CIPA Privacy Statement

Why we collect your data

As a chartered membership organisation, CIPA collects data to provide individuals (members and non-members) with information, services and products.

What information is being collected?

How will you collect my information?

We will collect data directly from you (for example from your membership application, examination registration, booking to attend an event, IP clinic, or recruitment to work for CIPA) and will create some data internally (for example when we assign you a member number or determine examination results).

We may also collect some data from external sources. For example, employers and educational institutions may provide CIPA with relevant information on members and students employed by and/or studying with them; members of the public may provide information to CIPA when seeking the services of our members or in relation to complaints and/or investigations.

What will you do with my information?

Dependent on the relationship you have with CIPA, we may use and processes your data for the following purposes:

1. 1To determine your grade or grading potential for CIPA membership or to confirm professional standing, based on your qualifications, experience and professional history.
2. To ensure that CIPA publications and general information about CIPA are sent to you according to your preferences.
3. To process qualifications, examinations or assessments administered by or on behalf of CIPA.
4. To create, monitor and support CPD in its professional practice. This may include the transferring of data between CIPA and a regulatory body by secure means.
5. To produce invitation or delegate lists at CIPA events or related activities.
6. To pass on, where you have given your express consent, contact details (such as email address or preferred telephone number) to other members or organisations.
7. To answer a legitimate enquiry as to whether you are in membership of CIPA, on a yes or no basis.
8. To use your information where you have given CIPA your express consent to publicise CIPA’s work, activities and programmes.
9. To ensure that the correct subscription fees, payments and information are processed at the correct time.
10. To record payments of subscription fees, invoices, etc.
11. To enable the production of management and audited accounts, research and surveys, statistical and other analyses so that CIPA can is well managed.
12. To provide materials for historical research.
13. To manage our employment practices in a fair, efficient, and effective way.
14. To produce a members list for other members or to share relevant information with the public, for example the Find a Patent Attorney service, clinics and other public facing services.
15. To showcase to both members and the general public the work that members do in a voluntary capacity for CIPA, for example membership of Council, committees and other groups or activities.
16. Any other purpose which CIPA notifies you about from time to time and about which you will be given the right to object to at the time of notification.

How long will you keep my data?

1. Data relating to an individual who is or has been a member of CIPA may be kept and processed indefinitely for historical purposes. Applications for membership, web form submissions and other applications or updating data (but not financial data) and minutes and transactions will be copied and stored indefinitely on secure servers, compact data disc or a similar storage media. This data may be placed in CIPA’s secure archives and may be made available for purposes of research, history and statistical analysis.
2. Other than the data identified above, data on an individual who has lapsed, resigned from membership or who has been expelled from membership may be edited to ensure that only data necessary for historical purposes is processed, except where the individual owes outstanding subscriptions or other monies, in which case a record of that debt will be retained and processed or where the individual has received a membership sanction from CIPA, in which case a record of that decision and the reasons for it will be kept and processed. Financial data on an individual who has resigned will normally be held for up to a minimum of six years in accordance with company law for auditing purposes.
3. Examination results data will be kept indefinitely and will be used to confirm results to candidates, for academic research, or to provide historical record. Marked scripts are held for 3 months after the date the results are published, and during this time will be kept within a secure confidential document facility. They will then be destroyed, except where they are retained for use in whole or in part as exemplars, in training and for the purposes of monitoring standards over time. Marked scripts used for those purposes will be anonymised.
4. Examination scripts are specifically exempted from the DPA. This does not include any comments, annotations or marks made on the scripts by Examiners or Assessors, which are included in the definition of personal data.
5. Data on an individual who is not in membership but who has purchased or engaged with products or services from CIPA will normally be kept and processed for a minimum of six years.
6. Data on a data subject who is otherwise involved with CIPA will be kept for a period of time commensurate with the purpose for which the data is kept, for example data on someone who has made a substantial contribution to the work of CIPA will be kept indefinitely.
7. Data on employees or past employees will be kept and processed for a minimum of six years.

What are my rights?

You have the right to find out what data we hold about you or requests for disclosure. These can be sent to:

The Data Controller
The Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys
2nd Floor, Viaro House
20-23 Holborn
London
EC1N 2JD
or alternatively email: [email protected]

You can exercise your right not to receive products or services from CIPA at any time by communicating your preferences to the Data Controller.

You can exercise your right to request to have your personal data erased by contacting the Data Controller. CIPA will respond to any such request within one calendar month of receipt.

Will you disclose my data to third parties?

CIPA will only make personal data available to third parties:

1. To provide information about special interest groups and committees on our website, such as the Online Members Directory or lists of members of Committees.
2. Where CIPA engages with suppliers to support its delivery of services, such as sponsorship. This is limited to name and organisation unless you have given your express consent for more information to be provided.
3. Where it is necessary to fulfil our obligations to you (for example, when your name and address are given to a mailing house or distributor so that CIPA communications, notices or other materials can be dispatched to you).
4. To answer an enquiry from a legitimate source as to whether you are in active membership of CIPA.
5. Where CIPA employs a contractor or consultant to reconfigure, upgrade or renew software or hardware systems employed to process membership or other data, limited to the data required to perform such functions.
6. Where it is necessary to comply with an order from a regulatory or statutory body which is empowered to require us to release your data; or
7. In the case of CIPA contractors, consultants or staff, to supply references and other data on request. In these cases, only sufficient data will be released to enable the third party to carry out the purpose for which the data is released.