Protection and maintenance

The storage period of an i-DEPOT starts on the date of submission and, depending on the choice you made when submitting, runs for five or ten years. Irrespective of your initial choice, you can extend the storage period by five-year period an unlimited number of times. Therefore, in principle, you can store an i-DEPOT for your client in perpetuity.

You must, however, ensure that it is always renewed in a timely fashion. Two months before the storage period expires, you will receive a message from us by e-mail. If you submitted your i-DEPOT on paper originally (i-DEPOT envelope), you will be notified by post. You alone are responsible for the timely renewal of your i-DEPOT. To ensure that you receive our notifications in good order, please make sure that you have provided us with your current contact details.

If you do not request that the storage period be extended, we will remove the i-DEPOT and the i-DEPOT certificate will be destroyed. The i-DEPOT certificate remains valid even after the i-DEPOT has been removed. The date stamp issued is proof that the content of the i-DEPOT existed at that time.

If you are planning not to extend the storage period, download the i-DEPOT certificate (PDF) before the storage period expires. You cannot request the certificate from us after expiry of the storage period.

How do I extend the storage period?

1. Log in to My BOIP;
2. Go to the 'i-DEPOT overview'.
3. Click in the overview on the blue link in the i-DEPOT number that you want to renew. This takes you to the i-DEPOT file;
4. Click on the 'Extend the storage period' link on the right-hand side of the screen.

Have you published an i-DEPOT in whole or in part on i-D Space for a client? If he subsequently decides not to extend the storage period, publication on i-D Space will be terminated.

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You can choose to publish an i-DEPOT in whole or in part on i-D Space. If you publish an i-DEPOT in full, the i-DEPOT certificate will also be made public, including all attached files. If you publish an i-DEPOT in part, you only make one or more attached files public. Partial disclosure is only possible for i-DEPOTs submitted from 27 September 2016.

Reasons to make an i-DEPOT public

There may be several reasons to make an i-DEPOT available in whole or in part:

• You want the public to know that your client is the originator of a creation;
• Your client wants to be able to prove the date from which his creation existed;
• Your client want to find partners to finance or help develop his concept, format, software or innovative product;
• By publishing on i-D Space, you want to preclude others from applying for a patent or design right to the contents of your client's i-DEPOT.

Does you client intend to protect his invention or design against counterfeiting, licensing or sale in future? Be aware that publishing the i-DEPOT could be novelty-destroying and so preclude him from obtaining patent or registered design protection.

How do I publish an i-DEPOT?

1. Log in to My BOIP;
2. Click on i-DEPOT overview;
3. Click in the overview on the blue link in the i-DEPOT number that you want to publish. This takes you to the i-DEPOT file;
4. Click on the 'Publish i-DEPOT' link on the right-hand side of the screen.

During the process, you will be asked whether you want to publish the i-DEPOT in whole or in part. If you chose partial disclosure, you can specify exactly which files you want to publish or not publish.

How can I modify published data?

1. Log in to My BOIP;
2. Click on i-DEPOT overview;
3. Click in the overview on the blue link in the number of the i-DEPOT in which you want to modify published data. This will take you to your i-DEPOT file;
4. Click on the 'Edit published data' link on the right-hand side of the screen.

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You can remove a published i-DEPOT from the public domain at any time and, if you wish, publish it again at a later date.

How can I remove an i-DEPOT from the public domain?

1. Log in to My BOIP;
2. Click on i-DEPOT overview;
3. Click in the overview on the blue link in the i-DEPOT number. This takes you to the i-DEPOT file;
4. Click on the 'Remove i-DEPOT from public domain' link on the right-hand side of the screen.

Removing an i-DEPOT from the public domain does not change the fact that it was once public. The period during which an i-DEPOT was published remains visible on i-D Space.

To My BOIP

You can transmit an i-DEPOT certificate (PDF) digitally to another party, for example in the event that your client wants the i-DEPOT to be managed by another party or has sold the i-DEPOT to another organization or person. The data on the i-DEPOT certificate is not altered when it is transmitted. The i-DEPOT certificate is in fact a certified PDF. This means that if the content of the PDF is altered, it is no longer valid as proof.

How can I transmit an i-DEPOT?

To transmit an i-DEPOT, you need a transmission code. You can obtain such a code by logging into My BOIP and selecting the 'Generate transmission code' option. Once the code has been generated, you can give it to the party receiving the i-DEPOT. They must create a My BOIP account, log in and click on 'Take over i-DEPOT' option. They must then fill in a number of fields and enter the transmission code. If the transmission data is correct, the i-DEPOT transmitted will appear in their i-DEPOT overview within an hour. Naturally, it will be removed from your own overview.

If you transmit an i-DEPOT to another party, you no longer have control over its content. This means that the other party may make information in the i-DEPOT public, for instance.

To My BOIP

You can remove an i-DEPOT certificate (in PDF) from the i-DEPOT overview.

Download the i-DEPOT certificate to your own computer before your remove the i-DEPOT. We cannot retrieve files which have been permanently deleted.

How do I delete an i-DEPOT?

1. Log in to My BOIP;
2. Click on i-DEPOT overview;
3. Click in the overview on the blue link in the i-DEPOT number that you want to delete. This takes you to the i-DEPOT file;
4. Click on the 'Delete i-DEPOT' link on the right-hand side of the screen.

To My BOIP