Confidentiality Policy
The party receiving Confidential Information will be referred to as the “Receiving Party” and the party disclosing its Confidential Information will be referred to as the “Disclosing Party”.
“Confidential Information” shall mean any and all information related to the Purpose set forth above and disclosed to the Receiving Party by the Disclosing Party or its Agents either orally or in writing:
- of a technical or conceptual nature consisting of or relating to the databases, software, software documentation, systems, pricing, products, services or component parts owned, developed or being developed by the Disclosing Party, including without limitation, the information ascertained from plans, drawing, schematics, sketches, models or descriptions of processes or from an inspection of facilities or from computer programs, databases, software, computer hardware components, or other components;
- relating to business plans, marketing plans or business opportunities of the Disclosing Party;
- other information that should reasonably have been understood by the Receiving Party, because of legends or other markings, the circumstances of disclosure, or the nature of the information itself, to be confidential to“Disclosing Party”.
- Confidential Information shall expressly include any and all information derived from a party’s proprietary information. Each party acknowledges that it acquires only the right to use the Confidential Information of the other party under the terms and conditions of this Agreement for as long as this Agreement is in effect and that neither party shall acquire any rights or ownership or title in the Confidential Information.
Confidential Information does not include information which:
- is or becomes a part of the public domain without breach of this Agreement or another agreement;
- (was in the Receiving Party’s possession and the Receiving Party was able to disclose this information without a breach of any other confidentiality arrangement before receiving such information from the Disclosing party; or
- is obtained by the recipient in good faith from a third party having the right to disclose such information without an obligation of confidentiality.
All documents filed with the Department of Certification by applicants in the exam registration process (initial or continuous improvement reviews) are considered the property of the applicants filing the information. The Department of Certification will not release any of these documents without the written permission of the applicants or as may be required by the law. In addition, the Department of Certification staff or volunteers cannot modify any document submitted by the applicants that is involved in the certification review process. In some cases, the certification reports submitted by applicants are used in Department of Certification seminars or sessions.
In response to enquiries from the public, the Department of Certification will disclose only whether a member is accredited or not accredited. Information regarding a member’s progress in the initial process or issues of concern for an accredited member on review is not made public by the Department of Certification. Accredited (professionals or organizations) are encouraged to make their accreditation known to the public.