Luis Pablo Segundo / Reform Agency
Wednesday, April 26, 2023 | 18:43
Mexico City.- Without significant actions regarding the protection of Intellectual Property (IP) and the fight against piracy, Mexico continues this year on the watch list of the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR, for its acronym in English) ).
According to the “Special Report 301”, the US agency again kept the Mexican territory and its actions in the matter, on the watch list as in previous years.
“USTR also continues to press trading partners to address IP protection and enforcement concerns,” the report noted.
By analyzing the government actions of more than 100 trading partners with whom the United States enters into agreements, 22 partners were identified as deserving of bilateral attention to address underlying Intellectual Property issues.
In this list, Mexico shares the observations with Algeria, Barbados, Belarus, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Guatemala, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Viet Nam.
Said report, which is presented annually, seeks to ensure that nations adhere to bilateral commitments under the Trade and Investment Frameworks (TIFA) and through other mechanisms.
In terms of international patents, the International Chamber of Commerce México (ICC México) highlighted that at the international level only 16 percent of patents are made by women.
“That women only represent 16 percent of international patent applications is not due to a lack of talent, but rather lack of opportunities,” said Marina Hurtado-Cruz, vice president of the Intellectual Property Commission of ICC Mexico.
He accused that this situation occurs in Mexico and in the rest of the world because in most legal firms, women in leadership positions, at least in Intellectual Property, are minorities, and the decision-making seats are held by men.
