General terms and conditions of use and sale of website "MCIPO"

Preamble

The Monaco Industrial Property Office (MCIPO) run by the Industrial Property Division of the Business Development Agency created by Sovereign Ordinance No. 9,827 of 15 March 2023 establishing a Business Development Agency, keeps special registers and issues industrial property certificates.

These special registers contain information provided by the government authorities, based on declarations made by applicants, the holders of patents and other rights, and/or agents (i.e. individuals or entities with authorisation to file applications on behalf of holders).

These Terms & Conditions (T&Cs) apply to the payment of fees charged when you:

• apply to register a trademark;
• apply to renew a trademark or patent;
• apply to change the rights holder’s address;
• request a certificate of identity;
• request a transcript of an entry in the special register;
• request a Soleau envelope.

These applications and requests will be accepted only after you have completed all of the necessary formalities, paid the relevant fee, and moved onto the next page of the website.
For the simple user consulting free information, the simple use of the Website implies acceptance of the T&Cs.
The User thus confirms that he/she has read and understood all of these conditions before using the  Website and undertakes to respect them.

In accordance with article 46 paragraph 2 of Sovereign Order 3.413 of 29th August 2011 on various measures relating to the relationship between the Administration and the constituent, the terms and conditions of use of the website that may be invoked against the User are those that are accessible electronically on the day the User uses said Website.

The T&Cs are applicable during the entire period of use of the Website.
The Administration reserves the right to modify these T&Cs at any time, particularly in the event of a change in the procedures offered by the Monaco Industrial Property Office ("MCIPO"). The amended T&Cs shall come into force as soon as they are published on the Website and shall prevail over any other version.

In accordance with the provisions of Article 43 paragraph 2 of Sovereign Order 3.413 of 29 August 2011 on various measures relating to the relationship between the Administration and the citizen, the creation of online purchasing services on this Website shall not have the effect of removing the possibility for the User to carry out the procedure by a means other than the Website, i.e. by filling in a paper form and handing it in to the Office.
The User may at any time renounce the use of the Website but is responsible for its previous use.

To carry out the procedure by another means than the Website, the User must send his request by post or by going to the counter of the Economic Development Department – Industrial Property Office.

Whenever the T&Cs are updated, you must accept the new version before paying for an official document or requesting a paid-for service via the website. The User is nevertheless advised to regularly refer to the latest version of the T&Cs available on the Website to be sure of the applicable version of the document. The latest version of the GC can be downloaded on a durable medium by clicking on the "Legal information" link at the bottom of the Website page.
For any technical information or complaint, the User is invited to contact MCIPO by e-mail by clicking on the “Contact” link at the bottom of the Website homepage.
 

Article 1 - Definitions

The following words and expressions beginning with a capital letter, in the singular or plural, are used herein with the following meaning:

• « Administration » : means the Government of Monaco/ Economic Development Department ("E.D.D") and in particular the Industrial Property Office ("MCIPO") ;
• « Strong authentication » : means an identity verification system designed to strengthen the security of online payment transactions ;
• « Personal Account »: refers to the account created by the User to access MCIPO.gouv.mc ;
• « General Terms and Conditions of Use and Sale » or « T&Cs » : refers to the present document  ;
• « Documents and Services » : refers to the official documents and services that can be ordered or carried out in exchange for payment via the Website. These include transcripts of entries in the Special Register, certificates of identity, Soleau envelopes, and applications to register, renew, or enter patents, trademarks, and industrial designs in the special registers ;
• « Personal data » or « Nominative information » : means any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person ("data subject"). An "identifiable natural person" is any natural person who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier, such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier, or to one or more factors specific to his or her physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity ;
• « Website » : means this website relating to industrial property procedures in Monaco;
• « Payment Service Provider » : means an entity authorised by the Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Résolution (for Monaco) and regulated by the European Directive PSD2 (which also applies to Monaco) to offer online payment services ;
• « User » : means any person (including the Individual User and the Professional User) who visits one or more pages of the Website, whether to consult the information available free of charge or to purchase one or more of the Official Documents available and/or to benefit from any service (free of charge or subject to a charge) deployed by the Economic Development Department – Industrial Property Office ("MCIPO") from the Website. The User may be an Individual User or a Professional  User, i.e. any natural or legal person, public or private, who is acting for purposes relating to his commercial, industrial, craft or agricultural activity, including when he is acting in the name or on behalf of another professional.

Article 2 - Purpose

The purpose of these General Terms and Conditions is to specify the conditions under which the User uses the Website implemented by the Economic Development Department and payment terms for Documents and Services and the "Online payment" functionality allowing the User to purchase one or more official Documents and Services.

Article 3 - Access to the Website

The User acknowledges that access to the Website requires compliance with all of the provisions defined in these clauses.

The consultation of the Website is accessible free of charge for the User with an Internet access. Any costs related to access to the Website (hardware, software or internet access costs) are exclusively at the User's expense. They cannot give rise to any reimbursement by the Administration. The User is solely responsible for the proper functioning of his computer equipment and his Internet access.

The Website comprises a part accessible to all Users and a part accessible only to users authenticated via MonGuichet.mc.

The purchase of Documents and Services within the said Website is made following the identification of the User via a personal and/or professional Account available on the website MyGuichet.mc, to be created, if necessary, on the corresponding website. You are responsible for keeping your login credentials safe and secure, and ensuring your password is sufficiently strong.
 

The User undertakes to immediately notify the Administration of any unauthorized use of his/her personal Account. The Administration shall not be held responsible for any damage caused by the use of the User ID and password by an unauthorized third party.

The Administration reserves the right to refuse access to the Website unilaterally and without prior notice to any User who does not comply with these GC.
 

The Administration reserves the right to cancel, without prior notice or compensation of any kind, any access to the Website that is the object of an illicit use or of an act infringing the rights of the Person and more generally the interests of third parties.

For information purposes and without any commitment on the part of the Administration, the Website is accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, except in cases of force majeure, fortuitous event or the act of a third party, such as those usually accepted and defined by the case law of the Monegasque courts. Likewise, the Administration reserves the right to interrupt the Website for maintenance or updating purposes or for any other reason without having to justify this.

Consequently, the Administration is not bound by any obligation of result concerning the accessibility of the Website and is in no way responsible for interruptions and the consequences that may result from them.
 

Article 4 - Commitment regarding the use of the website and its content

The Administration reserves the right to suspend, interrupt or limit access to all or part of the Website at any time and for any period of time (including any permanent cessation) without prior notice. The User is informed that the Administration may terminate or modify the characteristics of the Website at any time and without notice.

The User undertakes not to commit any illicit or fraudulent act on this Website.

The User undertakes to enter all the data required to complete the procedure under his/her sole responsibility, control and direction and undertakes to provide complete, accurate and up-to-date information and not to impersonate any third party.

In particular, in the context of online payment, the User may pay for Official Documents and Services on his own behalf or on behalf of a third party (in particular, agents).

These General Terms and Conditions of Use and Sale prohibit any act that may contribute to tarnishing the name and/or image of the State of Monaco, or that may damage, overload, disable, discredit or defeat the Website.

In particular, the following is prohibited: the transmission, by electronic mail or by any other means, of content serving the purpose of persecution, harassment, defamation, discrimination, insults, or any other dissemination of information or opinion of a personal nature on one or more individuals or infringing on the rights of the person or of minor users.

Correspondence must always be courteous and comply with the basic rules of politeness.
 

Article 5 – Principles and conditions of online payment

Online payment for the procedures « Apply to register a trademark », « Apply to renew a trademark or a patent », « Apply to change the owner's address», « Request a document » and « Purchase a Soleau envelope»  is made exclusively by CB, MASTERCARD and VISA bank cards and in euro currency.
The User may simultaneously pay for several official Documents and Services in one area (patents, trademarks or industrial designs).
Payment is due when the order is placed, using two sequential steps.
 

Firstly, a "Validation" Transaction is used to check the validity of the bank card provided by the User; this step, carried out with the provision of bank card information by the User, takes place at the end of the procedure and enables a purchase to be finalized.

In a second step, a "Payment" Transaction enables the actual payment of the Documents and Services of the procedure; this step is carried out after the "Validation" Transaction.

In order to carry out the strong authentication during the "Validation" Transaction, the identification data (first name, last name, etc.) of the holder of the personal account of the connected Website are provided to the Payment Service Provider.
 

The bank card information (full number, name of the holder, expiry date and security code) is processed directly by the Payment Service Provider; the number and verification code of the bank cards used are never known or kept by the Website. Consequently, the Administration accepts no liability in the event of the User's banking information being compromised, for example, due to fraudulent use of a bank card or a security breach for which the Payment Service Provider is responsible.

The User thus undertakes to enter the data required for online payment under his full responsibility, control and direction and undertakes to provide complete, accurate and up-to-date information and not to impersonate any third party. In particular, only the holder of a bank card is authorised to provide and use this bank card information for payment purposes.

The complete secure management of the online payment is entrusted to the Payment Service Provider LYRA - www.Lyra.com. LYRA is a PCI DSS-compliant online payment solution and is ACPR- pproved. The MCIPO site has choosen PayZen solution from LYRA.
The general data retention policy of LYRA is available at www. https://www.lyra.com/gdpr/.

Article 6 – Caracteristics of the service and prices

The User can order different Documents or Services on the Website, these Documents or Services are prepared by the department dedicated to the Monaco Industrial Property Office ("MCIPO") of the Economic Development Department ("EDD"), according to the typology and cost established by the competent authorities. The details of the Documents and Services and their cost are shown on the Website and are identified before any order is placed by the User.

The tariff of the Document or Service on the day of the order is the only one applicable.

All the characteristics of the Website may vary according to the evolution of the missions of the Economic Development Department – Industrial Property Office, and the legislative and regulatory provisions applicable to it, but also according to the nature of the information provided by the managers or representatives of companies subject to registration or ex officio or any other source of information.

The fees for the Documents and Services issued by the Industrial Property Office are set by regulation.

At present, the current fee schedule is accessible via the following link, subject to updates implemented on the Website: https://mcipo.gouv.mc/en/tarifs.

Article 7 – Placing an order

The User undertakes to enter the data required for the online order under his or her full responsibility, control and direction and undertakes to provide complete, accurate and up-to-date information and not to impersonate any third party.

The ordering process is as follows :

•    From the Website homepage, the User can search for the Document(s) / Service(s) he/she wishes to order, select it (them) and add it (them) to his/her shopping cart by clicking on the "Add to cart" button;
•    The Document(s) or Service(s) selected is (are) included in the "My Basket" section and the amount due by the User is displayed;
•    The User then validates the "Proceed to payment" button or goes directly to "My basket";
•    A summary of the order is displayed showing each Document or Service selected, the price of each Document or Service ordered and the total price of the order;
•    The User has the possibility to modify or delete his/her choice by clicking on the icons provided for this purpose;
•    The User must validate by clicking on the "Next Step" button;
•    The User connects via their existing personal Account or creates a personal Account by clicking on the "Connect via Monguichet.mc" button. Once connected, the User clicks on the "Next Step" button;
•    The User must then fill in the "Billing Information Sheet" on which he/she will indicate all the requested contact information. Once the necessary information has been filled in, the User clicks on the "Next Step" button;
•    The User validates the General Terms and Conditions after a complete reading of them, then clicks on the "I accept the General Terms and Conditions" button;
•    The User is redirected to the PayZen dedicated payment page where he/she fills in his/her credit card information and validates;
•    At any time, prior to the purchase, the User has the option of identifying and correcting any errors made when entering his/her information;
•    If the User notices an error after purchasing the Document(s) or Service(s), he/she must contact the Administration using a contact form via the link at the foot of the page.
 

PFor information, the GC can be downloaded on a durable medium by clicking on the "Legal Information" link within the said Website.
The User has the possibility of accessing his orders via the heading "My orders".
 

Article 8 – Order confirmation and delivery

Once you have confirmed your order, the Website will automatically send you a confirmation email. The order delivery process differs depending on whether you have ordered a Document or a Service:

• For patent renewals, the receipt is emailed to you automatically in PDF format;
• For trademark registrations, renewals, transcripts of register entries and certificates, you will be sent an email containing a summary of your order.   These services must be carried out manually, and so the relevant Document will be sent to you by email after processing;
• Where the documents or services ordered cannot be delivered electronically (e.g. if you have ordered a Soleau envelope), they will be delivered to you by post at the address indicated in the cart.
   

Within the payment summary ticket are:

• The order reference, 
• The identity of the buyer,
• The date of purchase,
• The list of Documents or Service purchased,
• The amount of the order.
  
   

Article 9 - Intellectual property

Article 9.1 - Ownership of the Website

All elements of the Website are and remain the exclusive intellectual property of the Administration.
All the rights attached to any content published on this Website are the exclusive property of the Administration, unless otherwise stated, assigning ownership to a third party. This includes, but is not limited to, all texts, comments, titles, names, photographs, sounds, images, data, drawings, animated sequences with or without sound, videos, functionalities and graphic charts and are protected by the legal provisions in force relating to copyright protection in Monaco.
Any form of use, representation, transformation, reproduction, adaptation or dissemination, in whole or in part, of any element or content of this Website on any medium and by any process whatsoever is prohibited, unless expressly authorized by the Administration, and constitutes a criminal offence punishable by the Monegasque Courts and Tribunals.
The trademarks and/or logos owned by the Administration and appearing on the Website are trademarks protected by the legal provisions applicable in Monaco. Any reproduction, in whole or in part, without the authorization of the owner constitutes an offence punishable by the Monegasque Courts and Tribunals.
 

Article 9.2 Ownership of information

The information contained on the Website, resulting from entries in the national patents Register, in the national trademarks Register or in the national Designs Register is the property of their respective owners. The User is prohibited from taking any action to appropriate or attempt to appropriate any information or content of the files, in particular with a view to creating a documentary database or to reconstituting all or part of the original files. The right of use enjoyed by the User includes the viewing of information on screen and the copying of Documents accessible on request, in return for payment. It is exclusively reserved for private use and does not confer any reproduction or redistribution rights, particularly for commercial purposes.

Any use of the information obtained to constitute a database for commercial purposes is prohibited.
The extraction and re-use of all or part of the content of the information contained on the Website or in the Registers on another medium, by any means and in any form whatsoever, is prohibited.
 

Please note:

• any extraction or reuse of a complete, coherent, or relevant set of data proposed is considered to concern a “qualitatively substantial part” of the database.
• any extraction or reuse of a volume of data greater than 10% of the annual flow per year and/or over 10 queries per minute is considered to concern a “quantitatively substantial part” of the database.
   

Article 10 - Liability

Article 10.1 Responsibility of the User

The User is solely responsible for the steps he/she takes, the use he/she makes of the Website and the direct or indirect consequences of this use. The User must use the Website in accordance with the regulations in force and in particular the recommendations of the Commission for the Control of Personal Information (ccin.mc). Under no circumstances may the Administration be held responsible for any damage of any nature whatsoever resulting from the use of the information provided. The User guarantees the Administration against any request, claim, demand and/or recourse of any kind, resulting from any violation of these stipulations. The Website must not be used in an abusive or malicious manner.

In general, the User undertakes to use the Website:

•    In compliance with the laws, the Monegasque regulations, the rights of third parties and in compliance with intellectual property rights;
•    In a loyal manner and in accordance with its purpose;
•    Under his exclusive responsibility.

The User of the Website is bound to respect these General Terms and Conditions and shall refrain from using or attempting to use the Website and its functionalities for purposes other than those provided for herein.

The User is invited to report any problem or content that appears to be illicit, offensive, shocking or not in accordance with morality by using the contact form on the said Website. In such cases, the Administration may take any action it deems necessary in the event of unauthorized or illicit use of its Website.
 

Article 10.2 Liability of the Administration

The Administration shall not be held liable to the User for damages of any kind, direct or indirect, resulting from the use of the Website, nor from its unavailability.
Furthermore, the Administration cannot be held responsible for delays or failures due to force majeure or to an event beyond their control, or due to the User or a third party.
The Administration endeavors to keep the information published on this Website up to date and accurate, but declines all responsibility for the use of erroneous or obsolete information.
 

Article 11 - Security of the website

The Website requires a sufficiently fast Internet configuration as well as equipment and material means to access and browse the Website. The User is aware of the risks inherent to the use of the Internet and accepts the limits and risks.

The Administration shall make its best efforts to secure the Website with regard to the risks incurred and the nature of the data processed.

The User is prohibited from fraudulently accessing or remaining in all or part of the Website, from deleting or modifying the data contained in the Website, from fraudulently introducing data, from altering the Website or from disrupting its proper functioning.

The User undertakes not to attempt to modify or manipulate the pages of the Website in such a way as to conceal, divert or modify them.

It is strictly forbidden: (i) to reproduce, modify, adapt, alter the Website and/or its content; (ii) to access or seek to access the source code of the Website, using decompilation techniques, reverse engineering or any other means whatsoever; (iii) to make available or transmit parts of the Website or of the content whose access is restricted to third parties; (iv) use the Website for any unlawful purpose, and as such, the User agrees not to include any false, incomplete or inaccurate information, viruses, Trojan horses, worms, time bombs or any other programs designed to damage, adversely affect, intercept or defeat any system, Data or personal information.

The User must have a secure connection or network, an antivirus, an updated operating system to prevent as much as possible the Administration from any damage related to an unsecured use of the Website. The User undertakes to take all appropriate measures to protect his data and equipment, he is responsible for the security of his data and his network which he uses at his own risk.

In the event that the User becomes aware of an event that may affect the security of the Website, such as an error, fault, malfunction, intrusion, loss of data, vulnerability or irregularity, he/she is invited to contact the Administration immediately using the contact form on the said Website.
 

Article 12 - Protection of personal data

In accordance with the provisions applicable to the protection of personal data in the Principality of Monaco, the personal data collected through this Website is collected by the Administration (Economic Development Department/Industrial Property Office) which acts as the data controller.
 

Article 12.1 Purpose of processing

As part of the operation of this Website, the Administration uses Personal Data for the purpose of “Management the website of the Industrial Property Office".

This processing enables you to:

• view free public information about industrial property online;
• file applications to register trademarks and renew trademarks and patents online;
• purchase certified Documents about current industrial property rights online;
• purchase one or more Documents or Services, either for yourself or on behalf of a third party;
• provide your payment card details in order to pay fees for Documents and Services;
• access the website and view your order history.
   

Article 12.2 Justification for processing

The processing falls within the framework of the Administration's missions (Ordinance No. 9.827 of 15/03/2023 creating the Directorate of Economic Development). It is justified by a reason of public interest and by the achievement of legitimate interests pursued by the Administration:

•    To propose to the Users to carry out and pay their certified Documents or Services by modern, ecological, economic and secure means;
•    To simplify administrative procedures for Users by enabling them to carry out their procedures electronically without having to travel in accordance with Sovereign Order 3.413 of 29 August 2011 relating to various measures concerning relations between the Administration and the constituent.

In addition, access to the Website via Monguichet.mc is subject to Users' prior consent to the processing of their Personal Data by means of a checkbox available when registering/creating a Personal Account.
 

Article 12.3 Mandatory nature of the information requested or collected

Some of the information collected as part of the Website is mandatory and is required to process and pay for Documents and Services. If this information is not provided, payment cannot be made and the Document or Service requested cannot be carried out.
 

Article 12.4 Identity of the recipients

The personal data processed within the framework of the Website functionalities are intended for the Administration and shall not be communicated for commercial or advertising purposes.

The government undertakes not to disclose these data to third parties, except where permitted by law. The Personal Data collected will also be disclosed solely to authorised personnel of the State of Monaco (Information Technologies Department), in strict compliance with applicable provisions and for support and maintenance purposes.
In order to carry out the strong authentication during the "Validation" Transaction, the identification data (first name, surname) of the holder of the personal account of the connected Website is provided to the Payment Service Provider.

The credit card information (full number, name of the holder, expiry date and security code) is processed directly by the Payment Service Provider; the full number and verification code of the credit cards used are never known or kept by the Website.

LYRA's general data retention policy is available on the link www.lyra.com/gdpr/.
 

Article 12.5 Users' rights to their Personal Data

In accordance with the provisions applicable to the protection of Personal Data in the Principality of Monaco, the persons concerned by this processing have a right of access to the Personal Data concerning them, a right of opposition, if necessary, as well as the right to request that inaccurate, incomplete or outdated data be rectified, updated or deleted.

In order to exercise these rights or for any questions regarding the processing of their Personal Data within the framework of the Website, the User may make a written request by post to Economic Development Department, 9 rue du Gabian, MC 98000 MONACO, specifying the subject of the request, as well as his/her first and last name.

To ensure the confidentiality of the reply and to ensure that only the person concerned by the data is replied to, proof of identity, in black and white, may be requested from the applicant.

If the person who has exercised his/her rights considers, after having contacted the Administration, that his/her rights have not been respected, he/she may lodge a complaint with the Commission for the Control of Personal Information (ccin.mc).
 

Article 12.6 Security of processing

The State of Monaco shall take the appropriate physical, technical and organisational measures to ensure the security and confidentiality of Personal Data, in particular with a view to protecting it against loss, accidental destruction, alteration and unauthorised access.
 

Article 13 - Hypertext links

The creation of hyperlinks to this Website does not require prior authorisation from the government, and is permitted for any media, with the exception of those disseminating information of a commercial nature unrelated to intellectual property, or of a controversial, pornographic, or xenophobic nature, or which may more cause wider offence. 

The explicit mention of the State of Monaco in the title of the link is desired. The Administration reserves the right to request the removal of any existing links that contravene the purpose of the Website.

The Administration's Website may contain hypertext links to external sites. The Administration does not control these sites and cannot be held responsible in any way whatsoever for the content published on these external sites.

The Administration cannot be held responsible for any damage or loss resulting from or in connection with the use of these external sites. Website Users are fully responsible for and bear the risks associated with the use of these external sites. No liability can be claimed from the Administration.

Any Website User is invited to contact the Administration in the event of a malfunctioning link by using the contact form on the said Website.
 

Article 14 - General

The titles are given for information only. They have no contractual value.

In the event of difficulty of interpretation between the titles of the articles and the text of their content, the text of the articles shall take precedence.

If any of the provisions of these terms and conditions are or become null and void with regard to a present or future legal provision, they shall be deemed to be unwritten without affecting the validity of the other provisions of these terms and conditions.

No tolerance on the application of the stipulations of the GC can be interpreted as a renunciation to take advantage of it later.
 

Article 15 - Language

The GC are written in French and English. Only the French version shall be deemed authentic in the event of a conflict of interpretation between the different language versions; the French version of the GC is available on the said Website.

 

Article 16 - Competent juridiction

Any dispute relating to the use of the Website is subject to Monegasque law and the Monegasque Courts shall have sole jurisdiction.
In the absence of an amicable settlement, in the event of a dispute relating to the interpretation, formation, validity or execution of the GC, the Users give express and exclusive jurisdiction to the competent courts of the Principality of Monaco, notwithstanding multiple defendants.