AUGUST 2008 EDITION ARCHIVE
Legal Updates
New Law for the Fostering of Book Reading
While the media in the United States (The New York Times) debates on whether teenagers should spend more time reading books rather than obtaining information off the Internet, on July 24, 2008, the Official Journal of the Federation (DOF) published a new Law for the Fostering of Book Reading. With such law, Mexico joins other countries with great editorial tradition with laws on book reading, such as Spain, France, Germany and Argentina. This new law provides for a dual approach to foster... [Read More]Jurisprudence Issued by Mexico’s Supreme Court of Justice – Depositary Designated by the Tax Authority
The First Court of Mexico’s Supreme Court of Justice issued in June of this year jurisprudence Ia./J.22/2008, entitled, Depositaries designated by the Tax Authority. The mere change of location of personal property from the location in which the deposit was created does not amount to an act of ownership, therefore, the provision in the first paragraph of article 112 of the Federal Tax Code does not apply. Pursuant to Article 112 of the Federal Tax Code in effect, a depositary or... [Read More]Amendments to the General Population Law
El 21 de julio de 2008, se publicó en el Diario Oficial de la Federación el decreto por virtud del cual se reforman y derogan diversos artículos de la Ley General de Población (“LGP”). El Decreto despenaliza algunos actos anteriormente considerados como delitos y establece como sanción diversas multas administrativas y/o la expulsión del país. Entre los actos que se han despenalizado destacan: i) internarse en el país en caso de... [Read More]Environmental Notes – Amendments to the Federal Fee Law for the Discharge of Wastewater
The Federal Fee Law was recently amended. One of the amendments provides that starting with the 2008 fiscal year taxpayers shall pay fees for exceeding the maximum discharge quotas in wastewater collection bodies, especially discharges with Fully Suspended Solids and Chemical Demand of Oxygen (“DQO”), which are regulated by Table “D” of article 278-B of the Federal Fees Law. With regards to the same matter, on May 29, 2008 the Official Journal of the Federation... [Read More]Business & Politics Outlook
EDITORIAL OPINION – 300 PALABRASEDITORIAL OPINION – 300 PALABRAS
The Latin American Summit recently held in Santiago, Chile will be remembered for the incident that occurred between the King of Spain, Juan Carlos I, and the President of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez. Exasperated by the verboseness of Chavez, King Juan Carlos told Chavez, “Why don’t you shut up?” The incident that chilled the relationship between Venezuela and Spain has been resolved with Chavez’s trip to Spain in July. The Spanish King gave the President of Venezuela a t... [Read More]Energy Reform – PRD’s Referendum and PRI’s Initiative
President Felipe Calderon’s administration continues its effort to draw support from the public and from opposition lawmakers, especially those among the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), for the so called “Energy Reform,” which consists of a package of reforms for the state-owned company, Mexican Petroleum (PEMEX). Even though it is clear that Mexico needs a thorough energy reform as a result of the current unsustainable state of PEMEX, which The Economist magazine... [Read More]The Department of the Economy Analyses the Possible Elimination of Mexican Standards
In addition to the Official Mexican Standards (better known by their abbreviation in Spanish as “NOMs”), Mexico also has Mexican Standards (also know as “NMX”), both regulated by the Federal Metrology and Standardization Law (“LFMN”). The NMX standards are prepared by a national standardization organization or by the Department of the Economy (“SECON”) to establish the rules, specifications, attributions, methods of proof, guidelines, characteristics... [Read More]An 80 Million Dollar Boost for the Mexican Information Technology Industry
The Mexican government received a loan from the World Bank for 80 million dollars to fund the Project for the Development of Information Technology. According to the General Director of Internal Trade and Digital Economy of the Department of the Economy, Sergio Carrera, almost half of the proceeds will be allocated to training programs, notably those in areas of technology, English language, quality standards and management practices. The rest of the proceeds will be allocated to promote... [Read More]Expansion of the U.S.-Mexico Cross-Border Trucking Test Program
On August 4, 2008, the Official Journal of the Federation (DOF) published the agreement issued by the Undersecretary of Transportation of the Department of Communication and Transportation (“SCT”), which amends the U.S.-Mexico cross-border trucking test program in order to extend the duration of such program, which would have ended on October 31, 2008 and now is scheduled to terminate on August 31, 2010. Likewise, on the same day, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration... [Read More]Economic Indicators
Pesos/Dollar Exchange Rate
The quoted exchange rate as of August 7, 2008 was $9.95 pesos per dollar.Mexican Stock Exchange
The Mexican Stock Exchange (BMV) closed on August 7, 2008 at 26,986.98 points.Interest Rates
On August 7, 2008, the Average Interbank Interest Rate (TIEE) for a 28-day period was at 8.48%.Mexico IP Info
Intellectual Property Notes – Registered Trademarks Unenforceable against Third Parties
The registration of a trademark is intended to provide the owners of such trademark with the right to preclude the unauthorized use of such trademark or any trademark deemed sufficiently similar as to create confusion in distinguishing such marks. Nevertheless, Mexico’s Industrial Property Law provides three exceptions in which, notwithstanding the registration of a trademark, exclusive rights to a trademark may not be claimed against third parties, and such exceptions consist of the... [Read More]Feature Website
Announcement to our Readers
FM GLOBAL, a United States based industrial property insurance company, recently received approval from the Mexican government to operate in Mexico as FM Global de Mexico, S.A. de C.V. Working with attorneys from CCN’s insurance practice group, FM Global de Mexico, S.A. de C.V. secured the federal approval. The new Mexican operation will be based in Monterrey and becomes the first affiliate of a U.S. mutual insurance to hold this type of authorization. FM GLOBAL has assembled an extraordinary... [Read More]