It is important to clarify that the Mexican
IPL does not have a specific provision that prohibits double patenting.
However, the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (hereinafter referred to
as 'IMPI') applies the criteria applied by most patent systems, which is that
two patents cannot be granted for the same invention. The basis for the
criteria applied by the IMPI is that an applicant has no legitimate interest in
the proceedings that lead to the granting of a second patent for the same
subject matter if he already possesses one granted patent for said matter.
Unlike US patent law, which expressly defines double patenting and specifically
mentions that there are two different types of double patenting rejections
('same invention' type double patenting and 'non-statutory' type double
patenting), the IPL does not expressly define double patenting. This can lead
to a series of different interpretations with each Examiner giving their
specific prohibitions, creating an inherent uncertainty around the double
patenting issue.
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