Privacy Policy
Effective date: October 19, 2026
Who we are
Patent.org (the "Site") is published by the Law Office of Michael P. Eddy, San Diego, California ("we," "us," "our"). This Privacy Policy explains what information the Site collects, how we use it, who receives it, and the choices you have.
This policy covers the Site only. It does not cover websites we link to. It does not cover information you give us after we agree in writing to represent you; our engagement agreement and our professional duties as lawyers govern that information.
The short version
- The Site does not set cookies and has no advertising or tracking pixels.
- We count visits with GoatCounter, an analytics service that does not set cookies or store IP addresses.
- The Site's fonts come from our own server, not from Google or another outside service.
- If you use the contact form, we receive what you type, your IP address, and your browser details, and the message is delivered to our office email.
- We do not sell or share your personal information, and we do not use it for targeted advertising.
What we collect
When you visit any page
Our web server keeps a standard log entry for each request: your IP address, the date and time, the page requested, the page that linked you to it, your browser's user agent (its name, version, and operating system), and the server's response. The server is a cloud server we rent from DigitalOcean in the United States.
Analytics
We use GoatCounter to count page views. For each view it records the page, the referring site, your browser and operating system, your screen width, your language, and your country or region (worked out from your IP address). GoatCounter does not store your IP address or full user agent and does not set cookies or use your browser's storage. To tell repeat views apart, it holds a temporary identifier made from your IP address and browser in memory for up to 8 hours. GoatCounter's servers are in Finland and Germany. We see only totals, not individual visitors.
The contact form
The form asks for your name, your email address, an optional subject, and your message. When you send it, we also receive your IP address, your browser's user agent, and the time.
The form's security check runs in your browser and uses no third-party captcha service. To stop spam, the form contains a hidden field that people do not see; anything typed there marks the sender as a bot. An IP address that sends spam or floods the form is added to a block list.
Each message sent creates a log entry with the time, your IP address, your name, your email address, and the length of your message. The log does not contain the message itself.
When you call or write
If you call or write to us, we receive whatever you choose to tell us.
What we do not collect
The Site has no accounts, no payments, no cookies, and no precise location tracking. We do not ask for sensitive information. Please do not send health information, financial account numbers, government ID numbers, or passwords through the form.
How we use it
- To run the Site, keep it secure, and fix problems.
- To see, in total, which pages people read.
- To read and answer your message, check for conflicts of interest, and decide whether we can help.
- To stop spam and abuse of the form.
- To meet our legal and professional obligations, including the rules that govern lawyers in California and practitioners before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and to protect our legal rights.
Who receives it
| Recipient | What it receives | Why |
|---|---|---|
| DigitalOcean | Everything the server handles, including server logs, contact log entries, and messages passing through | Hosts the Site and the contact form |
| GoatCounter | The analytics data described above | Counts page views |
| Google (Google Workspace) | Contact form messages, including your name, email, message, IP address, and browser details | Hosts our office email, where messages are delivered |
We may also disclose information when the law requires it (for example, a valid subpoena or court order), to protect our rights or the safety of others, to our own professional advisers under a duty of confidentiality, or to a successor if the law practice is transferred.
What we never do
- Sell your personal information.
- Share it for cross-context behavioral advertising.
- Add you to a mailing list because you contacted us.
- Give it to anyone for their own marketing.
How long we keep it
| Information | How long |
|---|---|
| Web server logs | Up to 15 days (rotated daily; 14 earlier days are kept, then deleted) |
| Analytics | Totals are kept while our GoatCounter account exists; the temporary identifier lasts at most 8 hours |
| Contact form log entries | 12 months |
| Block list entries | Until we lift the block |
| Messages in our email | As long as we need them to respond, to check for conflicts of interest, and to meet our professional and record-keeping obligations. Conflict-check records may be kept for the life of the practice. |
Security
The Site and the contact form use HTTPS, so what you type travels encrypted from your browser to our server. From our server, the message is delivered to our office email. The form can deliver mail only to our office; nothing you type can add another recipient. Access to the server and the email account is limited to our office. No method of sending or storing information is completely secure.
Your choices
- You can read the Site without using the form, and you can call us instead.
- You can block scripts in your browser; the pages still work (the contact form does not), and GoatCounter will not count your visit.
- Do Not Track and Global Privacy Control. The Site does not track you across other websites and does not sell or share personal information, so there is nothing for those signals to switch off. We honor them anyway.
Requests about your information
You may ask us what personal information we have about you, ask us to correct it, or ask us to delete it. Send the request through the contact form at patent.org/contactus or call (800) 770-0940. We may ask for information to confirm your identity. We will answer within 45 days. We may keep information that we must keep by law or professional rule, that we need for conflict checks, or that we need to establish or defend legal claims, and we will tell you if we do. These requests do not cover information that appears in our published coverage of public records, which we handle as described under People named in our coverage.
California disclosures
This section is provided under the California Online Privacy Protection Act and California Civil Code section 1798.83.
- The categories of personal information we collect, and the third parties who receive it, are listed above.
- We do not disclose personal information to third parties for their own direct marketing.
- How we respond to Do Not Track signals is described under Your choices.
- We do not sell or share personal information as the California Consumer Privacy Act defines those terms.
People named in our coverage
Our articles report on public court and agency records, and some name individuals who are parties to those matters. We take names and facts from public filings. We describe allegations as allegations. We do not publish home addresses or personal contact details. In articles published since October 17, 2026, we do not name witnesses, employees, family members, or other individuals who are not parties; we do name judges, counsel of record, and public officials acting in their official roles. Some earlier articles name other individuals who appear in the public record, such as inventors, expert witnesses, and company founders.
If you are named in our coverage and believe something is wrong, out of date, or should not be public, tell us through the contact form. We will review it and correct errors. When we learn that a matter against an individual has ended, for example by dismissal, settlement, or judgment, we update the coverage to say so. We do not remove accurate reporting of public records just because it is requested, but we consider every request.
Children
The Site is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them. If you believe a child has sent us information, contact us and we will delete it.
Visitors outside the United States
The Site is intended for readers in the United States. Information about your visit is processed in the United States, and analytics data is processed in the European Union. If you visit from elsewhere, you understand that your information will be handled as this policy describes.
Changes to this policy
When we change this policy, we post the new version here with a new effective date. If a change is significant, we also note it at the top of this page for 30 days.
Contact
Questions or requests about this policy: use the contact form at patent.org/contactus, call (800) 770-0940, or write to Law Office of Michael P. Eddy, 12544 High Bluff Drive, Suite 200, San Diego, CA 92130.