Intellectual Property Rights in Mexico

Intellectual Property Rights in Mexico

After signing the NAFTA on the 90s Mexico has been through a lot of changes.

First the opening to a freer market even though we did business across-borders before.

Second the implementation of new technologies that will let us keep up with the international competition.

Third the maintenance of all of our signed agreements, basically check that we have enforced the rules as well as improved our economy.

We are going to focus on the 3rd one, specifically on the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) matter discussion.

Mexico has signed with different organizations like World Trade Organization (WTO), World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), and standardized our legal issues about IPR in order to fulfill the international requirements. In theory Mexican laws are the same as the ones signed at the WTO. The main difference is the implementation of them.

Mexico’s record regarding protection of IPR in practice has not been implemented, enforced and protected the way it should be. The most affected industries have always been the developers of technology as well as innovators. Some of them are: the pharmaceutical sector, film and music industry, software developers and fashion brands. They are not receiving money back thanks to trademark counterfeiting, copyright piracy, and patent infringements most of them produced in China but highly commercialized in Mexico as well in countries in developing ways.

Mexican companies and individuals have the same degree of intellectual property rights protection as given to foreign companies and individuals.

But as we have a major “Pirate” industry, Mexican culture on IPR, generally speaking, is not conscientious.

First Mexico is not a developer of technology and if someone has the opportunity to do it most of the times is done abroad, because of Mexico’s lack of infrastructure to develop it or lack of support and capital. So if it’s done abroad joint with foreigners it stays abroad.

Second IPR of Mexican products are respected abroad as they respect their own, they give them national treatment, but the situation changes here as we are not developers of technology we don’t see a big difference between buying the original or the copy, only that the first one costs 5 times more than the other.

Mexican government supposedly is for the protection of IPR, but our “Pirate” industry is so big that sometimes government is afraid of social protests so they prefer to leave it the way it is. The way to prevent or punish the “pirates” at the informal commerce is just getting there and destroying the products, most of them DVDs, CDs, software and illegal pornography. That means big looses for the seller but it doesn’t encourage him to stop doing it because the consequence of its behavior wasn’t really bad like going to jail or a big fine.

There is also a lot of corruption in our system so it’s impossible to know who is getting benefits of it. Could be the sellers themselves as well as the police, the owners of the place, politicians, legislators etc.

Advantages of Pirating:

Informal Commerce gives people with low income the opportunity to get the latest technologies and keep up competitively. Also it sustains millions of people.

For a student, with no job and low income, is the best way to get the newest things like music, films, software and books (copies) at a very low price and still having money for doing something else even when they know they are affecting the industry they still do it.

The pharmaceutical industry has been affected by similar products, which are the best choice for people with any or very low income. The ones that can afford the original ones they will buy them with out noticing the similar ones.

Textile and clothing industry is a matter of status. Who doesn’t have money will buy clothing just to be covered, who has low income will try to be dressed as well as fashionable at the same time and who can afford expensive and luxury products will not buy any “pirate” product.