MEXICO Law and Practice Contributed by: Victor Adames, Carlos Hernandez and Paola Becerril, Becerril, Coca & Becerril
BC&B Law & Business Leibnitz 117 PH1 Anzures Miguel Hidalgo 11590 Mexico City Mexico Tel: +52 52 63 87 30 Email: main@bcb.com.mx Web: www.bcb.com.mx
1. Trade Mark and Copyright Law 1.1 Governing Law Trade marks and copyrights are governed in Mexi - co by the Federal Law for the Protection of Indus - trial Property (FLPIP) and the Federal Copyright Law (FCL), respectively. Both are statutory laws that pro - vide comprehensive frameworks for the registration, protection, and enforcement of these rights. Common law trade marks are not recognised in Mex - ico; protection is granted exclusively through regis - tration under the FLPIP. Copyrights do not require registration for protection under the FCL, as rights arise automatically upon fixation on a material sup - port. Registration can provide advantages in enforce - ment and litigation, however, and is therefore highly advisable. 1.2 Conventions and Treaties/Rights of Foreign IP Holders Mexico is part of numerous international treaties gov - erning trade marks and copyrights. Relevant trade mark treaties/conventions to which Mexico has acceded include: • the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property; • the Madrid Protocol for international trade mark registration; • the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA), which is known as T-MEC in Mexico; and
• the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), which includes trade mark provisions. Relevant copyright conventions include: • the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works; • the Universal Copyright Convention; and • the WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT) and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT). 2. Trade Mark Ownership, Protection and Rights 2.1 Types of Trade Marks There are a number of different types of trade marks protected under the Mexican IP system: • word marks protect words; • design marks protect logos or stylised elements; • trade dress is the overall appearance or packag - ing of a product, or the commercial image of the product or service; • collective marks are reserved for associations or groups of producers to identify goods or services sharing common characteristics; and • certification marks are used to certify specific characteristics such as geographic origin, quality, or method of production. Mexico allows registration of traditional and non-tra - ditional marks, provided they are distinctive and not descriptive. This includes:
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