MEXICO Law and Practice Contributed by: Gabriela Pellón, Mario Eduardo Valencia, Irma Ross, Ana Elena Domínguez and Fernando Rodríguez, Galicia Abogados, S.C.
• decide whether and how the work will be dis - closed; • claim authorship and determine whether the work will be published under their name, anonymously or under a pseudonym; • demand respect for the integrity of the work and oppose any distortion, mutilation or modification that may harm their reputation; and • modify the work, withdraw it from commerce and oppose false attribution. These rights remain attached to the author even if the economic rights are transferred. Patrimonial rights grant the author the exclusive power to exploit the artwork and authorise or pro - hibit its reproduction, distribution, public communi - cation, transformation and publication. These rights may be assigned or licensed to third parties, but such transfers must comply with the formal requirements established by the LFDA, generally requiring a written agreement. In Mexico, patrimonial rights subsist for the life of the author plus 100 years. Additionally, artists of plastic and photographic works benefit from a resale right ( droit de suite ), entitling them to receive a percentage of the price obtained in certain resales of their original works. Together, these moral and economic rights form the core legal protec - tion granted to artists over their artworks in Mexico. 2.2 Copyright in Collaborative Artworks In Mexico, copyright treatment of collaborative works is governed by the LFDA, which distinguishes primar - ily between works in co-authorship ( obras en colabo- ración ) and collective works ( obras colectivas ). A work in co-authorship arises when two or more authors jointly create a work and their contributions are intended to form a single, unified result. In such cases, the co-authors are joint holders of both moral and patrimonial rights. As a general rule, the exercise of patrimonial rights requires the consent of all co- authors, unless otherwise agreed. If the work can be divided into distinct contributions, each author may exploit his or her own contribution separately, pro - vided that such exploitation does not prejudice the exploitation of the common work. The term of protec -
tion is calculated based on the life of the last surviving co-author. By contrast, a collective work is one created at the initiative and under the co-ordination of a natural or legal person who publishes it under its name, and in which the individual contributions are merged into a whole such that they cannot be separately attributed. In this scenario, unless otherwise agreed, the patrimo - nial rights belong to the person who co-ordinates and publishes the work under its name, while individual contributors retain moral rights over their contribu - tions to the extent identifiable. The term of protection is calculated according to the general rules applicable to the rights holder (typically the life of the author plus 100 years, or, for legal entities in collective works, the statutory term counted from publication). Additionally, the LFDA recognises related but distinct categories such as commissioned works and works created within an employment relationship, where pat - rimonial rights may vest in the employer or commis - sioning party if certain statutory conditions are met. In all cases, moral rights remain attached to the indi - vidual author and are inalienable and perpetual under Mexican law. 3. Protection Against Plagiarism 3.1 Legal Consequences of Copyright Infringement In Mexico, plagiarism is addressed through the pro - tection of moral and patrimonial rights under the LFDA. The author has the moral right to claim author - ship and to oppose any attribution of a work that is not of his or her creation, as well as any distortion or modification that harms the author’s reputation. Unauthorised reproduction, publication, distribution, communication or transformation of an artwork may constitute copyright infringement. Enforcement may be pursued through civil actions (damages and injunc - tions), administrative infringement proceedings and, in certain cases, criminal actions. Administratively, infringements can lead to fines and orders to cease the infringing acts. Civilly, the right holder may seek damages, which under Mexican law
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