Pursuant to the 2011 General Rules on Foreign Trade, since January 2, 2012,
holders of trademarks that have been registered with the Mexican Industrial
Property Institute ("IMPI") may request the listing of their trademarks at
the Mexican Customs Office ("AGA"), through a database developed by AGA. The
purpose of the listing is to facilitate the identification of goods
illegally bearing trademarks registered in Mexico and being imported into
the country, thus violating the rights of their legitimate holders. The
listing will expedite the immobilization of goods and the filing of criminal
or administrative-law actions. The AGA application must include the following information:
- The trademark registered with IMPI, together with its registration
number, denomination, logo and effective term.
- The holder's name, address, federal tax ID number, telephone number,
e-mail address, and the trademark legal representative in Mexico.
- The applicable tariff item.
- A detailed description of the goods covered by the trademark,
including specifications, technical characteristics and other data necessary
to identify the goods.
- The authorized importers' and distributors' names or corporate names
and their respective federal tax ID numbers.
- Photographs of the goods and, if applicable, of their packaging or
packing material.
- The purpose of the trademark listing is to determine in an easy way
whether the goods being imported are illegal and, if so,advise IMPI or the
Attorney General's Office ("PGR"), as the case may be, so that in turn IMPI
or PGE may inform the situation to the legal representative of the trademark
holders.
- Listed trademark holders may file a criminal complaint or
administrative-law infringement action with the PGR or IMPI, depending on
whether the violation is actionable by accusation or by a complaint of an
interested party.
- To avoid potential infringements, it is advisable to list the
trademarks with the AGA database. Our fees for such action will be US$300.00
plus VAT. For this purpose it is necessary to submit a power of attorney
that meets with all applicable legal requirements. As of today, there is no
government fee payable for trademark listing.
