Amendments of the Federal Criminal Code, with respect to crimes against piracy, in electronic, satellite or cable media

July 17, 2020

On July 1, 2020, the Federal Criminal Code was amended in its articles 168 Bis, 424 Bis, 426 and 429, moreover the following articles 427 Bis, 427 Ter, 427 Quáter and 427 Quinquies were also added.

With this amendments, the Mexican Government intends to comply with the commitments acquired in international treaties such as the CPTPP, the Internet Treaties of WIPO (WCT and WPPT), and the T-MEC, which constitutes a significant advance in the fight against piracy and counterfeiting.

These treaties oblige the signatory parties to establish procedures and sanctions that apply in the case of piracy on a commercial scale, as well as grant greater protection to intellectual property rights, especially due to the significant advances derived from the use of technology in multiple areas.

In accordance with the aforementioned treaties, the amendments include the inclusion of new crimes and modifications of previous, related to encrypted satellite signals, telecommunications signals other than satellite, camcording, digital rights management (DRMs) and technological protection measures (TPMs). The aforementioned criminal offences are established in the Twenty-Sixth Title of Copyright Crimes in the Federal Criminal Code.

It is important to state that said amendments goes hand in hand with the amendments made to the Copyright Law, which include the definitions of the aforementioned rights, as well as the exceptions in order to avoid the commission of crimes or administrative infringement actions.

We will continue to actively monitor the implementation of this amendments, and we are available for any questions or assistance that may require.