Filing reforms will save paper and money

April 24, 2013

by Mariana García

Much has been written about the paperless office in recent years, and the rapid development of IT is enabling an increasing number of paperless practices. Paradoxically, consumption of paper has increased exponentially since the increased availability of computers and printers. The main reason is that we have become conditioned to use paper since childhood and paper has become an intimate part of how we generate, access and store information.

This trend has also affected intellectual property in our country. Under recent amendments to the Regulations of the Mexican Industrial Property Law, the filing of a certified copy of a priority application is no longer required. Consequently, for priority to be recognised by the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (IMPI), it will only be necessary to indicate the priority filing date, serial number and country of origin in the application papers. In addition, it is not necessary to submit a power of attorney document along with the application papers, provided that IMPI recognises the authority of the representative signing it through a declaration under the oath contained in the application form. In this sense, the advantages of going paperless are numerous. It will sabe costs, as the costs of obtaining certified copies of a priority document in the country of origin are eliminated, as are the costs of translation of this document. The fees for a power of attorney document, and for obtaining certified copies of the priority document in order to file them in case that the same priority was claimed in different classes, are also eliminated. Finally, it is environmentally friendly. A decreased use of paper will save tres and reduce the waste created by paper production and the disposal of used paper.

Source Managing Intellectual Property Magazine, Feb 2013