Industries that prepare, manufacture and/or produce products in the region may apply to use the logo ‘made in Mexico’ (see press release in Spanish here)
The move comes, according to the Ministry of Economy, to be more recognised by consumers. This appears to be a wakeup call for the population, since it seems that consumers prefer international marks rather than national ones.
Manufacturers can download the application online (but need to be submitted in person). Once submitted in the respective office (Secretaria de Economia (SE)) a receipt will be given. An answer is expected in no more than 5 working days; if no reply is heard, authorisation is automatic!
The process appears to be straightforward. There is no much burden for the industries apart from the fact that they have to acknowledge the description of the product in question. At this stage, there is the need to indicate in which way the Mexican parts (raw material or process) are used in the making of the product (Art 8 I (d)).
This is clearly a good move from the Mexican industries; however how it this logo seen by the IP advisors? Is this a PGI but without the fuss? Or is this a collective mark? One thing I am sure of is that it is not a certification mark. There are not technical or quality standards required. May I emphasise that the only requirement is that there must be one issue that need to be ‘Mexican’.
