Bonum Certa Men Certa

Software Patents Officially Banned in Mexico (IMPI), But Like in EPO They Get Granted Anyway

Mexican flag



Summary: The Mexican Patent Office (IMPI) leaves in tact loopholes for patenting software while maintaining the position that programming is not an invention and is covered by copyrights

IT WAS eight years ago when Mexico was preparing laws regarding software patents. In fact, these issues were covered online using the #NoPatentesDeSW hashtag at the time (it no longer yields any results) and programmers strongly opposed software patents, as usual. A few years later this FSF-aligned site stated that "Mexico has a Free Trade agreement with the USA. Such agreements are usually thought to require the patentability of software ideas, but software is reportedly explicitly excluded in Mexico's agreement (NAFTA)."



"That last part too suggests similarities to the EPO. What we ought to pursue, especially now that the US accepts that software patents were a bad idea (USPTO grants some, but courts reject these), is complete elimination of all software patents."According to this new overview (days old) of patents in Mexico "[s]oftware as such cannot be patented in Mexico" and note the similarity to EPO's Brimelow "as such". They even use the same words.

Rommy Morales and Alejandro Luna (OLIVARES) explained it like this:

To what extent can inventions covering software be patented?

Software as such cannot be patented in Mexico, since it falls within the prohibitions of Article 19 of the Industrial Property Law, which provides that computer programs are not considered inventions. Nevertheless, computer-readable claims are eligible for patent protection as long as the methodology and functions involved meet the patentability requirements.

To what extent can inventions covering business methods be patented?

Business methods as such cannot be patented in Mexico, since they fall within the prohibitions of Article 19 of the Industrial Property Law, which provides that business methods are not considered inventions. Nevertheless, computer-implemented inventions are eligible for patent protection as long as they meet the patentability requirements.

The Mexican Patent Office (IMPI) criteria for assessing the patentability of computer-implemented inventions tend to be similar to those of the European Patent Office. For example, it is required that a technical problem be solved in a novel and non-obvious manner using technical means.

To what extent can inventions relating to stem cells be patented?

Inventions relating to stems cells are patentable as long as they do not involve the use or destruction of a human embryo in order to practise the invention, since the use thereof for obtaining human embryonic stem cells is prohibited on grounds of morality.

Inventions involving stem cells derivable from parthenotes or from established cell lines are patent eligible.


That last part too suggests similarities to the EPO. What we ought to pursue, especially now that the US accepts that software patents were a bad idea (USPTO grants some, but courts reject these), is complete elimination of all software patents. No sneaky words like "as such" (similar in India and New Zealand). ⬆

Recent Techrights' Posts

81% Voted in Favour of EPO Strikes Until End of This Year
Who's in the line of succession at EPO?
 
Gemini Links 20/10/2026: The Brothers Who Fought Mussolini and a Dying Main Laptop
Links for the day
Brett Wilson LLP Has Almost Zero Litigation Clients This Year (in the Area They Specialise in)
The silence on the financial front, combined with the lack of new clients, is deafening
Where to Celebrate the 20-Year Anniversary
let us know in IRC
Cheapening of the Workforce at IBM and Microsoft, Typically Without Even Announcing Any Layoffs
from leadership to compelled "retirement"
Help Us Improve Techrights
The site relies on teamwork in a growing community; even readers are part of it
Links 20/10/2026: $100 Million ICE “Intelligence” Program and France Riots
Links for the day
Gemini Links 20/10/2026: GAFAM GCP Outage in the UK and New Oddμ Release
Links for the day
Articles in The Register MS Composed by Employees of the Companies They're About
The Register MS is the place to be
Intercontinental Brigading - Part IX - Swatting is Not Funny, Swatting is a Murder Attempt
“Swatting is not harmless. It is a serious crime that can lead to dangerous situations and divert law enforcement away from someone facing an actual emergency. What callers may believe to be a ‘joke’ actually risks the public safety of our communities and can carry lifelong consequences for those responsible”
Links 20/10/2026: Facebook Scraping and Plagiarising News Sites, Copyright Act Turns 50
Links for the day
Microsoft's XBox Leadership and Strategy is Slop
XBox sales are already worst in the entire history of XBox
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, October 19, 2026
IRC logs for Monday, October 19, 2026
Gemini Links 20/10/2026: Old Movies, Bandera Hike, and Mongolian
Links for the day
Techrights Search One Year Later
This year, as we turn 20 in just over 2 weeks, we'll have more surprises and enhancements
EPO Strikes Will Carry on Until End of This Year (as We Predicted), Will Likely Continue Next Year/s
Do we still have media in Europe?
'Cocaine King' Campinos Doesn't Have Sufficient Votes to Carry On Unchallenged, But He Has 2 More Months to Bribe Voters With 'Cooperation Money'
In any democratic, functioning institution they would not even ask if he can continue another term; he would be summarily sacked and investigated over the corruption, the cocaine, the racism and so on
Media 'Blackout' About Microsoft-Danfoss Connection After Almost 1,000 Supermarkets in France Get Cracked, Huge Amount of Food Destroyed
someone deployed malware to fridges
Today The Register MS Published "SPONSORED POST" Paid for by the Communist Party of China, It Mentions "AI" 19 Times
The Register MS is a marketing company
In Late October 2025 Spouse of Matthew Garrett Said He Had Them Raped and Broke Legs of Puppies, This Week Says He "Doesn’t Know How to Use Computers or Power Tools" (He Studied Genetics, Not Computers)
Harvey Weinstein did the same
Microsoft is Paying Many Workers to Leave the Company This Year, Just Don't Call it "Layoffs"
in some cases Microsoft pays people to leave while calling it "voluntary"
Gemini Links 19/10/2026: Orchids, Reducing GAFAM Reliance, and Deploying on OpenBSD
Links for the day
Links 19/10/2026: Intense Protests in France and "Zelenskyy Says Russia Seeking Blackout In Ukraine"
Links for the day
Intercontinental Brigading - Part VIII - How We Convinced British Police That the Americans Were Just Manipulating and Tricking Them at the Expense of British Taxpayers
Their job is to protect communities, not the feelings of Americans who threaten violence
IBM CEO Boasts to the Media About "AI" Momentum While Sacking His Workers Who Worked On It
Recently, IBM took a bailout and got rid of many workers
Corrupt Media Benefits Corrupt Officials (the Case of IBM)
IBM’s Pre-Earnings Publicity Blitz
Links 19/10/2026: "Investors Disturbed by Anthropic's Financial Data" and "The "Dead Internet" Is Here" (Slop and Bots Running on Huge Debt)
Links for the day
Gemini Links 19/10/2026: ICEYE/SAR, Smol Servers, and Starting an Open Access Journal
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, October 18, 2026
IRC logs for Sunday, October 18, 2026
Gemini Links 18/10/2026: Hobbies, RAM Prices, and Avoiding GAFAM
Links for the day
Intercontinental Brigading - Part VII - Weekend Abuse Reported to British Police (Rogue Actors Take No Breaks)
Some time in the next few days I'll share an elaborate report
Gemini Links 18/10/2026: Hospitals, Literature, Fixed IP Addresses, and Sunday Types
Links for the day
Links 18/10/2026: Brazil Reduces Deforestation, Some 4-5 Gray's Inn Square Scandals in Insolvency Petition of Reform UK
Links for the day
UbuntuBuzz is LLM Slop
Tragic
"Assisted by NSA" and "It's Just a Tool" (So Fine!)
Free software is meant to be produced by people who value and pursue Software Freedom
Slop is "just a hobby, won't be big and professional like GNU."
What Torvalds says about "hey hi" ("AI") does not prove he is in charge
Gemini Links 18/10/2026: Movies, Greenland, and Detectors of Slop Plagiarism
Links for the day
Links 18/10/2026: TikTok Censors Criticism of MElon, "Trump’s Latest Attempt to Be the King", and "Big Tech Oligarchs Have a Terrible Plan for Humanity"
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, October 17, 2026
IRC logs for Saturday, October 17, 2026