Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how IamSafeIP Pty Ltd (ABN 97 680 080 246), trading as Marko™ ('we', 'us', or 'our'), collects, uses, discloses, and protects your personal information when you access our website at www.markotm.com and use our trademark registration services. We are committed to complying with the Australian Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs), and applicable international privacy laws including the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) where relevant.

1. Who We Are

IamSafeIP Pty Ltd is an Australian company registered in New South Wales. We operate the Marko™ platform, which provides AI-assisted trademark search, analysis, and registration services backed by licensed intellectual property attorneys. Our registered address is Level 7/185 O'Riordan St, Mascot NSW 2020, Australia.

2. Information We Collect

We collect several categories of information depending on how you interact with our platform:

Personal Information You Provide

• Full name, email address, and contact details when you create an account or submit an enquiry
• Business name, ABN/ACN, business description, industry, and website URL when you use our trademark filing services
• Trademark details including mark name, logo files, goods and services descriptions, and intended use
• Payment information processed securely through Stripe (we do not store your full credit card number)
• Correspondence and communications you send to us, including chat messages with our AI assistant
• Any other information you voluntarily provide through forms, surveys, or support requests

Trademark-Related Information

• Trademark names, logos, and associated imagery you upload for analysis and filing
• Business descriptions, goods and services classifications, and intended use statements
• Country selections and filing preferences
• AI-generated analysis results, search reports, and filing recommendations

Information Collected Automatically

• IP address, browser type and version, operating system, and device information
• Pages visited, time spent on pages, click patterns, and referral URLs
• Cookies and similar tracking technologies (see Section 9 below)
• Location data derived from your IP address (country and region level only)

3. How We Use Your Information

We use your personal information for the following purposes:

• To provide, operate, and maintain our trademark search, analysis, and registration services
• To process and file trademark applications with relevant government intellectual property offices on your behalf
• To facilitate secure payment processing through our payment provider (Stripe)
• To communicate with you about your applications, account status, and service updates
• To provide AI-powered trademark analysis, search results, and recommendations
• To enable our licensed attorneys to review and process your trademark filings
• To improve, personalise, and develop our platform and services
• To comply with legal obligations, respond to lawful requests, and protect our rights

4. Legal Basis for Processing

We process your personal information on the following legal grounds:

• Contractual necessity: Processing required to perform our services as agreed when you submit a trademark filing
• Consent: Where you have given clear consent for us to process your information for specific purposes (e.g., marketing communications)
• Legitimate interests: Where processing is necessary for our legitimate business interests, such as improving our services, preventing fraud, and ensuring platform security
• Legal obligation: Where we are required to process your information to comply with applicable laws, regulations, or court orders

5. Disclosure of Your Information

We may share your personal information with the following categories of recipients:

• Licensed intellectual property attorneys and trademark agents who review and file applications on your behalf
• Government trademark offices (e.g., IP Australia, USPTO, UKIPO, EUIPO) as required for filing and prosecuting your trademark applications
• Payment processors (Stripe) for secure transaction processing
• Cloud infrastructure providers (Microsoft Azure) for secure data hosting and storage
• AI service providers (OpenAI) for trademark analysis and our AI assistant functionality, subject to data processing agreements
• Professional advisers including solicitors, accountants, and auditors where necessary

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties for marketing purposes. All third-party service providers are contractually required to protect your information and use it only for the purposes we specify.

6. International Data Transfers

Our primary data infrastructure is hosted on Microsoft Azure in the Australia East region. However, some of our service providers (such as Stripe and OpenAI) may process data in the United States or other jurisdictions. Where we transfer personal information outside Australia, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, including contractual obligations that provide a comparable level of protection to the Australian Privacy Principles. For users in the European Economic Area, we rely on Standard Contractual Clauses or other approved transfer mechanisms.

7. Data Retention

We retain your personal information for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including to satisfy legal, regulatory, accounting, or reporting requirements. Trademark application records are retained for the duration of your trademark registration (typically 10 years) plus an additional period to support renewal and enforcement. Account information is retained while your account is active and for a reasonable period thereafter. You may request deletion of your account and associated data at any time, subject to our legal obligations to retain certain records.

8. Data Security

We take reasonable steps to protect your personal information against unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. Our platform is hosted on Microsoft Azure, which maintains SOC 2 and ISO 27001 certifications for its infrastructure. Data is encrypted in transit using TLS 1.2+ and encrypted at rest by our cloud database and storage providers. User authentication is managed through Clerk, a dedicated identity platform. Payment information is processed by Stripe, which is PCI DSS Level 1 certified — we do not store your full credit card details on our servers. Despite these measures, no method of electronic transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

9. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

We use cookies and similar technologies to enhance your experience on our platform:

• Essential cookies: Required for the platform to function properly, including session management and security features
• Analytics cookies: Help us understand how visitors use our website so we can improve it (e.g., page views, navigation patterns)
• Functional cookies: Remember your preferences such as language and country selection

You can manage your cookie preferences through your browser settings. Disabling essential cookies may affect the functionality of our platform.

10. Third-Party Services

Our platform integrates with the following third-party services, each governed by their own privacy policies:

• Stripe (payment processing) — stripe.com/privacy
• Microsoft Azure (cloud hosting and infrastructure) — privacy.microsoft.com
• OpenAI (AI-powered analysis and assistant) — openai.com/privacy
• Clerk (authentication and user management) — clerk.com/privacy

11. Your Rights

Under the Australian Privacy Act and applicable international privacy laws, you have the following rights regarding your personal information:

• Right of access: Request a copy of the personal information we hold about you
• Right to correction: Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal information
• Right to deletion: Request deletion of your personal information, subject to our legal retention obligations
• Right to restrict processing: Request that we limit how we use your information in certain circumstances
• Right to data portability: Request a machine-readable copy of your personal information (where technically feasible)
• Right to withdraw consent: Where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time without affecting the lawfulness of prior processing

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at privacy@markotm.com. We will respond to your request within 30 days. We may need to verify your identity before processing your request.

12. Children's Privacy

Our services are not directed to individuals under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If we become aware that we have collected personal information from a child without parental consent, we will take steps to delete that information promptly.

13. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, legal requirements, or other factors. We will notify you of material changes by posting the updated policy on our website with a revised 'Last updated' date. We encourage you to review this policy periodically. Your continued use of our services after changes are posted constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.

14. Complaints

If you believe we have breached the Australian Privacy Principles or applicable privacy laws, you may lodge a complaint with us at privacy@markotm.com. We will investigate your complaint and respond within 30 days. If you are not satisfied with our response, you may escalate your complaint to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) at www.oaic.gov.au. Users in the European Economic Area may also lodge a complaint with their local data protection authority.

15. Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our handling of your personal information, please contact our Privacy Officer:

Email: privacy@markotm.com
Address: Level 7/185 O'Riordan St, Mascot NSW 2020, Australia