Privacy policy

A review of the cases where your personal data may be used by us or the third persons when you turn to us or visit our website will be provided on this page. Besides that, you will learn for which purposes we use the collected data, how long we maintain the data and which rights you have at processing the data.

The Estonian Patent Office is a governmental agency whose main task is to provide legal protection to the subjects of industrial property (inventions, trade and service marks, industrial designs) in the name of the Republic of Estonia and to inform the public of the granted legal protection and its validity.

You can file enquiries, applications for explanation, notifications etc. with the Office as an administrative agency. In these cases processing of the filed documents takes place in accordance with the administrative procedure. If you are applying for legal protection of a subject of industrial property (inventions, trade and service marks, industrial designs etc.) or have a wish to use any procedures related to these subjects, submitting the data, processing and publication thereof takes place strictly pursuant to the relevant special acts (the Patent Act, the Utility Model Act, the Trade Mark Act, the Industrial Design Act etc.).

How do we maintain and use your personal data when you file an enquiry, an application for explanation, a notifications or an appeal with the Office?

The activities of the Estonian Patent Office are public. During operation we receive also personal data. The data may be obtained via correspondence. We use your personal data only for responding you. If we have to inquire the third persons, we will disclose your personal data to a minimal extent.

Pursuant to the Public Information Act we have to disclose our results of work on-line partly in the public document register of the Office. A document which cannot be viewed publicly, but without limited access, can be seen at filing an enquiry.

Correspondence with private persons has limited access. If someone wants to view your correspondence and makes an enquiry, we will review the contents of the letter and then decide whether the document can be issued partly or in full. We will not leave your personal contact data, i.e. your e-mail address or phone number, on the document (except in case you have negotiations as a legal person or a representative of a company). In other cases limited access depends on the contents of the document. The possible bases for limited access have been provided in the Public Information Act §35.

Despite limited access we shall issue a document to a company (an organisation) or a person who has a direct right pursuant to law to ask for it (e.g. a pre-trial procedure or a court).

We maintain the correspondence with private persons for 5 years. After the expiry the documents will be destroyed.

How do we maintain and use your personal data when you visit our (external) web?

The Estonian Patent Office belongs to the area of government of the Ministry of Justice. The information technology is administered by the Centre of Registers and Information Systems. You can read more about the safety measures applied by the Centre of Registers and Information Systems at http://www.just.ee/et/ministeerium-kontaktandmed/isikuandmete-tootlemine.

How do we maintain and use your personal data when you are applying for a job in the Estonian Patent Office?

When you are applying for a job in the Estonian Patent Office, we will proceed from the applicant’s information and public sources. The applicant has the right to know which data we have collected, learn the information, provide explanations and submit objections. The employees participating in the employment process learn the documents filed by the applicant. The documents and data of the applicant will not be disclosed to the third parties. We presume that we can contact the references the applicant has mentioned without an additional permit. We will maintain the data of the non-selected applicants for one year. The personal data of the applicants is with limited access, to which the third parties (incl. competent authorities have access only in cases prescribed in the law.

How do we maintain and use your personal data, when you make an enquiry to carry out a registry procedure of industrial property to the Estonian Patent Office?

The Estonian Patent Office maintains registers of industrial property (hereinafter registers), where all information concerning the procedures of the legal protection of subjects of industrial property is entered. 

The main goals of the register are registration of the subject of industrial property and its owner as well as disclosure in general interest. Besides that, it is important to make public application for legal protection of a subject of industrial property, provision of legal protection, transfer of rights and the other procedures related to the subject of industrial property.

The list of data to be filed with the Estonian Patent Office in order to carry out different registry procedures are regulated in the special acts of industrial property. You can find the acts and regulations on the basis of these acts on our web page at "Legal Acts".

Pursuant to the Principles of Legal Regulation of Industrial Property Act § 10 Section 1 the data in the register will be disclosed since the date of publication of the application (except the name of the author, if the author has prohibited to make his/her name public in written form at filing the application).

Publication of information from the registry is regulated in detail in relevant special act of every subject of industrial property.

The data related to register entries are published in the official gazettes of the Estonian Patent Office (The Estonian Patent Gazette, The Estonian Trademark Gazette etc.) pursuant to legal acts of industrial property.

How do we store and use your personal data when you attend our events or join our newsletter?

When registering to our events via the on-line form, we use your personal data to register you to the events, receive feedback and, if necessary, provide information or respond to you. The volume of data required for registration depends on the event and we will specify this separately every time upon registration. As a rule, we can ask for a name, an e-mail address and, if necessary, occupation.

The e-mail addresses of the subscribers of the newsletter of the Patent Office is also processed in order to send them newsletters. In order to join the newsletter of the Patent Office, you must enter your e-mail address in the on-line form and give your consent to receive the newsletters. Consent to receive newsletters can be withdrawn at any time. We will process your data until you wish to cancel your newsletter subscription.

How can you learn about the information about you we have collected?

You have a right to learn your collected personal information. If you wish to get a printout of the information, we will receive 0,19 euro cents starting from page 21 pursuant to the law.

We refuse to fulfil your request for information only if:
a) it harms (is detrimental to) the rights and freedom of the third party,
b) it interfers crime prevention or catching a criminal,
c) it makes it more difficult to determine the truth,
d) it endangers the protection of the secret of the child’s filiation.

You have a right to correct the incorrect personal data.

If we do not have legal basis for the use of your personal data any more, you can ask for termination of the use or deletion of the data.

You have a right to oppose our decisions (the Public Information Act §§ 44–54) or turn to the Administrative Court.

These explanations do not concern maintenance of the data of the legal persons and the other authorities.

  • Jaga

Last updated: 20.02.2024