Privacy Policy

 Ⅰ. Introduction

Patsnap (UK) Ltd., Patsnap, Inc. including their respective parents, subsidiaries, and affiliates (collectively, “Patsnap”, “we”, “us”, or “our”) respects your privacy regarding any information we may collect while operating our website www.patsnap.com, running marketing events, publishing whitepapers and other educational materials, and providing our products and services.

We are a United Kingdom company, with our registered office at Building 3 Chiswick Park, 566 Chiswick High Street, London, W4 5YA, registration number 09492371.

The data controller of your personal data is Patsnap (UK) Ltd., which is registered with the UK Information Commissioner’s Office under registration number ZA283379.

Ⅱ. Updates to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to ensure compliance with all applicable legislation and to reflect any changes in our collection, processing, and/or retention of personal data.

Ⅲ. About Patsnap

As the global leader in innovation intelligence, Patsnap uses AI-powered technology and machine learning to comb through billions of datasets, and help innovators connect the dots. We provide customers with access to a database of more than 180 million patents, together with licensing and litigation data, economic data, patent valuations, image and chemical formula search, trademark recognition, and more. For more information about Patsnap, please see the About Us section of our website.

Ⅳ. What personal data does Patsnap collect?

• When you purchase or access our products and services, we will collect your Log-in Credentials, including your first name, last name, and email address. We may also use Log-in Credentials to let you know about any updates or changes to our products and services and/or to send you marketing communications about our products or services.
• When you use our services, we will collect personal data related to the services, including your account information, your chosen configuration settings, the content you input, the platform’s output content, your historical records, and your activity log information, to provide you with the services you request.

• When you use our services, we collect and use your network and device information to ensure your normal access, maintain service operation, improve and optimize our service performance, and protect your account security.

• When you interact with us, we collect personal data when you fill in a form provided in our marketing activities or on our website or a related Patsnap online page to register for a webinar, receive whitepapers or similar educational materials, or when you seek assistance with technical issues. We may also use this data to let you know about any updates or changes to our products and services and/or to send you marketing communications about our products or services provided by Patsnap.

• Through cookies and similar technologies on our website, which are required to ensure the proper functioning of our website. For detailed information on the cookies we use and the purposes for which we use them, please see our Cookie Policy.
• When your employer or another third party has arranged for you to have access to our products and services.

• When you apply a job through our websites, we may collect your persona data to process your application and to contact you in relation to interviews or offer you a job.

• When our partners and service providers (e.g., technology providers in connection with your use, and our provision of, our products and services) arrange for you to have access to our products and services.
• If you are an academic author or researcher, a patent holder, clinical trials investigator or are otherwise an author of, or contributor to, reports, analysis, articles or other materials available in the public domain, your professional data such as your name, work contact details, and specialization may be included as content in our services.
• Through other public or paid-for services from whom we may receive your personal data (e.g., we may acquire marketing lists from third parties to identify prospects for our products and services).

Ⅴ. What types of personal data do we collect?

Depending on how you interact with Patsnap and the different products or services you use, the personal data we collect may consist of the following:

• Name and contact details – first name, last name, e-mail address, postal address, and telephone number.
• User inputted content – content you provide to us when you use our services (e.g., if you contact our customer service teams or any information you choose to include about yourself in our services, e.g. your search term, documents you upload, the comments you provide, the content you provide in the interactions with our services).

• Application data – LinkedIn profile, resume/CV, current location, current company.

• Configuration information – information about your setting, such as the sharing permission, your preference default setting for searching, generating graphics, etc.

• Device and network related information – information about your computer or other device, such as IP address, location or provider.

• Log related information – information about your interactions with our services, such as your view history, your search history, your export history, etc.

• Purchase History – purchases you have made (or that which have been made for you), when your subscriptions expire and/or renew.

• Demographic information – your country and preferred language.

• Billing information – if provided, your credit card number and payment details.

• Other information – we collect other information that you provide to us, such as when you participate in our events or surveys.

Ⅵ. What happens to personal data we collect?

Personal data is collected by Patsnap only insofar as is necessary or appropriate to fulfill the purpose for which it is collected as identified in this Privacy Policy. You may refuse to supply personal data to Patsnap at any time, including unsubscribing from marketing emails; however, it may prevent you from using and/or accessing Patsnap products and services.

Ⅶ. To whom do we share your personal data for legal and business purposes?

Employees, contractors and affiliated organisations bound by duties of confidentiality to protect personal data that need access to the data in order to process it on Patsnap’s behalf.

• Patsnap entities, third-party service providers and partners who provide data processing services to Patsnap (e.g., to support the delivery of, provide functionality on, or help to enhance the security of our website, events, and/or products and services), or who otherwise process personal data for purposes that are described in this Privacy Policy or communicated to you when we collect your personal data. If you are based within the European Economic Area (EEA) Patsnap may transfer your data outside the EEA to other Patsnap entities. All Patsnap entities subject to our company-wide data protection processes, which have been devised to comply with all applicable standards.
• Government agencies, law enforcement, courts and other public authorities to whom we may be legally bound to disclose your personal data.
• Users of Patsnap’s our products and services if your personal data is collected from public sources for inclusion in our product databases and any personal data you choose to provide to us for display in our services (e.g., in profiles and when using online forums).
• Any other person with your consent to the disclosure.

Ⅷ. Patsnap will process your personal data based on the following legal basis:

• To perform contractual obligations owed to you –  if we have a contract with you or your employer or an entity with whom you are affiliated, and who pays for you to have access to our products and services, Patsnap processes your personal data to fulfill its contractual obligations.
• In furtherance of our legitimate interests or those of a third party – such as with your employer or entity that you are affiliated with.
• You have given us your consent – g., for certain types of marketing communications for which you will be given the option to unsubscribe.
• To comply with a legal or regulatory obligation – (e.g., to respond to a court order or a regulator). If we ask you to provide personal data to comply with a legal requirement, we will make this clear at the relevant time and advise you whether the provision of your personal data is mandatory (as well as of the possible consequences if you do not provide your personal data).
• If you have any questions about or need further information concerning the legal basis on which we collect and use your personal data, please contact us at [email protected].

Ⅸ. Patsnap will process your personal data for the following purposes:

• Customer and product administration – to provide you with our services and information that you requested or that you access through our services, create product accounts, provide user and technical support, enforce our terms of business, report product usage information to our customers and business partners, report to our content and technology providers, contact you about renewal of your subscriptions, and other related administrative tasks.

• Product personalization – to deliver personalised functionality in our services (e.g., to retain your browsing and usage information to make your searches within our services more relevant); to analyse product and services usage information to understand which content and tools are most useful for our users; and to allow us to deliver and suggest tailored consent, features and other products and services we believe may be of interest to you.

• Marketing – to send you marketing messages for Patsnap products and services that may interest you. We do not disclose your contact information to third parties for their marketing purposes.
• Product content – to organize and include all information in our products and services we collect data from publicly available sources. We may also use personal data which you choose to make available in our services (e.g., you may wish to provide information to enable peer connection and related collaboration).
• Security – to protect the security of our IT systems, architecture and networks, as well as to prevent misuse of our products and services.
• Legal rights – to exercise our rights, to reasonably assist third parties (such as your employees or business partners) in exercising their rights, to defend ourselves from actual or potential claims, and to comply with laws and regulations that apply to Patsnap or third parties with whom we work.

Ⅹ. Anonymous statistics

We may anonymise your personal data for the purposes of internal analyses (e.g., product research to help us improve our products and services).

XI. Marketing communications

We may send you marketing communications, including but not limited, to newsletters, and emails (“Marketing Communications”), that will include service updates, advertising and offers related to our products and services which we believe may be of interest to you. At any time, you may change your Marketing Communication preferences, either by:

• electing to unsubscribe from the Marketing Communications sent to you by following the ‘unsubscribe’ link which can be found at the bottom of emails; or
• contacting our team directly by emailing [email protected] or the “Contact Us” option, found either in the email we sent or on the www.patsnap.com website.

Aside from Marketing Communication, please note that from time to time, you may receive some important service information that we believe is critical to the use of our products and services. In these exceptional circumstances, such information will be sent to you regardless of your Marketing Communication preferences.

If you send us a request (e.g., via a support email or via our feedback mechanisms), we reserve the right to publish it in order to help us clarify or respond to your request or to help us support other users.

XII. Security

We use appropriate technical and organizational measures, including anti-virus software and encryption, to protect the personal data that we collect and process about you. The measures we use are designed to provide a level of security appropriate to the risk of collecting and processing your personal data. Our security practices are also audited on a recurring basis, and we maintain ISO 27001 certification.

Please note that while we have taken reasonable steps to protect your personal data, no website, Internet transmission, computer system, or wireless connection is absolutely secure. In the event of a personal data security incident, we will, in accordance with the requirements of applicable laws and regulations, promptly inform you of the following: the basic situation and possible impact of the security incident, disposal measures we have taken or will take, suggestions for your self-protection and risk mitigation, remedies for you, etc. We will timely inform you of the relevant situation of the event by email, letter, telephone, or push notification. When it is difficult to inform the personal data subjects individually, we will issue an announcement in a reasonable and effective manner. Meanwhile, we will also actively report the handling of the personal data security incident in accordance with the requirements of the regulatory authorities.

XIII. International personal data transfers

Patsnap is a global business, and your personal data may be transferred to, and processed in, countries other than the country in which you are a resident. These countries may have different privacy and data protection laws to your country of residence.

Specifically, our website servers and key systems are located in Europe and the United States, and our subsidiaries and affiliated companies and third-party service providers and partners operate around the world. This means that when we collect your personal data, we may process it in any of these countries. However, we have taken appropriate safeguards to ensure that your personal data will remain protected in accordance with this Privacy Policy and our contractual commitments.

XIV. Keeping personal data up to date and data retention

It is your responsibility to ensure that the information you submit to Patsnap is complete, accurate and up to date, and it is your responsibility to notify us if that information changes.

We store your personal data throughout the period of your relationship with Patsnap and retain it for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which we collected it, including for the purposes of satisfying legal, accounting or reporting obligations, or to resolve disputes. If you wish to cease using Patsnap’s products and/or services and wish to have your personal data deleted, please email us and we will take the necessary steps to delete your personal data in accordance with your legal rights and this Privacy Policy.

If we have no ongoing legitimate business need to process your personal data, we will either delete or anonymise the data unless it is infeasible to do so in which event we will securely store your personal data and isolate it form any further processing until deletion is possible.

XV. Cookies

Patsnap may place and access certain cookies on computers of those accessing its website. Patsnap uses cookies to help Patsnap identify and track visitors, their usage of Patsnap Website, and their website access preferences. The use of cookies helps us to improve the efficiency of Patsnap’s services. Those visiting Patsnap’s Website who do not wish to have cookies placed on their computers can choose to delete the cookies at any time by setting their browsers to refuse cookies before using Patsnap’s Websites. However, please note that certain features of Patsnap’s Websites may not function properly without the aid of cookies. For more information on how Patsnap uses cookies please visit our Cookie Policy.

XVI. Third-party service providers and their services

Our websites, products, applications, and services may contain links to third-party websites, products, and services. You can choose whether to visit or accept websites, products, and services offered by third parties. We have no control over third-party privacy and data protection policies as such third parties are not bound by this Privacy Policy. Before you submit Personal data to third parties, please refer to their privacy policies.

XVII. Children

Patsnap products and services are not directed to children under the age of thirteen (13). We do not knowingly collect, use, sell, share or disclose the personal data of children. If a child below the age of 13 is found to be using Patsnap products and services, and personal data has been transmitted to us, Patsnap shall take the necessary steps to remove the personal data collected and terminate the use of Patsnap products and services. If you have reason to believe that a child under 13 has provided personal data to Patsnap through our products or services, please email us at [email protected]  or [email protected]. Users under 16 must have permission from their parent or guardian to use our services.

XVIII. Your data protection rights

Based on where you live, you may be subject to one or more of the following data protection rights (some of which are limited rights subject to certain exceptions), as well as the right to file/lodge a complaint with the relevant supervisory authority:

• Right to know/be informed as to the personal data or categories of personal data we have about you.
• Right to access a copy of the personal data we have about you.
• Right to correct/rectify inaccurate personal data that we have about you.
• Right to delete/erase personal data about you.
• Right to opt out of/object to certain processing, such as targeted advertising or certain types of profiling.
• Right to object to or restrict processing, if you meet certain limited applicable circumstances.
• Right to receive your personal data in a structured, machine-readable format for your own purposes, or to request us to share it with a third party.
• Right to withdraw consent at any time, free of charge. Any such withdrawal only applies prospectively and will not impact prior processing conducted in accordance with your prior freely given consent.
• Right not to be subject to automated decision-making.
• Right to appeal a refusal to take action on a request within a reasonable period of time after you receive the initial decision.
• Right of non-discrimination, as a result of your exercise of data protection rights.

The way in which you exercise rights depends on the specific product or service you use. In addition, you may contact us through the information set out in the Section XIX. As a general rule, we provide responses to the exercise of your rights free of charge. However, we may need to charge a reasonable fee if the request is manifestly unfounded or excessive, or if necessary and unavoidable costs are incurred. We will ensure the security of your personal data when you exercise the rights. 

XIX. Contact us

If you wish to exercise your rights listed in Section XVIII or have any concerns or questions with any of the terms within this Privacy Policy, please contact us at [email protected] or contact Patsnap’s Data Protection Officer at [email protected].

XX. Specific provisions for US residents

Where Patsnap is subject to the requirements of the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (CCPA), as amended by the California Privacy Rights Acts of 2020 (CPRA), and California Consumer Privacy Act Regulations (CCPR), the following applies:

1. Collection of Personal Data within the Last Twelve (12) Months

We have collected the following personal data from your using our services and products within the last twelve (12) months.

2. Personal Data that has been Sold or Shared within the Last 12 Months

Under applicable privacy laws, the collection and disclosure of certain data (such as your activity on our sites and apps) to third parties for interest-based advertising and social media purposes may be considered a “sale”, “share”, or “targeted advertising”. Accordingly, we have engaged in such activities involving the following personal information: Internet or other electronic network activity information. These practices support our advertising, marketing, and audience measurement efforts. We do not “sell”, “share”, or process for “targeted advertising” the personal information of known minors.

3. Personal Datathat has been Disclosed for a Business Purpose within the Last 12 Months