IP Law for Protection of Advertising - Mexico
Advertising is governed by the Federal Law for the Protection of Consumers (FLPC) which establishes that an advertisement must be truthful and verifiable and must not contain text, dialogue, sounds, images, marks, geographical indications or other designations which put the consumers to error or confusion. In case of breach of this law, the advertising campaign is considered to be an infringement and Consumers Federal Bureau is empowered to order the infringing party to stop using the advertisement, alter the advertisement to prevent further breach and if needed impose a fine.
Comparative Advertising:- If a comparative advertisement is found to be deceptive or abusive in order to gain a commercial advantage, it is considered to be unfair competition offence under the Industrial Property Law. Such type of advertisement falls under the trademark infringement and an action against the infringer can be taken along with imposition of fine, etc
Use of trademark:- Advertising is also considered to be an important element of evidence and the mark is liable to cancellation if it is not used continuously for three years. Advertising either in writing or through electronic media also constitutes adequate proof of trademark use in Mexico.
Famous & Well-known Marks:- Under the new provisions of Industrial Property Law in Mexico, declaration of protection for famous and well-known trademarks indicate that evidence of advertising featuring a mark is fundamental and an applicant seeking to obtain a declaration should provide documents with regard to (a) the kind of media used to advertise the mark, (b) the timescale for use of the mark in advertising and (c) the financial amount invested in advertising the mark during the previous three years in Mexico and in other countries.
Copyright Protection:- All artistic elements present in advertisement such as texts, illustrations, photographs, music can be considered to be automatically protected under copyright law . Federal Copyright Law also provides for advertising agreements by allowing use of copyright protected material in advertising, if the author or owner authorizes the use of his or her work for a term of six months starting from the date on which the advertising is made available to consumers.
Reservation of rights: - Another copyright law that may influence on advertising relates to reservation of rights under Federal Copyright Law. Under this term, the names of television or radio programmes or artistic names and characters are covered for grant of protection to the creator of the advertisement. In order to qualify, the advertisement amongst other things is novel in the sense that no other similar advertisement has been in vogue in Mexico or other countries.
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