Mexican Industrial Property Law: Inventions and Trademarks
The LFPPI establishes the legal framework in Mexico for protecting intellectual creations and distinctive signs. It grants exclusive, temporary rights for inventions (patents), utility models, and industrial designs, while also regulating the registration and use of trademarks, collective marks, and geographical indications to ensure fair competition and innovation.
Key Takeaways
Patents grant 20 years of exclusive rights for novel, inventive, and industrially applicable inventions.
Utility Models protect modifications offering new functions for 15 non-renewable years.
Trademarks are valid for 10 years, renewable, but require a declaration of real and effective use.
Geographical Indications and Appellations of Origin protect products linked to specific regions.
All transfers, licenses, and encumbrances must be registered to be effective against third parties.
What types of intellectual creations are protected under the LFPPI's Title Two?
Title Two of the LFPPI focuses on protecting various forms of intellectual creations, including inventions, utility models, industrial designs, and integrated circuits, by granting the creator or owner exclusive and temporary rights to exploit them commercially. Protection is formalized through a patent for inventions or a registration for models, designs, and circuit layouts, ensuring the creator maintains control over the use, manufacture, sale, or importation of the protected subject matter for a defined period. The law establishes clear rules regarding ownership, confirming the right belongs to the inventor, designer, or creator, whether they are individuals or legal entities.
- Patents (Invención): Granted for 20 non-renewable years for novel, inventive, and industrially applicable creations.
- Utility Models (MU): Protect modifications to configuration or disposition that provide a new function or useful advantage for 15 non-renewable years.
- Industrial Designs (DI): Include industrial drawings (ornamentation) and industrial models (3D form without technical effects), protected for 5 years, renewable up to 25 years total.
- Integrated Circuit Layouts (CTCI): Require originality based on intellectual effort and are protected for 10 non-renewable years.
- Priority Right: Allows applicants to claim priority based on an earlier filing in another country, with deadlines of 12 months for inventions/MU and 6 months for DI.
How does the LFPPI regulate the protection of trademarks and commercial identifiers?
Title Four of the LFPPI governs the protection of distinctive signs, primarily trademarks, commercial notices, and trade names, which are crucial for distinguishing products or services in the marketplace. A trademark is defined as any perceptible sign—such as denominations, figures, sounds, or even smells—that serves to differentiate goods or services. Registration grants the owner exclusive rights for 10 years, which are renewable indefinitely, provided the owner fulfills the obligation to declare the real and effective use of the mark every three years to maintain its validity. The law also specifies various impediments to registration, such as lack of distinctiveness, being descriptive, or involving bad faith applications.
- Trademark Definition: Any perceptible sign used to distinguish products or services, including non-traditional forms like sounds and smells.
- Registration Impediments: Include technical or common signs, descriptive terms, official signs, or applications filed in bad faith.
- Vigency and Renewal: Trademarks are valid for 10 years and are renewable, contingent upon the declaration of real and effective use.
- Collective Marks: Held by associations or societies to distinguish members' products based on a common quality, and are non-transferable or licensable.
- Certification Marks: Used by certifying bodies (non-commercial in the rubro) to verify components, quality, or geographical origin of products.
- Trade Names (Nombres Comerciales): Protected solely through effective use within a specific client zone, without requiring formal registration; massive diffusion can extend protection nationwide.
What is the difference between Appellations of Origin and Geographical Indications under Mexican law?
Title Five addresses the protection of geographical identifiers, specifically Appellations of Origin (DO) and Geographical Indications (IG), which are considered national assets and require authorization from the Institute for their use. A Denomination of Origin (DO) identifies a product whose quality or reputation is exclusively or essentially due to the geographical environment, including natural and human factors, and requires a specific Official Mexican Standard (NOM). Conversely, a Geographical Indication (IG) is a broader recognition of a geographical area or reference that attributes a specific quality or reputation to the product originating there. Both mechanisms ensure that the reputation and characteristics linked to a specific region are legally protected against misuse.
- Denomination of Origin (DO): Product quality or reputation is intrinsically linked to the geographical area's natural and cultural factors.
- Geographical Indication (IG): Recognition of a geographical reference that attributes quality or reputation to the product's origin.
- Legal Status: Both DOs and IGs are considered national assets, requiring authorization from the Institute for their commercial use.
- Application Process: Legitimate applicants (producers, chambers, governments) must submit detailed technical studies.
- Procedure: The application involves publication in the Official Gazette and a two-month opposition period before protection is granted.
What are the key legal requirements for transferring rights and the grounds for invalidating industrial property protections?
The LFPPI outlines crucial cross-cutting aspects governing the life cycle of industrial property rights, including their transfer, licensing, and eventual termination through nullity or expiration. For any transfer, encumbrance, or license agreement concerning patents or trademarks to be effective against third parties, it must be formally inscribed in the Institute's records. Licensing allows the rights holder to authorize others to use the protected asset, with the licensee's use counting as use by the owner. Furthermore, the law specifies conditions under which a right may be invalidated (nullity), such as lack of novelty or inventive activity, or terminated (caducity), typically due to the expiration of the term or failure to use the trademark for three consecutive years.
- Registration Requirement: Transfers, encumbrances, and licenses must be inscribed to have legal effect against third parties.
- Licensing Effect: Use of the right by a licensee is legally considered use by the titular owner, maintaining the right's validity.
- Franchise Definition: A specific type of license that includes the transmission of technical knowledge or know-how.
- Mandatory License (Patents): Provisions exist for compulsory licensing under specific circumstances (Art. 146).
- Grounds for Nullity: Include lack of novelty, absence of inventive activity, exceeding the scope of disclosure, or improper concession.
- Grounds for Caducity: Occurs upon the expiration of the protection term or the failure to declare real and effective use of a trademark for three consecutive years.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the maximum duration of a patent in Mexico?
A patent for an invention is granted for a non-renewable term of 20 years from the date of filing. This exclusive right allows the owner to prevent others from exploiting the invention commercially during this period.
What is required to maintain a registered trademark's validity?
To maintain a trademark registration, the owner must file a declaration of real and effective use of the mark every three years. Failure to submit this declaration can lead to the caducity (expiration) of the registration.
When must a transfer of industrial property rights be registered?
Any transfer, encumbrance, or license agreement related to patents or trademarks must be formally inscribed in the Institute's records. This registration is mandatory for the transaction to be legally effective against third parties.
