Mexico: Into the System
Mexico’s accession to the Hague System entered into force on June 6, 2020, with the country becoming the 64th member of the Geneva Act (1999) of the Hague Agreement and 74th member of The Hague Union.
As of that date, applicants can make use of the system by designating Mexico in an international design application filed at either the International Bureau (IB) of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) or Mexico’s domestic office.
This article briefly explains the conditions and particularities surrounding the implementation of the Hague System in the country.
Background
Mexico acquired the obligation to accede to the 1999 Geneva Act by ratifying two important international agreements: the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership in June 2018, and the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement in 2019–2020.
In parallel to finalising these agreements, Mexico started to adapt its domestic law to contemplate provisions in the Geneva Act. Accordingly, on April 27, 2018, a law amendment introduced changes to the handling of industrial designs, including:
The publication of industrial design applications, which formerly were published only until grant;
The definition of design novelty in terms of “independent creation” requiring that a design must be different to a “significant degree” from known designs or a combination of features of known designs;
The requirement to indicate the specific product to which a design is intended to be applied, instead of merely indicating a wide type of products; and
Modifying the term of protection of industrial design registrations from a non-extendable 15-year term to a renewable five-year term up to a maximum of 25 years.
Additionally, a bill for enacting a new IP law has been recently passed maintaining most of the provisions introduced in the 2018 law amendment and considering further aspects concerning the Geneva Act and associated rules and regulations.
Declarations and rules of implementation
Mexico deposited its instrument of accession to the Geneva Act with WIPO on March 6, 2020, listing some declarations regarding the act and the common regulations under the 1999 and 1960 acts of the Hague Agreement.
Moreover, on June 5, 2020, the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (IMPI) published the rules and the schedule of fees for the implementation of the Hague System.
The declarations made by the country, in combination with the implementation rules, are:
Article 7(2) and rule 12(3): individual designation fee
Mexico declared that in connection with any international application designating the country and with the renewal of the same, the designation fee shall be replaced by an individual designation fee.
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