Design protection can be broadened

October 31, 2012

by Roberto Salgado

Mexican Industrial Property Law provides for protection of a model in any three-dimensional shape that may serve as a pattern for the manufacture of an industrial product. The model can be embodied by an entire product or only a part. Where priority from a foreign design application is claimed, such protection may be broader in scope than the one covered by the priority application. Such broad scope is new matter that has been incorporated into the Mexican convention application as compared to the design of the priority application. Also, it can be a key element that makes up the special appearance of a design and differentiates it from other products in the state-of-the-art.

 

The legal requirements to be considered when protecting new matter should be met on filing and include: a claim for partial priority with regard to the design embodiment which is identical to that covered by the foreign priority application, and a claim for new priority with regard to the new matter and referred to the Mexican design application. When protecting a part of a design, illustrate it in at least one figure as part of an entire article, so define it in solid lines and represent the remaining portion of the article in phantom lines. This may help avoid being ripped off by potentially infringing products, because in practice dotted lines in design figures are construed to represent only a possible environment where the part of the design will be used. Therefore, broader protection on new matter in a Mexican design is posible where priority to new matter is claimed on filing, as well as on a crucial part of a design illustrated in the figures submitted.

Source Managing Intellectual Property Magazine – IP Focus, Nov 2012