1E9Ct5D

Furthermore, the holder of a patent or a registration of a utility model, industrialdesign, or integrated circuit design can grant, by means of a contract, a license for itsexploitation. In this case, the license must be registered before the IMPI in order to produceeffects against third parties. In this regard, it is important to emphasize that in relationto inventions, the LPI has established that any person can request from the IMPI theassignment of a mandatory license 8 to exploit an invention (i) when after three yearsfrom the date of the granting of the patent, or four years from the filing of the application,it has not been exploited, or (ii) for purposes of public interest.3. Distinctive Signs3.1. Trademarks210C H A P T E R X I IA trademark is any visible sign that distinguishes products or services from others of thesame kind or type in the market, and its principal function is to distinguish and individualizeproducts or services and their manufacturers or providers. It should be emphasizedthat from the moment that a product or service is distinguished by means of a sign,whether words, designs, or a combination of both, 9 it is considered that a trademarkexists. However, it is necessary to obtain its registration before the IMPI for it to have officialrecognition, which results in a right to its exclusive use.Like other industrial property rights, their registration begins with the filing of anapplication before the IMPI (and the payment of the respective fees). The registrationprocess can take from three to twelve months or more, depending on if during the examinationsof form and substance done by the Institute any legal requirement or impedimentis found. 10__________8In case of the granting of a mandatory license to a third party, the latter must exploit the invention withina maximum term of two years or otherwise the authority may revoke the granting of the license.9Based on their characteristics and the elements that compose them, trademarks can be (i) nominative, whichare those that permit the identification of a product or service through a word or group of words; (ii) nonnominative(or design), which consists of symbols, designs, logos or any figurative element that is distinctive;(iii) mixed, which are those resulting from the combination of words with figurative elements thatshow the trademark as a single distinctive element or combination, and (iv) three-dimensional forms,among which are recognized packaging, containers, or the form or the presentation of the products.10The LPI expressly states what cannot be registered as a trademark: (i) animated or changing words, figures,or three-dimensional forms expressed dynamically; (ii) technical names or names of common usageof the products or services the trademark intends to cover, as well as words that, in the common languageor commercial practice, have become the usual or generic designation of the same; (iii) three-dimensionalforms that are in the public domain or have become of common usage or those lacking the originality tofacilitate distinction, as well as the usual and common form of the product or the form imposed by theirnature or industrial function; (iv) words, figures, or three-dimensional forms that are descriptive; (v) isolatedletters, numbers, or colors, unless combined or accompanied by elements that give them a distinctive