Can IMPI Resolve Damages Claims? A Pending Issue in the Implementation of the Reform.

One of the most significant innovations introduced by the Federal Law for the Protection of Industrial Property (LFPPI) was granting the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (IMPI) the authority to determine and resolve damages claims once an administrative infringement has been declared. The legislator’s intention was to simplify the compensation system and avoid requiring right holders to subsequently resort to civil courts to seek the corresponding damages.

However, the reform itself acknowledged that this new authority required institutional adjustments within IMPI. For this reason, the Seventeenth Transitory Article of the decree established that certain provisions of the law would enter into force only once the Institute had the organizational structure and resources necessary for their implementation, granting a maximum period of one year to carry out such adjustments.

Since the LFPPI entered into force on November 5, 2020, the necessary institutional modifications should have been implemented no later than November 5, 2021. Nevertheless, public administrative documents issued by the Institute in subsequent years indicate that no changes were made to its organizational structure to address this new function.

This situation is compounded by budgetary restrictions and staff reductions within Mexican intellectual property authorities. Without the necessary budget and regulatory framework, it is difficult for IMPI to fully exercise an authority that involves analyzing, quantifying, and resolving monetary claims arising from infringements.

In this context, it is noteworthy that the recent Regulation to the LFPPI, published on April 28, 2026, only refers to damages proceedings in Article 181. However, this provision merely states that the initial claim and the response thereto must comply with the requirements applicable to filings in administrative proceedings, without establishing specific rules governing the processing and resolution of these claims. This reinforces the view that significant gaps still remain for the effective implementation of this authority.

The effective implementation of this mechanism therefore remains, for now, one of the most significant pending issues arising from the industrial property reform in Mexico.

At OLIVARES, through our civil and commercial litigation team, we will continue closely monitoring the evolution of this issue and its practical implications for damages claims in industrial property matters.