Privacy Policy

Effective date: September 25, 2026

TV Bears International respects the privacy of people who visit our website, contact us about productions or events, enter our bear naming competitions, and work with us. This policy explains what personal information we handle, why we handle it, and how to contact us about it. It applies to our business website, related inquiries, and competitions. A separate agreement or event-specific notice may provide additional details for a particular production or visit.

Who we are

TV Bears International provides realistic animal characters and practical creature services for film, television, commercials, and events. We are based in Toluca Lake, California, with a UK service hub in Watford, London, and support projects internationally. For questions about this policy or a privacy request, email info@tvbears.org or call +1 (323) 389-7156.

Information we collect

• Business contact details: name, company, role, email address, phone number, and professional contact information.
• Project information: inquiry details, production or event location, dates, briefs, scripts, reference materials, logistics, and correspondence you choose to send us.
• Booking and payment records: contract details, invoices, payment status, and related business records. A payment provider may process payment details when applicable.
• Website information: technical details such as IP address, browser type, pages requested, approximate location derived from an IP address, and cookie or similar technology data where a feature is enabled.
• Visit and media information: names and contact details of authorized organizers, handlers, or vendors; visit logistics; and photographs or video only where permitted under the relevant venue rules, permissions, and agreements.
• Communication preferences: requests to receive or stop receiving business updates.

Please do not send patient medical information, children’s personal details, or other sensitive information through a general website form or email unless we have specifically requested it through an agreed, appropriate process. We may receive information from you, your organization, an authorized representative, publicly available professional sources, or another party involved in a proposed project.

How we use information

• To answer inquiries, assess whether a project is feasible, prepare estimates, and communicate about bookings.
• To plan and deliver contracted services, coordinate with production teams or venues, and manage safety and logistics.
• To maintain records, issue invoices, protect our rights and assets, and meet legal or accounting obligations.
• To maintain, secure, and improve our website and understand its use where analytics features are enabled.
• To send relevant business communications where permitted and to honor opt-out requests.
• To document our work or share approved media only where the applicable contract, venue rules, permissions, and privacy requirements allow it.

For people whose information is subject to UK data protection law, our lawful bases may include taking steps at your request before a contract or performing a contract, complying with a legal obligation, our legitimate interests in responding to professional inquiries and running our business, and consent where required, such as for certain cookies or uses of identifiable images. We consider people’s rights and expectations when relying on legitimate interests. You may withdraw consent for future use where consent is the basis, without affecting earlier lawful use.

Providing basic contact and project details is voluntary, but without enough information we may be unable to answer an inquiry or provide a quote. Details required for an agreed booking may also be needed to perform the contract or meet legal obligations. We do not make decisions about people solely by automated processing that have legal or similarly significant effects.

Bear naming competitions

When you enter one of our bear naming competitions, we collect the name, email address, country of residence, suggested bear name, and short explanation you submit, along with your confirmation that you meet the minimum age and agree to the competition terms. Our form and security providers may also process technical submission details, such as the time of entry and IP address, where those features are enabled. We use this information to administer entries, check eligibility and duplicate submissions, judge suggestions against the published criteria, contact the winner, and answer competition questions. The judging panel, including an independent judge, may see entries for those purposes.

We request a postal address only from the winner, for prize delivery. We may share the delivery details needed by the shipping provider and, where applicable, customs authorities. We may publish the winning suggestion and whether it was chosen as the bear’s final name. We will identify the winner by first name and country only with their agreement. Entering does not subscribe you to marketing: any marketing choice is separate, optional, and does not affect your chance of winning. You can withdraw a marketing choice or unsubscribe from future messages at any time.

Where UK data protection law applies, our basis for handling information necessary to administer a competition is performance of the competition terms. We may rely on our legitimate interests in preventing misuse and documenting fair administration, subject to your rights. We use consent for optional marketing where required. We keep entries through judging, winner confirmation, and a reasonable period for resolving competition questions, then delete or anonymize entries unless a legal obligation or dispute requires longer retention. We keep the winner’s delivery and prize records only as long as needed for fulfillment or applicable legal and accounting requirements. Marketing preferences and opt-out records are kept as needed to honor your choice. For competition questions, email nameabear@tvbears.org. For privacy requests, email info@tvbears.org.

Who we share information with

We share only what is reasonably needed with people and organizations involved in delivering a service or operating the business. These may include our authorized team members, actors, on-set coordinators or asset guardians, approved suppliers, hospitals or venues, professional advisers, and providers of hosting, email, forms, analytics, or business software. We may also disclose information when required by law or to protect a legal right. Third-party services have their own privacy practices when you use their websites or platforms.

Hospital and community visits are a separate service from our realistic production bear bookings. Friendly characters may be arranged through third-party vendors. We share only the visit information necessary to plan an approved appearance and follow the venue’s requirements. We do not use patient or child images for promotion simply because a visit took place. Photography or video and any portfolio use require the relevant advance permission.

Cookies and website services

Technical features may use cookies or similar technologies to make the website work. Analytics, embedded media, social features, or other optional tools may also set cookies or receive technical data when enabled. Where consent is required for a nonessential technology, it should be requested before that technology is activated. You can also control cookies through your browser. A browser setting may affect site features.

The specific cookies and providers depend on the tools enabled on the live website. The site’s cookie notice or settings, if offered, should identify those tools and allow you to manage optional choices. Contact us at info@tvbears.org if you would like information about the current configuration.

International access and transfers

Because we work between the United States and the United Kingdom and may support projects elsewhere, authorized personnel or service providers may access information from another country. Where applicable law requires safeguards for an international transfer, we use an appropriate transfer mechanism or other lawful basis. You can contact us for more information about a particular transfer.

How long we keep information

We keep information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected. An unanswered or unsuccessful inquiry is kept only while follow-up remains appropriate. Booking, financial, and contract records may be retained longer to meet tax, accounting, insurance, dispute, or other legal requirements. Marketing preferences and opt-out records are kept as needed to respect your choice. Media permissions and approved project materials are kept while they remain relevant to the agreed use, subject to contractual or legal requirements. We then delete, anonymize, or securely archive information as appropriate.

Security

We use reasonable organizational and technical measures to protect personal information and limit access to people who need it for their work. No internet transmission or storage method is completely secure. If you need to provide sensitive production information, ask us to agree on an appropriate way to share it.

Your choices and privacy rights

You can ask us to review, correct, or delete information about you, object to certain uses, withdraw consent where we rely on it, or stop business marketing by emailing info@tvbears.org. We may need to verify your identity and may retain information where the law or an ongoing contract permits or requires it.

Depending on where you live and which law applies to our business, additional rights may include access to a copy of information, restriction of processing, data portability, or information about categories of collection and disclosure. California residents, including individual business contacts, may have rights under California law when that law applies to a business. We will respond to applicable requests and will not treat you unfairly for exercising a legal privacy right.

People in the UK may also raise a concern with the Information Commissioner’s Office. If you are in California, information about privacy rights and complaints is available from the California Privacy Protection Agency. We welcome the opportunity to address a concern directly first.

Children and hospital visits

Our website welcomes visitors interested in our work and bear naming competitions. Competition entrants must be at least 21 years old. We do not knowingly solicit personal information from children through the website. Hospital and community appearances are arranged with authorized organizations and subject to their approval, privacy rules, and safeguarding requirements. If you believe a child’s personal information was submitted to us through the website without appropriate authority, contact us so we can review and address it.

Website imagery and proprietary assets

This privacy policy does not grant permission to use our website content. TV Bears International imagery may not be copied, reproduced, shared, uploaded, or used outside this website without our express written permission. This includes use with generative AI systems for training, image generation, or modification. Our proprietary bear assets are not for sale through third-party websites, sellers, or marketplaces. Any listing claiming otherwise is unauthorized.

All bears shown as part of our production collection are exclusively owned by TV Bears International. Friendly characters used for hospital and community visits are a separate offering and may be supplied by approved third-party vendors. We do not claim ownership of third-party characters or intellectual property.

External links and updates

Our website may link to other websites. Their operators control their own privacy practices. We may update this policy as our services, website tools, or applicable requirements change. The effective date above shows when this version took effect. Material changes will be brought to your attention where required.

Contact

For privacy questions or requests, email info@tvbears.org or call +1 (323) 389-7156. TV Bears International is based in Toluca Lake, California, with a UK service hub in Watford, London.