Two federal laws provide the core legal basis for protection of intellectual property rights in Mexico:

• The Federal Law for the Protection of Industrial Property (Ley Federal de Protección a la Propiedad Industrial) and

• The Federal Copyright Law (Ley Federal del Derecho de Autor).

Last modified 17 Jun 2024

Commercial matter provisions are governed by federal laws. In general, commercial agreements are governed by the Commercial Code; thus, certain agreements are governed by specific federal laws (ie, bank credit agreements, insurance, pledge and trusts, among others).

Additional commercial contract provisions may be found in other federal laws (ie, antitrust and consumers' protection), regulations and official standards.

The venue for resolution of disputes specified in a commercial contract corresponds to federal courts, although state courts may accept venue.

Commercial contracts with federal and state government agencies are subject to separate governmental regulations, which may include, among other matters, specific auditing and recordkeeping requirements.

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Copyright can apply to a variety of works, including musical, literary, broadcasting, photography, works of art (ie, graphic design, pictorial, drawing, sculpture and caricature), cinematography, audiovisual work, editorial compilations (such as encyclopedias and anthologies), operating systems and computer programs.

Copyright grants both moral and economic rights to its author, which shall be an individual as opposed to an entity.

Moral rights make the author the first and only perpetual owner of the rights of the copyright work; patrimonial rights allow the titleholder to exploit the work exclusively or to authorize 3rd parties to exploit the copyright.

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Federal Copyright Law (Ley Federal del Derecho de Autor) governs copyrights.

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Moral rights are perpetual; economic rights last for the life of the author plus an additional 100 years; although, when the work belongs to 2 or more co-authors, the 100 years will be counted from the death of the last co-author.

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In order to perfect ownership of a copyright, the author must register their work with the National Institute of Author Rights (Instituto Nacional del Derecho de Autor).

Titleholder of the economic rights of the copyright may grant exclusive or non-exclusive licenses to 3rd parties, as well as transfer their rights.

All transfers shall be conducted against valid consideration and on a non-perpetual basis.

Licenses and transfer of copyrights shall be evidenced in writing and shall be registered with the National Institute of Author Rights.

The copyrights related to broadcasting work are limited by the signal retransmission obligation for broadcasting concessionaires set forth in the Federal Telecommunications and Broadcasting Law.

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Infringement of copyright may lead to payment of damages and losses, which shall be determined by the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (Instituto Mexicano de la Propiedad Industrial or IMPI), based on actual damage and/or loss.

Criminal penalties may be imposed.

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Mask works protect the titleholder of any reproduction, total or partial, as well as from the import, sale or distribution for commercial purposes.

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Fifth Chapter of Second Title of the Federal Law for the Protection of Industrial Property (Ley Federal de Protección a la Propiedad Industrial) governs mask works.

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The duration of mask work protection is 10 years from the date the filing is presented before the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (Instituto Mexicano de la Propiedad Industrial or IMPI).

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In order to establish the ownership of a mask work, registration is required before the IMPI.

Mask works registrations or registrations in process may be encumbered, transmitted or licensed pursuant to commercial general provisions. Registration of the agreement is required before the IMPI to perfect the encumbrance, transmission or license.

No obligatory license operates in mask work registrations.

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Violation of a registered mask work may lead to payment of damages and losses, which shall be determined by the IMPI,  based on actual damage and loss. Such payment of damages and losses will in no case be less than 40 percent of the public sale price of each product or the provision of the services that involve a violation of any of the intellectual property rights governed by the Federal Law for the Protection of Industrial Property (Ley Federal de Protección a la Propiedad Industrial).

Criminal penalties may be imposed.

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Regarding inventions, the right granted is a patent; regarding utility models and industrials designs, the right granted is a registration.

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3rd Title of the Federal Law for the Protection of Industrial Property (Ley Federal de Protección a la Propiedad Industrial).

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The duration of a patent is 20 years (non-extendable) from the filing requesting the patent; the duration for utility models is 10 years (non-extendable) from the filing requesting the registration; and the duration for industrial designs is 5 years as of the filing requesting the registration, subject to additional extensions of 5 years up to 25 years.

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In order to establish ownership of  a patent, registration is required before the IMPI.

Patents registrations and registrations in process may be encumbered, transmitted or licensed pursuant to commercial general provisions. Registration of the agreement is required before the IMPI to perfect an encumbrance, transmission or a license.

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Violation may lead to payment of damages and losses, which shall be determined by the IMPI,based on actual damage and loss.

Criminal penalties may be imposed.

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Trademarks can be visible names, figures, sounds, scents or the plurality of operational elements (eg, image, shape, size, color, package or decoration) that are sufficiently distinctive and capable of identifying the products or services to which they are applied, or are intended to be applied, compared with others of the same type or category; 3-dimensional shapes; trade names and company or business names, provided that they are not an exception; and the proper name of a natural person, provided that it is not the same as a registered mark or published trade name.

Trademarks shall be registered in relation to specific products or services according to the classification provided for by the Regulations of the Law.

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Trademarks are governed by the Fourth Title of the Federal Law for the Protection of Industrial Property (Ley Federal de Protección a la Propiedad Industrial).

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Trademarks have a duration of 10 years as of the filing requesting the trademark registration.

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In order to establish ownership of  the title, registration of the trademark is required before the IMPI.

Trademark registrations and registrations in process may be encumbered, transmitted or licensed pursuant to commercial general provisions. Registration of the agreement is required before the IMPI to perfect encumbrance, transmission or license.

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Violation may lead to payment of damages and losses, which shall be determined by the IMPI, based on actual damage and loss. Such payment of damages and losses will in no case be less than 40 percent of the public sale price of each product or the provision of the services that involve a violation of any of the intellectual property rights governed by the Federal Law for the Protection of Industrial Property (Ley Federal de Protección a la Propiedad Industrial).

Criminal penalties may be imposed.

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Trade secrets can include the nature, characteristics or purposes of the products; the production methods or processes; or the means or forms of distribution or commercialization of the products or rendering of services.

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3rd Title of the Federal Law for the Protection of Industrial Property (Ley Federal de Protección a la Propiedad Industrial).

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As long as reasonable efforts are taken by the owner of the information to maintain the information as a trade secret; trade secret protection is potentially perpetual.

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No registration is required. An owner must use means or systems to preserve a trade secret's confidentiality and restricted access to the trade secret.

An owner may transfer or allow the use of the trade secret to a 3rd party. A 3rd party shall have the obligation to not disclose the trade secret.

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Violation may lead to payment of damages and losses, which shall be determined by the IMPI,based on actual damage and loss. Such payment of damages and losses will in no case will be less than 40 percent of the public sale price of each product or the provision of the services that involve a violation of any of the intellectual property rights governed by the Federal Law for the Protection of Industrial Property (Ley Federal de Protección a la Propiedad Industrial).

Criminal penalties may be imposed. 

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The Mexican Labor Act provides that an employee-inventor has the right to be named as author of their inventions. This is a right to recognition, not ownership. With respect to ownership of inventions, the Labor Act provides that:

• Where an employee-inventor works in research and development or works on perfecting processes used in the employer's business, the resulting intellectual property belongs to the employer, provided that, if the benefit to the employer is disproportionate to the salary paid to the employee, the employee shall have the right to a royalty, as determined by mutual agreement of the parties or by the Mediation and Arbitration Board, and
• Intellectual property developed by an employee engaged in any other area shall belong to the employee, provided that the employer shall have the first right to the exclusive use or acquisition of the invention or patents (on terms to be negotiated by the parties or determined by the Mediation and Arbitration Board).

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There is no specific legal framework under Mexican law for ownership of intellectual property developed by consultants and contractors. It is customary for consultants and contractors to sign written agreements. Absent a written present assignment of developments, consultants and contractors retain ownership of the intellectual property developed by them, even if contracted and paid for by another party.

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No general registration requirement, but all intellectual property-related agreements shall be registered before the relevant governmental authority to be effective against 3rd parties.

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Spanish. Documents to be filed with a governmental authority shall be translated into Spanish by an official translator.

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There is no specific legislation regarding online content.

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Online terms are generally viewed as enforceable as long as they are conspicuous and users have an opportunity to review and indicate affirmative assent (eg, check a box).

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Governing law and venue for resolution of disputes specified in a commercial contract corresponds to federal courts, although state courts may accept venue.

Dispute resolution is litigation in federal courts unless an alternative dispute resolution procedure, such as mediation or arbitration, is specified in the contract.

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Under Mexican law, the granting of warranties is mandatory only for determined products and services. If a seller or service provider grants warranty to its client, it shall respect such warranty in all its terms and conditions and contain the minimum requirements set forth by the applicable law.

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Provided that granting a warranty is not mandatory, if the seller or service provider grants warranty to its client, it shall respect such warranty in all its terms and conditions and contain the minimum requirements set forth by the applicable law.

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Federal and state civil laws set forth the provisions related to indemnification for damages and losses, which shall be, and are limited to, direct and immediate consequence of the act or omission that generated the indemnification.

Liquidated damages provisions may be used in agreements, provided that the amount of such liquidated damages may not be greater than the principal amount of the agreement.

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Electronic commerce and electronic signatures are recognized and regulated by Mexican law for private transactions; electronic methods may be used for commercial acts and their formation and consent may be expressed through electronic methods. The electronic signature is any electronic data comprised in or attached to a data message used in order to:

• Identify the signatory in connection with the data message and
• To indicate that person's approval of the information contained in the data message.

The electronic signature produces the same legal effects as the handwritten signature, and it is admitted as evidence in court.

Mexican law does not limit or restrict electronic signatures to a particular format or tool. However, the data message shall contain information regarding the name of the signatory in order to create a connection between the person and the electronic signature.

Pursuant to the provisions set forth in Article 93 of the Commerce Code, any commercial act required to be signed by the corresponding parties pursuant to the applicable laws may be signed electronically through an electronic signature as long as such electronic signature is attributable to the relevant parties and/or signatory persons. Furthermore, the information contained in the relevant data message shall be entirely conserved and kept as available for subsequent consultation.

An electronic signature may be considered advanced:

• When the signature is exclusively in control of the signatory person and
• When any modification to the original data message or electronic signature may be identified (eg, the password-protected identification form or digital fingerprint), pursuant to the opinion issued by a certification agent in e-commerce matters.

Last modified 17 Jun 2024