Non-Disclosure Agreement Mexico (Acuerdo de Confidencialidad)

A Non-Disclosure Agreement Mexico (Acuerdo de Confidencialidad or NDA) is a written contract between two or more parties by which one or both parties agree to protect and not to disclose confidential information (información confidencial) shared in connection with a specific business relationship, negotiation, or transaction. In Mexico, NDAs are governed by a combination of the Código de Comercio (CCom) Article 75 (which classifies confidentiality agreements as commercial acts), the Ley Federal de Protección a la Propiedad Industrial (LFPPI) published in the Diario Oficial de la Federación on 1 July 2020 (which replaced the former Ley de Propiedad Industrial of 1991), the Código Civil Federal (CCF) for general contract principles including obligations, breach remedies, and damages, and the Ley Federal de Protección de Datos Personales en Posesión de los Particulares (LFPDPPP) when personal data forms part of the confidential information exchanged.

The Ley Federal de Protección a la Propiedad Industrial (LFPPI) Article 82 provides the primary statutory definition of a secreto industrial (trade secret) in Mexico — any information of industrial or commercial application that is kept confidential by its owner, that provides a competitive or economic advantage, and that has been subject to reasonable measures to maintain its secrecy. Article 82 LFPPI protects trade secrets including manufacturing processes, formulas, technical specifications, business plans, customer lists, pricing strategies, software source code, and marketing methods. Disclosure of a trade secret without authorisation constitutes an infringement (infracción) under Articles 386 through 398 LFPPI, actionable before the Instituto Mexicano de la Propiedad Industrial (IMPI) through administrative proceedings and before the federal courts through civil actions.

Mexican NDA law operates within a broader IP protection framework administered by the IMPI (Instituto Mexicano de la Propiedad Industrial) — the federal agency responsible for trademarks (marcas), patents (patentes), utility models (modelos de utilidad), industrial designs (diseños industriales), and trade secrets (secretos industriales). IMPI was created by Decreto published in the DOF on 10 December 1993 and operates under the Ley del Instituto Mexicano de la Propiedad Industrial. Administrative infringement proceedings before IMPI under Articles 386–402 LFPPI provide a faster and less expensive enforcement mechanism for trade secret violations than civil litigation — IMPI may order injunctions (medidas cautelares), cessation of infringing activities, and administrative fines. The Juzgados de Distrito en Materia Civil Federal have concurrent jurisdiction over civil damages claims for trade secret misappropriation.

The criminal dimension of trade secret protection in Mexico is established in Articles 223 and 224 of the Ley Federal del Derecho de Autor (LFDA) for copyright-adjacent confidential work, and in Articles 386 and 387 of the Código Penal Federal for fraud (fraude) and unfair competition involving confidential information. The reformed LFPPI specifically strengthened criminal penalties for industrial espionage and systematic misappropriation of trade secrets, aligning Mexico's framework with the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement) administered by the World Trade Organization (WTO), to which Mexico is a member.

For employment-related NDAs, Mexican labour law under the Ley Federal del Trabajo (LFT) Article 134 Fraction XIII imposes a statutory duty of loyalty (deber de lealtad) and professional secrecy (secreto profesional) on all employees — employees must keep confidential all information relating to the employer's trade secrets, technical processes, and administrative matters. A standalone NDA supplements this statutory duty with specific contractual remedies. The Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nación (SCJN) has held through jurisprudencia that post-employment non-compete clauses are generally void under Article 5 LFT, but post-employment confidentiality obligations — protecting specific trade secrets rather than restricting occupational freedom — are enforceable.

For data protection compliance, NDAs that involve the exchange of personal data (datos personales) of customers, employees, or users must comply with the LFPDPPP and its Reglamento — including implementing technical and organisational security measures (medidas de seguridad) required by the INAI (Instituto Nacional de Transparencia, Acceso a la Información y Protección de Datos Personales) and ensuring that any data transmission complies with the aviso de privacidad requirements for data transfers to third parties.

A Non-Disclosure Agreement Mexico is required whenever a business or individual shares confidential, proprietary, or commercially sensitive information with another party — whether in a business negotiation, due diligence process, supplier relationship, technology licensing discussion, or employment context — and wishes to contractually protect that information under the Ley Federal de Protección a la Propiedad Industrial (LFPPI) and the Código de Comercio.

An Acuerdo de Confidencialidad is needed at the outset of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) transactions in Mexico — before the target company (empresa objetivo) shares financial statements, customer contracts, technology documentation, and operational information with a potential acquirer. Mexican M&A practice under the Ley General de Sociedades Mercantiles (LGSM) requires that due diligence information rooms be governed by a signed NDA before any documents are shared.

The NDA is required when a company engages an external consultant (consultor externo), software developer, or service provider under a contrato de prestación de servicios profesionales (governed by Código Civil Federal Article 2606) who will have access to proprietary business systems, client databases, source code, or trade secrets. A robust confidentiality clause in the service contract — supplemented by a standalone NDA — provides layered protection enforceable before IMPI and the federal courts.

A confidentiality agreement is needed when two companies explore a joint venture (empresa conjunta) or strategic alliance under the Código de Comercio — preliminary negotiations require exchanging market data, pricing structures, technology capabilities, and financial projections that constitute trade secrets under LFPPI Article 82.

The document is also required in franchise relationships governed by Article 142 of the Ley de Propiedad Industrial (now LFPPI) — the franchisor must provide a disclosure document (circular de oferta de franquicia) at least 30 days before signing any franchise agreement, and both parties must sign an NDA before the disclosure document is shared.

Under LFPPI art. 82, Código de Comercio art. 75, and LFPDPPP art. 15, Mexican businesses that handle trade secrets and confidential commercial information should execute written NDAs with all parties who access that information — without a written NDA, proof of a confidentiality obligation and quantification of damages in IMPI administrative proceedings and federal civil litigation is significantly more difficult.

A valid Non-Disclosure Agreement Mexico under the Ley Federal de Protección a la Propiedad Industrial (LFPPI) and the Código de Comercio must contain the following essential elements to be enforceable in IMPI administrative proceedings and before the Juzgados de Distrito en Materia Civil Federal:

Identification of Parties: Full legal name, RFC, official identity document or corporate RFC and Registro Público de Comercio reference, and domicile of both the disclosing party (parte divulgadora) and the receiving party (parte receptora). The NDA must clearly identify which party or parties are bound by confidentiality obligations — in a mutual NDA (NDA mutuo), both parties exchange and protect each other's confidential information; in a unilateral NDA, only the receiving party is bound.

Definition of Confidential Information: A comprehensive definition specifying what information is covered — the LFPPI Article 82 framework protects manufacturing processes, formulas, chemical compounds, technical specifications, customer lists (listas de clientes), pricing data (datos de precios), distribution channels, marketing plans, financial projections, software source code, and any other commercial or industrial information maintained in secrecy. The definition should explicitly state the form in which information may be designated confidential — written, electronic, oral, or by observation — and the mechanism for such designation (e.g., marked 'CONFIDENCIAL' or 'SECRETO INDUSTRIAL').

Exclusions from Confidentiality: Standard carve-outs for information that the receiving party can demonstrate: was already publicly known (dominio público) at the time of disclosure without breach of the NDA; independently developed by the receiving party without use of the confidential information; was received from a third party with no confidentiality obligation; or must be disclosed pursuant to a court order or mandatory legal requirement (requerimiento judicial o regulatorio) — subject to prior notice to the disclosing party allowing it to seek a protective order.

Permitted Uses and Restrictions: Express limitation of the receiving party's use of the confidential information to the specific agreed purpose (propósito específico) — for example, 'exclusively for evaluating a potential acquisition of the Target Company' or 'solely for providing the software development services under the Service Agreement dated [date].' Prohibition on copying, reverse-engineering, sub-licensing, or disclosing confidential information to employees not on a need-to-know basis.

Term and Survival: The duration of the confidentiality obligation — typically two to five years for commercial NDAs; for trade secrets under LFPPI Article 82, protection subsists as long as the information remains confidential and the required measures to maintain secrecy are observed. The survival clause specifying that confidentiality obligations continue after the NDA's expiration or termination for a defined period (often three to five years) or indefinitely for trade secrets.

Return or Destruction of Information: Obligation to return or certifiably destroy all confidential information and copies upon termination of the NDA or the underlying relationship, with written certification (constancia de destrucción) provided to the disclosing party.

Remedies and Liquidated Damages: Acknowledgment that breach (incumplimiento) will cause irreparable harm (daño irreparable) not adequately compensable in money — entitling the disclosing party to seek injunctive relief (medidas cautelares or medidas precautorias) before the Juzgado de Distrito en Materia Civil Federal or IMPI without posting a bond. Liquidated damages (pena convencional) under Article 2117 CCF should be specified as an additional remedy alongside actual damages and IMPI administrative infringement proceedings.

Data Protection Compliance: Where confidential information includes personal data (datos personales), a clause confirming both parties' compliance with the LFPDPPP and its Reglamento, the applicable aviso de privacidad obligations, and INAI security measure requirements.

Forms-legal.com provides this Non-Disclosure Agreement Mexico template as a practical starting point. Mexican NDAs that involve trade secrets of significant commercial value, cross-border information sharing, or employment contexts should be reviewed by a Licenciado en Derecho specialised in propiedad industrial or derecho corporativo before execution to confirm compliance with current LFPPI jurisprudencia and IMPI administrative practice.