This page answers some questions about liability, copyright, privacy and other aspects of using this site.

     FAQs about liability

    you pointed me to another site but its information is wrong

For starters, have a look at our liability statement.

We make all reasonable efforts to ensure that information in our reports and on this site is accurate as of the date of publication. However, we cannot vouch for information on other sites, whether academic, government not-for-profit or commercial. 

We point to some sites because we have found them of use, think that they are of interest or may be of value to our clients/contacts even though we may not agree with particular analyses or figures.

    my investment crashed and burned

In cyberspace, as in the 'non-virtual' world, investors have responsibilities along with their rights.  Information on this site is provided without liability to the authors and operators of this site.  

We do not provide investment advice.  We recommend that you conduct your own investigations and consult with your lawyer, broker, accountant or other investment adviser prior to entering into any financial agreements.

     FAQs about site copyright

This page answers some questions about copying this site and our print material. Call us if you have other queries.

    Can I link to your site?

Yes, please do. We strongly encourage clients and contacts to link to www.caslon.com.au. As a courtesy, we would like to know that a link is being made - why not simply use the email on this site?

    Can I frame your site?

No, our terms of use prohibit you from framing. You should not obscure identifying information, links to other parts of this site or otherwise lead a viewer to believe that the pages from the site are the property of another entity.

    I want to copy text published on your site

Australian and international intellectual property law allows limited copying, in certain circumstances, without the permission of the author/copyright owner. 

In general, feel free to reproduce 'non-substantial' extracts from material published on this website as long as copying is being done on a non-commercial basis and you identify Bruce Arnold as the author and cite the relevant caslon.com.au URL.

We have responded to particular requests by formally authorising reproduction of substantial extracts or whole pages: contact us if you have a particular need.

    Can I copy all of a printed report from Caslon?

Sorry, not without our written permission. While "information just wants to be free", as the cyber-hippies say, "authors (and their elephants) just want to be fed".

Contact us and we'll discuss how we can meet your requirements.

    who owns the elephant?

The illustrious Suleyman, alas, expired several hundred years ago but the image based on Burgkmair's illustration is protected by copyright law well into the new millennium. It is part of our intellectual capital and we will accordingly prosecute any entity that appropriates it.

    I've heard that copyright is dead. Why do you bother?

It's alive and well; indeed gurus such as Lawrence Lessig argue that evolving technologies and intellectual property law will provide a higher level of protection for much online material than for "dried tree-flakes encased in dead cow".

The Intellectual Property guide on this site provides pointers to major Australian and overseas developments regarding copyright, patents and trademarks in the digital environment.

     Can I make a hardcopy?

You may prefer to read from a printout rather than from the screen. If so, please feel free to make a single copy for personal use.

     FAQs about privacy

     where are the cookies?

We use the Google Analytics service to enhance the operation of this site. Information from that service is not provided by Caslon to third parties.  

     what data do you collect about my visit to the site?

We don't engage in systematic data profiling and do not attempt to identify individual users/IP addresses.  

Our collection of data varies; essentially we collect and analyse basic web metrics information - such as whether particular pages are being accessed, whether traffic is coming from dot au domains or overseas, the ratio of .gov to .com to .org traffic - so that we can improve this site. 

     who gets to see the data?

Our privacy statement makes a commitment about collection, storage, use and disposal of personal data.

Access to information about use of the site is restricted to Caslon Analytics personnel and contractors subject to an agreement to adhere to our policy.

We don't disclose or publish information that identifies individual machines or sub-groupings of addresses without consent.

We don't sell or otherwise provide profiling data or mailing lists to other businesses, academic institutions or non-profit organisations.

While the internet is not a sewer thick with cybercriminals and anarchists, breaches of law do occur online.  We accordingly reserve the right to gather more extensive information in dealing with damage to the site or where there is reason to believe a breach of the law is being or has been committed.  Where necessary such information will be disclosed to the relevant authorities.

     does your policy include storage and disposal?

Our electronic and hardcopy records are stored in a secure environment.

Disposal reflects Australian records management industry 'best practice' standards.

     what about email and mailing lists?

We don't sell or give away email addresses. If you contact us with a query you can be sure we won't incorporate the address in a database for subsequent sale.  

Similarly, we don't spam.

Like many businesses, we maintain databases of professional contacts and customer addresses.  Our privacy policy is concerned with information - we thus give the same protection to snailmail and electronic lists.

     can I correct data about myself?

By all means. If your address is wrong, correction is strongly welcomed.  

We don't engage in data matching about purchases - we're not that sort of business.  Unlike parts of government or the finance sector we don't require information about whether you own your own home, have a criminal record, eat muesli or favour dogs over cats.  That means we don't collect much information of a personal nature.

     what about questionnaire, focus group and interview data?

From time to time Caslon conducts surveys and gains information from focus groups or in one-on-one discussions. All information gathered is treated on a confidential basis.

Unless previously and explicitly identified during the collection process we do not disclose any data that could reasonably be expected to enable identification of individual citizens/businesses or that can be readily attributed to particular contacts.

Any identification of clients (explicit or by reasonable inference) in published documents has the permission of the client.  

     where are the seals

We are not a member of TRUSTe or similar organisations. There are two reasons. 

Firstly, the effectiveness of some trustmark bodies is questionable. It is clear that major corporate members after behaving in ways that are less than ideal have been 'flogged with a lettuce leaf' by the trustmark operators. 

Secondly, because we're not engaged in electronic retailing or the assembly, storage, processing and disclosure of data about consumers or taxpayers there is no need for Caslon Analytics to behave in a way that poses privacy concerns. We don't believe in window dressing - including seals for the sake of seals. Just as importantly, we value our ability to provide independent analysis of government and private sector privacy initiatives.  

     more info

Read the legal boilerplate but still uncertain about what you can do with this site? Don't hesitate to give us a call or email us.