As a firm of IP attorneys, we inevitably collect, process, and in some circumstances share, personal information relating to individuals, who may be our clients, inventors or designers on applications for patents or registered designs that we file for our clients, or simply individuals who have contacted us with enquiries but who do not become our clients. 

All personal information that we collect is held securely in our files and we only share personal information outside of our business where it is necessary to do so to in order to fulfil the instructions of our clients. We never use personal information for marketing or provide it to others for the purposes of marketing.

The principle circumstance in which we share personal information outside of our business is when we file an application for a patent, a design or a trade mark (collectively referred to as IP rights) on the instructions of a client. When a patent application is filed or an application is made for a registered design, it is then normally necessary to submit to the intellectual property office limited details of the inventors (for a patent application) or designers (for a registered design). The applicant (if different from the inventor/designer) also has to be identified to the intellectual property office when a patent or design is applied for, and also when a trade mark is applied for. In due course, the intellectual property office publishes the details of the applicants/inventors/designers in conjunction with publication of the application for the IP right.

We have prepared a GDPR Privacy Notice for inventors (or designers) who are not our clients which may be found here, and a Privacy Notice for clients who are private individuals which may be found here.

If you would like any further information, please contact Sue Stevens on 01784 772233, or by email to sue.stevens@mathisen.co.uk.