PRIVACY NOTICE

Last updated: October 2020

Cortés Defense, and its affiliated companies, organizations and subsidiaries worldwide (collectively “Cortés Defense”, “We”, “Us”, or “Our”) recognize and respect your right to privacy.  We are committed to protecting the privacy of visitors of the Cortés Defense website(s), individuals who register to use our products and services, and individuals who register to attend the Our events.

This Privacy Notice (“Privacy Notice” or “Notice”) describes our privacy practices in relation to the use of www.cortesdefense.com, www.cdsuniversity.com,  and other websites owned or controlled by Cortés Defense (the “Sites”) (including any customer portal or interactive customer website), its solutions, tools, and related applications, services, and programs, including attendance of events and research and marketing activities, offered by Cortés Defense (the “Services”) as well as your choices regarding use, access and correction of personal data.

This Privacy Notice describes how we collect, use, disclose and otherwise process personal data collected related to our Services and otherwise in the course of our business activities, including the information practices of the Sites that link to this Privacy Notice.

This Privacy Notice does not apply to information collected about Our staff, applicants, or other personnel.

For the purposes of this Privacy Notice, “Business Partners” means any affiliate, sub-contractor, vendor, service providers, or other entity with whom we have an ongoing business relationship to provide products, services or information. “Personal Information” means information that identifies you, such as your name, telephone number and email address.

Please read this Privacy Policy carefully to understand how we handle your Personal Information.

By accessing or browsing our Sites, related mobile applications, or using any of the Services that we provide to you or you access, you confirm that you have read and understood the entirety of this Privacy Notice.

1.      About Us

Cortés Defense is a Martial Arts training provider for the Cortés Defense System (CDS), which specializes in close quarters combat (CQC), jiu-jitsu, kali, and movement-based physical conditioning.

We adhere to the privacy principals of: Notice; Choice; Accountability for Onward Transfer; Security; Data Integrity and Purpose Limitation; Access; and Recourse, Enforcement, and Liability (the “Principles”).

2.      Customer Owned Data

As a provider of Services, we may receive, process or store certain information, including personal information, on behalf of our Customers. All such information (“Customer Data”) is owned and controlled by our Customers, who are the data controllers for such information with respect to EU data protection law.

3.      Collection of Personal Information 

We may collect and process any of the following information about you and we refer to this as “Personal Information” throughout this Privacy Notice:

3.1.  Information you give us

Cortés Defense collects information as part of its normal business operations and in the administration of its relationship with Customers, which may include Personal Information.

Business Contact and Customer Relationship Management: We collect and maintain Personal Information about our Customers, which may include company name, business contact name and title, phone number, email and other contact details. We may also collect billing address, financial account, credit card information, order details, subscription and license information, and usage details.

Data Submitted on Sites: In order to access or use certain portions of the Sites, to enjoy the full functionality of the Sites, or to conduct or seek to conduct business with us, you may be prompted to provide certain Personal Information to us, including in the following ways:

  • by filling in forms (for example, a “Contact Us” form) on our Sites or at a trade show or anywhere else we conduct business;
  • by downloading or accessing the Cortés Defense Services;
  • by downloading documentation from our Sites;
  • by subscribing to newsletters or other communications; or
  • by corresponding with us by phone, e-mail or otherwise using our contact details.

Typically, the Personal Information you give us may include name, business affiliation, address, telephone number, and email address, and any personal details required to resolve any enquiries or complaints.

Customer Support and Service: When Customers contact us for support or other customer service requests, we maintain support tickets and other records related to the requests, including any information provided by Customers related to such support or service requests. We may also collect call recordings related to support and customer service-related calls.

Please note that we need certain types of information so that we can provide Services to you.  If you do not provide us with such information, or if you ask us to delete it, you may no longer be able to access our Services.

3.2.  Information we may automatically collect about you

Each time you visit the Sites We may automatically collect any of the following information:

technical information, including the Internet protocol (IP) address used to connect your computer to the internet, domain name and country which requests information, the files requested, browser type and version, browser plug-in types and versions, operating system and platform, other information about your computer or device; Internet traffic; and

information about your visit, including your page visits, the full Uniform Resource Locators (URL) clickstream to, through and from our site (including date, time and duration), length of visits to certain pages, page interaction information (such as scrolling, clicks, and mouse-overs) and methods used to browse away from the page.

3.3.  Use of Cookies

When you visit our Sites, cookies will be placed on your computer or device to maximize your experience and to help us understand how we can improve our Sites. Cookies are small files placed on your internet browser when you visit our Sites. Cortés Defense uses cookies for your convenience to store information so you do not have to reenter your data upon each visit. Cookies and other technology are also used to monitor usage of the various features and services of our site, which over time gives us information to improve our site, and to advertise and market our products more effectively. You may refuse the use of cookies by selecting the appropriate settings on your browser, however, please note that if you do this you may not be able to use the full functionality of the Sites. To view the types of cookies We use on the Sites, please visit the Cookies page on our website.

3.4.  Information we may receive from other sources

We will receive information about you if:

you obtain our services through one of our partners. The types of information that we may receive are the same as the information that you may give to us detailed in section 3.1 above.

you use any of the other Sites we operate or the other services we provide. In this case, we will have informed you when we collected that data that it may be shared internally and combined with data collected on the Website. We work closely with third parties (including, for example, social media, advertising networks, analytics and search information providers) and may receive information about you from them.

3.5.  Third Party Websites (External Links)

The Sites may include links to other websites and other content from third-party businesses and can offer direct interaction with external websites, networks or platforms that are outside Our control.  These third-party businesses may use cookies, web beacons or other similar technology to collect information about you. Cortés Defense does not have access to or control over these third parties or the cookies, web beacons or other technology that these third parties may use. We are not responsible for the security, privacy of the information collected by these third parties or the privacy practices of these third parties or the content on any third-party website.  You are encouraged to review the privacy policies of the different websites you visit and of the advertisers whose ads you may choose to click while on our Sites.

3.6.  Third-Party Analytics Services

We may work with third-party analytics services to help us understand how the Sites are being used, such as tracking the frequency and duration of use of the Sites. We may use Adobe Analytics, Google Analytics, and/or other web analytics services (“Analytics Tools”) to collect information about your use of the Sites. These Analytics Tools may use cookies to collect information about the content you view, what websites you visit immediately prior to and after visiting the Sites, and your system information and geographic information. The information generated by these cookies about your use of the Sites will be transmitted to and stored by the applicable analytics services. The information collected by these analytics services allows us to analyze your use of the Sites. The Analytics Tools may also transfer this information to third parties where required to do so by law, or where such third parties process the information on their behalf. At the moment that you withdraw your consent for the processing of personal information, We will not be able to access the personal information processed by third-party analytics. By using the Sites, you consent to the processing of data about you by Adobe and Google in the manner and for the purposes set out above. You can opt-out of Google Analytics by installing Google’s opt-out browser add-on, and out of interest-based Google ads using Google’s Ads Settings.

3.7.  Online Advertising; Tracking

Cortés Defense and third-party businesses may use the information collected through the Sites using cookies, web beacons, and other similar technologies to help manage online advertising programs. This information may enable US and our third-party advertising services and other third-party businesses to track the actions of users online over time and across different websites or platforms to measure statistics relating to marketing efforts, and to deliver electronic advertisements that may be more relevant to individual consumers and that will improve the consumer experience. For information about how tracking works for online advertising purposes, and what happens when you elect a do-not-track option, visit http://www.aboutads.info/choices.  In addition, some third-party businesses may provide a mechanism to opt-out of their technology. For more information about the opt-out process, you may visit the Network Advertising Initiative website, available at http://www.networkadvertising.org/managing/opt_out.asp.

4.      Use of Personal Information

The following is an overview of our purposes for using Personal Information that we process as a data controller. Additional details on how we process your Personal Information may be provided to you in a separate notice or contract.

We, or third-party data processors acting on our behalf, collect, use and store the Personal Information listed above to enable you to receive services for which you or your company have entered into a contract with us and/or because it is in the legitimate interests of Cortés Defense to handle your Personal Information. We also collect, use and store your Personal Information for the following reasons:

  • to register you for webinars/seminars.
  • to assign a password.
  • to ensure that content from our website and services are presented in the most efficient manner for you.
  • to provide you with information, products or services that you request from us or which we feel may interest you, only where you have consented to be contacted for such purposes.
  • to carry out our obligations arising from any contracts entered into between you and us.
  • to allow you to participate in interactive features, such as “Live Chat”, when you choose to do so.
  • to notify you about changes to our products or services and to keep you informed about our fees and charges.
  • To provide the service(s) you have requested
  • To improve the quality and accuracy of the services.
  • to allow you to access and use the Sites and to register for an account;
  • to carry out activities in the legitimate interests of Cortés Defense, for example, pursuing debt, ensuring the security of our services and Sites;
  • to verify your identity in order to prevent and detect money laundering and fraud;
  • to carry out statistical analysis and market research;
  • for marketing, advertising and promotional purposes;
  • for the purposes of improving and maintaining our Sites, preparing reports or compiling statistics in order to improve our Services. Such details will be anonymized as far as is reasonably possible and you will not be identifiable from the data collected.
  • to take other action you request when you supply the Information.

De-identified Data: We may de-identify and aggregate certain data we collect such that the data no longer identifies or can be linked to a particular customer or an individual data subject (“De-identified Data”), subject to the terms of any applicable customer agreements. We may use this data to improve our Services, analyze trends, publish market research, and for other marketing, research or statistical purposes, and may disclose such data to third parties for these specific purposes.

Other Data: Cortés Defense collects, uses and maintains certain data related to its business and the Services it provides to Customers, which is not Personal Information; this Privacy Notice does not restrict our use and processing of such data.

4.1.  Information for Individuals Located in the European Union

Legal Basis for The Processing of Personal Information from EEA Residents:

For individuals in the European Union, our processing (i.e. use) of your Personal Information is justified on the following legal bases:

(i) Whenever we require your consent for the processing of your Personal Information such processing will be justified pursuant to Article 6(1) lit. (a) of the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (“GDPR”). This article in the GDPR describes when processing can be done lawfully.

(ii) If the processing of your Personal Information is necessary for the performance of a contract between you and Cortés Defense or for taking any pre-contractual steps upon your request, such processing will be based on GDPR Article 6(1) lit. (b).”). If this data is not processed, We will not be able to execute the contract with you.

(iii) Where the processing is necessary for us to comply with a legal obligation, we will process your Personal Information on basis of GDPR Article 6(1) lit. (c), for example, laws which require us to collect tax information from customers, carry out checks on customers, or which compel us to disclose information to public authorities or regulators.

(iv) And where the processing is necessary for the purposes of Cortés Defense’s legitimate interests, such processing will be made in accordance with GDPR Article 6(1) lit. (f), for example to detect fraud. *

(v) Defend Our Rights: where the processing is necessary to the establishment, exercise or defense of legal claims.

* In all cases where legitimate interests are relied upon as a lawful basis, we take steps to ensure that our legitimate interests are not outweighed by any prejudice to your rights and freedoms. This is achieved in a number of ways, including through the application of principles of data minimization and security, and by taking steps to ensure that personal data is only collected or otherwise obtained where it is relevant to the lawful business activities, and where using personal data is reasonably necessary for those activities.

Transferring Personal Data from the EU to the US:

Cortés Defense is United States based organization. Information we collect from you may be processed in the United States. The United States has not sought nor received a finding of “adequacy” from the European Union under Article 45 of the GDPR.  A finding of “adequacy” in short means that the European Commission has decided that this country outside the EEA ensures an adequate level of data protection. Cortés Defense relies on derogations as set forth in Article 49 of the GDPR as the United States has no “adequacy” decision and no other safeguards under the GDPR are in place (for example binding corporate rules on the transfer outside the EEA). In particular, Cortés Defense collects and transfers to the U.S. Personal Information only: with your explicit consent; to perform a contract with you; in a manner that does not outweigh your rights and freedoms. If this data is not processed and transferred, We will not be able to execute the contract with you or you will not have access to any or all of the benefits and features associated with your transaction. Cortés Defense endeavors to apply suitable safeguards to protect the privacy and security of your personal data and to use it only consistent with your relationship with Us and the practices described in this Privacy Notice.

If you wish to confirm that Cortés Defense is processing your Personal Information, or to have access to the personal data We may have about you, please contact us at https://cortesdefense.com/#contact.

5.      Disclosure of Personal Information

We will not sell, hire, lease or rent your Personal Information that we collect to any third party without notifying you and/or obtaining your consent, except as expressly set forth in this Section. Where you have given your consent for us to use your information in a particular way, but later change your mind, you should contact us and we will stop doing so.

5.1.  Cortés Defense Affiliate Companies

We may share personal data with our affiliated businesses as part of our business operations and administration of the Services.

5.2.  Categories of Third Parties

Any third parties with whom we share your Personal Information are limited (by law and by contract) in their ability to use your Personal Information for any purpose other than to provide services for us. We will always ensure that any third parties with whom we share your Personal Information are subject to privacy and security obligations consistent with this Privacy Policy and applicable laws. We will share your Personal Information with the following categories of third parties:

  • our Business Partners, including but not limited to payment processors, suppliers of technical and support services and cloud service providers;
  • companies that assist us in our marketing, advertising and promotional activities;
  • analytics and search engine providers that assist us in the improvement and optimization of our Website; and
  • service providers who resell our services and products.

We may also appoint third party service providers (who will operate under our instructions) to assist us in providing information, products or Services to you, in conducting and managing our business, or in managing and improving our Services or the Sites. Cortés Defense may share your Personal Information with these affiliates and third parties to perform services that the third parties have been engaged by Us to perform on our behalf, subject to appropriate contractual restrictions and security measures, or if we believe it is reasonably necessary to prevent harm or loss, or it believes that the disclosure will further an investigation of suspected or actual illegal activities.

We reserve the right to share any information that is not deemed Personal Information or is not otherwise subject to contractual restrictions.

If Personal Information is transferred outside the EU to other Cortés Defense group organizations or to third party service providers, we will take steps to ensure that your Personal Information receives the same level of protection as if it remained within the EU, including by entering into data transfer agreements, using the European Commission approved Standard Contractual Clauses, or by relying on certification schemes such as the EU – US Privacy Shield. For transfers to other Cortés Defense group organizations in the United States (a country that has not received a decision from the European Commission determining that the United States provides adequate protection to personal data), we have put in place European Commission approved Standard Contractual Clauses, which protect personal data transferred between Our entities. You have a right to obtain details of the mechanism under which your personal data is transferred outside of the EU by contacting us at https://cortesdefense.com/#contact.

We contractually require agents, service providers, and affiliates who may process Personal Information related to the Services to provide the same level of protections for Personal Information as required under the Principles. Cortés Defense currently does not transfer personal data to a third-party for the third party’s own use, but only for Our purposes as outlined above. We will remain liable under the Principles if one of its third-party processors processes Personal Information in a manner inconsistent with the Principles, if we are responsible for the event giving rise to the damage.

5.3.  Other Third-Party Disclosures

We will also disclose your Personal Information to third parties:

  • in the event we sell or buy any business or assets, in which case we may disclose your Personal Information to the prospective seller or buyer of such business or asset;
  • if Cortés Defense or substantially all of its assets are acquired by a third party, in which case Information held by it about its customers and partners will be one of the transferred assets;
  • if we are under a duty to disclose or share your Personal Information in order to comply with any legal obligation, any lawful request from government or law enforcement officials and as may be required to meet national security or law enforcement requirements or prevent illegal activity;
  • in order to enforce or apply our terms and conditions or any other agreement or to respond to any claims, to protect our rights or the rights of a third party, to protect the safety of any person or to prevent any illegal activity; or
  • to protect the rights, property, or safety of Cortés Defense, our customers or other persons. This may include exchanging information with other organizations for the purposes of fraud protection and credit risk reduction.

Just-in-Time Disclosures: Additional disclosures or information about processing of Personal Information related to specific websites, mobile applications, products, services, or programs may be provided to you. These may supplement and/or clarify Cortés Defense privacy practices in specific circumstances and provide you with additional choices as to how We may process your personal data.

6.      Children

The Sites, Services and Portal are not for use by children under the age of 16 years and Cortés Defense does not knowingly collect, store, share or use the personal Information of children under 16 years. If you are under the age of 16 years, please do not provide any Personal Information, even if prompted by the Sites to do so. If you are under the age of 16 years and you have provided Personal Information, please ask your parent(s) or guardian(s) to notify Us and We will delete all such Personal Information.

7.      Marketing

Where lawful to do so, and subject to your consent where required, we may communicate with Customers (and related business contacts) about our Services. If you wish to unsubscribe from receiving marketing communications, please visit the Email Preference Center on our Site or use the Email Preference Center link in our promotional emails to request that we will stop sending you communications.

8.      Retention of Your Personal Data

We apply a general rule of keeping Personal Information only for as long as required to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected. However, in some circumstances, we may retain personal data for other periods of time, for instance where we are required to do so in accordance with legal, tax and accounting requirements, or if required to do so by a legal process, legal authority, or other governmental entity having authority to make the request, for so long as required.

In specific circumstances, we may also retain your personal data for longer periods of time corresponding to a statute of limitation, so that we have an accurate record of your dealings with us in the event of any complaints or challenges.

9.      Access and Data Subject Rights

Individuals have the right to access the Personal Information processed about them, subject to applicable law; individuals may request to access their Personal Information processed by us by contacting us at https://cortesdefense.com/#contact.

Subject to applicable law, you may also have some or all of the following rights available to you in respect of your personal data:

  • to obtain a copy of your Personal Information together with information about how and on what basis that Personal Information is processed;
  • to rectify inaccurate Personal Information (including the right to have incomplete Personal Information completed);
  • to erase your Personal Information (in limited circumstances, such as where it is no longer necessary in relation to the purposes for which it was collected or processed);
  • to restrict processing of your Personal Information under certain circumstances
  • to port your data in machine-readable format to a third party (or to you) when we justify our processing on the basis of your consent or the performance of a contract with you;
  • to withdraw your consent to our processing of your Personal Information (where that processing is based on your consent); and
  • to obtain or see a copy of the appropriate safeguards under which your Personal Information is transferred to a third country or international organization.

In addition to the above rights, under EU data protection law, applicable individuals have the right to object, on grounds relating to your particular situation, at any time to any processing of your Personal Information for which we have justified on the basis of a legitimate interest, including profiling (as opposed to your consent) or to perform a contract with you. You also have the right to object at any time to any processing of your Personal Information for direct marketing purposes, including profiling for marketing purposes.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local supervisory authority for data protection.

You have the right to ask us to not process your Personal Information for marketing purposes. We will inform you (before collecting your Personal Information) if we intend to use your Personal Information for such purposes or if we intend to disclose your information to any third party for such purposes. You can exercise your right to prevent such processing by checking certain boxes on the forms we use to collect your Personal Information. If you have previously given your consent to the use of your Personal Information for marketing purposes, you can choose to stop receiving marketing communications which we send to you from time to time by following the unsubscribe instructions included in such communications. Alternatively, you can contact us at https://cortesdefense.com/#contact.

You can choose to opt-out from your Personal Information being used for any purpose that differs from the purposes notified to you when we collected your personal information; or disclosed to any third party. If you would like to do this, please contact us as set forth in the Contact Us section of this Privacy Notice. Please note that opting-out may prevent us from providing you with our services or information requested by you.

In relation to all of these rights, please contact us at https://cortesdefense.com/#contact. Please note that we may request proof of identity, and we reserve the right to charge a fee where permitted by law, especially if your request is manifestly unfounded or excessive. We will endeavor to respond to your request within all applicable timeframes.

If you contact us regarding Customer Data for which we are a data processor, we will attempt to refer your request to the relevant Customer, and data controller for your Personal Information.

10. Protection of Personal Information

Cortés Defense is committed to taking steps to protect the Information you provide to us from unauthorized access, improper use or disclosure, unauthorized modification or unlawful destruction or accidental loss. We utilize and maintain certain reasonable processes, systems, and technologies to do so, including administrative, technical, and physical measures. However, you acknowledge that no environment is completely secure or error-free, and that these processes, systems, and technologies utilized and maintained by Us are subject to compromise. Accordingly, we cannot be held responsible for unauthorized or unintended access that is beyond our control.

11. Changes to this Privacy Notice

From time to time, Cortés Defense may need to update or modify this Privacy Notice, to reflect changes in our business practices, data collection practices or organization. We reserve the right to amend this Privacy Notice at any time, for any reason, without notice to you, other than the posting of the amended Privacy Notice on the Sites, or, if you have provided your email address to us, sending you an email notifying you of the amended Privacy Notice. It is strongly recommended to check the Site often, referring to the date of the last modification listed at the top. We will in any case not reduce your rights under this Privacy Notice without your explicit and informed consent. If you do not agree to the changes, you should discontinue your use of the Sites, and cease providing Personal Information to us, prior to the time the modified Privacy Notice takes effect. If you continue using the Sites or provide Personal Information after the modified Privacy Notice takes effect, you will be bound by the modified Privacy Notice.

If you have any questions regarding this Privacy Notice or our use of personally identifiable information (PII) on this site, please send us your questions or comments as set forth in section 12 below.

12. Questions, Concerns, or Complaints

If you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Notice, please contact us at https://cortesdefense.com/#contact.