Mexico City, January 12th, 2021.
The new precedent has already been published in the Official Gazette as relevant case entitled: PATENTS. WHEN THERE ARE DELAYS ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE ADMINISTRATIVE AUTHORITY IN THEIR APPROVAL, ITS VALIDITY MAY NOT BE LESS THAN SEVENTEEN YEARS COUNTED FROM THE DATE OF ITS GRANTING (SYSTEMATIC INTERPRETATION OF ARTICLE 23 OF THE INDUSTRIAL LAW) OF THE OWNERSHIP.
This comes from a successful patent case handled by our firm to compensate for the lost time of the validity of patents in Mexico. The recent decision by the Supreme Court of Justice declared 17 effective years of patent validity. Any time less than 17 years is compensable. The interpretation of 17 years provides a substantial relevance considering that the SCJ made a systematic interpretation of article 1709, Section 12 of NAFTA, as well as article 23 of the Industrial Property Law and finally of the 1996 and 2016 guidelines, concluding that patents should not be valid for less than 17 years.
This precedent might apply to all patent applications filed before July 1st., 2020.
If you need further information, please contact:
Martín Michaus
Eduardo Kleinberg
Adolfo Athié
Claudio Ulloa
Juan Carlos Hernández
Eduardo Castañeda
