Since the Amendment to the Industrial Property Law of May 18, 2018, the owners of registered trademarks in Mexico are required make the Declaration of Use of Trademarks before the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property.

The Law establishes that the Declaration of Use must be submitted in two occasions:

I) During a period of three months, after the third year on which the registration was granted.

II) When requesting the renewal of the registration.

If the owner does not declare the use of the trademark at any of the mentioned occasions, the registration will expire.

At the moment, it is not necessary for the owner to file evidence proving the use of the trademark, regarding the products or services for which it was granted, however, it is advisable to save evidence that attests the use of the trademark, such as invoices, advertisements, publications, brochures, catalogues or any other marketing document.

The main purpose of incorporating the Declaration of Use into the Mexican Law is to promote the active use of registered trademarks and avoid monopoly over registrations that are not being used by their owners.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.