1. Acquisition of Personal Information

The Firm will lawfully and properly acquire personal information to the extent necessary, to achieve the intended purpose of use.

2. Purpose of Use of Personal Information

The Firm will use personal information of clients held by the Firm for the following purposes.

(1) Personal information regarding clients

1. Verification of identity, confirmation of conflicts of interest, and prevention of fraudulent requests in the course of receiving instructions from clients.
2. Provision, execution, and improvement of patent attorney services and the Firm's services.
3. Sending greeting cards, notifications, and other information related to the Firm's services and members, and providing information in relation to the Firm's services.
4. Announcing the information and responding to the inquiries relating to the books, seminars, blogs, email magazines, SNS information from the Firm and its members.
5. Implementation of marketing, conduct of questionnaires, and monitoring.
6. Maintenance and improvement of the Firm's website and prevention of fraudulent activities.
7. Performance of any other activities related to the above purposes.

(2) Personal information regarding job applicants and former employees

1. Provision and notification of employment information to job applicants (including patent attorneys, staff, interns, etc.) and reception of visits to the Firm regarding the job application.
2. Management of employment procedures at the firm (communication, implementation of selection procedures, determination of acceptance or rejection, and personnel management and education after employment).
3. Provision of information and notification to former employees.
4. Performance of any other activities related to the above purposes.

3. Use of Personal Information beyond the Intended Purpose

The Firm shall only use personal information for the purposes mentioned above and shall not use it for any other purposes without the consent of the individual concerned, unless otherwise specified by law or notified/publicized for the purpose of use separately.

4. Provision of Personal Information to Third Parties

The Firm shall not disclose or provide personal information of the clients to third parties, except in cases where one of the following applies, but shall endeavor to disclose or provide only the minimum necessary information within the scope not contrary to relevant laws and regulations.

1. When the client has given consent;
2. When required by law;
3. When it is difficult to obtain the consent of the client and it is necessary to protect human life, body or property;
4. When it is difficult to obtain the consent of the client and it is particularly necessary to promote public health or the sound upbringing of children;
5. When it is necessary to cooperate with a national or local government organization or a person entrusted by it to perform duties prescribed by law, and obtaining the consent of the client may interfere with the performance of such duties; or
6. When business succession is carried out due to merger, division, business transfer or other reasons.

5. Outsourcing of Personal Information Handling

The Corporation may outsource the handling of all or part of the personal information obtained from clients within the necessary scope to achieve the purpose of use. In this case, necessary and appropriate supervision shall be carried out for the outsourced entity to ensure the safe management of personal information.

6. Joint Use

The Firm may jointly use all items of personal data held by it, including the individual's name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, and other contact information, within the scope of the purposes stated in 2 above with Authense Law Firm, Authense Tax Accountant Firm, Authense Labor and Social Security Attorney Firm, Authense Judicial Scrivener Firm, Authense Holdings Inc., and Authense Consulting Inc. In this case, the manager of the personal data shall be Authense Patent Firm.

7. Procedures for Requests for Disclosure

The Firm will respond to requests for notification/disclosure of the purpose of use, correction/addition/deletion of the contents, suspension of use, erasure, and suspension of provision to third parties (hereinafter, "Disclosure") of personal data held by the Firm in accordance with the following methods at the request of the client or other parties.

(1) Persons who can request Disclosure

1. The person in question
2. The legal representative of the person in question in the case of a minor or adult under guardianship
3. A proxy designated by the person in question for the procedure of requesting the Disclosure

(2) Required documents when making request for Disclosure

1. In the case of the person in question making the procedure
   • The Firm's designated application form for the Disclosure (with a seal registered on the certificate of seal registration)
   • Proof of identity
   • Certificate of seal registration
2. In the case of a representative making the procedure
   • The Firm's designated application form for the Disclosure
   • Proof of identity (for both the person in question and the proxy)
   • Power of attorney designated by the Firm

(3) Reception desk for requests for Disclosure
Authense Patent Firm Personal Information Protection Inquiry Desk
Phone number: 05-8881-6025
Email address: info@authense-ip.com

(4) Fee for requests for Disclosure
When requesting the Disclosure of personal information under this section, a fee of 1,000 yen (including tax) will be charged for each request. Please enclose a stamp or postal money order. The fee will not be refunded for any reason.

(5) Method and timing of response to requests for Disclosure
When a request for the Disclosure is made by the client or other parties and it is confirmed by the Firm that it is personal information of the person in question, the Firm will respond in writing to the person in question or the proxy within a reasonable period of time. If the Fiem is unable to respond, it will inform you of the reason.

(6) Cases where non-the Disclosure is necessary
The Firm will not disclose the requested information in the following cases, and the Firm will notify you of the reason if it decide not to disclose the information.

1. When the Firm cannot confirm that the requester is the owner of the personal data it hold.
2. When a proxy applies, but the Firm cannot confirm the proxy's authority.
3. When there are errors in the the disclosure request form or the request procedure does not follow the Firm's reception procedure.
4. When the subject of the the disclosure request does not correspond to personal data the Firm hold.
5. When there is a risk of harming the life, body, honor, property or other rights or interests of the individual or a third party.
6. When there is a risk of significantly obstructing the proper performance of the Firm's business.
7. When there is a risk of violating the duty of confidentiality in our relationship with the client or other party.
8. When it would violate other laws and regulations.
9. When the Firm are not obligated to disclose the information based on the Act on the Protection of Personal Information or other applicable laws and regulations.

8. Voluntariness of Personal Information Provision

Whether or not the client provides their personal information to the Firm is at the discretion of the client. However, if the client does not provide the requested information, the Firm may not be able to achieve the client's intended purpose, such as providing our services or answering inquiries. Please note this in advance.

9. Acquisition of Personal Information by an Unrecognizable Method by the Person Himself/Herself

In order to use the website appropriately and to analyze the usage status of clients, etc., the Firm may use cookies (*1), web beacons (*2), and other similar technologies.
Cookies and web beacons, etc., may be used for statistical analysis and other purposes as anonymous information. In addition, they may be associated with information that identifies clients, etc., in order to provide more customized services.

[When browsing the website]
Users can reject the receipt of cookies and data with similar functions by changing the settings of their browsers, which will disable the association between cookie information/web beacons and anonymous browsing information. However, in that case, users may not be able to achieve their intended purpose through that website. Please be aware of this in advance.

[When reveiving delivery]
The Firm may use web beacons in HTML emails (*3) to improve website operations or for other business activities. When reading HTML emails, browsing information such as whether the email was opened/previewed, and images or text clicked by the user, is transmitted to and recorded by the Firm as information that can identify the customer personally, rather than anonymous information. If you do not want such information to be recorded, please follow the procedure to stop the delivery of HTML emails. However, in that case, you will not be able to use the Firm's HTML email delivery service. Please be aware of this in advance.

• Cookies are a technology that allows a web server to send and store certain data files on a user's computer or other device when the user accesses a specific website, making it possible for the web server to identify the previous usage status of the user's device when the user accesses the same website again.
• Web beacons (clear GIF) are a mechanism for recording browsing information on the web server side when a user views small, invisible images embedded on a website or in an HTML email.
• HTML emails are electronic mails in which the body is written in HTML (language) used for the layout of websites, and usually contain photos or images.

10. Measures for the Safe Management of Personal Information

(1) The Firm takes reasonable security measures to prevent risks related to personal information of clients, such as loss, destruction, alteration, and leakage, etc., under its management. However, the Firm cannot guarantee complete protection against risks related to personal information due to the nature of the internet and email.

(2) The Firm may use advertisements delivered by third parties, such as Yahoo Japan Corporation. In connection with this, these third parties may obtain and use cookie information, identifier for advertisers, and browsing behavior information of users who visit the Firm's website. The cookie information and identifier for advertisers obtained by these third parties will be handled in accordance with their respective privacy policies. Users can access the opt-out page provided on the third party's website to stop the use of cookie information and identifier for advertisers for advertisement delivery by the third party.

(3) The Firm's website may contain links to other websites. The Firm does not take any responsibility for the terms and conditions of use or privacy policies of other websites. Users are advised to always be aware of when they leave the Firm's website and to read the terms and conditions of use and privacy policies of other websites before providing their personal information.

11. Inquiries and Complaints

Please contact the following for inquiries and complaints regarding the handling of personal information by the Firm.
Authense Patent Firm Personal Information Protection Inquiry Desk
Phone number: 03-8881-6025
Email address: info@authense-ip.com