Trademark License Agreement Mexico (Contrato de Licencia de Uso de Marca)

A Trademark License Agreement Mexico (Contrato de Licencia de Uso de Marca) is a written contract governed by Articles 136 through 142 of the Ley Federal de Protección a la Propiedad Industrial (LFPPI, published in the Diario Oficial de la Federación on 1 July 2020) by which the owner of a registered trademark (licenciante or licensor) authorizes a third party (licenciatario or licensee) to use that trademark in connection with specified goods or services, in a defined territory, for a defined period, without transferring ownership of the trademark registration.

The Trademark License Agreement Mexico is fundamentally different from a trademark assignment: under Articles 130 through 135 LFPPI, a cesión de marca transfers ownership of the trademark registration from assignor to assignee; under Articles 136 through 142 LFPPI, a licencia de uso de marca grants a contractual right to use the mark while the licensor retains the registro de marca at the Instituto Mexicano de la Propiedad Industrial (IMPI). IMPI is the federal agency created by Decreto published in the DOF on 10 December 1993 under the Ley del Instituto Mexicano de la Propiedad Industrial — it administers trademark registrations, processes license recordal applications, and adjudicates infringement complaints across the 45 trademark classes established by the Clasificación de Niza (Nice Classification), to which Mexico adheres under the Arreglo de Niza Concerning the International Classification of Goods and Services.

Under Article 136 LFPPI, a trademark license in Mexico may be recorded (inscrito) with IMPI — though recordal is not mandatory for the contract's validity between the parties, it is required for the license to be enforceable against third parties (oponible a terceros). The recordal application is submitted to IMPI's Dirección Divisional de Marcas along with a copy of the license agreement, proof of payment of the official fee (cuota oficial) established in the Ley Federal de Derechos, and the registration number of the trademark being licensed. IMPI issues a resolución de inscripción de licencia within approximately 30 to 60 business days.

Article 139 LFPPI establishes the quality control obligation — a fundamental feature of Mexican trademark licensing law that distinguishes it from a pure commercial contract. The licensor must maintain control over the quality of goods or services offered under the licensed trademark. Failure to exercise quality control can result in the trademark becoming invalid as a distinctive sign — if the licensed mark no longer distinguishes the licensor's goods from those of others due to the licensor's failure to supervise quality, a third party may petition IMPI for cancellation (nulidad) of the trademark registration under Article 151 LFPPI. Quality control clauses in trademark license agreements must therefore be substantive, specific, and enforceable rather than merely declaratory.

Mexican trademark licenses operate within the framework of the T-MEC (Tratado entre México, Estados Unidos y Canadá — CUSMA/USMCA), which in Chapter 20 on Intellectual Property requires Mexico to provide adequate protection for trademark licensing while allowing licensors to impose reasonable restrictions on licensees. The Organización Mundial de la Propiedad Intelectual (OMPI/WIPO) Madrid System for international trademark registration, to which Mexico acceded through the Protocolo de Madrid, allows foreign trademark owners to designate Mexico for protection — licenses under Madrid-registered marks follow the same LFPPI Articles 136–142 framework for domestic enforcement.

A Trademark License Agreement Mexico is required when the owner of a trademark registered with IMPI wishes to authorize another party to use that mark commercially without transferring ownership of the registration. The Contrato de Licencia de Uso de Marca is the standard instrument for franchising, brand extension, distribution arrangements, and co-branding transactions in Mexico.

Franchise relationships governed by Article 142 LFPPI inherently involve trademark licensing — the franchisor (franquiciante) grants the franchisee (franquiciatario) the right to use the franchisor's trademark in connection with operating the franchised business. Mexican franchise law under Article 142 LFPPI requires that the franchise agreement contain at minimum: the description of the licensed trademark; the territory covered; the duration of the license; quality control procedures; training and support obligations; and royalty terms. The Contrato de Licencia de Uso de Marca is either incorporated into the franchise agreement or executed as a standalone document alongside it.

The trademark license is needed when a manufacturer (fabricante) wishes to expand distribution of branded goods through a third-party distributor (distribuidor) who will affix the trademark on packaging, point-of-sale materials, and advertising — particularly where the distributor is not a subsidiary or affiliate of the trademark owner. Under Article 136 LFPPI, the license must specify the scope of permitted use.

International companies expanding into Mexico from the United States, European Union, or other markets license their trademarks to Mexican subsidiaries, joint venture partners (socios en empresa conjunta), or independent licensees under the Código de Comercio and LFPPI framework. The Contrato de Licencia de Uso de Marca formalizes this relationship, specifies royalty payment obligations (which must comply with transfer pricing rules under Articles 179–184E of the Ley del Impuesto sobre la Renta), and records the license with IMPI.

The agreement is also needed when a trademark owner licenses a mark to a manufacturer under a private label arrangement — where the licensee manufactures goods bearing the licensor's trademark for sale, and the licensor exercises quality control under Article 139 LFPPI to prevent cancellation. Without a formal trademark license agreement, the parties cannot demonstrate to IMPI or a court that the licensee's use of the mark is authorized, potentially exposing the licensee to infringement claims under Articles 386–402 LFPPI.

A Trademark License Agreement Mexico compliant with LFPPI Articles 136–142 must contain the following essential elements to be enforceable between the parties and recordable with IMPI:

Identification of Parties and Trademark: Full legal name, RFC (Registro Federal de Contribuyentes), and domicilio of both the licensor (licenciante) and licensee (licenciatario); the registration number (número de registro) of the trademark as recorded in IMPI's Registro de Marcas; the trademark name and/or device (denominación y/o figura); and the class or classes of goods or services under the Clasificación de Niza for which the license is granted. For trademarks registered under the Protocolo de Madrid, the international registration number must also be specified.

Scope of License — Exclusive or Non-Exclusive: Article 137 LFPPI permits trademark licenses to be exclusive (exclusiva) — meaning no other party, including the licensor, may use the mark in the licensed territory and class — or non-exclusive (no exclusiva). An exclusive license should be expressly stated; absent explicit language, Mexican law and IMPI practice treat a license as non-exclusive. The agreement must specify whether the licensee may sublicense the mark to third parties and under what conditions, given that Article 138 LFPPI requires that sublicenses be authorized by the licensor.

Territory and Field of Use: The geographic territory within which the licensee is authorized to use the trademark — which may be all of Mexico (República Mexicana), specific states (entidades federativas), or specific municipalities. The field of use limitations specifying in which industry segment or distribution channel the mark may be used, if the license does not cover the full scope of the trademark registration.

Duration and Renewal: The term of the license in years and the conditions for renewal — trademark registrations in Mexico are granted for 10-year renewable periods under Article 95 LFPPI, and license terms typically align with or are shorter than the remaining term of the registration. Automatic renewal clauses and notice requirements for non-renewal should be specified.

Royalties and Payment Terms: The royalty rate (regalía) — whether fixed, percentage-based on net sales (porcentaje sobre ventas netas), or a combination; the currency (MXN or foreign currency with applicable SAT exchange rate provisions); payment frequency; audit rights allowing the licensor to inspect the licensee's sales records (registros de ventas) to verify royalty calculations; and withholding tax (retención de impuesto) obligations under the Ley del Impuesto sobre la Renta for cross-border royalty payments subject to tax treaty provisions.

Quality Control Provisions: Article 139 LFPPI mandates that the licensor exercise quality control over the goods and services offered under the licensed trademark. The agreement must specify the quality standards (normas de calidad) the licensee must maintain; the licensor's right to inspect facilities, review samples, and audit quality processes; remedial procedures if quality standards fall below specified levels; and the licensor's right to terminate the license for persistent quality failures. Inadequate quality control clauses expose the trademark to cancellation petitions before IMPI.

IMPI Recordal Obligation: The obligation to apply for recordal (inscripción) of the license with IMPI within a specified period after execution — typically 30 business days — to ensure enforceability against third parties under Article 136 LFPPI. The party responsible for the recordal application and payment of official fees should be identified.

Infringement Enforcement: The allocation of responsibility between licensor and licensee for monitoring and taking action against trademark infringers (infractores) under the LFPPI administrative enforcement system and civil litigation. Many agreements grant the licensee the right to file administrative complaints before IMPI with the licensor's cooperation, given that the licensee may be the party most directly affected by infringement in the licensed territory.

Forms-legal.com provides this Trademark License Agreement Mexico template as a practical starting point. Licenses involving significant royalty values, international brands, or franchise relationships should be reviewed by a Licenciado en Derecho specialised in propiedad industrial before IMPI recordal to ensure compliance with current LFPPI requirements and SAT transfer pricing rules.