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IP Factsheet: Mexico
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7 GLOSSARY According to the Global Competitiveness Index 2015- 2016 Mexico ranked
57th out of 140 countries.
The mining industry is one of the key industries for Mexico; it is the top world
producer of silver, one of the top copper producers and the tenth oil producer.
In 2015, Mexico was ranked as the seventh largest vehicle producer in the
world and the first in Latin America. Low labour costs and extensive free trade
Co-funded by: agreements are strong incentives for vehicle manufacturers and suppliers.
According to Mexico IT, the nation ranks fourth among global destinations as a
service location and has a growing software and IT services sector.
European Union
The aerospace sector is also becoming a key strategic sector for the
development of Mexico. In 2012 Mexico initiated the Strategic Aerospace
1 Latin America IPR SME Helpdesk IP Factsheet: Mexico
fair protection and enforcement for patents, trademarks, copyright from: communicating to the public (e.g. exhibition in a gallery),
and trade secrets. reproducing, distributing and transforming the work. Economic
rights can be transferred or licensed in order to allow third
In addition, the UE- Mexico Free Trade Agreement, which entered parties to exploit the work.
into force in October 2000 eased commercial exchange between
the EU and Mexico, especially in the machinery, mining, electric
Mexican legislation distinguishes between the author and the
equipment, transport and chemistry sectors.
Copyright holder. The author is the person who creates and owns
DESIGN REGISTRATION both moral and economic rights, whereas the Copyright holder is
the natural or legal person that owns all or part of the economic
rights over the work by virtue of law (e.g. a work developed by an
Mexico is not a member of the Hague Agreement. Therefore,
employee) or contract (e.g. transfer of rights by the author to a
if your company is interested in applying for a Design, you
will not be able to extend your international registration to publishing company).
Mexico. In these cases, a separate national IPR registration
will be needed. Likewise, neighbouring rights are recognised for performers
(actors, narrators, speakers, singers, musicians, dancers); book
publishers, producers of phonograms; producers of video games;
PENDING ISSUES and broadcasting organisations.
A. Copyright and related rights You do not have to register your work in Mexico to protect it since
it will be protected from its publication. However, registration may
What do you need to know? be used as proof of ownership that can be very useful in certain
circumstances (e.g. the authorship is not specified in the work
Copyright protects artistic, literary and scientific works such published). Registration in Mexico should be carried out before the
as books, lectures, musical compositions, sculptures, computer National Copyright Institute (Instituto Nacional de Derechos de
programs, etc. that may be reproduced or disclosed by any Autor or INDAUTOR).
current or future means. Such protection covers both original and
derivative works (e.g. adaptations, compilations, transformations, It is possible to register your work in person at the INDAUTOR
translations or arrangements). facilities or by mail. The following information must be submitted
by the applicant:
As in Europe, Copyright in Mexico split into two groups of rights:
a) Application form RPDA-01 with key INDAUTOR-00-001 (in WHO can register?
duplicate), where the personal data of the applicant, date and
features of the work are included Authors, or their representatives, can register their work before
b) Two copies of the work INDAUTOR. Mexicos law also allows foreign companies to register
c) Proof of payment made through electronic payment at any works as long as they have a local domicile in Mexico. Otherwise,
bank a local representative must be appointed.
d) PoA (in case of legal person or representative)
e) Simple translation to Spanish of the documents issued abroad HOW much does it cost?
(no legalisation is required)
f) In case the applicant is not the author, the corresponding Registration of a literary or musical work, a photograph or a
certificate (transfer licence, collaboration letter, etc.) computer program amounts to ca. 11, while a registration of a
g) In the case of pseudonym work, sealed envelope with authors reservation of rights for exclusive use costs 172.
personal information.
Contract registration amounts to 58 (approx. 29 in case of
A physical copy of the registration of the work, contract, powers, INDAUTORs model contracts).
duplicates or earlier registrations can be obtained 14 days after
the application has been received by the INDAUTOR. All fees and requirements can be found at the INDAUTOR website
section (in Spanish only).
TRANSFER OF ECONOMIC RIGHTS
Moreover, our Helpline is always open and is available in 5
languages (Spanish, English, German, French and Portuguese).
Any transfer of economic rights in Mexico must fulfil two
requirements:
HOW LONG does legal protection last?
Temporary: transfers and licenses must be granted for a
fixed term. Unless otherwise expressed, the general term Economic rights shall be protected for a period of 100 years
is 5 years and it cannot exceed 15 years, except in certain from the authors death, which is longer than the legal term
cases (e.g. Computer programs and editorial works have of protection in Europe (70 years). The term of protection of
no limitations) economic rights for anonymous or pseudonymous works is 100
At a cost: free transfers or licenses are not accepted. In
years from first publication.
case of lack of agreement, the competent court is entitled
to define its amount and the terms of payment.
Economic rights on audio-visual and photographic works are
In addition any transfer or licence over economic rights, shall protected for a period of 50 and 75 years, respectively, from
invariably be executed in writing and be registered before publication.
INDAUTOR in order to be enforceable against third parties.
Performers rights are protected for 75 years from first disclosure
(performance, recording or publication).
There are two kinds of protection for inventions: patents and utility What cannot be protected as patents in Mexico?
models.
Nevertheless, some inventions are excluded from patentability,
Patents in Mexico: What you need to know such as essentially biological processes of plant and animal
breeding, animal breeds and plant varieties, the human body and
Patents, to protect products (including substances), processes parts thereof, and biologic and genetic material as found in nature.
or uses (e.g. a new type of glue or an automated syringe).
Furthermore, certain creations are not considered inventions,
Utility models to protect minor inventions, such as a new including:
improvement of an already known invention that provides
extra functionality. Processes are excluded from this protection Theoretical or scientific principles.
mode. Discoveries consisting of making known or disclosing
something that existed already in nature, even if previously
Patents are available for any invention, whether a product or unknown to man.
process, in all fields of technology, including chemistry, pharmacy, Schemes, plans, rules and methods for carrying out mental
biotechnology, electronics, telecommunications, mechanics, etc. processes, playing games or doing business and mathematical
methods.
In order to have access to patent protection, the new invention Computer programs or software.
must fulfil the following requirements: The presentation of information.
Aesthetic creations and artistic or literary works.
Novelty: An invention shall be considered new when it is not Methods of surgical or therapeutic treatment or diagnostic
included in the state of the art. The state of the art comprises treatment applicable to the human body, as well as such
everything that has been made available to the public by methods applicable to animals.
written or oral description, by use or marketing or by any
other mean prior to the filing date of the patent application or, SECOND USE PATENTS
where appropriate, the recognised priority date (see Glossary).
Please bear in mind that second use patents (see Glossary)
Inventive step: An invention shall be regarded as involving are allowed in Mexico, subject to the regular patentability
an inventive step if, for an expert with average skills in the requirements.
technical field concerned, the said invention is neither obvious
nor obviously derived from the state of the art.
HOW LONG does legal protection last?
Industrial applicability: An invention is deemed industrially
applicable when its subject matter may be produced or used Patent protection lasts for 20 years, counted from the filing date
in any type of industry. In this context, industry includes all of the application. It takes 4 to 6 years to get a patent granted in
productive activity, including services. Mexico (this may vary depending on the field).
On the other hand, Utility Models protect any new shape, Legal protection for Utility Model lasts 10 years from the filing
configuration, arrangement of components of any device, tool, date of the application and the granting process tends to be
mechanism, or any part thereof that leads to an improvement, shorter than in case of Patents (2 to 4 years).
provides a new use or a new manufacturing process. In order to
obtain a utility model, the applicant should demonstrate that the WHO can register?
invention has a new use, advantage or technical effect (novelty).
Hence, it is not necessary to demonstrate any inventiveness The inventor or any person (natural or legal) to whom the right
(inventive step). has been transferred is entitled to apply for Patents and Utility
Models. It can be done directly or through a legal representative.
5 L atin A merica IPR SME H elpdesk IP Factsheet: M exico
Applicants without domicile in Mexico must appoint a local legal Applicants of a Patent or Utility Model should file before the IMPI:
representative, which could be any resident in Mexico. However, an
IP agent or attorney is always recommended. a) Patent application form IMPI-00-009 (in duplicate)
b) Proof of payment of the fee
HOW do I register a patent or a utility model? c) Power of Attorney, if necessary
d) Technical information of the patent: title, an abstract,
A patent application, requesting patent protection for an invention, description, a set of claims and drawings should be included:
must be filed at the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (IMPI) + The abstract consists of a summary of the technical solution
premises or via online. The patent application must be filed in to the problem. However, the abstract only serves as a
Spanish. source of technical information.
+ The description should disclose the invention in a sufficiently
INTERNATIONAL PATENT APPLICATION clear and complete way so that a person skilled in the art
would be able to understand and carry it out.
+ The claims define the subject matter of protection in the
Mexico is a member of the Patent Cooperation Treaty patent.
(PCT), which provides the possibility of protection for an + Drawings, examples (together with their description)
invention simultaneously in a large number of countries + When the applicant is not the inventor, the contract proving
by filing a single international patent application instead
the invention has been transferred to the applicant.
of filing several separate national or regional patent
applications.
DRAWINGS IN PATENTS AND UTILITY MODELS
APPLICATIONS
Drawings must be included within the patent application
for a product or a device. The same applies to Utility
models. As to processes patent applications, they are only
required if they help to understand the invention.
The IMPI will then verify if the formal requirements are met and
will publish the application in the Official Gazette (SIGA) so third
parties can make observations during the following 6 months.
The applicant will be requested to pay for the patent certificate
fee and submit the drawings (if needed) if the examination of the
patentability requirements is successfully completed, after which
the patent will be published in the SIGA.
Entering the National Phase via PCT has an extra cost of 297
or 181 for patents and 98 or 58, depending if it is entered
within month 30 or 19 from the foreign patent application date,
respectively.
Take into account that such fees are official fees and do not
include representative fees, translations, Patent drafting and other
costs, as those related to answer oppositions.
C. Industrial Designs
a) Design application form IMPI-00-009 (in duplicate)
What does it PROTECT? b) Proof of payment of the fee
c) Power of Attorney, if necessary
The particular appearance of a product can be protected as an d) Description of the Design
Industrial Design, including lines, combinations of colours, two- e) Claim
dimensional (2D) or three-dimensional (3D) external form, line, f) The Graphic Representation of the Design
outline, configuration, texture or material. g) When the applicant is not the inventor, the contract that proves
the invention was transferred to the applicant.
WHAT do you need to know?
In contrast to Europe, IMPI performs a substantial examination
In order to register a design as an Industrial Design (or a Design of the Design to see if the novelty and industrial applicability
patent) in Mexico, it should be new before the filing date. In other requirements are met.
words, the design should not have been made available to the
public in any place by any means such as description, use or The applicant is then asked to pay the registration fee
marketing. Hence, novelty and industrial applicability are the only (corresponding to the 5 first annuities) and submit some drawings
requirements. in order to publish the design in the Official Gazette (SIGA).
Mexico is a member of the Madrid System. Thus, you can According to the IPL, the duration of the declaration of protection
register your trademark in just one or many of the 97 for an AO will remain as long as the conditions that motivated the
members of the treaty (including the Latin-American country) registration persist. It shall cease to be effective only by virtue of
with a single application. a subsequent declaration made by the IMPI
Registration fees are to be paid before WIPO (approx. 760) REGISTRATION OF EUROPEAN APPELLATIONS OF ORIGIN
b) it must have a commercial value due to its secrecy 4. ENFORCING YOUR IPRs
c) the right holder should adopt reasonable measures to keep it
secret such as signing confidential agreements with employers IPRs may be enforced through administrative, civil or criminal
and providers actions.
Unauthorised disclosure of trade secrets is a criminal offence and Administrative proceedings must be brought by the holder or by
could be punished with 6 years prison and ten to 1000 days from a duly recorded licensee before the IMPI, which is the competent
the minimum salary of the Federal District. authority to decide patent, trademark, and most cases of copyright
infringement, as well as the authority to take preliminary
In Mexico, Undisclosed Information used to obtain a market measures against alleged infringers and to resolve trademark
authorisation in pharmaceuticals and agricultural chemicals enjoys invalidation and cancellation actions.
a specific type of protection. The requirements are:
Actions for invalidity, lapse or cancellation of the registration of
a) obtaining such information entailed considerable effort a trademark shall be made by the Institute, either ex officio or at
b) the information is related to new chemical compounds the request of a party.
employed in the production of pharmaceutical products or
agricultural chemicals In addition, unfair competition is also contemplated within the
c) the information has been used to obtain market authorisation infringement actions and, based on this particular ground, it might
be possible to initiate legal proceedings without actually having an
The term of protection for Undisclosed Information is 10 years for IP right protected with IMPI.
agricultural chemicals and 5 years for pharmaceutical products.
IP rights infringements are punishable by fines (up to about
II. Domain Names (DN) 4,200), temporary or permanent closure of the business, or even
through administrative arrest for 36 hours. In the event of repeat
NIC (Network Information Center) Mexico is in charge of registering offences (after the administrative decision has become final and
and managing .mx domain names. NIC established in its internal unappealable), fines will be doubled and penal actions may be
policies the use of an Alternative Dispute Resolution Mechanism taken against the infringer.
when someone considers its rights to be affected and wishes for a
DN to be cancelled or for the ownership to be transferred to them; Criminal actions are initiated by filing a "querella" (complaint),
the dispute will be settled by an authorized dispute resolution where complainant may conclude the proceeding by filling a
provider (in this case WIPO) formed by an independent and pardon. IP crimes may also be initiated ex officio but, in these
specialized group of experts. This procedure can be initiated if: cases, pardon shall not be granted.
the domain name is identical or confusingly similar in Criminal penalties range from two to ten years' imprisonment (i.e.
respect of a trademark, registered service, registered trade Counterfeit product commercialization can be punished with 2 to 6
announcement, appellation of origin years of prison).
the registrant has no rights or legitimate interests in the
domain name Finally, after the administrative and/or criminal resolutions become
the domain name has been registered or used in bad faith firm, plaintiffs may initiate civil actions claiming damages with a
Civil Court. Damages are calculated according to the commercial
You will find available in the Registry .MX (a division of NIC Mexico) value of the infringing products (the minimum standard applicable
website all the relevant information related to this procedure. in damages is 40%).
2.- Recording their TM registration information at CTD, as well as Right of priority: Whenever a person, from any signatory country
licensees, authorized importers and distributors. of the Paris Convention, files a national application for a patent
or industrial design in any of the 176 members, the date on
Further information on the CTD and other border measures can be which the first application was filed is established as the date of
found in our Factsheet Customs in Mexico. priority for any future application in any of the member countries,
provided that subsequent applications are applied for within
twelve months of the first application.
6. LINKS OF INTEREST AND ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION Second use: Refers to the possibility of patenting a different
use of an already known object/product (e.g. Use of a chemical
Find out more about Intellectual Property Rights in Latin composition as a medicine to treat heart diseases when the
America, visit the Latin America IPR SME Helpdesk website: www. original patent claims its use as antibiotic). In general, in Europe it
latinamerica-ipr-helpdesk.eu is possible to patent such a second use subject to the fulfilment of
the Novelty and Inventive Step requirements.
IMPIs patent and utility model guide for users
http://www.gob.mx/cms/uploads/attachment/file/54264/GDU_
Collective trademarks: is type of trademarks used to identify the
Patentes.pdf
goods and/or services of members of a specific entity or from a
IMPIs design guide for users group of entities/companies.
http://www.gob.mx/cms/uploads/attachment/file/54267/GDU_
Disenos_Industriales.pdf Claim: Part of a Patent application or specification that defines
the matter for which protection is sought in terms of technical
IMPIs online registration FAQs features.
https://eservicios.impi.gob.mx/seimpi/ayudaSEIMPI/Preguntas_
Frecuentes_RDUdi.pdf
IMPIs trademarks guide for users Version: July 2016.
http://www.gob.mx/cms/uploads/attachment/file/54262/GDU_ All the requirements hereby are updated to the Law in force at this
Marcas.pdf date. Amounts are expressed in Euros and may vary according to the
exchange rate and/or ulterior modifications of the regulation in force
Mexican Industrial Property Office (IMPI)
http://www.impi.gob.mx/
Mexican Intellectual Property Office (INDAUTOR)
http://www.indautor.gob.mx/
IMPI fees list
http://www.gob.mx/impi/acciones-y-programas/servicios-que-
ofrece-el-impi-tarifas
Customs Authority
http://www.sat.gob.mx/aduanas/tramites_autorizaciones/
Paginas/default.aspx
IPR Mexican Regulation
http://www.wipo.int/wipolex/en/profile.jsp?code=MX
Factsheet Customs in Mexico:
http://www.latinamerica-ipr-helpdesk.eu/content/customs-
mexico
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