POR LUIS C. SCHMIDT, SOCIO MANAGING INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, BRAND MANAGEMENT: SPONSORED EDITORIAL, MAY 2009. Fair use is a legal theory used in IP law that sets out limitations to exclusive patent, trade mark or copyright rights and provides defences against allegations of IP infringement. It can be viewed as a line that divides the rights of [...]

POR SERGIO L. OLIVARES, JR., SOCIO 1.   OWNERSHIP OF MARKS  Who may apply? Trademarks in Mexico are regulated under Mexico's current Law of Industrial Property (LIP), which was enacted on 27 June 1991 and further amended on 2 August 1994, and also under the Regulations to the LIP. Article 87 of the LIP establishes who may use [...]

POR ALEJANDRO LUNA, SOCIO. WORLD TRADEMARK REVIEW, FEBRUARY/MARCH 2010. In Mexico, a newspaper article was recently published under the headline: “Could you advertise your trademark by using David Beckham, Paris Hilton and Angelina Jolie and pay only US$300 for the campaign?” The article described an ingenious way of promoting a well-known hotel in Mexico City, which [...]

BY GUILLERMO A. BALLESTEROS MANAGING INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, INTERNATIONAL BRIEFINGS, SEPTEMBER 2009  Mexico is one of the few countries in the world that does not offer the possibility of opposing a trade mark application, since such proceedings are not contemplated in Mexican Industrial Property Law. Therefore, the examination process is limited to the discretion of the examining [...]

BY JUAN CARLOS VILLASEÑOR MANAGING INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, INTERNATIONAL BRIEFINGS, NOVEMBER 2009 The legal regulations of advertising in Mexico are not as developed as in other countries, which in practice provide infringers with more elements to construe their defenses against eventual challenges from competitors and/or consumers. In addition, and since infringement actions with IMPI for unfair competition are [...]