BY LUIS C. SCHMIDT PARTNER WORLD COPYRIGHT LAW REPORT, DECEMBER 2007 The market research company IDC has published the results of a new study into piracy rates in Mexico. The study and research took place at the request of Microsoft Mexico. It estimates piracy rates in Mexico to be 63%, compared to an average of 35% [...]

BY LUIS C. SCHMIDT PARTNER MANAGING INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, MAY 2008 TV or advertisements are audiovisual productions like films, TV programmes or videos –moving pictures with sound that can be viewed with the assistance of equipment. Their nature is unique though, since they are made to promote a trade marked product or service. In any event, TV [...]

BY LUIS C. SCHMIDT PARTNER COPYRIGHT WORLD ISSUE #180, MAY 2008 Copyright enforcement is a puzzle that has troubled governments around the world. It does not exhaust or terminate just by the fact that rights are recognized in a given jurisdiction or that courts have the willingness to enforce them. Creating rules to stop or deter [...]

POR LUIS C. SCHMIDT SOCIO MANAGING INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, NOVEMBER 2009 For the past several decades, the world has struggled to protect folkloric expressions, without yet achieving a result that is either globally consistent or satisfactory. The need for protection derives from the fact that Western civilisations have adapted folklore as a means of entertainment or have [...]

BY LUIS C. SCHMIDT PARTNER GETTING THE DEAL THROUGH - COPYRIGHTS 2008 LEGISLATION AND ENFORCEMENT 1 WHAT IS THE RELEVANT LEGISLATION? The legislation affecting copyright in Mexico includes: the Copyright Act 1996; the 1998 Regulations to the Copyright Act; the Industrial Property Act 1991 and reforms of 1994; the Federal Penal Code 1931 and amendments of 1996. [...]

BY LUIS C. SCHMIDT PARTNER MANAGING INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, AMERICAS IP FOCUS 2008 An intriguing question in intellectual property law has been to what extent copyright, industrial property or special rights should apply: i) when authored “pure” arts are incorporated in industrial products; ii) when industrial products display artistic elements or “aesthetic” design; or iii) when designed [...]

BY LUIS C. SCHMIDT PARTNER INTELLECTUAL ASSET MANAGEMENT -IAM MAGAZINE- INTERNATIONAL REPORT, OCTOBER 2008 To date, the Mexican criminal law system has proved to be an effective means of fighting against certain forms of online piracy. Judicial precedents show an increasing number of cases in which copyright owners have been able to stop counterfeiting or piracy [...]

BY LUIS C. SCHMIDT PARTNER COPYRIGHT WORLD ISSUE #185, NOVEMBER 2008 This note refers to certain terminology in Intellectual Property Law. It is particularly intended to explore existing differences in the manner that Anglo-Saxon and Roman systems designate the subject of intellectual property. Inventions, trademarks and works-of-authorship have all become the subject-matter of a legal discipline [...]

BY LUIS C. SCHMIDT PARTNER INTELLECTUAL ASSET MANAGEMENT (IAM), INTERNATIONAL REPORT, FEBRUARY 2009 A Mexico City appeal court has rendered its decision in civil proceedings brought by the Sociedad de Autores y Compositores de Mexico (SACM), a collecting society representing music composers, against Cinemex, a national cinema company. SACM filed the complaint claiming royalties for composers in connection [...]