Trademark Declaration of Use in Mexico

Thursday, August 27, 2026

Your Trademark Is Registered—But Are You "Using" It Under Mexican Law? Here's What You Need to Know

You’ve successfully registered your trademark in Mexico. You completed the application, paid the fees to the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (IMPI), and proudly received your registration certificate—whether it’s framed on your office wall or stored in a PDF somewhere on your computer.

But here’s the part that many startup founders never hear about: registering your trademark isn’t the end of the process. It’s the beginning of an ongoing legal relationship with IMPI that lasts for the life of your trademark.

And that relationship includes one requirement that’s surprisingly easy to overlook: the Declaration of Use.

Fail to file it on time, and you could lose your trademark rights.

It’s that simple—and that serious.

Here’s what you need to know about what the Declaration of Use is, when you must file it, and how the rules differ for Mexican trademark registrations versus trademarks protected through the Madrid System.

What Is the Declaration of Use, and Why Does IMPI Require It?

Following Mexico’s 2018 trademark reform and the Federal Law for the Protection of Industrial Property (LFPPI), which entered into force in 2020, Mexico eliminated so-called «ghost trademarks»—registrations obtained only to block competitors or speculate on valuable brand names without ever being used in commerce.

The principle is straightforward:

If you own a registered trademark, the law expects you to actually use it in the Mexican marketplace.

And you must formally confirm that use before IMPI.

That’s what the Declaration of Use is.

Failing to file it doesn’t result in a warning letter or an administrative fine.

The consequence is much more severe:

Your trademark registration is automatically cancelled.

IMPI does not send a reminder, issue a preliminary notice, or initiate a separate cancellation proceeding.

If you don’t file the declaration within the legal deadline, your trademark rights simply expire.

The First Critical Deadline: Three Years

This is one date every trademark owner should place on their calendar the day their registration is granted.

You must file your first Declaration of Use within the three-month period immediately following the third anniversary of your trademark registration.

The timing matters.

You don’t have three years to submit it «whenever convenient.»

You have a very specific three-month filing window after that third anniversary.

Miss that window, and your trademark registration is automatically cancelled for every product and service it covers—without any further action by IMPI.

For startup founders, this often happens for two reasons:

Nobody informed them about the requirement.
They intended to file it but became distracted by product launches, fundraising, hiring, or the countless priorities involved in building a company.

That’s why it’s wise to establish automated reminders from day one.

Every Ten Years, You'll Need to Do It Again

The Declaration of Use isn’t a one-time obligation.

Every time you renew your trademark registration—which in Mexico occurs every ten years—you must again declare which goods and services are genuinely being used in the Mexican market.

Here’s where many businesses encounter another hidden risk.

Suppose your trademark was originally registered for five categories of goods or services, but today you only use it for three.

If your renewal Declaration of Use lists only those three, the remaining two categories will be removed from your registration.

You won’t lose the trademark itself.

However, you’ll lose legal protection for any products or services you no longer declare as being in commercial use.

For startups that have pivoted their business model, expanded into new markets, or changed their offerings, this is an excellent opportunity to review their overall trademark strategy—not just complete a routine filing.

Registered Through the Madrid System? The Rules Are Slightly Different

If your trademark protection in Mexico was obtained through the Madrid System, there are important differences to understand.

Your international registration is administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and renewed every ten years through WIPO.

However, your Declaration of Use for Mexico must always be filed with IMPI—not with WIPO.

The timing also differs.

Your first Declaration of Use must be filed within three months after the third anniversary of the date IMPI granted protection in Mexico, not the date WIPO issued your international registration.

For subsequent renewals, the relevant deadline is calculated from the date IMPI records WIPO’s renewal notification in its own system—not from the date you renewed your international registration before WIPO.

In practical terms, this means your international trademark registration can remain fully valid while your trademark protection in Mexico is lost simply because the local Declaration of Use wasn’t filed on time.

National Trademark vs. International Trademark (Madrid System)

Aspect	National Trademark	International Trademark (Madrid System)
Who administers the registration?	IMPI	WIPO internationally; IMPI for protection in Mexico
When is the first Declaration of Use due?	Within three months after the third anniversary of registration	Within three months after the third anniversary of IMPI’s grant of protection in Mexico
When is renewal required?	Every 10 years before IMPI, together with a Declaration of Use	Every 10 years through WIPO, plus a Declaration of Use before IMPI based on IMPI’s record of WIPO’s renewal notification
What happens if no Declaration of Use is filed?	The trademark registration is automatically cancelled	Trademark protection in Mexico is lost, even if the international registration remains valid elsewhere
What happens to undeclared goods or services?	They are removed from the registration	They lose protection in Mexico, even if they remain covered internationally

What Happens If You Don't File the Declaration?

There are no warning letters.

No penalties.

No final reminders.

One day, your trademark simply ceases to be protected in Mexico.

And because trademark rights in Mexico are generally granted on a first-to-file basis, another party may eventually register your brand name, logo, or product name.

For a startup, losing a trademark is much more than a legal inconvenience.

It can mean losing years of brand recognition, customer trust, marketing investment, online visibility, and market positioning.

In many cases, it means losing the very name under which your business has grown.

How to Make Sure You Don't Lose Your Trademark

Protecting your trademark requires two essential practices:

Maintain a complete trademark calendar that includes your registration date, the third-anniversary Declaration of Use deadline, every renewal deadline, and all related filing requirements—not just the ten-year expiration date that everyone remembers.
Work with a professional who monitors these deadlines, particularly if your trademark is also protected internationally through the Madrid System, where important deadlines often depend on communications between WIPO and IMPI.

If you’re building a startup, your trademark is likely one of your company’s most valuable assets—often even more valuable than your software, technology, or product itself.

Treat it accordingly, and make sure you have the right legal guidance to keep it protected for the long term.