Guidance

Privacy notice for personal data processed for the administration of Intellectual Property Rights

Updated 14 November 2024

This privacy notice covers the administration of Intellectual Property (IP) rights and use of our “Search for Intellectual Property” and “Search the Intellectual Property Journal” services.

The administration of an IP right (such as a patent, trade mark or registered design) may include application, processing, publication, grant/registration, renewal, dispute resolution, enforcement, licensing and other processes related to the granting and maintenance of that right. Dispute resolution of unregistered rights (such as design right or copyright) also falls under the category of administration of IP rights.

This privacy notice will help you to understand what personal data the UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO) collects about you, how the IPO uses this personal data, what personal data is made public (including online) as part of the administration process, and what rights you have regarding your personal data.

It is important that you read this notice and the Personal Information Charter, together with any other privacy notice that is provided to you on specific occasions when we are collecting or processing your personal data, so that you are aware of how and why we are using it.

The data controller  is the Intellectual Property Office (IPO).  This means that we are responsible for deciding how we hold, use and process personal information about you.

1. The personal data we collect

When you use our services, we collect personal data from you. Personal data is any information that can be used to identify a living individual, either on its own, or in combination with other pieces of data. Examples of personal data may include:

• your name and address
• your Internet Protocol (IP) address, and details of which version of web browser you used

We may also collect data on how you use our website, using cookies and page tagging techniques. Information about cookies is made available to you when you use one of our services.

2. Our lawful  basis for processing your data

The lawful basis for processing personal data in relation to the administration of IP rights, including making it publicly available online, is that it is necessary:

• for compliance with a legal obligation
• for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest

The lawful basis for processing personal data in relation to use of our online services, including our “Search for intellectual property services” and “search the intellectual property journal” is:

• our legitimate interests and the legitimate interests of our users in ensuring the security and integrity of our website
• your consent, where you consent to the use of cookies
• for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest, where you have provided feedback on the service

On occasion, we may also process personal data because it is necessary:

• for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims or whenever courts are acting in their judicial capacity or;
• for reasons of substantial public interest

3. How we process your data

Data processing includes the collection, storage, use, publication and dissemination of data.

After you apply for an IP right your name and address may be published in an official journal or register, as required by the IP legislation. The journals and registers are published online.

Some name and address details will also be included when the IP right is published, which again takes place online.

We will use your personal data, for example telephone numbers and addresses, to contact you about your application.

 Some name and address details will also be included when the IP right is published.

4. Why we process your data

The IPO processes your personal data for the purposes of administering intellectual property (IP) rights, and to perform tasks related to exercising its authority as the official UK government body responsible for IP rights.

We will process your data to ensure your needs are met when you use our services and to ensure the security and integrity of our website. We may also use your personal data for research or analysis purposes or to conduct surveys to track satisfaction and inform improvement.  Our auditors may use your personal data to assess our compliance with standards and regulations.

5. Your rights

Under data protection law, you have rights including:

• right of access - You have the right to ask us for copies of your personal information
• right to rectification - You have the right to ask us to rectify personal information you think is inaccurate. You also have the right to ask us to complete information you think is incomplete
• right to erasure - You have the right to ask us to erase your personal information in certain circumstances
• right to restriction of processing - You have the right to ask us to restrict the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances
• right to object to processing - You have the right to object to the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances
• right to data portability - You have the right to ask that we transfer the personal information you gave us to another organisation, or to you, in certain circumstances

If you make a request to exercise any of these rights, you should contact the Data Protection Team at the IPO; details of which are at the bottom of this notice.  If you contact us, we have one month to respond to you. You do not have to pay anything for exercising your rights.

These are not absolute rights, and the IPO can use its discretion to refuse to comply with these rights if there are legitimate grounds for the processing your personal data which override the interests, rights and freedoms of the individual, or the processing is for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.

6. If you do not provide your personal data

If you do not provide all the requested personal data, then the IPO may not be able to administer your IP right.

If you have nominated a representative (for example, a patent or trade mark attorney) they will share your personal data with the IPO. The IPO will not inform you of this data sharing, under the provisions of Article 14(5)(a) of the UK GDPR.

7. Children’s privacy protection

Our services are not designed for, or intentionally targeted at, children 13 years of age or younger.

8. Publication of IP rights

When the IPO receives an application for an IP right, we make some information available to the public, including on our website. Information published online is likely to appear in internet search results. For trade mark applications, some details become public within hours of receipt by the IPO.

When an application for an IP right is formally published most details and correspondence will be publicly available, including on our website.  The details published online are also likely to appear in internet search results and include the following:

• applicant name
• applicant address
• address for service/representative’s address
• inventor name (for patents)*
• inventor address (for patents)*

If you do not want your home address to be published, then please provide an alternative address such as a PO Box or business address where you can receive correspondence.

Other details included in the application documents (such as completed forms and other correspondence) will be available to the public on request.   

Where a change of details has taken place (for example an assignment), the previous details (for example, name and address) may also remain or become available to the public.    

*Prior to publication of a patent application, an inventor can ask us not to mention their address (or name and address) as being that of the inventor.

9. Data transfers

Your personal data is shared with other organisations and companies  under lawful agreements and to perform tasks relating to the IPO exercising its authority as the official UK government body responsible for IP rights.

To improve worldwide IP administration, we may share your data with other IP offices such as the European Patent Office (EPO), the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO)   , and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).  We may also share your data with other national IP offices.

Some of these organisations could be based outside of the European Economic Area (EEA) or could store data outside the EEA.

Your personal data is shared using secure transfer methods and will not be transferred to any additional third parties. The IPO has assured the data safeguarding measures of all organisations with which your personal data is shared.

10. How long we will keep your personal data

Your personal data will be retained in accordance with the IPO’s data retention and disposal policies.     

Some personal details are published in the journals for patents, trade marks and designs, and in the A/B specifications for patents.  This information is available online.  These publications are a historical record.  They provide a snapshot of details at the time of publication, so it is not possible to later remove or change the details showing in those publications.

11. The use of automated decision making

Your personal data is not used in any automated decision making (a decision made solely by automated means without any human involvement) or profiling (automated processing of personal data to evaluate certain conditions about an individual).

12. Change of purpose

We will process your personal data for the purposes for which we collected it. We may also process your personal data for another purpose that we reasonably consider to be compatible with the original purpose.   

Please note that we may process your personal data without your knowledge or consent, where this is required or permitted by law.

13. Changes to this privacy notice

We may change this privacy notice. In that case, the ‘last updated’ date at the top of this page will also change. Any changes to this privacy policy will apply to you and your data immediately.

14. Contact us or make a complaint

You can contact the IPO’s Data Protection Officer if you:

• have a question about anything in this privacy notice
• think that your personal data has been misused or mishandled

Email: dpo@ipo.gov.uk

Address:

Data Protection Officer Intellectual Property Office
Concept House
Cardiff Road
Newport
South Wales
NP10 8QQ

The DPO provides independent advice and monitoring of our use of personal information. 

You can also make a complaint to the Information Commissioner, who is an independent regulator.

Information Commissioner
icocasework@ico.org.uk
Telephone: 0303 123 1113
Textphone: 01625 545860
Monday to Friday, 9am to 4:30pm
Find out about call charges

Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire SK9 5AF