Lawyer bills. Tool to prioritize intellectual property
Article published by El Universal
The lack of early protection can lead to costly litigation to recover IP rights.
Undoubtedly, intellectual property (IP) is everywhere. Beyond its value, every situation where it is present confirms its importance and teaches lessons to always keep it in mind.
On November 16th, the Spanish Chamber of Commerce (Camescom) introduced the Latin America IP SME Helpdesk to guide Spanish SMEs in their expansion projects to Mexico. This service, sponsored by the European Commission and supported by the chamber, provides advice and support to these European companies to protect and enforce their IP rights in the region.
The event was timely, considering Mexico has become a key destination for Spanish companies, including SMEs. According to Camescom data, Spanish investment accounts for an impressive 20% of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), placing Spain second among countries investing in Mexico.
The presentation of the IP support center for SMEs brought together representatives from member companies of the chamber and commercial authorities from the European Union (EU) Delegation in Mexico. The latter highlighted the high standards set by Mexican legislation, including the T-MEC, for IP, hoping these standards will prevail and even be surpassed in the modernization of the free trade agreement (TLCUEM) under negotiation.
As part of the presentation, a leading Spanish multinational company in the energy sector was invited to share its experience in the prolonged fight to recover its brand in Mexico. The representative emphasized the financial and time impact of this process.
“Showing the lawyers’ bills in recovering our brand is the best tool I have to convince them to prioritize IP protection from the start,” stated the company representative, adding that the ongoing experience underscores the importance of considering IP as an investment, not an expense.
Moreover, the representative not only regretted the company’s lack of care for its IP rights but also the absence of programs like the helpdesk in the past to offer advice and support in protecting IP when expanding businesses into new markets.
This specific case exemplifies how the lack of early protection can lead to expensive litigation and significant loss of time and resources to recover IP rights. Therefore, lawyers’ bills become a valuable lesson for companies considering expansion to Mexico. For awareness purposes, it’s preferable to gladly pay lawyers’ bills for investing in IP rights protection; it’s painful to pay those for expenses to recover them, often amounting to considerably higher sums.
Investing in early protection of trademarks, patents, copyrights, and designs, among others, emerges as an essential strategy to safeguard companies’ intangible assets and avoid higher costs and prolonged legal disputes in the future.
