Website terms of use

All use of this website (www.dennisonip.com) is subject to the following Terms and Conditions. If you do not agree with these Terms and Conditions, please do not access or use this website. These terms may be changed by Dennison Associates and MacBeth & Johnson at any time without notice. Your use of the website constitutes your agreement to be bound by these terms.

Terms and Conditions

The materials provided on this site are for information purposes only. These materials constitute general information relating to areas of law familiar to our firm lawyers. They do NOT constitute legal advice; you should retain competent legal counsel to advise you. If you would like to retain Dennison Associates and MacBeth & Johnson, please contact one of our professionals, who will be pleased to discuss whether our firm can assist you. A solicitor-client relationship will arise between you and our firm only if we specifically agree to act for you. Until we specifically agree to act for you on a matter, you should not provide us with any confidential information or material.

Confidentiality of Communications

Dennison Associates and MacBeth & Johnson do not guarantee the confidentiality of any communications sent by email or through its website, or left in voicemail messages on firm telephones. Unsolicited information and material may not be treated as confidential and will not be protected by any solicitor-client privilege. Accessing or using this website does not create a solicitor-client relationship. Although the use of the website may facilitate access to or communications with members of Dennison Associates and MacBeth & Johnson by email or voicemail, receipt of any such communications or transmissions by any member of Dennison Associates and MacBeth & Johnson does not create a solicitor-client relationship, unless our firm agrees to represent you.

Although Dennison Associates and MacBeth & Johnson have made reasonable efforts to ensure that the materials contained on this site are accurate, it does not warrant or guarantee:  the accuracy, currency or completeness of materials; that the site will be available without interruption, error or omission; that defects will be corrected; or that the website and the server(s) that make it available are free from viruses or harmful components. The website and the materials provided on the website are provided “as is” and “as available” without representations, warranties or conditions of any kind, either express or implied.

Privacy Policy

Dennison Associates and MacBeth & Johnson are firms that specialize in intellectual property law with offices in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The lawyers, patent and trade-mark agents and staff at Dennison Associates and MacBeth & Johnson (sometimes referred to as “we”) are committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy outlines how we handle your personal information to protect your privacy.

Privacy Legislation

Since January 1, 2004, all Canadian organizations engaged in commercial activities have been required to comply with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and the Canadian Standards Association Model Code for the Protection of Personal Information incorporated by reference into PIPEDA.

Lastly, as a professional services firm, we have professional and ethical obligations to keep confidential the information we receive in the context of a lawyer-client and agent-client relationship.

Personal Information

Personal information is defined in PIPEDA as information about an identifiable individual, but does not include the name, title or business address or telephone number of an employee of an organization. In other words, it does not include the information that one expects to find on a business card.

Consent to Our Collection of Personal Information

In most cases, we obtain your consent to collect, use and disclose your personal information. Usually, if you retain our firm, we assume that we have your implied consent to our collection and use of your personal information, however, at times we may ask for your express consent, either verbally or in writing. Generally, we collect your personal information directly from you at the start of or during the course of your retainer with our firm. Sometimes we may obtain information about you from other sources such as a government registry or other professionals who serve you.

Use of Personal Information at Dennison Associates and MacBeth & Johnson:  We use your personal information to provide legal advice and services to you, to issue invoices and to maintain our database of clients. In addition, if you apply for a position with Dennison Associates and MacBeth & Johnson we will use your personal information to assess your candidacy. Lastly, we may use your contact information (name, email and postal address) so that we may communicate with you about recent developments in the law, keep you abreast of Dennison Associates and MacBeth & Johnson news and invite you to our firm events.

Withdrawal of Consent

You may withdraw your consent to our collection, use and disclosure of your personal information at any time, subject to legal and/or contractual restrictions and upon reasonable notice. Your withdrawal of consent to our collection, use and disclosure of your personal information may impact our ability to represent you and provide you with legal advice.

Disclosure of Personal Information

Generally, we do not disclose your personal information to third parties without your consent unless permitted or required by applicable laws or court orders. The following are some examples where we may disclose your personal information: such disclosure is necessary to collect fees or disbursements; we contract with a third party to provide us with certain services such as intellectual property services outside of Canada, archival file storage or insurance, (in such cases, we will use contractual or other means to ensure the third party service provider is bound by obligations regarding privacy which are consistent with this policy); or we engage expert witnesses or other law firms or patent or trade-mark agency firms on your behalf.

Accuracy of Your Information

It is important that the information that we have on file be accurate and up-to-date. If, during the course of the retainer, any of your information changes, please inform us so that we can make any necessary changes. We may also ask you from time to time whether your personal information is up-to-date.

Safeguards

Dennison Associates and MacBeth & Johnson use various safeguards to ensure that your personal information is protected against loss, theft, misuse, unauthorized access, disclosure, copying or alteration. These include: security of our physical premises; our professional obligations; security software and firewalls to prevent unauthorized computer access or "hacking"; and internal passwords that restrict access to our electronic files.

Access to your Personal Information

You have a right to challenge the accuracy and completeness of your personal information and to have it amended, as appropriate. You also have a right to request access to your personal information and receive an accounting of how that information has been used and disclosed, subject to certain exceptions prescribed by law. For example, if the requested information would reveal personal information about another individual, your request for access may be limited or denied. If your request for access is denied, we will notify you in writing of the reason for the denial.

To request access or to amend your personal information, please contact the lawyer or agent with whom you normally correspond or write to our Privacy Contact at the address below. Dennison Associates and MacBeth & Johnson will respond within thirty (30) days of receipt of your written request.

Challenging Compliance

Dennison Associates and MacBeth & Johnson will respond to inquiries about its policies and practices relating to its handling of your personal information. Inquiries should be directed to our Privacy Contact using the contact information below. Dennison Associates and MacBeth & Johnson will investigate all complaints and will respond within 30 days of receipt of a written inquiry. If the complaint is found to be justified, Dennison Associates and MacBeth & Johnson will take appropriate measures to resolve it, including, if necessary, amending this Policy and its procedures.

Website Privacy

Like most other commercial websites, we may monitor traffic patterns, site usage and related site information to optimize your visit to our website.

Our website server will automatically collect IP addresses. We may view the IP log from time to time, for example, to maintain the security of our website. We do not link the IP addresses to other personally identifiable information.

You should be aware that we now use "cookies", which are small files containing information about your visit to our website. We use cookies to remember your language preference and to generally make it easier and faster to explore a site. If you do not wish cookies to be used, your browser's options can be set to refuse cookies or to delete any cookies already stored on your computer.

Privacy Contacts

If you have any questions or complaints about this Policy or the handling of your personal information, if you wish to withdraw your consent to our use of your personal information, or to request access to or update any information we have on file, please contact the lawyer or agent with whom you are dealing, or contact:

Privacy Officer
Dennison Associates and MacBeth & Johnson
Suite 301
133 Richmond St. West
Toronto, Ontario
M5H 2L7

Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may amend this Policy at any time. We will post the Policy as amended on our website and will take reasonable steps to inform you of any amendments. We will obtain the necessary consents required under applicable privacy laws if we seek to collect, use or disclose your personal information for purposes other than those to which consent has been obtained unless otherwise required or permitted by law.