Data protection statement

3. collection and storage of personal data as well as type and purpose and their use

If you mandate us, we collect the following information:

• Form of address, first name, last name,
• a valid e-mail address,
• address,
• if necessary the nationality,
• Telephone number (landline and/or mobile),
• Information necessary for the enforcement and de-fence of your rights under the mandate.

These data are collected,

• to identify you as our client;
• in order to be able to advise and represent you appropriately;
• to correspond with you;
• for invoicing;
• to settle any liability claims that may exist and to enforce any claims against you;

The data processing is carried out at your request and is required according to Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. b General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) for the stated purposes for the appropriate handling of themandate and for themutual fulfilment of obligations arising from the mandate agreement.

If you are the inventor, designer, creator or official in charge of a client, we collect the following information:

• Form of address, first name, last name,
• a valid e-mail address,
• address,
• if necessary the nationality,
• if necessary telephone number (landline and/or mobile),

These data are collected,

• to correspond with you;
• for passing on to patent and trademark offices for the fulfilment of an application order;
• to be passed on to colleagues in a third country for the purpose of filing an application in that third country;

Data processing is carried out in order to fulfil a legal obligation and, pursuant to Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. c GDPR, is necessary for the purposes stated for the appropriate handling of the client’smandate or for the fulfilment of the registration order.

The personal data collected by us for the purpose of the mandate and for the fulfilment of an application order will be stored until the expiry of the legal obligation of lawyers and patent attorneys to retain data (6 years after the end of the calendar year in which themandate was terminated) and will be deleted thereafter, unless we are obliged to a longer storage under Article 6 para. 1 of the German Data Protection Act. 1 sentence 1 lit. c GDPR due to tax and commercial storage and documentation obligations (from German Commercial Code, German Criminal Code or German Fiscal Code) or you have agreed to a storage going beyond this according to Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. a GDPR.

4. transfer of data to third parties

Your personal data will not be transferred to third parties for purposes other than those listed below.
Insofar as it is necessary in accordance with Art. 6 Para. 1 S. 1 lit. b GDPR for the handling of the client relationship with you, your personal data will be passed on to third parties. The same applies if the data is passed on in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. c GDPR.
This includes, in particular, disclosure to colleagues in correspondence, to opponents of proceedings and their representatives (in particular their patent attorneys and lawyers) as well as courts and other public authorities for the purpose of correspondence and for enforcing and defending your rights. The data passed on may only be used by the third party for the aforementioned purposes. The attorney-client privilege remains unaffected. Insofar as the data concerned is subject to the attorney-client privilege, it will only be passed on to third parties according to your agreement.

We work together with contract data processors, namely with IT service providers for legal software and the technical infrastructure and service providers for finance and accounting. We have corresponding contracts with the contract data processors for contract data processing within the meaning of Art. 28 Para. 3 GDPR. The service providers are bound to secrecy.

5. transmission of data to recipients in a third country

Depending on the case, it is possible that your personal data may be transferred to a recipient in a third country. This is also in your interest as an inventor (Art. 49 para. 1 lit. c GDPR). Recipients are, in particular, opponents, representatives of opponents, courts, authorities, bailiffs, correspondence lawyers, translation service providers, research service providers, etc.
Such transfer to third parties will only take place if and to the extent that this is necessary to fulfil the mandate agreement (Art. 6 I 1 b GDPR) or if the person concerned has a legitimate interest in it.

The data may also be transferred to third countries for which there is no decision on the adequacy of the data protection level of the European Commission. Insofar as an adequacy decision does not exist and/or suitable guarantees are not provided, such a transfer shall only take place in exceptional cases of Art. 49 GDPR, in particular if this is necessary for the fulfilment of the mandate agreement or in the interest of the data subject or for the assertion, exercise and defence of legal claims, if express consent has been given or if the data are transferred from a public register.