Your Privacy Is Important To Us

PRIVACY POLICY – ACORN TRADE MARK ATTORNEYS

Key Messages

It is important that you read and become familiar with this Privacy Policy.

By visiting our website and/or providing your personal information to us, you consent to the collection, storage, use and disclosure of your personal information as set out in this Privacy Policy.

The way we collect, store, use and disclose your personal information is governed by the Australian Privacy Principles set out in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (‘Privacy Act’).

Definitions

In this Privacy Policy, “we”, “our” and “us” refer to Acorn Trade Mark Attorneys Pty Ltd ACN 623 169 148.

“Website” means www.AcornTrademarks.com.au

“User” means a user of Acorn Trade Mark Attorneys services on the website.

“You” or “your” means a person whose personal information we have knowingly collected.

Confidentiality and Privilege

Registered trade mark attorneys are bound by professional obligations of confidentiality and legal privilege. We treat the information we receive in accordance with these principles.

Consent

By visiting our website and/or providing your personal information to us, you consent to the collection, storage, use and disclosure of your personal information as provided for in this Privacy Policy.

IP Australia and foreign IP offices are required by law to publish certain information (including personal information) relating to IP rights. Personal information relating to IP rights is regularly shared amongst IP offices. As part of the provision of our services, you consent to the sharing and publication of your personal information. You understand and accept that we are not able to control how overseas recipients will use and disclose that personal information

Types of Personal Information We Collect

Personal information means information which makes your identity apparent. We collect only such personal information as is reasonably necessary to conduct our business with you and to meet our legal obligations.

The personal information we collect or hold may include (but is not necessarily limited to) your name, date of birth, contact details, employment and membership of professional organisations. We are also likely to collect information related to your legal needs and intellectual property rights.

When you visit our website we may use cookies to record your visit and  collect information such as your IP address and domain name; the previous site visited; the pages you visit; and any documents you download from the website. We may also track some of the actions you take on the website (eg when you provide information to us). You may configure your computer to disable or reject cookies.

How We Collect Personal Information

Our principal source of personal information about you is the information you choose to share when you speak to us in person, telephone us, send an e-mail or fill in a form on our website.

We may obtain personal information from third parties. In such cases we will take it that the third party has the consent of the person to whom the information relates to supply the information for our use. We will treat such information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

If you provide us with any third party information, you must get the individual’s permission to give us the information and subsequently advise the person that you have given us the information.

Use and Disclosure of Personal Information

We collect your personal information for the primary purpose of conducting our business. This includes (but is not limited to) the following uses:

• responding to your enquiries
• providing you with information about our services, or other services that may be of interest
• providing our services to you
• enabling a contractor to provide services related to your matter
• improving customer service
• conducting market research
• invoicing
• corporate governance (eg planning and training; risk management and security; financial audits; and meeting legal obligations)
• managing and resolving any legal or commercial complaints and issues

We will use the personal information we collect in any manner to which you have given your consent (whether express or implied).

When you provide your personal details, you also consent to us using that information for our own marketing purposes. On occasion we may contact you directly about relevant services and products offered by us, by our related entities, and by our business partners. We will of course act promptly on any request to opt-out of further direct marketing messages.

To provide or offer services to you, we may disclose (or facilitate the disclosure of) personal information to third parties such as solicitors, barristers and law firms; the Trade Marks Office; trade mark attorneys, contractors and outsourced service providers; market research companies; professional advisors (such as accountants or auditors); credit providers, payment system operators and financial institutions.

If necessary to provide our services to you, some of your personal information may be transferred, stored, processed, used or disclosed overseas by us (eg to file applications with overseas intellectual property organisations). Our contractors and outsourced service providers may also disclose your personal information overseas in connection with providing their services to us.

Furthermore, we will disclose your personal information if we are required by law to do so. If necessary, we will also disclose your information to assist any complaints body with issues related to your intellectually property rights

If you ask that we not use or disclose your personal information in the ways set out in this Privacy Policy, we will endeavour to comply, so long as disclosure is not required by law. Please be mindful that complying with your request may prevent us from providing our usual services.

Data Security

We take reasonable measures to ensure that your personal information is stored securely and is protected from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. This includes 24/7 physical security at our premises; modern professional IT security on office computers and third-party servers; and SSL encryption from browser to server.

In particular, we do not see, handle or store any of your credit card information. Instead, the client enters credit card details directly into a totally-separate secure third-party payment gateway which is compliant with the PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard). The PCI DSS is a set of international security standards designed to ensure that a secure environment is maintained by all companies which accept, process, store or transmit credit card information 

It is also important for you to protect against unauthorised access to your own computer and passwords. You are able to reduce these risks by choosing strong passwords, using different passwords for different services, and keeping your firewall and antivirus software up to date. Take extra care when using shared computers. Be sure to log out when you have finished visiting our website.

However, no security measures are perfect. We are not liable for unauthorised access to your personal data.

Data Retention

We will keep your personal information for as long as necessary to provide you with the services we have agreed upon, and to comply with legal requirements. If we cease to require your personal information, we will take reasonable measures to securely destroy our records of your personal information.

How to Access Your Personal Information

We will provide you with the personal information we hold about you, unless we are prevented by law from doing so. We will not charge you for accessing your information as such, but we may charge reasonable costs for processing your request (eg for photocopying, postage and administration). Before we proceed, we will advise you of any fees.

If you believe that we hold personal information about you that is inaccurate, incomplete or out of date, please let us know what to correct. Our contact is:

     The Privacy Officer
     PO Box 24266
     Melbourne VIC 3001 AUSTRALIA

     Admin@AcornTrademarks.com.au

Contact for Concerns or Complaints

Please send details of any queries, concerns or complaints to:

     The Privacy Officer
     PO Box 24266
     Melbourne VIC 3001 AUSTRALIA

     Admin@AcornTrademarks.com.au

We will endeavour to respond to any complaint within 30 days.

This Privacy Policy is a Living Document

We reserve the right to update this Privacy Policy from time to time. This will allow us to accommodate legislative changes and improve the way we collect and store your personal information.