensure that the third parties with whom we share your personal data represent they have sufficient technical/organizational privacy measures for secure data processing.  We cannot guarantee that third parties will at all times comply with such standards.

We contract with third parties to provide services on our behalf, including credit-card and billing processes, ad serving, shipping, email distribution, list processing, analytics, promotion management and website security.  This may also include independent contractors that need to know the information in order to help us provide our products and services to you or to process information on our behalf, or to offer or provide commercial services.  We provide these third parties only with the information they need to perform their services.  We require these third parties to agree to restrict their use of personal data in any other way than to provide the service that you or we requested and they are not to share, resell or use the data for other commercial or direct marketing purposes.

If you log in with or connect a social media service account with your Association account, you are authorizing us to share information we collect from and about you with the social media service provider and you understand that the social media service’s use of the shared information will be governed by the social media service’s privacy policy. If you do not want your personal data shared this way, please do not log in with or connect your social media service account with your Association account.

We may release personal data when we believe such release may be appropriate to comply with the law. This includes exchanging information with third parties for fraud protection and credit risk reduction.  If legally required to share your personal information, we will notify you in advance, unless legally forbidden.

We may provide/sell/rent access to your information (including personal data) to our strategic business partners in order to offer products or services that may suit your interests or business, and for our partners to better target their products and services to you.

EU Parties

For those European Union parties for whom we are obligated to apply General Data Privacy Regulation (GDPR) protections and safeguards (EU Parties), you agree that we may share and disclose your information only when you have provided explicit consent to do so.  We will only process the personal data of EU parties, including sharing it with third parties, where:

  • You have provided explicit written consent (which can be withdrawn at any time).
  • The processing is necessary for the performance of a contract to which you are a party.
  • We are required to by law.
  • Processing is required to protect your vital interests or those of another person.
  • Processing is necessary for legitimate commercial interests, except where such interests are overridden by your rights and interests.

Storage and retention of personal data

The personal data you provide or we collect is stored on servers located in the United States. If you are located in another jurisdiction, you should be aware that once your personal data is submitted through our website, it will be transferred to our servers in the United States and that the United States currently does not have uniform data protection laws in place.

We will retain your personal data for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide you with our website. If you wish to cancel your account or request that we no longer use your personal data to provide you service, please contact us. We will retain and use your information as necessary to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes and fulfil our agreements.

Personal data collection

We strive to protect your privacy by using SSL encryption when you enter sensitive information in online forms (e.g., payment card, password, etc.). Although we use security measures to help protect your personal data against loss, misuse, or unauthorized disclosure, we cannot guarantee the security of any information transmitted to us over the internet.  Nor can we guarantee the security of any information shared with third parties.

Your rights

We respect your preferences regarding how we use your personal data to best serve you. There are two straightforward ways to make changes: 1) Contact us using one of the Media Channels listed in this privacy policy or on our website, or 2) update your user profile on our website.

Your rights with respect to the personal data includes the right to:

  • Have personal data updated, corrected or deleted.
  • Unsubscribe, or opt-out of certain types of processing (e.g., promotions and discounts, event updates, etc.) except as, or as set forth, below:
    • You may not opt-out of renewal notices, payment confirmation notices, or notifications of changes to NATO’s products and services.
    • You may unsubscribe from certain types of solicitations by contacting the party who sent such materials to you.
    • You may opt-out of text messages by responding “STOP” at any time.
  • Request a copy or transfer of your personal data.
  • If you are citizen of the European Union (“EU”), make a complaint to the EU Data Protection Authority.

Please note that we may need to retain certain information for recordkeeping purposes and/or to complete any transactions you began prior to requesting such change or deletion (e.g., when you make a purchase, you may not be able to change or delete the personal data provided until after the completion of a such purchase).

Residents of California

California law requires consumer-oriented businesses, which NATO is not, to disclose policies relating to the sharing of certain categories of your personal data with third parties. If you are not a member or affiliated organization, reside in California and have provided your personal data to us, you may request information about our disclosure of certain categories of your personal data to third parties.

Cookie policy

Cookies are a small text file sent to and stored on your computer or other internet device to identify your browser or store information and are commonly used to retain settings or other features for your next visit to our website. When someone visits our website, we may collect standard internet log information and details of visitor behavior patterns which allows us to enhance our products, services, and website. You do not have to accept our cookies and can block them by activating the setting on your browser that allows you to refuse all or some cookies. If you do not accept or delete our cookies, areas of the website may take more time to work or may not function properly.

Information on or from children

Our website is not intended for children under 16 years of age.  We do not knowingly nor intentionally collect, use, or disclose any personal data from children under the age of 16.  If we learn that we have collected personal data about a child under the age of 16, the information will be immediately deleted. If you believe that we have collected, used, or disclosed Personal Data of a child under the age of 16, please contact us so that we can take appropriate action.

Changes to Terms of Use and Privacy Policy

We revise our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy periodically due to changing business practices, technology, and legal requirements.  We will revise the “Last Update” date at the top of these terms and policies and place a notice online when we make material changes. Your use of our website, products, or services following these changes means you acknowledge you have read and accept the revised Terms of Use and/or Privacy Policy and terms thereof.