Mexico joins the International Trademark System
Already on November 19, 2012 Mexico deposited the necessary paper work to join the World Intellectual Property Organisation’s Madrid Protocol for the International Registration of Marks
Mexico’s adherence will come into force on February 19, 2013 and the country is the third nation from Latin America to join the Madrid trademark filing system and including Mexico there will be now 89 member states. Mexico is also the fourth Spanish speaking country in the Madrid system and Spanish has been introduced as a working language within the system since 2004.
Mexico is the 11th largest world exporter and has the highest export value in Latin America and 80 % thereof are manufactured goods. In view to Mexico’s GDP it forms the third largest exporter worldwide of high tech products. Its trade volume exceeded USD 700 billion in 2011, marking an increase by 20 % during 2008 to 2011, despite the global economic downturn.
During 2012 the Madrid System was joined – apart from Mexico – by the Philippines, Colombia and New Zealand. In 2011 there was an ever record filing for the system with 42270 applications for trademarks, or an increase 6.5 % increased as compared to 2010, and January to October of the ongoing year there was again an expansion by 4.4 % compared to the same period of 2011.