Comparative advertising is a tool used in many countries to highlight the benefits of products recognized by thegeneral public by means of the trademark indicated thereon, so that potential consumers can have additionalinformation in order to make an informed decision regarding the purchase of advertised products.In Mexico, comparative advertising occurs in only rare cases, because including trademarks belonging to thirdparties in one’s own advertising is often considered an infringement that can give rise to penalties from Mexico’sIP authorities, based on the fact that current legislation on this issue establishes that no one “shall disparage orattempt to do so with respect to the products, services, industrial or commercial activities or the establishment ofanother,” and, therefore, Mexican laws prohibit the use of trademarks belonging to third parties without their priorconsent.It is consequently subject to sanction if any person disparages its competitors, especially if a comparison isadvertised, which results in such disparagement. The Mexican Intellectual Property Law clearly states that it ispermissible to “compare products or services which support the trademark with the purpose of informing thepublic, as long as such comparison is not biased, false or exaggerated in terms of the Federal ConsumerProtection Law.”Clearly, comparative advertising should not be focused on the disparagement of competitors, but instead shouldbe used to highlight extraordinary or additional benefits of the product or service being offered. In other words, acomparison should not highlight the defects of the competitor, but should highlight the benefits of the products orservices being advertised in comparison with those of its competitor, such as greater durability, resistance, lowerprice, etc.However, it important to consider the conditions set forth in the Federal Consumer Protection Law, which, ingeneral terms, state that the dissemination of goods, products or services must be true and verifiable, notdeceptive or abusive (information which although being true, induces error or confusion to the consumer becauseit is inaccurate, false, exaggerated, partial, artificial or biased, shall be considered deceptive orabusive).Therefore, it is worth noting that in Mexico comparative advertising is allowed. However, the guidelinesset forth in the Federal Consumer Protection Law must be taken into consideration in order to avoid penalties inconducting such activities.
