Data Protection

My professional activity requires the collection, use and storage of personal data. Pursuant to Art. 12 and 13 DS-GVO, the following information is provide below about the purpose and basis of this collection, the data recipients, the data transmission, the duration, the scope of storage, and of your rights with respect thereto.

When you visit the website www.thot-patent.de (the “Website”), the browser on your device will automatically send information to the server on the Website. This information is temporarily stored in a so-called log file. The following information is recorded without your intervention and stored automatically until deleted:

IP address of the requesting computer, Date and time of access, Name and URL of the retrieved file, Website from which access is made (referrer URL), The browser used and, if applicable, the operating system of your computer, and The name of your access provider.

The aforementioned data will be processed for the following purposes:

Ensuring a smooth connection of the Website, Ensuring comfortable use of the Website, Evaluation of system security and the stability thereof, and/or For other administrative purposes.

The legal basis for data processing is Art. 6, paragraph 1, sentence 1(f) GDPR. Our legitimate interest follows from the purposes listed above for data collection. Under no circumstances will collected personal data be used to draw conclusions about you individually.

No cookies and analysis services are used when you visit our website.

Your personal data will not be transmitted to third parties for purposes other than those set forth below. We will never share or sell your personal data to third parties for marketing purposes. We will only transmit your personal data to a third party if:

You have given your express consent pursuant to Art. 6, paragraph 1, sentence 1(a) GDPR, The disclosure pursuant to Art. 6, paragraph 1, sentence 1(f) GDPR is required to assert, exercise or defend legal claims and no reason exists to assume that you have an overriding interest worthy of protection in not disclosing your personal data, If a legal obligation for the transfer pursuant to Art. 6, paragraph 1, sentence 1(c) GDPR exists, as well as if It is legally permissible and is necessary for the processing of contractual relationships pursuant to Art. 6, paragraph 1, sentence 1(b) GDPR.

The above is illustrated by the following additional information:

Performing professional services on behalf of a client, for example, applying for patent protection in the United States and/or in Europe, applying for trademark protection in the United States, as well as the maintenance and protection thereof, requires the collection, storage and use of personal data pursuant to the GDPR. These activities are permitted by Art. 6, paragraph 1(c) GDPR to satisfy contractual obligations arising from the attorney-client relationship. Any use of personal data extending beyond this scope will occur only with the prior express consent of the client pursuant to Art. 6, paragraph 1(a) GDPR. Performing professional services on behalf of a client which require actions to be taken before a governmental authority or international organization, for example, the USPTO, the EPO or WIPO, requires the communication of personal data to said authority/organization, which may then publish such data as it relates to patents, patent applications and/or trademarks and trademark applications. Said authority/organization may in particular require the transfer of personal data relating to inventors, patent owners, patent applicants, trademark owners, and trademark applicants.

Domestic and foreign service providers are often used to provide services for clients in accordance with Art. 28 GDPR. Attorneys at law, patent attorneys, patent agents, and patent and information technology (IT) service providers are in particular used to perform required contractual, legal and professional services. These service providers are either bound to maintain confidentiality which comply with required data protection provisions based on their respective rules for professional conduct or via separate confidentiality agreements.

Certain applicable professional rules and/or regulations authorize and require that collected personal data be maintained even after the provision of client services have been completed. For example:

Opinion No. 475 (1994) of the Los Angeles County Bar Association, Professional Responsibility and Ethics Committee, recommends a minimum retention period of five years past the date the matter was closed for attorneys’ client files. Dicta in Ramirez v. Fuselier (9 Cir. BAP 1995) interpreted rule 4-100(B)(3) of the California Rules of Professional Conduct as requiring an attorney to maintain files for five years after the conclusion of a case.

Data related to United States patents must be maintained for at least six (6) years after the patent has expired or is no longer in force, where no rights or other outstanding patent disputes exist. 35 U.S. Code § 286.

Section 50(1) of the German Federal Lawyers’ Act (Bundesrechtsanwaltsordnung - BRAO) requires that files required for providing legal services be maintained for a six (6) year period beginning with the end of the calendar year in which the legal services were completed.

Personal data for which the above terms have expired and the storage of which is no longer required under an applicable rule of professional conduct are routinely deleted after cessation of the reason for collection and storage.

Content of the Online Offer

Dr. Norman B. Thot assumes no liability for the topicality, correctness, completeness or quality of the information provided on the Website. Liability claims against Dr. Norman B. Thot, which relate to material or idealistic damages, which were caused by the use or disuse of the information presented and/or by the use of incorrect and incomplete information, are in principal excluded to the extent no deliberate or grossly negligent conduct exists.

All offers, to the extent present, are subject to change and are non-binding. Dr. Norman B. Thot expressly reserves the right to change, supplement or delete parts of the pages or the entire offer without prior notice or to discontinue publication temporarily or permanently.

Rights of Individuals Affected

You have the right:

To request information about your personal data processed by us in accordance with Art. 15 GDPR. You may in particular request information about the purposes of processing, the category of personal data, the categories of recipients to whom your data have been or will be disclosed, the planned storage period, the existence of a right to rectification, deletion, restriction of processing or objection, the existence of a right of appeal, the origin of your data, if these have not been collected by us, and the existence of automated decision-making including profiling and, if applicable, meaningful information on their details;

In accordance with Art. 16 GDPR, to demand without undue delay the correction of incorrect or complete personal data stored by us;

To request the deletion of your personal data stored by us in accordance with Art. 17 GDPR, unless the processing is necessary to exercise the right to freedom of expression and information, to fulfil a legal obligation, for reasons of public interest or to assert, exercise or defend legal claims;

In accordance with Art. 18 GDPR, to restrict the processing of your personal data if you dispute the accuracy of the data, if the processing is unlawful but you refuse to have it deleted and we no longer need the data, but if you need it to assert, exercise or defend legal claims or if you have filed an objection to the processing in accordance with Art. 21 GDPR;

In accordance with Art. 20 GDPR, to receive your personal data that you have provided to us in a structured, current and machine-readable format or to request its transfer to another person responsible;

In accordance with Art. 7 paragraph 3 GDPR, to revoke your consent to us at any time. We will therefore no longer be allowed to continue processing data based on this consent in the future; and

To complain to a supervisory authority pursuant to Art. 77 GDPR. You can thereby contact the Supervisory Authority of your usual place of residence or workplace or our office.

Right to Object

If your personal data is processed on the basis of legitimate interests pursuant to Art. 6, paragraph 1, sentence 1(f) GDPR, you have the right to object to the processing of your personal data pursuant to Art. 21 GDPR, provided that there are reasons therefor which arise from your particular situation or the objection is directed against direct advertising. You have a general right of objection in the latter case which we will implement without specifying a particular situation.

If you wish to exercise your right of revocation or objection, simply send an e-mail to mail@thot-patent.de.

We reserve the right to refuse to act on a request, or to charge a reasonable administrative fee, when a request is either manifestly unfounded or excessive because of its repetitive character, and to charge a reasonable administrative fee to requests for further or additional copies.

Data Security

We use the most common SSL (Secure Socket Layer) method in connection with the highest level of encryption supported by your browser. This is usually a 256 bit encryption. If your browser does not support 256-bit encryption, we instead use 128-bit v3 technology. Whether a single page of our website is transmitted in encrypted form is indicated by the closed display of the key or lock symbol in the lower status bar of your browser.

We also use appropriate technical and organizational security measures to protect your data against accidental or intentional manipulation, partial or complete loss, destruction or unauthorized access by third parties. Our security measures are continuously improved in line with technological developments.

Status and Amendment of this Data Protection Declaration

This data protection declaration is currently valid and has a status as of February 2023.

Name and Contact Details of the Individual Responsible

This data protection information applies to data processing by:

Disclaimer

Thot Patent Website

Copyright Dr. Norman B. Thot 2023. All rights reserved. The content of this Website is subject to the conditions of the following disclaimer of warranty:

Copyright and Duplication

Dr. Norman B. Thot is owner of all copyrights to the content of this Website. The partial or wholesale duplication or distribution thereof is only permitted upon prior written consent.

Contents of the Website

Contents of this Website are intended for general information only. The contents therefore do not represent any advice (legal or otherwise) and may not be used for this purpose. No client relationship is established via the use of this Website.

Liability

Dr. Norman B. Thot assumes no liability for the content of this Website. Dr. Norman B. Thot also assumes no liability for spelling mistakes, incorrect or missing information in the reproduced contents or for their correctness and completeness, nor for any disadvantages that may result from a reliance on the information contained on this Website.

Dr. Norman B. Thot has no influence on and accepts no liability for the content of external websites that can be accessed via hyperlinks from this Website or to which reference is made in this Website. Dr. Noman B. Thot assume no liability for illegal, incorrect or incomplete contents and in particular for damages resulting from the use or non-use of such information.