New Amendments in Mexico’s Trademark Law

Some of the main changes relating to trademarks in Mexico, approved last month, introduce more flexibility on the registration requirements. Now, instead of “industrialists, traders and service providers” any person is able to apply for a trademark registration; some types of non-traditional marks that were previously denied protection will now be registrable, including sounds, scents and holograms; descriptive terms, terms in common use and nondistinctive trade dress which protection was previously denied will now be registrable, based on distinctiveness acquired through use; certification marks will now be registrable.

Trademark oppositions’ provisions were also modified (Articles 120-125).  Worth stressing is that the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (IMPI) is now required to suspend an application when an opposition is filed, and to issue a decision on the merits of each case. Previously, the issuing of a decision was only mandatory if the opposition was sustained. Another change is that obtaining a trademark registration “in bad faith” is now a ground for invalidating the registration.