The Mexican Senate passed a bill on 1st July 2020 which enacted the new Federal Law for the Protection of Industrial Property in Mexico. The new law will replace the current Law on Industrial Property as from 5th November 2020 when it will become effective.
The new statute governing Industrial Property in Mexico contains a number of relevant changes that will basically affect all forms of Industrial Property, from prosecution to maintenance and on to the enforcement of said rights. In consideration of the rather diverse scope of these changes and to ease on their analysis, we will provide you with specific comments on what we consider to be the key issues addressed in the new law.
Perhaps the most debated issue raised with the latest amendments to the current law, enacted on 10th May 2018, dealt on how to implement the then new requirement to file a Declaration of Use within the three months following the third anniversary from the date of grant of trademark Registrations. The debate specifically addressed whether all Registrations granted from 10th August 2015 were under this new obligation or if the same fell exclusively on those granted from 10th August 2018. While many supported the interpretation in that the new obligation could not affect Registrations granted before the amendment, the particular wording of the amended legal provision together with the lack of transitory provisions that could very well have settled the matter, led us to support the position in that the amended statute should be applied to the letter in the absence of specific exceptions, namely, that the new obligation fell on all Registrations granted from 10th August 2015. As a side note, the Mexican Trademark Office has consistently acknowledged to date all Declarations of Use filed under these premises. Continue Reading