Statement on Device Data
Last Updated: July 11th, 2021
Brother Industries, Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Brother", "we", or "our"), a company operating in Japan, is committed to protect your privacy. This Statement explains how we protect your Personal Data (data which can identify you as a living individual on its own or in combination with other information that we hold) which may be contained in the Device Data (as defined in Article 1) collected through Brother's services, software, or products (collectively "Products").
1. How we collect your Device Data
When you use the Products which are connected to the internet, anonymous log data about your mobile device and Products will be automatically sent to Brother's server for;
- general analysis on usage of the Products;
- improving the existing Products and developing new functions and Products;
- enhancing user experiences; or
- as set forth in this Statement (collectively, "Purposes").
The data which will be sent to Brother (collectively "Device Data") are generally:
- model name and version of the Product;
- language and version of the firmware;
- usage of the Product (for example, which application you used in software, or the print volumes);
- serial number of the Product; and
- Internet Protocol address of the Products.
2. Personal Data
Brother and its affiliates may collect Personal Data when you register a Product, open an account and/or purchase services. We may combine your Personal Data, Device Data and other information we collect regarding your activity on our websites and mobile apps. Our use and disclosure of your combined information will be for the purpose of customizing your user experience on our websites and mobile apps by targeting advertisements, offerings and content to your interests. Brother will use your combined information only on its websites and mobile apps, and not for purposes of tracking your activity on the Internet.
If the Device Data is of such a nature that is capable of identifying you by matching other Personal Data we hold, then we will protect such Device Data as Personal Data in accordance with this Statement and the applicable law.
3. How we use your Personal Data
Except as otherwise described in this Statement, we will not use your Personal Data for direct marketing purposes unless Brother informs you (when collecting your Personal Data) and obtains your consent. You may withdraw the consent at any time by contacting Brother.
4. How we share your information
Except as otherwise described in this Statement, your Personal Data will not be shared to other than Brother and its affiliates (including those located outside of the European Economic Area, the "EEA") without your prior consent.
- Brother and its affiliates may disclose your Personal Data to its respective sub-contractors in order to:
- provide and maintain any IT equipment used to process and store your Personal Data; or
- obtain or provide you certain services through the Products.
- Brother and its affiliates may disclose Personal Data when disclosure is:
- requested by a public or governmental authority;
- to comply with any applicable law, regulation, or legal process;
- to act in urgent circumstances to protect the personal safety of any officer, director, employee, agent or representative of Brother, any user of Brother Products, or any member of the public; or
- for reasons of national security, law enforcement or other issues of public importance.
We will take reasonable steps to ensure that the above third parties shall maintain appropriate physical and technical security to prevent loss or misuse of your Personal Data.
5. Access Rights
Brother provides you with reasonable access to your Personal Data and options to modify, erase or block such data as applicable. If you require access to your Personal Data, please contact us at
data.protection@brother.co.jp
6. Security
We take the security of your Personal Data very seriously and will use appropriate security measures to prevent unauthorized use or disclosure.
Your Personal Data may be transferred to, processed, and stored at a country outside the EEA, the laws of which may not provide the same level of protection for your Personal Data. However, we will ensure it receives an equivalent level of protection.
7. Contact
If you have questions regarding this Statement, please refer to the contact of our privacy policy
.
Last updated: January 1st, 2021
This Privacy Notice for California Residents supplements the information contained in Brother Industries, Ltd.’s Statement on Device Data. We adopt this notice to comply with the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and any terms defined in the CCPA have the same meaning when used in this notice.
The CCPA provides California residents with rights to receive certain disclosures regarding the collection, use, and sharing of “Personal Information,” as well as rights to access and control Personal Information. The CCPA defines “Personal Information” to mean “information that identifies, relates to, describes, is capable of being associated with, or could reasonably be linked, directly or indirectly, with a particular consumer or household.” Certain information we collect may be exempt from the CCPA because it is considered public information (i.e., it is made available by a government entity) or covered by a federal privacy law, such as the Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
To the extent that we collect Personal Information that is subject to the CCPA, that information, our practices, and your rights are described below.
Right to Information Regarding the Categories of Personal Information Collected, Sold, and Disclosed
Please see our Notice of California Consumer Data Collection and Sharing Practices below.
Right to Access Information
You have the right to request access to Personal Information collected about you and information regarding the source of that information, the purposes for which we collect it, and the third parties and service providers with whom we share it. To protect our customers’ Personal Information, we are required to verify your identity before we can act on your request.
Right to Request Deletion of Information
You have the right to request in certain circumstances that we delete any Personal Information that we have collected directly from you. To protect our customers’ Personal Information, we are required to verify your identity before we can act on your request. We may have a reason under the law why we do not have to comply with your request, or why we may comply with it in a more limited way than you anticipated. If we do, we will explain that to you in our response.
Your California Privacy Rights
Residents of the State of California also have the right to request information regarding third parties to whom the company has disclosed certain categories of Personal Information during the preceding year for the third parties’ direct marketing purposes. To make a request, please send your request by mail to Brother Industries, Ltd. Attn: Data Protection Team, 15-1, Naeshiro-cho, Mizuho-ku, Nagoya, 467-8561, Japan or email to data.protection@brother.com.
How to Submit a Request
You may submit a request to exercise your rights through one of the following means:
By filling out a Consumer Data Request Form available here.
Consumer Data Request Form
By calling 1-855-996-0289 Monday through Friday during the hours of 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM Eastern Time.
Non-Discrimination
We will not discriminate against you for exercising any of your CCPA rights. Unless permitted by the CCPA, we will not:
- Deny you goods or services.
- Charge you different prices or rates for goods or services, including through granting discounts or other benefits, or imposing penalties.
- Provide you a different level or quality of goods or services.
- Suggest that you may receive a different price or rate for goods or services or a different level or quality of goods or services.
However, we may offer you certain financial incentives permitted by the CCPA that can result in different prices, rates, or quality levels. Any CCPA-permitted financial incentive we offer will reasonably relate to your Personal Information’s value and contain written terms that describe the program’s material aspects. Participation in a financial incentive program requires your prior opt in consent, which you may revoke at any time.
Notice of California Consumer Data Collection and Sharing Practices
The following is a description of our data collection practices regarding the Device Data that we collect through our Products, including the Personal Information included in the Device Data that we collect, the sources of that information, the purposes for which we collect information, and whether we disclose that information to external parties. The categories we use to describe the information are those enumerated in the CCPA.
Please note that this section only covers information that is automatically collected when you use Products which are connected to the internet. For any other Personal Information we collect, please refer to our General Privacy Policy.
General Privacy Policy
- Personal Identifiers:
- We do not collect your name, contact address, phone number, and e-mail address.
- We collect a unique numerical identifier, assigned to you by a first-party cookie, automatically in order to identify you, provide our services, keep you logged in, prevent fraud, and provide you with targeted information and offers.
- We do not collect your financial information.
- We do not collect your driver's license number or passport number.
- We do not collect your social security number.
- We do not collect your medical information or health information.
- We do not collect your insurance policy number.
- We collect your IP address when you use our website, products, software, and services. We may also be able to determine your general location and your company information based on your IP address. We use this information to gauge online activity on our website, measure the effectiveness of our online services, software, and tools, and serve targeted advertisements based on your online activities.
- We collect your product serial number and/or device ID when you use our Products. We use this information to monitor your use of our products and the effectiveness of our services, to identify you, and to provide you with targeted information and offers. We also use this information to check and maintain quality control, investigate any errors or problems, and improve our Products.
- Protected Classifications: We do not collect your gender, age, racial or ethnic origin, disability status, or sexual orientation.
- Commercial Information: We collect information from our products, devices connected to our products, and software or services you use in connection with our products, including, but not limited to, the product model, product serial number, device location, usage data, error information, device settings information, and other operating information, unless you do not consent to such collection. We use this information to measure and improve the usability and effectiveness of our Products, carry out internal research and marketing analysis, and provide you with targeted information, advertisements, and offers.
- Biometric Information: We do not collect information about your physiological, biological, or behavioral characteristics.
- Internet or Other Electronic Network Activity Information: We collect information about your browsing history, search history, and information regarding your interaction with our Products. We use this information to measure the usability and effectiveness of our Products, and to develop and improve our Products.
- Geolocation Data: As described above, we collect your IP address automatically when you use our Products. We may be able to determine your general location based on the IP address. We also collect your device location, unless you do not consent to such collection.
- Audio, electronic, visual, thermal, olfactory, or similar information: We collect your thermal information, including the temperature at which you use our products, to understand how you use our products and to improve the quality of our products. We do not collect your audio, electronic, visual and olfactory information.
- Professional or employment-related information: As described above, we may be able to determine your company information based on your IP address. We use this information to carry out internal research and marketing analysis. We do not collect any other professional or employment-related information.
- Education information: We do not collect any information about the institutions you have attended or the level of education you have attained.
- Inferences drawn to create a profile about a consumer reflecting the consumer’s preferences or characteristics: We may adopt automated decision-making involving profiling based on your Personal Information in providing our service.
We may use any of the categories of information listed above for other business or operational purposes compatible with the context in which the Personal Information was collected.
We may share any of the above-listed information with service providers, which are external parties that we engage for business purposes and are restricted from using Personal Information for any purpose that is not related to our engagement. We may also disclose information to other external parties who are not listed here when required by law or to protect us or other persons. For details, please see our Statement on Device Data.
Contact Information
If you have any questions or comments about this notice, the ways in which we collect and use your information described in the Privacy Notice, your choices and rights regarding such use, or wish to exercise your rights under California law, please do not hesitate to contact us by mail to Brother Industries, Ltd. Attn: Data Protection Team, 15-1, Naeshiro-cho, Mizuho-ku, Nagoya, 467-8561, Japan or email to data.protection@brother.com.
