Mexican declarations of well-known and famous marks

01-06-2012

Victor Adames

The Mexican Industrial Property Law (MIPL) distinguishes between well-known and famous trademarks, giving the latter wider protection than is given to well-known marks.

According to the MIPL, it is understood that a trademark is well-known in Mexico when a determined sector of the public, or the commercial circles of the country, know the mark as a consequence of commercial activities by the entity that uses the mark on its products or services, or as a consequence of their promotion or publicity, in Mexico or overseas.

On the other hand, the MIPL defines a famous mark as one being known by most consumers. Unlike well-known marks, that are required to be known by a determined commercial sector, famous marks are those known by the public in general, which includes any commercial sector.

“THE REQUIRED INFORMATION AND/ OR DOCUMENTATION TO REQUEST THE DECLARATION OF A WELL-KNOWN OR FAMOUS MARK IS SOMETIMES CONFIDENTIAL AND, IN OTHER CASES, IT IS INCONGRUENT WITH THE VARIOUS INTERNATIONAL TREATIES.”


MIPL, well-known marks, declaration, MIIP

WIPR