Data protection notice

The protection of your privacy is of great importance to the European Union Intellectual Property Office (the ‘Office’). We feel responsible for the personal data that we collect and process. Therefore, we are committed to respecting and protecting your personal data and ensuring the efficient exercise of your data subject rights.

This section describes how the Office handles your personal data to perform its tasks (as laid down in EU law) while providing you with its products and services.

RECORDS REGISTER

Central Register: EUIPO has the legal obligation to keep a central register of records of activities processing personal data (Article 31 of Regulation 2018/1725). You can know more about EUIPO records of activities processing your personal data at the EUIPO Central Register. For more information about EUIPO Central Register please see question 11 below.

1. What is the legal framework for data protection applicable to the EUIPO?

2. What types of personal data do we collect?

3. What do we use your personal data for?

4. What are the legal bases for which we process your personal data?

5. Who has access to your personal data?

6. For how long is your personal data stored?

7. How do we protect and safeguard your information?

8. What are your rights related to the processing of personal data? How to exercise your rights? Can your rights be restricted?

Rights related to your personal data	What does it mean
To be informed	You have the right to know how the Office handles your personal data (including information about the controller, the purpose, the legal bases, the types of personal data used, who receives your data and the time limits for keeping it, as well as possible transfers of personal data to third countries). Please consult this Data Protection Notice and in particular question 11 for further information on specific privacy statements.
To access the data	You have the right to know whether the Office processes your personal data, including for which purpose, the types of data, data recipients, time limits, as well as possible transfers of personal data to third countries.
To rectify the data	You can obtain the rectification of your personal data if they are incomplete or inaccurate.
To erase the data (‘right to be forgotten’)	Under certain circumstances, you can request that your personal data be erased (e.g. when the data is no longer necessary for the purpose for which they were collected). Please remember that you can request that your personal data be erased from the Database 18 months after the expiry of the EU trade mark, or the closure of the relevant inter partes procedure. This right does not apply to personal data entered in the Register.
To restrict processing of the data	You can request that the Office restrict the processing of your personal data under certain circumstances (e.g. when the accuracy of the data is contested).
To data portability	You have the right to request that the Office send you your personal data in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format under certain circumstances (e.g.: we have your explicit consent for processing your personal data).
To object to the processing of your data	You can object to the processing of your personal data by the Office under certain circumstances.

How to exercise your data protection rights

You can manage your privacy settings and edit your personal data in your User Area account at any time. Please log into your User Area and go to the ‘Options’ section. In ‘Options’ you can edit your personal data and login details, change your settings, and manage your sub profiles via your User Area;
You can always send us an email at DPOexternalusers@euipo.europa.eu. Please remember we cannot accept verbal requests (telephone or face-to-face) as we may not be able to properly identify you or deal with your request immediately:
1. Your email request should be as detailed as possible. We need an accurate description of the data, the purpose for which it was collected and how they were collected;
2. Don’t forget to mention which of the rights above you wish to exercise.
We will deal with your request without delay and help you exercise your rights, provided that the conditions for exercising them are met:
1. Occasionally, in order to identify you and find your data, we may need additional information. This will only be used to verify your identity and to help you exercise your rights. It will not be stored for longer than needed for this purpose;
2. Very occasionally, we may not be able to help you exercise your rights if the conditions are not met. In such situations, we will inform you as to why you cannot exercise this right.

Can your rights be restricted?

Data protection is not an absolute right. It must always be balanced against other fundamental rights and there may be circumstances where one or several of the above-mentioned rights may be refused to be granted.

These rights may also be restricted for a temporary period of time on the legitimate grounds established by Article 25 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725, by legal acts adopted on the basis of the Treaties, or under the Internal Rules laid down in the Decision of the Management Board of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) of 26 March 2020. The Internal Rules provide that any such restriction will be limited in time, that it will be proportionate and that it will respect the essence of the above-mentioned rights.

As a general rule, you will be informed of the main reasons for a restriction. You will also be informed of your right to make a complaint to the EDPS, or to seek judicial remedy. Nevertheless, there are some circumstances in which we will not inform you of these reasons. The restriction will be lifted as soon as the circumstances justifying the restriction are no longer applicable. You will receive a specific data protection notice when this period has passed.

If you wish to learn more about how you can exercise your rights, you can check the User Area or each individual privacy statement in question 11. Please see the EUIPO’s Explanatory note for more information on exercising your rights in the context of the trade mark and design procedures before the Office.