Mexico Issues implementing Regulations to the Federal Law for the Protection of Industrial Property (FLPIP): Process for the Issuance of the Mandatory Resolution.

As we previously informed, under the Reforms that were recently enacted to our FLPIP applicants will now have the opportunity to request the issuance of a mandatory resolution before the newly formed Specialized Technical Committee constituted by the Mexican PTO’s (IMPI’s) Board of Directors for patent, utility model and design applications that exceeded the newly established prosecution timeframes.

Specific requirements that applicants should meet when filing a request for a mandatory resolution have been established, such as indicating the filing date in Mexico, the application number and brief arguments as to why the mandatory resolution should apply.

The Regulations also specify that the following scenarios will not be considered to count as part of the delay in the prosecution:

• I) periods attributable to actions or omissions of the applicant that delay the prosecution;
• II) automatic extensions that the applicant takes;
• III) time that elapses in case an application is being litigated before the courts;
• IV) official non-working days; and
• V) time periods attributable to causes of major leisure.

Finally, the Examiner is obligated to include in their report to the Specialized Technical Committee the following information:

• I) a chronological list of all actions that took place during prosecution;
• II) to indicate if during prosecution any of the aforementioned exceptions took place;
• III) the working days that the applicant took in replying to all official requirements;
• IV) the amount of time that elapsed from the filing date in Mexico until the date of the report they are sending; and
• V) indicate the electronic link where the prosecution history can be consulted.

This venue provides a clear path for applicants to obtain a definite resolution for cases that underwent through unjustified delays and also applies for applications that are currently pending and which were filed before the Reform entered into force and once the specialized technical committee has been assembled.

At OLIVARES, we are closely monitoring the implementation of these provisions and are available to address any specific inquiries.