Oficina española de Patentes y Marcas

I have a complaint relating to personal data. How do I send it to the SPTO?

The best way is to send an email to protecciondedatos@oepm.es

What personal data will be published when I apply to register a trademark, patent or other form of industrial property?

The registry data will be published. This is the name and surname(s) of the applicant, if they are an individual, or the company name, for a legal person, together with the address given in the form.

If a representative is involved, their details will also be published.

The nationality of the owner and name of the inventor are also published for patents.

This information is published pursuant to industrial property regulations

When is this information published?

From the time of publication of the application, i.e. in the administrative act of publicising the application in the Industrial Property Official Bulletin; for inventions, this coincides with the publication of the leaflet.

Where is this information published?

In the Industrial Property Official Bulletin, the registry databases (CEO) and Invenes, and in their leaflets in the case of inventions. 

Other international bodies: the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), European Patent Office (EPO) and the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) have information services where registry details are published for titles issued by national offices. 

Will my email address or telephone number be published?

No. These are contact details, not registry data. This information is only collected for use by the employees administering your case, to send communications and for contact purposes.

Email addresses are also sometimes used for quality surveys to improve the quality of the public administration.

I have applied for a trademark and have started to receive letters from professionals offering me their services. How do they know about my application and where did they get my details?

The Industrial Property Official Bulletin publishes the SPTO's resolutions every day, including the publication of applications. This includes the registry data, including the names and postal addresses of individuals.  

Can I change the personal data published for my trademark?

The administration of applications allows data to be modified. Forms are available upon request by the applicant to change the names and addresses after the application has been filed, on payment of the corresponding fee.

Rectifications of distinctive signs are possible, providing that they do not change the sign substantially and do not increase or modify the list of products and services. The forms involved are 4005, 4005bis and 4012. 

I don’t want my personal address to be published. What can I do when I apply? What about when the application is published?

You can use the postal address of a representative when you apply, so that you receive communications through their professional address. Once the application has been published and while the record remains valid, a specific form is available to rectify your personal data (as explained in the previous question).

Will the documents I submit in my application be made public?

The regulations for distinctive signs distinguish between the following:

• The registry publicity required of a public registry: this is limited to specific personal data (name, surname(s) and address) and the bibliographic information identified in the case. These can be found in the Industrial Property Official Bulletin and databases already mentioned.
• Third-party users could access the documentation in the records through the public consultation: the documentation you provide with your application is added to the case and this can be consulted publicly using the appropriate process and paying the corresponding fee. You can ask the SPTO to make some documents confidential during your application or subsequently, but you must do this before your application is put out for public consultation. However, this confidentiality will not be granted when consultation of these parts of the case is justified and outweighed by the legitimate interests of the party involved in the consultation.