Privacy Policy

Last updated: [Date]

1. Introduction

This Privacy Policy explains how Open Sky Publishing House ("we", "us", or "our") collects, uses, discloses and protects your personal data when you interact with us, including when you visit our websites, purchase or use our publishing products and services, communicate with us, or otherwise engage with our business. We are a publishing company based in England.

We are committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal data in accordance with applicable data protection laws, including the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

By using our services or providing your personal data to us, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy.

2. Data Controller

The data controller responsible for your personal data is:

Open Sky Publishing House Region: England

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, you can contact us using the details provided in the "Contact Us" section below.

3. Personal Data We Collect

The type of personal data we collect depends on how you interact with us. We may collect and process the following categories of personal data:

3.1 Information you provide directly

• Contact details: name, postal address, email address, telephone number.
• Account details: username, password or other login credentials, and account preferences.
• Transaction and payment data: billing address, purchase history, partial payment information (for example, the last four digits of a card number, where necessary and in line with applicable law). Full payment details are typically processed by our payment service providers.
• Professional details: job title, organisation, professional interests and areas of expertise (for example, when you submit a manuscript, proposal, or register for professional services or events).
• Communications: information you provide when you contact us by email, phone, post, through online forms, or via social media, including any feedback, queries or complaints.
• Submissions and content: manuscripts, proposals, articles, biographies, images, and any other content you submit to us for publishing or consideration.

3.2 Information we collect automatically When you visit our websites or use our online services, we may automatically collect certain information using cookies, log files, and similar technologies. This may include:

• Device and technical data: IP address, browser type and version, time zone setting, operating system and platform, and other technical identifiers.
• Usage data: pages visited, links clicked, time spent on pages, referring website addresses, download errors, response times and other diagnostic data.

3.3 Information from third parties We may receive personal data about you from third parties, for example:

• Service providers (such as payment processors, analytics providers, advertising networks or event organisers).
• Business partners and distributors.
• Publicly available sources (such as professional websites, social media profiles, or public registers), where permitted by law.

4. Legal Bases for Processing

We process your personal data only where we have a valid legal basis to do so under UK data protection law. Depending on the circumstances, we may rely on the following legal bases:

• Contract: where processing is necessary for the performance of a contract with you, or to take steps at your request before entering into a contract (for example, to process your order, manage your account, or review a manuscript submission).
• Legitimate interests: where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests or those of a third party and your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests (for example, to improve our services, prevent fraud, or market similar products and services to existing customers).
• Legal obligation: where we need to comply with a legal or regulatory obligation (for example, accounting, taxation or reporting requirements).
• Consent: where you have given clear consent for us to process your personal data for a specific purpose (for example, for certain types of direct marketing or where required for the placement of certain cookies). You can withdraw your consent at any time (see section 10).

5. How We Use Your Personal Data

We may use your personal data for the following purposes:

5.1 To provide and manage our services

• Processing and fulfilling your orders and purchases.
• Managing your account or subscription.
• Providing digital content, online access, or other publishing services you request.
• Communicating with you about your use of our services, including service messages, updates and customer support.

5.2 Publishing and editorial processes

• Reviewing and assessing manuscript submissions or proposals.
• Communicating with authors, editors, reviewers and contributors.
• Managing contracts, rights and royalties.
• Editing, producing and distributing published works (including print and digital formats).

5.3 Marketing and communications

• Sending you newsletters, updates, promotional materials and information about our titles, events, or services that may be of interest to you, where permitted by law.
• Personalising marketing communications based on your preferences and interactions with us.
• Managing your marketing preferences and opt-out requests.

5.4 Website operation and improvement

• Operating, maintaining and securing our websites and online services.
• Analysing usage to understand how our services are used and to improve content, functionality and user experience.
• Measuring and understanding the effectiveness of advertising and promotional campaigns.

5.5 Security, fraud prevention and legal compliance

• Protecting our business, systems and users from fraud, unauthorised access, and other unlawful or harmful activity.
• Enforcing our terms and conditions or other agreements.
• Complying with legal and regulatory obligations, responding to lawful requests from public authorities, and establishing, exercising or defending legal claims.

6. Cookies and Similar Technologies

We may use cookies and similar technologies on our websites and online services to:

• Enable core site functionality and security.
• Remember your preferences and settings.
• Analyse site traffic and usage patterns.
• Support marketing and advertising activities, where permitted.

You can control cookies through your browser settings and, where applicable, through our cookie banner or preference tools. Disabling certain cookies may affect the functionality or performance of our website.

For more detailed information about the cookies we use and how you can manage them, please refer to our separate Cookie Policy (if available) or contact us using the details below.

7. How We Share Your Personal Data

We may share your personal data with the following categories of recipients, only to the extent necessary and subject to appropriate safeguards:

7.1 Service providers Third-party vendors who provide services on our behalf, such as:

• IT and hosting providers.
• Payment processors and financial institutions.
• Customer support tools and communication platforms.
• Analytics and search engine providers.
• Marketing, advertising and mailing service providers.

These service providers are permitted to process your personal data only in accordance with our instructions and are required to protect it.

7.2 Business partners and professional collaborators

• Co-publishers, distributors and sales agents.
• Editors, reviewers, translators and other publishing professionals.
• Event partners and organisers.

7.3 Legal and regulatory authorities We may disclose your personal data where required to do so by law, regulation, or legal process, or in response to valid requests by public authorities, including for the purpose of meeting national security or law enforcement requirements.

7.4 Corporate transactions If we are involved in a merger, acquisition, restructuring, sale of assets or similar corporate transaction, your personal data may be transferred as part of that transaction, subject to appropriate confidentiality and data protection obligations.

We do not sell your personal data.

8. International Transfers

We are based in England, but some of our service providers and partners may be located outside the United Kingdom or the European Economic Area (EEA). As a result, your personal data may be transferred to and processed in countries that may not provide the same level of data protection as the UK.

Where we transfer your personal data internationally, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect it in accordance with applicable law, such as:

• Adequacy regulations recognising that a country ensures an adequate level of protection.
• Standard contractual clauses (SCCs) or other approved contractual mechanisms.
• Other safeguards recognised under the UK GDPR.

You may contact us for more information about the specific safeguards used for any international transfer of your personal data.

9. Data Retention

We will retain your personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including to satisfy any legal, accounting or reporting requirements.

The relevant retention period will depend on factors such as:

• The nature of the data and the services provided.
• Our contractual relationship with you.
• Legal obligations requiring us to retain certain records for a minimum period.
• The existence of actual or potential disputes or claims.

When your personal data is no longer needed, we will take appropriate steps to delete, anonymise or securely destroy it.

10. Your Rights

Under the UK GDPR, you have certain rights in relation to your personal data, subject to applicable conditions and exemptions. These include:

• Right of access: to obtain confirmation as to whether we process your personal data and to request a copy of that data.
• Right to rectification: to have inaccurate or incomplete personal data corrected.
• Right to erasure: to request deletion of your personal data in certain circumstances (also known as the "right to be forgotten").
• Right to restriction of processing: to request that we limit the processing of your personal data in certain situations.
• Right to data portability: to receive personal data you provided to us in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format, and to request that we transmit it to another controller, where technically feasible and where processing is based on consent or contract.
• Right to object: to object, on grounds relating to your particular situation, to processing based on our legitimate interests, and to object at any time to the processing of your personal data for direct marketing.
• Rights related to automated decision-making: to not be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing, including profiling, which produces legal effects concerning you or similarly significantly affects you, unless certain conditions are met.

10.1 Exercising your rights To exercise any of your rights, please contact us using the details in the "Contact Us" section. We may need to verify your identity before responding to your request. We will respond within the time limits set by applicable law.

10.2 Right to withdraw consent Where we rely on your consent to process your personal data, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. This will not affect the lawfulness of processing based on consent before its withdrawal.

10.3 Complaints If you have concerns about how we handle your personal data, we encourage you to contact us first so we can try to resolve the issue. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK supervisory authority for data protection:

Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) Website: https://www.ico.org.uk

11. Security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorised or unlawful processing, accidental loss, destruction or damage. These measures may include access controls, encryption, secure storage, regular security assessments and staff training.

However, no method of transmission over the internet or method of electronic storage is completely secure. While we strive to protect your personal data, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

12. Children’s Privacy

Our services are generally not directed at children under the age of 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from children under this age without appropriate parental or guardian consent, where required by law.

If you believe that a child has provided personal data to us without the required consent, please contact us and we will take steps to delete such information as soon as reasonably practicable.

13. Third-Party Websites

Our websites or publications may contain links to third-party websites, services or content that are not operated by us. This Privacy Policy does not apply to those third parties. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of third-party sites.

We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party sites or services before providing any personal data to them.

14. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technologies, legal requirements or other factors. When we make significant changes, we will take appropriate steps to inform you, such as posting a notice on our website or contacting you directly where reasonably possible.

The "Last updated" date at the top of this policy indicates when it was most recently revised. Your continued use of our services after any changes have been made will signify your acceptance of the updated policy.

15. Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our handling of your personal data, please contact Open Sky Publishing House using the contact details provided on our official website or through the usual communication channels you use to engage with us.