On April 3, 2026, various amendments to the Federal Law for the Protection of Industrial Property (LFPPI) were published in the Official Gazette of the Federation, which entered into force on April 4, 2026.
These amendments introduce structural changes to the industrial property system in Mexico, with the aim of optimizing procedural efficiency, strengthening legal certainty, and reinforcing enforcement mechanisms, particularly in the context of the USMCA review. Below is a summary of some of the main changes: 1. Provisional patent application. The figure of the provisional patent application is incorporated, which allows securing an early filing date and having a period of up to 12 months to file the definitive application. 2. Reduction of processing timeframes. Various timeframes applicable to the procedures before the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (IMPI) are reduced, including resolution times, opposition periods, and procedural terms for the parties. 3. Resolution of applications and administrative silence. Mechanisms are established to ensure the timely issuance of resolutions by IMPI. In the event of non-compliance with the legal timeframes, the authority will have an additional, non-extendable period of 15 days. Should the omission persist, the application may be deemed resolved in the affirmative, in accordance with the applicable legal framework. Likewise, tools are provided to require the authority to issue a resolution. 4. Ownership claim. A specific administrative procedure is introduced that allows claiming ownership of patents, utility models, or industrial designs when they have been applied for or obtained by a third party without right or in bad faith. 5. Restoration of rights and priority. Mechanisms are incorporated that allow restoring rights and recovering priority in applications when the non-compliance with timeframes results from causes not attributable to the applicant or was not intentional. 6. Compensation of the term of pharmaceutical patents. A mechanism is established to compensate the term of patents for pharmaceutical products when the sanitary authorization processes unreasonably reduce the effective period of protection. 7. Online infringement proceedings. IMPI is empowered to conduct infringement proceedings through electronic means, including the filing of submissions, consultation of files, and other procedural actions. 8. Ambush marketing. A new administrative infringement is incorporated to sanction ambush marketing practices, understood as those that generate a false or misleading impression of sponsorship of or association with events, without an official link existing. 9. Artificial intelligence and industrial property. It is expressly recognized that the use of artificial intelligence for the commission of infringements in matters of industrial property will be punishable, including the generation of misleading content, the unauthorized reproduction of distinctive signs, and the improper use of protected information. It is foreseeable that, in the short term, regulatory provisions will be issued developing these changes and defining criteria for their practical implementation before IMPI. At Von Wobeser y Sierra, S.C. we remain at your disposal to address any question or query related to this reform and, in general, to industrial property matters. Patricia Kaim, Partner: +52 (55) 5258-1013 | pkaim@vwys.com.mx Adrian Martínez, Associate: +52 (55) 5258-1038 | admartinez@vwys.com.mx Efrén Sánchez, Associate: +52 (55) 5258-1050 | efsanchez@vwys.com.mx
PDF
