This is a general guide on the practice of modifying patent applications in accordance with the Federal Law for the Protection of Industrial Property (LFPPI) and its application by the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (IMPI). 1.
Modifications prior to the presentation
There is no obligation in the LFPPI to file a Mexican application that has exactly the same content as a previously filed application, such as a priority application or a PCT application. Likewise, there is no prohibition to submit modifications at the time of submitting the Mexican application. In fact, the LFPPI only regulates modifications to a patent application or to a granted patent, which implies the prior filing of a patent application.
IMPI's practice is to accept modifications that are introduced at the time of submission. This is common, for example, in national phases under the PCT where claims are amended to conform to local practice or voluntarily amended to optimize processing. As such, the amended technical specification is entered from the beginning of the procedure and conforms to the originally filed application.
Any matter added with respect to priority or to the PCT application may give rise to partial recognition of priority; that is, only the subject matter supported in the priority or PCT application will benefit from the priority rights, while the added subject matter will not. Read more