Amendments to Mexico S Federal Law for Protection of Industrial Property Inform More Flexible International Ip Strategy for Biotech Companies
Contributed by Knobbe Martens. Originally published on Patexia; republished here as part of the LexDana archive.
Written by: Jason J. Jardine and Lizzy T. Do
Key Takeaway: Amendments to Mexico’s Federal Law for Protection of Industrial Property align more with U.S. Patent and Trademark Office standards for restoring priority and application revival, increasing international patent strategy flexibility for biotech startups.
On April 3, 2026, Mexico published amendments to its Federal Law for Protection of Industrial Property (FLPIP). These amendments introduce for the first time in Mexican law mechanisms to restore rights. Notably, the amendments introduce the restoration of priority rights and the reinstatement of prosecution rights.[1]
Applicants of patent, utility model, and industrial design applications can now request restoration of priority rights within a two-month period following the expiration of the original deadline.[2] Applicants can also now request the reinstatement of rights lost due to missed deadlines during prosecution within 15-business-days of the missed deadline.[3]
These developments create more alignment with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s unintentional delay standard in restoring priority and application revival. This may also allow for more flexible international patent strategy. For example, for biotech companies having global operations, these procedural changes present opportunities to recover patent rights that were inadvertently lost, which could thus improve the strength of global patent portfolios. Furthermore, these developments in Mexican law also provide an opportunity for early-stage biotech startup companies looking to expand into Mexico, but that may have inadvertently missed filing deadlines.
Editor: Brenden S. Gingrich, Ph.D.
[1] https://www.olivares.mx/knowledge-newsletters/mexico-introduces-restoration-of-priority-rights-for-patent-utility-model-and-industrial-design-applications; https://www.olivares.mx/knowledge-newsletters/reinstatement-of-rights-following-missed-prosecution-deadlines
[2] https://www.olivares.mx/knowledge-newsletters/mexico-introduces-restoration-of-priority-rights-for-patent-utility-model-and-industrial-design-applications
[3] https://www.olivares.mx/knowledge-newsletters/reinstatement-of-rights-following-missed-prosecution-deadlines
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