BY USING THIS WEBSITE, YOU AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO ANY OF THE TERMS OR CONDITIONS PROVIDED HEREIN, PLEASE DO NOT USE THIS WEBSITES OR ANY INFORMATION OR SERVICE HEREIN.


About the Observatory's website

One of the missions of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) is to support the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights and to combat the threat of IP infringements. In pursuit of its mission, the EUIPO offers telematic services requiring technologies capable of sending, receiving and storing information.

The general purpose of the Observatory's Website is to provide Information about the Observatory's activities (conferences, seminars, workshops etc.). Additional Services allow authenticated users to upload and retrieve documents and data stored on the Observatory's internal database. Specific information may only be accessed by a limited group of qualified persons from the national authorities.

The EUIPO is committed to ensuring the uninterrupted availability of the Observatory's Website and to providing security to a professionally reasonable level of skill and care. However, this cannot be guaranteed fully. Access to the Website and its Services may occasionally be suspended, restricted or impeded to permit repairs, maintenance or the introduction of new services or facilities.


Applicable terms

Access to, and use of, any part of the Observatory's website of the EUIPO (hereinafter "the Website"), any document, material or other information, including data, text, images, and sound (hereinafter "Information") made available on the Website and any of the services provided via the Website (hereinafter "Services") are governed by these general terms and conditions of use (hereinafter "General Terms") and constitute acceptance of these General Terms by the user.

Specific terms and conditions may apply to individual services or specific parts of the Website as indicated for those services or parts concerned. Where provided, specific terms shall supersede any differing provision of the General Terms in respect to those services or parts.

The EUIPO reserves the right to amend these General Terms and any other specific terms on the Website at any time by posting amended terms and conditions on the Website. Such amendments will take effect on the date on which they are posted.


Ownership

The EUIPO's Observatory operates in a network of National Authorities in the EU, as well as other Authorities outside the EU with a shared aim to provide a single access point for information related to enforcement and infringement of IP rights. Contents offered by the EUIPO may thus originate from partner data-holders and/or contain third-party proprietary information.

Information published on the Website may be protected by intellectual and industrial property rights. Proprietary rights, including copyright, subsisting in any of the Information available via this Website are vested in their respective owners, these being the EUIPO, partner data-holders or any other third-party credited as such. Access to the Services does not give users any ownership title in the Information made available to them on the Website. All rights not specifically granted herewith are reserved by the respective owner(s).


Right of use

Access to Information and Services of this Website is granted for consultation within the scope and objectives pursued by the EUIPO according to applicable European Union law.

Users uploading or otherwise submitting content to the EUIPO, grant EUIPO a worldwide licence to use, host, store, reproduce, modify, create derivative works (such as those resulting from translations, adaptations or other changes necessary to ensure more efficient Services), communicate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute such content, within the scope and duration foreseen by applicable European Union law.

Use of the non-confidential Information is regulated as follows:

Users may

  • Distribute or reproduce the Information as long as the Website is credited as its source and prominent mention is made to its free availability
  • Create adaptations, translations, conversions, modifications or other derivative work based on the Information provided that
    • reasonable steps have been taken to label or demarcate the alterations or otherwise clearly indicate that changes have been made to the original Information; and
    • the author of the Information and/or the party credited as its provider - whichever appears on the Website - is mentioned, and the Website is cited as its source; and
    • the right to reproduce and distribute any such adaptation is explicitly granted to any third party, under the same conditions as provided herein.
  • Use deep linking techniques to reach specific pages of the Website beyond the home page.

Users shall not

  • Perform any activity that could harm or violate the EUIPO's network performance and/or security, and, in particular, upload files containing viruses or other malware that might damage the operation of another user's computer.
  • Use integration techniques such as framing and inline linking with the Website and the Information therein.
  • Use the information and personal data made available on the Website for contacting registered owners for any commercial purpose unrelated to the official registration of their marks or for any other illegal or misleading activity.

The foregoing licence does not cover Information to which any granted or pending intellectual property right other than copyright apply (e.g. trademarks, designs and database rights). In that case, and whenever a commercial use is required, users are encouraged to seek specific and explicit permission from the concerned right-holder(s).

Under no circumstance shall the users use the EUIPO logo or the official name and credentials of the EUIPO to imply affiliation, endorsement or other official link to EUIPO without prior written and formal authorisation from the EUIPO.

The extraction of substantial parts of the EUIPO's databases or of the content therein - howsoever performed - is forbidden. Users may deep link to specific pages of the Website. However, web integration techniques such as framing and inline linking are not permitted.


Disclaimer

Information provided to the EUIPO by partner data-holders is displayed as received, without any kind of guarantee and for information purposes only. Partner data-holders remain solely responsible for the accuracy and reliability of the data and information provided. Please note that Information provided by partner data-holders does not necessarily reflect the views of the EUIPO.

While it strives to keep the Information up-to-date and accurate, the EUIPO makes no claims, assurances, or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the Information available via the Website and, therefore, expressly disclaims its liability for errors and omissions to the maximum extent permitted by law.

The Information accessed via the Website is of a general informational nature only. Under no circumstances shall the Information be construed as constituting professional or legal advice.

The EUIPO accepts no responsibility for any loss or damage that may arise from reliance on the Information and Services provided via the Website, including information or services hyperlinked from the Website which are and shall remain under the sole control and responsibility of the third-parties concerned.

The EUIPO is not in a position to certify the authenticity of any document submitted by a third-party, including any information contained therein; nor can the EUIPO guarantee the concordance of any official text with corresponding digital copies that might be made available on the Website. Only texts published in the paper editions of the Official Journal of the European Union and texts published in the Official Journal of the European Union Intellectual Property Office are authentic official documents.

Should errors or omissions concerning the Information provided via this Website be brought to its attention, the EUIPO will endeavour to promptly correct them directly or, where necessary, refer the matter to the concerned partner data-holder or third-party.


Privileges and immunities

According to Article 117 of Council Regulation (EC) No 207/2009 of 26 February 2009 on the European Union trade mark, the Protocol on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Communities shall apply to the Office and its staff.


Contact

To contact the EUIPO with respect to matters concerning the Website and in particular questions relating to E-Business as such, please find the appropriate contact details on the EUIPO's support-website. For all other concerns, please use the respective information on the Website and the available databases.