Data Privacy Statement

I. General Information

Protection of your data is very important for Hübscher & Partner Patentanwälte GmbH. Your personal data will only be processed in compliance with the Austrian and European regulations (GDPR, DSG [Data Protection Act], TKG 2003 [Telecommunications Act 2003]). Hübscher & Partner Patentanwälte GmbH handles the data gathered from you with utmost care and protects them from possible misuse in the best possible way with suitable technical and organisational measures. This obligation is already set out professionally in the Patent Attorneys Act in the form of acomprehensive duty of secrecy.

 

II. Data Processing Controller

Hübscher & Partner Patentanwälte GmbH as the controller collects, processes and uses personal data within the meaning of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Austrian Data Protection Act (DSG) exclusively for its own purposes as a service provider. Pursuant to the provisions of the GDPR, we disclose the following information about us as the controller:

Hübscher & Partner Patentanwälte GmbH, Spittelwiese

4, 4020 Linz

Registered office: Linz

E-mail: patent@huebscher.at

Internet: www.huebscher.at

Phone: +43 732 772289-0

Fax: +43 732 779416

 

III. Purpose of Processing, Legal Bases and Rights of the Controller

Hübscher & Partner Patentanwälte GmbH processes personal data primarily within the scope of a business relationship with the data subject or with a business represented by the data subject (mandate relationship), in particular in the area of contractual and, in the case of an inquiry by the data subject, pre-contractual relationships (Art. 6 Par. 1 lit b GDPR). The data concerned are the name of the data subject, his or her contact details (such as e-mail address, phone number, home address) and account details, possibly information about creditworthiness, social insurance data if necessary, information from the data subject in connection with fulfilment of the contractual relationship that is exchanged between the controller, the processor and the data subject in the form of records, documents and correspondence. Moreover, personal data are processed inasmuch as this is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which Hübscher & Partner Patentanwälte GmbH is subject (for instance various obligations to preserve records, such as accounts, social insurance reporting duties as employer, and the like; Art. 6 Par. 1 lit c GDPR), or such processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest (Art 6 Abs 1 lit e GDPR). In this context, primarily the business correspondence and all records of the contractual relationship with the data subject that are relevant under tax law are processed, as well as social insurance data within the scope of employment relationships. The data subject’s personal data are also processed with the data subject’s consent to processing, which may be withdrawn at any time (Art. 6 Par. 1 lit a GDPR). In this case, all the data subject’s personal data are processed for the purpose for which the data subject has given his or her consent. In addition, data are also processed as necessary and reasonable for the purposes of the legitimate interests of Hübscher & Partner Patentanwälte GmbH as controller (Art. 6 Par. 1 lit f GDPR), such as in particular for the assertion, exercise or defence of legal rights, for direct advertising (marketing and information activities, in particular about the services offered by the controller), for IT security and technical administration, and for the purposes of file, client and supplier administration. In this context processing comprises all data processed within the scope of the contractual relationship where necessary in order to achieve the purpose.

 

IV. Potential Recipients of Personal Data The following categories of recipients within the meaning of Art. 13 Par. 1 lit e GDPR exist:

• processors contracted by the controller (IT and back-office service providers, bookkeeping, payroll accounting, tax consulting);

• courts (especially in disputes with opponents and in the registration procedure) and authorities, in particular the Austrian Patent Office and the European Patent Office (EPA), as well as the World Intellectual Property Organization with seat in Geneva (Switzerland, EEA) – WIPO;

• Opponents (of the registered patent(s) or patent(s) to be registered) and their (legal) representatives in disputes with the data subject or companies represented by the data subject, as well as other involved parties and informants in matters in which Hübscher & Partner Patentanwälte GmbH is assisting its clients;

• expert witnesses (in and out of court);

• third-party suppliers and cooperation partners (credit card providers, banks, substitutes, correspondence firms);

• tax consultants and chartered accounting firms for fulfilment of the accounting obligations;

• Chamber of Patent Attorneys in Vienna for fulfilment of the legal and professional duties of Hübscher & Partner Patentanwälte GmbH

• lawyers and law firms consulted by the controller for review or consultation in legal matters.

 

V. Storage of Personal Data

The personal data are stored for as long as is necessary for complete fulfilment of the entire business relationship (from initiation, in the pre-contractual phase through handling and until completion of the contract), and beyond that for the fulfilment of statutory obligations in accordance with defined retention and documentation provisions (for instance the 7-year retention periods for contracts and other documents as well as relevant correspondence in accordance with the UGB [Austrian Business Code], BAO [Federal Tax Code], UStG [Turnover Tax Act], or the 5 year retention period for files and documents after termination of the representation contract pursuant to the Patent ttorneys Act, etc.). Furthermore, personal data are stored for the necessary ssertion, exercise or defence of legal rights, whereby the statutory periods of limitation set out in the Austrian Civil Code - ABGB - must be taken into consideration, which may require storage of necessary documents for up to 30 years after termination of the mandate. The data of job applicants who are not hired are erased seven months after the end of the application procedure, unless consent was given for their being kept on record. If the applicant is hired, the application data are stored until termination of the employment contract, or longer for the purposes set out in the previous paragraph. In the case of consent (especially for transmission of electronic messages), the data are stored until consent is withdrawn by the data subject, which is possible at any time.

 

VI. Rights of Data Subjects

Pursuant to the GDPR, data subjects have the following rights with the exceptions provided for in the respective provisions:

• Right of access (Art. 15 GDPR),

• Right to rectification (Art. 16 GDPR),

• Right to erasure (Art. 17 GDPR),

• Right to restriction of processing (Art. 18 GDPR),

• Right to data portability (Art. 20 GDPR),

• Right to object to processing (Art. 21 GDPR),

• Right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority (Art. 77 GDPR, in particular with the Austrian Data Protection Authority – DSB),

• Right to withdraw consent to processing of personal data with effect for the future (Art. 7 Par. 3 GDPR), without prejudice for the lawfulness of processing based on consent before its withdrawal. These rights can be exercised by contacting the controller at the contact details set out in Article I. The controller is at your disposal for questions at any time.

 

VII. Right to Object and Direct Marketing

If personal data are processed for direct marketing purposes as set out in Art. 21 Par. 2 GDPR, the data subject has the right to object at any time to the processing of his or her personal data. In the case of such an objection, the personal data processed for direct marketing purposes will no longer be processed for these purpose in the future.

 

VIII. Obligation to Provide Personal Data

The provision of personal data is required by law or based on a contractual obligation. Therefore the data subject is obliged to provide personal data and failure to do so could result in a rejection of the business relationship.

 

IX. Personal Data not obtained directly from the Data Subject (Art. 14 GDPR)

In given cases, Hübscher & Partner Patentanwälte GmbH (for contact see Article II.) as the controller obtains personal data from other sources than the data subject himself; in these cases the information is obtained exclusively from publicly accessible databases, from clients or from credit rating agencies:

• company register data from various bodies authorised by the Federal Ministry of Justice, such as for instance ADVOKAT, Manz, lexunited, IMD and others; patent data from national and Union or international databases (in particular see.ip, TMview, eseach plus, Madrid Monitor); data concerning the trade carried on from the federal trade information system GISA

• credit-rating data including payment history details (KSV, AKV, ÖVC, ISA queries)

• insolvency data (in particular from the federal edicts file)

• registration data from the relevant registration authorities (town hall, city council in statutory cities, district council office in Vienna)

• information about the data subject from search engines, social networks, various websites

• information concerning contact details, payment history, business relationship from clients or their business partners, if the data subject is an opponent of the clients of Hübscher & Partner Patentanwälte GmbH. The personal data that Hübscher & Partner Patentanwälte GmbH obtains and stores from these sources are limited to contact information (e-mail address, phone number, postal address), information about the function and assignment/responsibility in the company, as well as data concerning the professional career; in this case information about the data subject’s professional and educational career may also be obtained from publicly accessible sources. These data are processed on the basis of a legitimate interest of Hübscher & Partner Patentanwälte GmbH in efficient communication for professional reasons and for performance of the mandate or business relationship, as well as with a view to due and proper applicant management (Art. 6 Par. 1 lit f GDPR). The data thus processed by Hübscher & Partner Patentanwälte GmbH are stored for the periods set out in Article V. The data subject has the same rights as set out in Article VI. when his or her data are obtained from third parties by the controller.