Privacy Policy

Last updated on 16 December 2020

All information that you provide or that is collected by us that concerns you is processed in accordance with the applicable regulations. We are conscious that your information must be handled with respect for confidentiality and your private life. 

Information concerning processing of your personal data

What is personal data?
Personal data is any form of information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person. i.e. all forms of information that can be directly or indirectly associated with a person. For example, this may be a first name or surname, private address, email address or a National identification number.

Where does the data come from?
The Danish Patent and Trademark Office processes personal data that you yourself provide to us, or that we receive from other authorities, companies or citizens. The Danish Patent and Trademark Office can also obtain personal data from other authorities, companies or citizens itself when this is necessary for the Danish Patent and Trademark Office to be able to conduct its appointed tasks.

When do we need to use your data?
It is the duty of the Danish Patent and Trademark Office to process, register and publish information about intellectual property rights.

In that connection, and with reference to each of the intellectual property rights acts, it is the duty of the Danish Patent and Trademark Office to inform the public about granted or applied intellectual property rights in Denmark. Furthermore, the Danish Patent and Trademark Office has a legal title to provide services pursuant to each of the intellectual property rights acts.

The Danish Patent and Trademark Office also attend to the Danish interests in relevant international fora, including WIPO, EPO, EUIPO etc.

The Danish Patent and Trademark Office is an agency under the Ministry of Industry, Business and Financial Affairs. In this regard, we are working with the preparation of new legislation within our remit as well as ministerial services.

Where is your personal data processed?
The Danish Patent and Trademark Office will mainly process your personal data in our case managing system and in self-service solutions at our website.

Who has access to your personal data?
Employees of the Danish Patent and Trademark Office have access to your personal data to the extent necessary to process your case or for other purposes mentioned above.

This will be the case e.g., if we receive a patent application in which you are the applicant, inventor or the agent. We will then collect and process information, primarily your name, address and possibly billing details for the purpose of charging fees related to examination, publishing and maintenance of the application or granted intellectual property right.

Employees at the Danish Patent and Trademark Office must sign non-disclosure declarations upon starting employment to ensure the confidentiality of your personal data. Such duty of confidentiality is also found in the Danish Public Administration Act and in the Danish Criminal Code.

Primarily the Danish Patent and Trademark Office uses its own IT systems for data processing. In the future these IT systems will be placed with the agency “State IT”. State IT will have access to data according to instructions from the Danish Patent and Trademark Office to the extent necessary to manage and operate the IT systems.

How and for how long do we retain your personal data?
Your personal data is stored securely and confidentially in IT systems with controlled and restricted access and on servers located on specially secured premises. We work continually to protect the confidentiality of the data we process and to secure data against unauthorised access, changes, publication or destruction.

Your personal data is stored for as long as necessary to comply with our mandatory tasks as a public authority and to comply with applicable legislation, including the Danish Archives Act.

Under what circumstances do we pass on your personal data?
We will only pass on your personal data when it is necessary to comply with our general duty as a public authority. The data that you provide to the Danish Patent and Trademark Office will often be passed on to one or more of the following:

• Other public authorities, e.g. the Board of Appeal for Patents and Trademarks, the Ministry of Industry, Business and Financial Affairs, The Danish Customs and Tax Administration, the police etc.
• Data processors, to the extent necessary to maintain our IT systems, e.g. suppliers of databases etc.
• Users of our electronic databases, which contains the cases and intellectual property rights that we shall make accessible to the public. We will only pass on information, that we are legally obliged to publish or make accessible to the public.
• Your information may be disclosed in connection with requests for public access to documents.
• International organisations and other countries’ IP agencies, within the frames of international cooperation and agreements. As a starting point, we will only pass on information, that we are legally obliged to publish or make accessible to the public.

Your rights 

You must be given information concerning:

• The data controller
• Contact information for the Data Protection Officer
• The purpose and legal basis for processing the information
• Details of the data being collected
• Where the data originates from
• Who is receiving the data
• How long the data will be stored, or the criteria applied to determine how long the data will be stored
• Your right to request corrections to, or deletion of, personal data, or request restrictions on the use of your personal data
• Your right to appeal against the use of personal data

The Danish Patent and Trademark Office can decline to provide information if it is impossible or will require a disproportionate use of resources or when it is considered that you can be assumed to be familiar with the information.

Insight into the data being processed
You can request insight into the data about you that is processed by the Danish Patent and Trademark Office. This means that you have the right to see the personal data about you that is held by us, and you have the right to the following information concerning whether, how and why we process information about you:

• The purpose and legal basis for processing
• The categories of personal data, and if possible, where these originate from
• The recipients of the data
• How long the data will be stored, or the criteria applied to determine how long the data will be stored
• Your right to request the Danish Patent and Trademark Office to make corrections to, or delete, personal data, or request restrictions on the use of your personal data

The Danish Patent and Trademark Office can decline your request for insight into your personal data if you will thereby receive information that may breach another person's right or freedoms.

The right to correct the data being processed
You have the right to have incorrect personal data amended as quickly as possible and you have the right to add supplementary information if it is incomplete.

The right to delete data being processed
You have the right to have personal data deleted as quickly as possible. However, in principle, it is not possible to delete data that is subject to administrative laws, public information laws and archival laws that apply to public authorities. You cannot have the data deleted for as long as it is required in order to comply with the purposes of the Danish Patent and Trademark Office’s processing, or if deletion will breach the Danish Patent and Trademark Office’s duties according to the applicable laws and international obligations.

The right to restrictions on the data processed
Under certain circumstances, you have the right to place restrictions on the data processed, e.g. whilst it is being investigated whether the data is correct, or whether the data is required to determine a legal claim.

Information security
The Danish Patent and Trademark Office places high importance on the protection of citizens against unauthorized access, changing, publication or destruction of information held by us. We have focus on the security of your data. For instance, we have an information security policy which is implemented in several security rules related to the ISO27001 standard. The rules are supported by guidelines and instructions. Furthermore, several technical precautionary measures have been implemented in order to prevent physical or electronic access for unauthorised persons.

Right of appeal and advice 

The Data Protection Authority can be contacted by email: dt@datatilsynet.dk. The address of the Data Protection Authority is: Carl Jacobsens Vej 35, 2500 Valby, Denmark. 

The Data Protection Authority is the independent national authority that ensures that the regulations laid down in data protection legislation are upheld. The task of the Data Protection Authority is to provide advice and guidance to authorities and private companies in the processing of personal data.

The Data Protection Authority also processes appeals in relation to the processing of personal data and carries out inspections within authorities and private companies.

The Data Protection Officer can provide further information concerning the rules for data protection. The Data Protection Officer can also advise you on your rights regarding the processing of personal data within the Danish Patent and Trademark Office.

The Data Protection Officer can be contacted by email at the address: dpo@em.dk or by telephone at: +45 33 92 33 50. Please note that if you wish to send a secure digital message, it must be sent to the Ministry of Industry, Business and Financial Affairs' main email inbox. It will then be forwarded to dpo@em.dk

Privacy Policy and social media

4.     Responsibility for the content of your enquiries

As a user you are responsible for the content you share on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Youtube. We advise you not to share information that you do not want to be published. We will delete any confidential or sensitive personal data, such as national identification number, information as to state of health or bank account information as soon as possible if such information is published on the platform. We reserve the right to delete any offensive material as well as material, which is illegal or does not follow our directions.

We do not consider cases on social media. In regard to specific cases, we invite you to contact our main e-mail address pvs@dkpto.dk. 

Directions for the use of the public authority’s social media

You may at any time delete your own posts and comments.

The Danish Patent and Trademark Office is not responsible for any participants’ unlawful use of other people’s data on The Danish Patent and Trademark Offices social media. In addition, the Danish Patent and Trademark Office is not responsible for actions or omissions that may result from following advice given by other participants on the Danish Patent and Trademark Office’s social media.

About this policy and our contact information 

Changes to the current Privacy Policy

The Privacy Policy will be updated whenever necessary. In top of this Privacy Policy you will find the date of the most recent update. 

Contact information

The Danish Patent and Trademark Office

Helgeshøj Allé 81, 2630 Taastrup

CBR no. : 17039415

Telephone: +45 43 50 80 00

E-mail: pvs@dkpto.dk.