On January 24, 2020, it was published in the Federal Official Gazette, the Decree through which the provisions of the Federal Copyright Law were amended, specifically, Title VII Chapter III regarding “Popular Cultures and the Traditional Cultural Expressions”.
New obligations have been included with the amendments for companies or people who use or exploit, literary, artistic, folk art and artisanal works, original and collective, and derived from popular cultures or traditional cultural expressions, in which elements of the culture and identity of the indigenous peoples and communities of Mexico are included.
The use or exploitation, direct or indirect, with fines of profit of diverse cultural expressions will be subject to the following:
- A written consent must be requested from the indigenous people or community holder of work.
- There may be a remuneration to the community.
- In the event that the community cannot be identified, a consultation to the Ministry of Culture should be requested so that the holder community can be identified. The consultation must be carried out in conjunction with the National Institute of Indigenous Peoples, as a technical body.
- Once the community is identified, the Ministry of Culture will notify the interested party so that the corresponding authorization process can be initiated.
- In case of not having an identified holder community, the Ministry of Culture, may authorize the request.
The above should be considered when including this kind of Cultural Expressions in trademark logos, industrial designs, publicity campaigns, cinematographic works, audiovisual works, videos, software, game software, musicals, dance works, paints, sculptures, radio and television programs, as well as in reservations of exclusive right of use.
Should you require additional information, please contact the Intellectual Property team of Basham.
Martin Michaus
mmichaus@basham.com.mx
Juan Carlos Hernandez
jhernandez@basham.com.mx
Manuel Guerra
mguerra@basham.com.mx
Mariana Vargas
mavargas@basham.com.mx
Mexico City, January 30th, 2020.
