Since 4 April 2026, Mexico trademark registration works under a reformed Federal Law for the Protection of Industrial Property: position, motion and multimedia marks can now be registered, the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (IMPI) has maximum timelines to decide, and signs linked to the cultural heritage of indigenous and Afro-Mexican communities are barred. The reform was published in the Official Gazette (DOF) on 3 April 2026 and entered into force the next day. This guide is for European and Latin American companies entering or expanding in Mexico.
Key takeaways
- Article 172 now lists position, motion and multimedia marks alongside holograms, shapes, sounds and smells.
- If there are no office actions and no opposition, IMPI must decide an application within five months of filing.
- If IMPI misses its deadlines, the applicant can ask a new Specialised Technical Committee to start a procedure for a mandatory decision.
- Signs similar to the cultural heritage of indigenous and Afro-Mexican communities cannot be registered, except by members of those communities with authorisation.
- Unchanged but critical: the declaration of use after the third year and the use declaration at renewal.
What changed in the 2026 IP reform?
The decree, titled as a reform on technology transfer and the simplification of patent and registration procedures, amended more than a hundred articles of the law. The consolidated text published by the Chamber of Deputies marks each change. For trademarks, the main points are:
| Topic | After the reform | Article |
|---|---|---|
| New mark types | Position, motion and multimedia marks; broader trade dress wording | 172 |
| New refusal grounds | Non-distinctive common names, phrases, sounds or figurative elements; signs linked to indigenous and Afro-Mexican cultural heritage | 173 (I Bis, XXIII) |
| Bad-faith statement | Applicant declares under oath, at filing and renewal, that its goods and services are free of deceit or bad faith | 178 |
| Timeline without objections | Decision within 5 months of filing | 229 Bis |
| Timeline with objections or opposition | Decision within 5 months after the 5-day period for final arguments | 229 |
| Renewal and licences | Renewal decided within 3 months; licence recordal within 2 months | 237, 240 |
| Missed deadlines | Procedure for a mandatory decision before a Specialised Technical Committee | 327 Bis to 327 Quater |
| Infringements | Falsely suggesting official sponsorship of a mass event; conduct also sanctioned when carried out using artificial intelligence | 386 |
Law firm Basham, Ringe y Correa (7 April 2026) summarised the same changes shortly after publication.
Which new mark types can be registered in Mexico?
Mexico already accepted holograms, three-dimensional shapes, sounds, smells and trade dress (the combination of size, design, colour, packaging and decoration that distinguishes a product). The reform adds three categories in article 172:
- Position marks: a sign placed in a specific, consistent position on the product, such as a stripe on a shoe or a tab on a pocket.
- Motion marks: a moving image or a change in the position of the mark’s elements, such as an animated logo.
- Multimedia marks: a combination of image and sound, such as an audiovisual sting at the start of an advert.
For brands that live on screens and packaging, this allows protection of assets that were previously hard to register. The application still has to describe the sign in a way that makes the object of protection clear and precise, as article 171 requires; how each type is represented depends on IMPI’s implementing rules.
How long does Mexico trademark registration take in 2026?
The procedure keeps its structure. IMPI publishes the application in its Gazette within ten days of filing, and anyone with an interest has one non-extendable month to oppose (art. 221), filing evidence with the opposition (art. 222). After that month, IMPI carries out formal and substantive examination. If it raises objections or there is an opposition, the applicant has two months to respond (art. 225), extendable by a further two months with a fee (art. 226); missing both means abandonment.
What is new are the maximum timelines. Where there are no office actions and no opposition, IMPI must decide within five months of filing (art. 229 Bis). Where there are, the parties have five days for final arguments and IMPI must then decide within five months (art. 229). If IMPI misses these limits, article 327 Bis lets the applicant ask the Specialised Technical Committee of IMPI’s Governing Board to start a procedure for a mandatory decision. Under the transitional provisions, the Board had 30 days from entry into force to set up the Committee and issue its guidelines, and pending files can use the procedure once the Committee exists.
Cultural heritage and other new refusal grounds
New paragraph XXIII of article 173 bars signs identical or confusingly similar to elements of the cultural heritage, traditional knowledge and cultural expressions of indigenous and Afro-Mexican peoples and communities, or to their collective intellectual property. The only exception is an application filed by members of the community, with the authorisation of its general assembly, as the regulations will set out. Fashion, textile, food and craft brands using motifs, names or designs inspired by Mexican communities should review their filings with this in mind.
New paragraph I Bis also refuses technical or common names, words, phrases, sounds or figurative elements that lack distinctiveness for the goods or services claimed.
Use: the rules that still catch foreign owners
The reform keeps two use obligations that cause most losses of Mexican registrations. First, the owner must declare real and effective use, listing the specific goods or services, within three months after the third anniversary of grant; otherwise the registration lapses by law, with no IMPI decision (art. 233). Second, renewal every ten years requires another declaration of use, and protection continues only for the goods and services declared (art. 237). Separately, a mark unused for three consecutive years can be cancelled at a third party’s request (art. 235).
What this means for your business
- File through Madrid or nationally: Mexico has been a Madrid Protocol member since 2013, so a designation from your home mark is possible, but the use declarations still apply.
- Review your brand assets: animated logos, audiovisual signatures and placement elements may now justify their own filings.
- Check cultural references before filing names, patterns or designs linked to Mexican communities.
- Docket the third-year use declaration from the grant date, not the filing date.
- Track IMPI’s timelines and be ready to use the mandatory decision procedure if a file stalls.
If you are bringing a European or Latin American brand into Mexico, our trademark registration team for Mexico and Latin America can plan the filing route and keep the use deadlines under control.
Where companies get Mexican trademarks wrong
- Missing the third-year declaration: the registration lapses automatically, and the mark has to be filed again.
- Declaring use too broadly or too narrowly: protection continues only for what is declared, and false declarations create risk.
- Changing the mark during prosecution: modifying the sign or adding goods turns the application into a new filing with a new date (art. 227).
- Filing only the word mark: logos, packaging and now motion or multimedia signs often carry the brand in the market.
- Ignoring the opposition window: one month from publication, with no extension.
These risks multiply when the Mexican filing is handled apart from the rest of the portfolio. A single coordinated strategy keeps filings, use evidence and deadlines aligned.
Frequently asked questions
When did Mexico’s 2026 IP reform enter into force?
The decree amending the Federal Law for the Protection of Industrial Property was published in the Official Gazette on 3 April 2026 and entered into force the next day, 4 April 2026. Matters pending on that date are concluded under the rules in force when they started, although they can use the new mandatory decision procedure once the Committee is set up.
How long does IMPI take to register a trademark after the reform?
If there are no office actions and no opposition, the law now requires IMPI to decide within five months of filing. If there are objections or an opposition, the timeline extends: after the response and a five-day period for final arguments, IMPI has up to five months to decide. Missed deadlines can trigger a mandatory decision procedure.
Can I register a motion or multimedia mark in Mexico?
Yes. Since 4 April 2026, article 172 expressly includes position, motion and multimedia marks. The sign must be represented so that the object of protection is clear and precise, and it must be distinctive for the goods or services claimed. Representation details depend on IMPI’s implementing rules, so check the current filing requirements.
Can IP Global Guard handle trademark registration in Mexico?
Yes. We prepare Madrid designations through your office of origin, acting before EUIPO and OEPM directly where our professionals are entitled and through qualified representatives otherwise, or coordinate a national filing with qualified local correspondents before IMPI. We also manage oppositions, use declarations and renewals from a single point of contact.
How IP Global Guard can help you enter Mexico
IP Global Guard, the IP services line of META Channel Corporation Limited, manages trademark portfolios in more than 25 jurisdictions across Europe, Latin America and Africa, with one strategy and one billing relationship. For non-traditional marks such as motion or multimedia signs, our digital assets team can help align the filing with how the brand is used online.
Tell us which marks and products you plan to launch in Mexico and when. We will propose the filing route, identify assets worth protecting under the new mark types and set up the use deadlines. Contact our team to plan your Mexican filings.
This article is general information, not legal advice, and reflects the law as amended on 3 April 2026.
Sources
- Cámara de Diputados, Federal Law for the Protection of Industrial Property, consolidated text including the decree published in the DOF on 3 April 2026
- Cámara de Diputados, list of amendments to the Federal Law for the Protection of Industrial Property
- Basham, Ringe y Correa, reform of the Federal Law for the Protection of Industrial Property (7 April 2026)
- WIPO Lex, Madrid Protocol contracting parties (database)
