Privacy, data handling and consent
The IP First Response chatbot (the chatbot) is an AI-enabled source of information provided by IP Australia. It is designed to help explain publicly available intellectual property information in plain English. It is not intended to provide specific advice about the circumstances of identified individuals, including yourself or others.
This Privacy Notice describes how IP Australia collects and manages personal information that is processed by the chatbot. For further information about IP Australia’s privacy practices, and how to access, correct, or make a complaint in relation to your personal information held by IP Australia, please see IP Australia’s Privacy Policy(Opens in a new tab/window).
Your Privacy Rights
Your personal information is protected by law, including the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs), which regulate how entities including IP Australia may collect, use, disclose and store personal information.
IP Australia will only collect your personal information where it is reasonably necessary for, or directly related to, the performance of our functions or activities.
Using the chatbot
Do not provide personal or other types of information.
Personal information is any information (or an opinion) about an individual, when that individual is reasonably identifiable in the relevant context. Please do not enter personal information into the chatbot or ask it to generate personal information. This includes:
- names, contact details, or business identifiers
- other information about an identifiable individual, whether that is yourself or someone else
- sensitive information about an individual, including, for example, information about their racial or ethnic origin, health or disability, political opinions, or religious beliefs or affiliations
- commercially sensitive information
- legally privileged or confidential material
Please also do not enter any of the following other types of information into the chatbot:
You can use the chatbot anonymously without creating an account or identifying yourself.
However, any information that you do choose to enter into the free-text fields in the chatbot will be collected and further handled by IP Australia.
By entering information into the chatbot, you are consenting to the handling of that information in accordance with the Privacy Act, this Privacy Notice, and IP Australia’s Privacy Policy. You are also warranting that you have the appropriate authorisation to permit such handling.
As an assurance measure, automated controls are used to detect any personal information in chatbot conversations and remove it from long-term storage where possible. However that process may not be 100% effective and IP Australia may still store personal information in long term storage if you choose to provide it.
Do not rely on information without appropriate validation
Like all AI tools, it is possible that the chatbot may get some information incorrect or otherwise present information in a false or misleading way. The chatbot is designed to help explain publicly available intellectual property information in plain English, and can direct you to appropriate places to seek further information.
However, it is not intended to replace the need for reading relevant source information and / or seeking qualified and professional advice about your specific circumstances if this is necessary.
If you are seeking information that is important for your situation, you should always check the original source and if appropriate, arrange to speak with a qualified professional.
You are responsible for validating any information presented to you by the chatbot before relying on it.
How information entered into the chatbot may be handled
Personal information entered into the IP First Response chatbot may be collected and handled for the purpose of generating the chatbot’s outputs.
Where practicable, personal information may be de-identified. Limited records may also be retained for defined purposes such as:
- service assurance and monitoring
- quality improvement
- troubleshooting
- improving IP Australia content and services
- informing service design and policy development.
Subject to the below, personal information entered into the chatbot is not used:
- to make decisions about individuals
- for marketing or direct contact
- to train or fine-tune AI models
We may disclose your personal information to third parties where the disclosure is required or authorised by a court or tribunal order, under an Australian law, or compelled by Parliament. For example, this could happen if IP Australia receives a court order compelling the production of information.
Use of AI and third-party technology
The chatbot uses generative AI to produce responses. User inputs are not used to train AI models. The chatbot is designed in accordance with the Policy(Opens in a new tab/window) for the responsible use of AI in government, and draws its knowledge from publicly available material published by IP Australia.
Where third-party technology providers are involved, IP Australia may disclose personal information to these third parties for the purpose of providing the service. However, IP Australia applies contractual, technical and governance controls to protect information and limit inappropriate use or re-identification where this is the case. It is possible that personal information may be temporarily held overseas when being processed, including as facilitated by relevant third-party technology providers. However, such personal information will only be stored on a persistent basis in Australia.
Consent
By selecting “Start chat”, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this notice, and agree that:
- the chatbot provides general information only and does not provide legal advice
- you must not enter personal information into the chatbot or ask the chatbot to generate personal information
- you understand that the chatbot may generate information that is not correct and it is your responsibility to validate any information you seek to rely on
- IP Australia will handle any information you enter into the chatbot in accordance with this Privacy Notice and IP Australia’s Privacy Policy(Opens in a new tab/window).
If you do not consent to the handling of your information as described above, you will not be able to access the chatbot.