The Mexican Linkage System

The main objective of this Linkage System is to establish an inter-authority communication channel between the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property ("IMPI"), the Mexican authority responsible for evaluating and granting patents, and the Federal Commission for Protection against Sanitary Risks ("COFEPRIS"), the regulatory authority responsible for granting marketing authorizations for medicaments in Mexico. This communication channel, unique in Latin America, was established in order to enforce the rights of exclusive commercial exploitation granted to a patent holder, and prevent the issuance of marketing authorizations that overlap with the scope of protection granted to a medicament related patent, thereby creating a mechanism that guarantees the rights for both the applicants requesting a marketing authorization and the owners of medicament related patents.