Skip Navigation

  1. About Us
    1. Overview
    2. History
    3. Recognition
    4. Offices
  2. Our Practice
    1. Practice Areas
      1. Patents, Utility Models, and Industrial Designs
      2. Trademarks
      3. Copyrights
      4. Corporate, Commercial and Business Law
      5. IP Litigation, Alternative Dispute Resolution
      6. Regulatory Law
      7. Licensing, Tech Transfer & Franchising
      8. Anti-Piracy, Anti-Counterfeiting & Enforcement
    2. Industry Groups
      1. Media, Sports & Entertainment Law Group
      2. Life Science & Pharmaceutical Law Group
  3. Our People
    1. Partners
      1. Sergio L. Olivares, Sr. † (1931-2010)
      2. Sergio L. Olivares, Jr.
      3. Luis C. Schmidt
      4. Cesar Ramos, Jr.
      5. Antonio Belaunzaran
      6. Gustavo A. Alcocer
      7. Jose Ignacio De Santiago
      8. Alejandro Luna
      9. Alonso Camargo
      10. Daniel Sanchez
    2. Associates (A - M)
      1. Osvaldo Amaral
      2. Armando Arenas
      3. Sofía Arroyo
      4. Guillermo Ballesteros
      5. Varinia Calleros
      6. Abraham Diaz
      7. Georgina Flores
      8. Pedro Herrera
      9. Carlos Maya
    3. Associates (N - Z)
      1. Mauricio Narváez
      2. Víctor Ramírez
      3. Sergio Rangel
      4. Maria del Carmen Sada
      5. Juan Luis Serrano
      6. Guillermo Treviño
      7. Carlos Woodworth
    4. All Attorneys / Engineers
    5. Firm Administration
  4. Knowledge & Resources
    1. Articles
      1. Trademark Law Articles
        1. Use requirements
        2. Approach to composite marks changed, again
        3. Life Sciences Handbook 2011 - Country Q&A
        4. Mexico should accept secondary meaning
        5. Getting the Deal Through - Trademarks 2011
        6. Pharmaceutical Trademarks 2010/2011 - A Global Guide
        7. No legal basis for banning names derived from INNs
        8. How Latin America tackles cutting-edge IP issues
        9. Specialised IP court corrects IMPI
        10. Protecting trade dress
        11. 43 more items...
      2. Patent Law Articles
        1. Getting the Deal Through - Patents 2012
        2. Surge of Patent Application Final Rejections Provides Unique Opportunity for Patent Precent Making
        3. Mexico issues regulations to approve biologic drugs
        4. Latin America Roundtable
        5. New regulations pending
        6. The International Comparative Guide
        7. Marketing authorization for pharmaceutical
        8. Approval of follow-on biologics in Mexico
        9. Mexican Linkage Gazette April 2011
        10. Patent Prosecution Highway in Mexico
        11. 37 more items...
      3. Copyright Law Articles
        1. Advertising in social media networks
        2. Technology challenges digital rights
        3. Exceptions to copyright protection and the permitted uses of copyright works in the hi-tech and digital sectors
        4. Derechos sobre producción audiovisual
        5. How Latin America tackles cutting-edge IP issues
        6. Copyright Litigation 2010
        7. Legislation and enforcement - Copyrights 2010
        8. Valuing folklore
        9. Protecting novel ideas
        10. Mexico's fair use balancing act
        11. 100 more items...
      4. Corporate Law Articles
        1. Mexico issues Personal Data Protection Rules
        2. How data affects innovation
        3. A practical cross-border
        4. New registry for security interests
        5. The International Comparative Legal Guide to: Merger Control 2011
        6. The International Comparative Legal Guide to: Merger Control 2010
        7. Due diligence issues to consider in M&A
        8. Income expectations in licensing
        9. The reasons for valuation
        10. Amendments proposed to franchise regulation
      5. IP Litigation, ADR Articles
        1. Scope of new specialised courts widened
        2. Reform of preliminary injunctions
        3. Mexican Patent Office excludes Formulation Patents from Linkage Gazette
        4. Mexico gets ready to approve biocomparable drugs
        5. Mexico's hotel for the stars highlights power in the name
        6. Supreme Court upholds the worth of formulation patents
        7. Getting the Deal Through - Patents 2010
        8. Getting the Deal Through Trademarks 2010
        9. Trademark enforcement
        10. Venues for appealing IMPI decisions
        11. 15 more items...
      6. Regulatory Law Articles
        1. Recent amendment to the Federal Law for Consumer Protection
        2. Amendments to the Federal Law for Consumer Protection
        3. Mexico issues Personal Data Protection Rules
        4. New Regulations Pending
        5. Marketing authorization for pharmaceutical products to foreign applicants
        6. Data Package Exclusivity (DPE)
        7. Supreme Court upholds the worth of formulation patents
        8. Pharmaceutical trademarks
        9. Framework for biotherapeutic products established
        10. Pharmaceutical Advertising 2009
        11. 4 more items...
      7. Licensing, Tech Transfer Articles
        1. Creating a secure franchise system
      8. Anti-Piracy, Anti-Counterfeiting Articles
        1. New register against counterfeits
        2. Beat the counterfeiters in Mexico
        3. Battling counterfeits through Customs
        4. Getting the Deal Through Trademarks 2010
        5. Enforcing plant variety rights in Mexico
        6. Pharmaceutical Trademarks 2009
        7. Internet Issues
        8. Anti-counterfeiting 2009
        9. Vegetal variety rights enforced
        10. New Customs rules lead to seizures
        11. 3 more items...
      9. Media, Sports & Entertainment Focused Articles
        1. Advertising in social media networks
        2. Whither Rental Rights?
        3. Improved protection for personalities
      10. Life Sciences Focused Articles
        1. Latin America Roundtable
        2. New regulations pending
        3. The International Comparative
        4. Approval of follow-on biologics in Mexico
        5. Global Pharmaceutical Linkage Regulations:
        6. Life Sciences Handbook 2011 - Country Q&A
        7. Supreme Court upholds the worth of formulation patents
        8. Repercussions expected on medicine advertising campaign in Mexico
        9. Framework for biotherapeutic products established
        10. Pharmaceutical Trademarks 2009
        11. 1 more item...
    2. Webinar Archive
      1. Webinar - Changes to Mexican Patent and Healthcare Laws for Life Sciences
      2. Webinar - Digital Rights Issues in Copyright Law
      3. Webinar - Data Package Exclusivity Rights in Latin America
    3. Recognition
    4. News
      1. Mexico subscribes Madrid Protocol
      2. Presumed Guilty - How can a law firm help win an Emmy?
      3. New rules came in force to speed timeframes in administrative appeal proceedings
      4. Recent reforms to the Mexican Industrial Property Law dealing with trademark priority rights
      5. Olivares & Cia. ranking
      6. Data Package Exclusivity (DPE)
      7. Mr. Sergio Olivares Sr's Passing
      8. Pharma Linkage Regulations Supreme Court Decision
      9. Managing IP magazine has recognized Olivares & Cia. as the leading firm for patent work in Mexico
      10. Mexican Congress amends the Patent Law
      11. 1 more item...
  5. Events
  6. Offices
  7. Contact Us
  8. Quick guide to Mexico’s regulatory system
    1. Patent regulatory overview
    2. Trademark regulatory overview
    3. Copyright regulatory overview
    4. Corporate & Commercial Regulatory overview

Home » Knowledge & Resources » Articles » Trademark Law Articles » In support of secondary meaning

In support of secondary meaning

By Varinia Calleros
Managing Intellectual Property, International Briefings, July/August 2008
Mexican intellectual property law does not provide protection to trade marks that are not inherently distinctive but have attained secondary meaning through use. This means that companies cannot obtain exclusive rights in Mexico over descriptive or generic words, surnames, geographic names or isolated colours and isolated letters, even through continuous and exclusive use or extensive advertisement of the branded products or services (which some jurisdictions deem grounds for proving “acquired distinctiveness”).
Many countries have utilized the secondary meaning doctrine in order to distinguish trade marks that are widely recognized by the public for certain products or services from others of the same kind or class in the market. These marks include words, names, symbols, shapes or designs that inherently are, or over time have become, familiar sources with which consumers identify and which meet the purpose of a trade mark and therefore should be subject to trade mark protection.
Significantly, Mexican IP law does contemplate the opposite scenario, namely “genericide” (Article 153). This calls for the cancellation of a trade mark that no longer distinguishes the products or services that it once identified. Thus, it seems that use can work against trade mark owners in Mexico, but not in favour.
Without the adoption of the secondary meaning doctrine, companies are forced to incorporate additional elements into their trade marks, such as fanciful words and designs, in order to obtain trade mark protection. However, since they cannot enforce trade mark rights based on the generic or descriptive word, colour or letter that has attained secondary meaning itself, buy only in combination with the additional elements, exclusivity is very difficult to sustain throughout time.