This illegitimate use is generally made through the display of a person s image, music and signs, among other representations. Trade names and denominations or corporate names, provided they do not fall within the expressed prohibitions of the IP Law. The name of a natural person, provided that it is not confused with a registered trademark or a published trade name. Naturally, a trademark must be distinctive if it is to serve the function to identify the origin of goods or services and thereby avoid confusion, deception or mistake. If a trademark is to protect buyers from confusing what they are acquiring, then the trademark must somehow be recognizable, identifiable and different from other marks.
Trademarks have strong protection within all the Mexican Territory.
As mentioned, databases are also copyrightable as compilations, as far as the selection and arrangement of their data constitute intellectual creations. Such protection is not bestowed to the data itself nor to the material contained therein. Non original databases shall be protected only for 5 years, while copyrightable works will be protected during the author's life plus 75 years. In short, a trademark and a copyright allow the buyer to assert a preference in his or her purchasing, allow the manufacturer to promote its product, and perhaps in most cases serve to assure a certain level of quality. Everyday, more manufacturers and service providers implement a web page where Mexican consumers may solicit their products and services.