The importance of border measures to fight counterfeiting in Mexico

Managing IP is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 1-2 Paris Gardens, London, SE1 8ND

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2026

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

The importance of border measures to fight counterfeiting in Mexico

Sponsored by

olivares-400px.jpg
border-62866.jpg

Intellectual property rights holders face a race against time to prevent the arrival and circulation of counterfeit goods in Mexico. Jose Carlos Ramirez of Olivares explains the protection available through border measures

Border measures are a fundamental legal instrument to fight piracy and/or counterfeiting since they allow counterfeit products to be seized before they enter the country and into circulation within the Mexican market.

Such border measures can be implemented through criminal proceedings with the filing of a criminal complaint before the Attorney General's Office or through administrative proceedings with the application of measures before the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property, which, in coordination with the National Customs Agency of Mexico and conditional upon compliance with every requirement established by the applicable laws of Mexico, suspend the free circulation of the imported goods.

One of the great challenges faced in these actions is the short period of three days in which the holders of intellectual property (IP) rights have to detect and begin actions against piracy before the concerned products continue with the importation process.

For this reason, and to continue strengthening this system to fight counterfeiting in Mexican customs, there must be effective communication between the authorities and IP rights holders, allowing early identification of this type of merchandise to facilitate its seizure.

This will be achieved by the rights holders and the authorities increasing and implementing regular training and working groups so that they can correctly and quickly identify goods in relation to IP rights, activities that Olivares carries out constantly.

more from across site and SHARED ros bottom lb

More from across our site

Regulatory changes and damages risks are prompting Canadian firms and clients to opt for settlements in generic and biosimilar cases
News of Via Licensing Alliance adding two new members and Nokia’s proposal to extend interim licences to Warner Bros Discovery and Paramount were also among the top talking points
A new claim filed by Ericsson, and a request for access to documents, were also among recent developments
Cooley and Stikeman Elliott advised 35Pharma on the deal, which will allow GSK to get its hands on S235, an investigational medicine for pulmonary hypertension
Simon Wright explains why the UK should embrace the possibility of rejoining the UPC, and reveals how CIPA is reacting to this month’s historic Emotional Perception AI case at the UK Supreme Court
Matthew Grady of Wolf Greenfield says AI presents an opportunity in patent practice for stronger collaboration between in-house and outside counsel
Aparna Watal, head of trademarks at Halfords IP, discusses why lawyers must take a stand when advising clients and how she balances work, motherhood and mentoring
Discussion hosted by Bird & Bird partners also hears that UK courts’ desire to determine FRAND rates could see the jurisdiction penalised in a similar way to China
The platform’s proactive intellectual property enforcement helps brands spot and kill fakes, so they can focus on growth. Managing IP learns more about the programme
Hire of José María del Valle Escalante to lead the firm’s operations in ‘dynamic’ Catalonia and Aragon regions follows last month’s appointment of a new chief information officer
Gift this article