Whose Intellectual Property is it? Employee’s IP Rights in Mexico

Picture this: An employee in your Mexican subsidiary recently left the company and has started a legal action for copyright and patent infringement against your company. Sure, the employee collaborated with the improvement of a machine and a few designs, but it was part of his job and clearly they do not belong to the employee. Or do they? According to your ex-employee’s claims, the company has no rights over HIS intellectual property and it will need a license if it wishes to continue using it. Do we have your attention yet?

One thing is for sure; to every legal battle there are two sides of the story. On one hand employers should recognize that employees may have certain rights over the IP they create. On the other hand –when properly advised– employers can secure rights over such IP. Moreover, it is important to differentiate between IP created by workers and IP resulting from a "work for hire" relation. In a nutshell, the problem is to identify the underlying relationship