KEY
FIN
DIN
GS
Unintentional Deaths Involving Firearms Drop to Lowest Level ...
Note: The statistics presented in this issue are based on figures from the National Safety Council’s Injury Facts® 2017 Edition and other sources.For additional source information, please see back cover.
Industry Intelligence ReportsSM
Helping Our Members Make Informed Decisions
since record keeping began in 1903, as shown by the data released in the National Safety Council’s Injury Facts 2017 Edition. In the last two decades, the number of unintentional firearm-related fatalities has declined by 60 percent – from 1,225 unintentional fatalities in 1995 to 489 in 2015. Firearms are involved in fewer than ½ percent of all unintentional fatalities in the United States. In side-by-side comparisons, firearms accidents continue to rank among the lowest forms of accidental injury.
• Firearm-related fatalities in the U.S. have been decreasing since record-keeping began in 1903 – dramatically in the last 20 years, with 2015 being the lowest on record.
• Unintentional firearms-related deaths in the home have dropped by 55.6 percent in the last 20 years.
• From 2014 to 2015, accidental fatalities of all causes increased 8%, while unintentional fatalities related to firearms decreased 17 percent.
• Firearms are involved in fewer than ½ percent (0.3 percent) of all unintentional fatalities in the United States.
• Firearms are involved in just 1.2 percent of unintentional fatalities among children 14 years of age and under, and are among the least likely types of unintentional fatalities among children.
• In the last two decades (1995 – 2015), the number of unintentional firearm-related deaths involving children 14 years of age and under has decreased by 73.5 percent.
• Unintentional firearm-related fatalities are substantially lower than the number of unintentional fatalities from most other forms of injury.
• From 2005-2015, unintentional firearm-related fatalities declined by 38 percent while firearms ownership grew by an estimated 34 percent.
• As firearms safety education programs have increased, the number of unintentional firearm-related fatalities have decreased.
• Hunting is one of the safest activities in America.
HIGHLIGHTING TRENDS IN THE UNITED STATES
FIREARMS-RELATED ACCIDENT STATISTICS
2017 EDITION
INDUSTRY INTELLIGENCE REPORTSHelping Our Members Make Informed Decisions
Page 2
INDUSTRY INTELLIGENCE REPORTS 2017 EDITION
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
0
5
10
15
20
5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5
0.3 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2
11.711.111.211.611.311.411.8
13.1
14.615.215.3
0
5
10
15
20
UNINTENTIONAL FIREARMS FATALITIES DOWN 60%
Unintentional Firearm Fatalities See Highest Rate of Decline
Unintentional Fatality Rates:Firearms versus Motor Vehicles
Over the last two decades, the number of unintentional fatalities involving firearms has dropped by 60 percent.
This decline is attributed to a number of factors, including educational efforts by groups such as the National Shooting Sports Foundation and National Rifle Association, and state-affiliated hunter education programs. Industry-related initiatives include safety education programs such as NSSF’s Project ChildSafe®, free firearm locking devices voluntarily supplied by firearms manufacturers with new firearms, and technological advances in firearm design and manufacturing.
FATALITIES PER 100,000 POPULATION
Compared to other principle types of unintentional fatalities in the United States, firearms continue to show the largest percentage decrease during the past twenty years.**Note: Total includes types of injury not listed in the grid. Other injury type comparisons are not available because of changes in year-to-year classifications.
Source: National Safety Council Injury Facts 2017 Edition.
• Unintentional fatality rates involving firearms remain at their lowest levels in history — a rate of 0.2 per 100,000 population.
• Over the past 10 years, the unintentional firearm fatality rate per 100,000 population has remained at its lowest point of 0.2. Since the beginning of record-keeping in 1903, this rate has declined by 94 percent!
• The rate of unintentional firearm fatalities is substantially lower than the rate of motor vehicle fatalities.
• A person is 58.5 times more likely to be involved in an unintentional fatality with a motor vehicle than with a firearm.
0
300
600
900
1200
1500
1,226
789
489
20 Years:
Down
Down
Down
60.1
%
35.6
%
38%
1995 2005 2015
TYPE 1995 2005 2015 % change (10 yrs)
% change (20 yrs)
Firearms 1,226 789 489 down 38% down 60.1%
Fires, Flames, Smoke 3,761 3,197 2,646 down 17.2% down 29.6%
Motor Vehicles 43,363 45,343 37,757 down 16.7% down 12.9%
Choking 3,185 4,386 5,051 up 15.2% up 58.6%
ALL TYPES** 93,320 117,809 146,571 up 24.4% up 57.1%
Source: National Safety Council Injury Facts 2017 Edition (with 2015 data)
Source: National Safety Council Injury Facts 2017 Edition
Page 3
INDUSTRY INTELLIGENCE REPORTS2017 EDITION
HELP SPREAD THE WORD
FACTS & FIGURES
Historical Flashback
TOTAL U.S. POPULATION (2015): 321,418,820Total Unintentional Fatalities 146,571 100%
Poisoning 47,478 32.4%Motor Vehicle 37,757 25.8%Falls 33,381 22.8%Suffocation 6,914 4.7%Drowning 3,602 2.5%Fires, Flames & Smoke 2,646 1.8%Natural / Environmental 1,579 1.1%Struck By/Against Object 767 0.5%Transportation (other than land) 857 0.6%Machinery 550 0.4%Firearms 489 0.3%All Other Accidents 10,551 7.2%
Firearms are Involved in 1.2 Percent of Unintentional Fatalities Among Children
1,3461,313
636
23567 4891
308
0
1,000
2,000
Motor Vehicle
Suffocation
DrowningFires
PoisoningEnvironmental
FirearmsOther
4,044
Motor Vehicle33.3%
Suffocation32.5%
Drowning15.7%
Fires 5.8%
Poisoning 2.3%
Firearms 1.2%
Enviromental 1.7%
Other 7.6%
1,3461,313
636
23567 4891
308
0
1,000
2,000
Motor Vehicle
Suffocation
DrowningFires
PoisoningEnvironmental
FirearmsOther
4,044
Motor Vehicle33.3%
Suffocation32.5%
Drowning15.7%
Fires 5.8%
Poisoning 2.3%
Firearms 1.2%
Enviromental 1.7%
Other 7.6%
DownPa
st 20 Years
73.5
%
0
40
80
120
160
200
181
1995 2005 2015
75
48
Unintentional Fatalities:(14 years of age and under)
Firearms are Involved in Only 0.3 Percent of All Unintentional Fatalities
(For All Ages)
Today, the annual number of fatal firearms-related accidents is down 84.7 percent
from a high of 3,200 in 1930.
Source: National Safety Council Injury Facts 2017 Edition
Firearms-Related Fatalities Among Children Down 74 Percent
Over the last two decades the number of unintentional firearm-related fatalities among youth 14 years of age and under decreased 73.5% while the population for
this age group increased 4.7 percent.
Source: CDC WISQARS Injury Mortality Reports through 2015 (pulled March 2017)
Source: CDC WISQARS 2015 data (data pulled March 2017) Source: CDC WISQARS 2015 data (data pulled March 2017)
For children 14 years of age and under, unintentional injuries are the leading cause of fatality. But firearms accidents are one of the lowest forms of injury among children.
0
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
3,000
3,500
1930 1935 1945 1955 1965 1975 1985 1995 2005 2015
3,200
2,799
2,385
2,1202,3442,380
1,649
1,225
789
489
projectchildsafe.org
Page 4
INDUSTRY INTELLIGENCE REPORTS 2017 EDITION
State# of Unintentional Firearms-related
Fatalities*Population Crude
Rate**
AL 20 4,858,979 0.41
AK * 738,432
AZ * 6,828,065
AR 17 2,978,204 0.57
CA 29 39,144,818 0.07
CO * 5,456,574
CT * 3,590,886
DE * 945,934
DC * 672,228
FL 30 20,271,272 0.15
GA 21 10,214,860 0.21
HI * 1,431,603
ID * 1,654,930
IL 15 12,859,995 0.12
IN 14 6,619,680 0.21
IA * 3,123,899
KS * 2,911,641
KY * 4,425,092
LA 17 4,670,724 0.36
ME * 1,329,328
MD * 6,006,401
MA * 6,794,422
MI 14 9,922,576 0.14
MN * 5,489,594
MS 18 2,992,333 0.6
MO 18 6,083,672 0.3
MT * 1,032,949
NE * 1,896,190
NV * 2,890,845
NH * 1,330,608
NJ * 8,958,013
NM * 2,085,109
NY * 19,795,791
NC 39 10,042,802 0.39
ND * 756,927
OH 15 11,613,423 0.13
OK * 3,911,338
OR * 4,028,977
PA 16 12,802,503 0.12
RI * 1,056,298
SC 12 4,896,146 0.25
SD * 858,469
TN 30 6,600,299 0.45
TX 43 27,469,114 0.16
UT * 2,995,919
VT * 626,042
VA 14 8,382,993 0.17
WA * 7,170,351
WV * 1,844,128
WI * 5,771,337
WY * 586,107
Total 489 321,418,820 0.15
Firearms-Related Home Fatalities Down 55.6%
Firearms Accidents Decline Even as Firearms Sales Have Increased Dramatically
0
200
400
600
800
1,000
1995 2005 2015
900
500400
Down44.4%
Down55.6%
Down20%
1995 to 2015:
Source: U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, Center for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC), WISQARS (Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System)
* CDC WISQARS Fatal Injury Data (2008 forward) is suppressed where totals are too low. The figures reported for these states are not available. The National TOTAL reported is the national total and will not equal the numbers supplied in the table.
** Per NCIPC, rates based on 20 or fewer fatalities may be unstable. Use with caution.
Source: FBI NICS and NSSF research
TOTAL HOME 74,600 %Poisoning 39,600 53.1%Falls 21,100 28.3%Choking 2,600 3.5%Fire, Flames, or Smoke 2,500 3.4%Mechanical Suffocation 1,600 2.1%Drowning 1,100 1.5%Natural Heat or Cold 500 0.7%Firearms 400 0.5%Other 5,200 7.0%
PAST YEARS NSSF-Adjusted NICS Data2005 7,516,8262006 7,955,6042007 8,083,4702008 8,993,9642009 9,534,1312010 9,436,1822011 10,791,2752012 13,780,2852013 14,796,8722012 13,780,2852015 14,244,240
Total Adjusted NICS Checks (2005 - 2015) 118,223,232
2015: Types of Unintentional Deaths in the HomeMost states reported very few or no fatal firearms accidents in 2015
Source: Home Data: Injury Facts Report from the National Safety CouncilInjury Facts 2017 Edition [Home, 2015] section
National Safety Council Injury Facts 2017 Edition [Home, 2015 section.)
One-half a percent (0.5%) of all fatal accidents at home involve Firearms.
Over the past two decades the number of unintentional
firearm-related fatalities in the home decreased by
55.6% and decreased by 20.0% over the last 10 years.
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INDUSTRY INTELLIGENCE REPORTS2017 EDITION
FACTS:
ACTIVITY (alphabetically)
NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS(a) 2015
TOTAL INJURIES(b) 2015
INJURIES per 100,000 PARTICIPANTS
ONE (1) INJURY FOR EVERY x PARTICIPANTS
Archery (target) 8,400,000 4,506 54 1,864Baseball 11,800,000 120,234 1,019 98Basketball 24,800,000 493,011 1,988 50Bicycle Riding 36,000,000 488,123 1,356 74Billiards / Pool 21,500,000 3,299 15 6,517Bowling 35,200,000 17,680 50 1,991Cheerleading 3,700,000 40,843 1,104 91Exercising with Equipment 56,300,000 64,094 114 878
Fishing 34,000,000 66,529 196 511
Football (tackle) 7,800,000 399,873 5,127 20Golf 18,600,000 37,369 201 498Gymnastics 5,800,000 35,063 605 165Hockey (ice) 3,300,000 19,283 584 171Hunting w/ Firearms * 17,656,000 6,697 38 2,636In-line roller skating 4,900,000 46,469 948 105Lacrosse 2,900,000 15,999 552 181Mountain Biking (off road) 5,600,000 9,011 161 621
Running / Jogging 44,500,000 297,458 668 150Skateboarding 5,700,000 125,145 2,196 46Snowboarding 4,300,000 25,452 592 169Soccer 14,100,000 227,732 1,615 62Softball 9,800,000 95,285 972 103Swimming 46,300,000 98,466 213 470Tennis 12,800,000 23,609 184 542Volleyball 10,700,000 57,067 533 187Water Skiing 3,500,000 7,335 210 477Weight Lifting 34,800,000 107,655 309 323Wrestling 3,000,000 39,775 1,326 75
SAFEST ACTIVITIESPERCENTAGE OF
INJURIES PER 100 PARTICIPANTS
1 Billiards / Pool 0.02%
2 Hunting with Firearms 0.04%
3 Bowling 0.05%
4 Archery (target) 0.05%
5 Exercising with Equipment 0.11%
6 Mountain Biking (off road) 0.16%
7 Tennis 0.18%
8 Fishing 0.20%
9 Golf 0.20%
10 Water Skiing 0.21%
LESS SAFE ACTIVITIES PERCENTAGE OF INJURIES PER 100
PARTICIPANTS
1 Football (tackle) 5.13%
2 Skateboarding 2.20%
3 Basketball 1.99%
4 Soccer 1.62%
5 Bicycle Riding 1.36%
6 Wrestling 1.33%
7 Cheerleading 1.10%
8 Baseball 1.02%
9 Softball 0.97%
10 In-line roller skating 0.95%
Excise tax collections on items such as firearms and ammunition totaled nearly $3.4 billion from 2011-2015. More than $547 million of these monies were apportioned to states specifically for the purpose of hunter education and safety training, per USFW apportionment formula. This, along with a strong network of 57,000 dedicated hunter education instructors, helps make hunting one of the safest activities in America. Sources: USFW & IHEA
A person is 27 times more likely to be injured playing softball/baseball than hunting.A person is 29 times more likely to be injured cheerleading than hunting.A person is 36 times more likely to be injured wrestling/bicycle riding than hunting.A person is 43 times more likely to be injured playing soccer than hunting.A person is 52 times more likely to be injured playing basketball than hunting.A person is 58 times more likely to be injured skateboarding than hunting.A person is 135 times more likely to be injured playing tackle football than hunting.
Sources: (a) Number of Participants: National Sporting Goods Association (NSGA) Sports Participation 2015 estimates. (b) Total Injuries: Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) 2015 estimates.
* Hunting with firearms total injuries/incidents include CPSC NEISS injury data for Tree Stands (5,525) as well as estimated injuries (1,172) from IHEA Hunter Incident Clearinghouse. The vast majority of these incidents were neither fatalities, nor serious injuries.
Hunting versus other ACTIVITIES:
HUNTINGOne of the safest activities in America
Page 6
INDUSTRY INTELLIGENCE REPORTS 2017 EDITION
Map Legend (odds)
Sources: * Federal Highway Administration, Department of Transportation (DOT) website, posted September 2016. ** Estimates for deer/vehicle collisions are based on information by State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co.
Source: Insurance Information Institute (http://www.iii.org/issue-update/auto-crashes).Source: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS)
U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
USDOT Federal Highway Administration Wildlife-Vehicle Collision Reduction Study • According to U.S. Dept of Transportation, Federal Hwy Administration, Wildlife-
Vehicle Collision Reduction Study, Report to Congress, Aug. 2008, deer account for 86.9% of the collisions with larger animals.
Region 2015 State with Highest Number of Incidents per Region
New England ME odds 1 in 139Middle Atlantic PA odds 1 in 67East North Central WI odds 1 in 77West North Central IA odds 1 in 68South Atlantic WV odds 1 in 41East South Central MS odds 1 in 87West South Central AR odds 1 in 96Mountain MT odds 1 in 59Pacific OR odds 1 in 241
Past Years Number of Deaths Caused by Collisions with Animals* in the U.S.
1993 1011998 1652001 1772004 2042008 2042012 1712014 158
Annual Average (1993-2014) 169
Increase in Fatalities1993 to 2014 56%
FACTS:• An average of 13,500 human injuries
occur annually from deer-vehicle collisions.
• Deer-vehicle collisions are estimated at greater than 1.3 million each year.
• Deer-vehicle collisions are estimated to cost Americans more than $5 billion in auto repairs each year.
DEER/VEHICLE COLLISIONS: WHAT ARE YOUR ODDS?
Page 7
INDUSTRY INTELLIGENCE REPORTS2017 EDITION
Past Years
Homicide -Firearms-
Suicide -Firearms-
Unintentional Deaths
-Firearms-
Unintentional Deaths
-ALL CAUSES-Crude RateHomicide
Crude RateSuicide
Crude RateUnintentional
Deaths - Firearms -
Crude RateUnintentional
Deaths - ALL CAUSES -
Population
1995 15,551 18,503 1,225 90,402 5.84 6.95 0.46 33.95 266,278,403
2000 10,801 16,586 776 97,900 3.83 5.88 0.28 34.70 282,171,936
2005 12,352 17,002 789 117,809 4.18 5.75 0.27 39.83 295,753,151
2010 11,078 19,392 606 120,859 3.59 6.28 0.20 39.14 308,747,508
2015 12,979 22,018 489 146,571 4.04 6.85 0.15 45.60 321,418,820
-16.5% 19.0% -60.1% 62.1% 20 years (1995-2015)
20.2% 32.8% -37.0% 49.7% 15 years (2000-2015)
5.1% 29.5% -38.0% 24.4% 10 years (2005-2015)
17.2% 13.5% -19.3% 21.3% 5 years (2010-2015)
CHANGES OVER THE PAST YEARS
FIREARMS-RELATED DEATHS: INTENTIONAL AND UNINTENTIONAL
UNINTENTIONAL DEATHS: ALL CAUSES VS. FIREARMS-RELATED
FACT: There’s a greater number of suicides committed annually using a firearm than there are homicides committed with a firearm. About two-thirds of all firearm fatalities are suicides.
0
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
Homicide - Firearms
Suicide - Firearms
Unintentional Deaths - Firearms
20152010200520001995
0
30,000
60,000
90,000
120,000
150,000
20152010200520001995
Unintentional Deaths -ALL Causes
Unintentional Deaths - Firearms
Reported figures for All Ages which include those of unknown age.Produced by: National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, CDCData Source: NCHS Vital Statistics System for numbers of deaths. Bureau of Census for population estimates.
FIREARMS-RELATED DEATHS
Page 8
INDUSTRY INTELLIGENCE REPORTS 2017 EDITION
As a responsible firearm owner, you know safe handling and secure storage go hand in hand.Join Project ChildSafe® to help better educate more gun owners about safe and proper storage when firearms are not in use.
Over the past 15 years, Project ChildSafe has distributed more than 37 million safety kits with gun locks to over 15,000 communities nationwide, in partnership with law enforcement, to help decrease firearm accidents, thefts and suicides. It helps save lives.
Visit ProjectChildSafe.org to learn more about secure storage options, take the firearms safety pledge, and download tools to help you educate others about firearm safety and security.
Brought to you by the firearms industry
INDUSTRY EFFORTS AND PARTNERSHIPS TO HELP PREVENT FIREARMS MISUSE
Page 9
INDUSTRY INTELLIGENCE REPORTS2017 EDITION
Don’t Lie for the Other GuyTM National Campaign Is Spreading the Message
Convicted felons, minors, persons determined by a court of law to be “mentally defective” and certain others are prohibited by law from buying a firearm. The “Don’t Lie for the Other Guy” national campaign drives home the message that anyone attempting an illegal firearm purchase faces a stiff federal penalty. If a friend or relative asks you to lie to a federally licensed firearms retailer to try to buy a gun for them, don’t do it! It’s not worth 10 years in jail.
Understanding the importance of cooperating with law enforcement, the firearms industry through the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) -- the industry’s trade association -- has for nearly two decades partnered with the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) to assist law enforcement in educating firearms retailers to be better able to identify and deter illegal straw purchases of firearms and to raise public awareness that straw purchasing is a serious crime. The Don’t Lie for the Other Guy program has been welcomed by firearms retailers as a valuable educational tool to better enable them to spot would-be straw purchasers and prevent illegal straw purchases. The ATF/DOJ-OJP/NSSF partnership is a great example of coordination and tangible success on the federal, state, and local levels and with federally licensed firearms retailers throughout the country.
Firearms and Suicide PreventionNSSF Partners with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) and Project 2025
With suicide accounting for nearly two-thirds of all firearm fatalities annually over the past decade, the topic of suicide prevention deserves attention. In recent years NSSF has worked with the Veterans Administration, the State of Utah and mental health agencies to help educate gun owners and the public on how to keep firearms safely out of reach of those who, during a period of despair, decide to do themselves harm.
In August 2016, NSSF and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) partnered to embark on a first-of-its-kind national plan to build and implement public education resources for firearms retailers, shooting ranges and the firearms-owning community about suicide prevention and firearms. Based on a four-state pilot program that involved firearms retailers and shooting ranges, NSSF and AFSP jointly developed strategies and resources to provide materials to firearm owners about warning signs, prevention resources and secure firearms storage options. AFSP’s Project 2025, an initiative to reduce the annual suicide rate 20 percent by 2025, is an effort that NSSF supports.
Experts tell us that suicide results from the culmination of several health and life factors, with the decision to act often being made in a matter of minutes. Keeping firearms securely stored puts space between the period of risk and the means to act, and sometimes that space can be enough to help save a life.
TM
Item #33133 7/17
The National Shooting Sports Foundation is the trade association for the firearms, ammunition, hunting and recreational shooting sports industry. Its mission is to promote, protect and preserve hunting and the shooting sports.
Formed in 1961, NSSF’s membership consists of manufacturers, distributors, firearms retailers, shooting ranges, sportsmen’s organizations and publishers. For more information, log on to nssf.org.
Report provided by NSSF. For additional research materials, please visit nssf.org/research
NATIONAL SAFETY COUNCIL (NSC)INJURY FACTS© 2016 EDITION
The National Safety Council, chartered by an act of Congress, is a non-government, not-for-profit, public service organization with a mission to educate and influence people to prevent unintentional injury and death. Injury Facts, the Council’s annual statistical report on unintentional injuries, is prepared by the Research and Statistical Services Group. It has Reported Accidental Firearms Injury Statistics since 1903.nsc.org
CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION (CDC)
The CDC is one of the major operating components of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. WISQARS is the CDC’s Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS) [online]. (2005)[cited 2017 March 20]. Available from: cdc.gov/injury/wisqars/
NATIONAL SPORTING GOODS ASSOCIATION (NSGA)
The NSGA Sports Participation report provides data on total sports participation, new participation and frequency of participation.
nsga.org
INTERNATIONAL HUNTER EDUCATION ASSOCIATION (IHEA)
The International Hunter Education Association is the professional association for 63 state and provincial wildlife conservation agencies and the more than 55,000 instructors/volunteer instructors who teach hunter education.
ihea-usa.org
CONSUMER PRODUCTS SAFETY COMMISSION (CPSC) NATIONAL ELECTRONIC INJURY SURVEILLANCE SYSTEM (NEISS)
The CPSC’s National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) is a national probability sample of hospitals in the U.S. and its territories. Patient information is collected from each NEISS hospital for every emergency visit involving an injury associated with consumer products. From this sample, the total number of product-related injuries treated in hospital emergency rooms nationwide can be estimated.
cpsc.gov/en/research--statistics/neiss-injury-data/
STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY
For charts containing individual state data, as well as other information, visit statefarm.com.
About NSSF®
Sources
© 2017 National Shooting Sports Foundation, Inc. All Rights Reserved