Mexico is a party to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).

The new Federal Law for the Protection of Personal Data in the Possession of Private Parties, enacted in 2025, establishes a comprehensive framework for data protection in Mexico. It supersedes the 2010 law of the same name, which had likewise introduced an extensive regime governing the protection of personal data.

Mexico has a copyright regime under the Federal Copyright Act. However, the exceptions do not follow the fair use or fair dealing model, therefore limiting the lawful use of copyrighted work by others. Art. 148 and the following list the exceptions, which include the reproduction of: parts of the work for scientific, literary or artistic criticism and research; of a single copy by an archive or library for security and preservation reasons, and which is out of print, out of print and in danger of disappearing; among others.

Under section 183 of the Telecommunications and Broadcasting Act, telecom operators must retain certain data for the first 12 months in systems that allow real-time consultation and delivery to the competent authorities through electronic means. The data includes:
- the name or corporate name and address of the subscriber;
- the type of communication service, messaging or multimedia services
- data necessary to trace and identify the original and destination of mobile telephone communications, including the destination number and whether the line is the subject of a contract or tariff plan or is prepaid;
- data necessary to determine the date, time and duration of the communication, as well as the messaging or multimedia service;
- the date and time of the first activation of the service and the location label (cell identifier) ​​since the service was activated;
- identification and technical characteristics of the devices, including the international equipment and subscriber identity codes (where applicable); and
- the digital location of the geographical positioning of telephone lines.
At the end of the 12 months, the operator must keep the data for an additional 12 months in electronic storage systems. During this time, information must be delivered to the competent authorities within 48 hours.
It reported that all processing and storage systems used by operators and authorised persons in this regard must be located exclusively in Mexico; however, this is not clear from the regulatory text.

It is reported that copyright enforcement in Mexico remains insufficient in the online environment. Stakeholders indicate that Mexico continues to experience high levels of infringement through multiple channels, including unauthorised streaming services, peer-to-peer networks, direct-download sites, stream-ripping, circumvention tools for video games and consoles, and the distribution of infringing content via physical media. As internet access expands, online piracy is reported to be increasing, and stakeholders have characterised Mexico as a significant market for music and video game piracy. Stakeholders also continue to report notable levels of piracy facilitated by illicit streaming devices and unauthorised Internet Protocol television (IPTV) applications.

Mexico has ratified the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty.

Mexico has ratified the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Performances and Phonograms Treaty.

Mexico’s Federal Law for the Protection of Industrial Property establishes a framework for trade secret protection, including safeguards against unlawful disclosure. The Law provides for both administrative and criminal enforcement mechanisms, including administrative infringements (Art. 386) and criminal offences relating to trade secrets (Art. 402).
However, it is reported that the Conformity Assessment Procedure for Telecommunications and Broadcasting issued by the Plenary of the Federal Institute of Telecommunications (DOF: 25 February 2020) has raised confidentiality concerns, insofar as it contemplates the submission of test reports that may contain detailed confidential information on ICT products. While the amendment to the 2021 Agreement has reportedly addressed earlier concerns about the automatic sharing of such reports, regulators may still request test reports in specific cases, which continues to generate trade secret and confidentiality risks for ICT manufacturers.

Mexico’s Federal Law for the Protection of Industrial Property establishes a framework for the protection of trade secrets. Title III of the Act defines trade secrets and misappropriation, recognises lawful means of acquisition, and provides administrative enforcement mechanisms to protect trade secrets.

Art. 125 of the Telecommunications and Broadcasting Act establishes a framework for infrastructure sharing. It requires the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission to issue guidelines to promote, in a structured and progressive manner, co-location and the shared use of passive and active infrastructure and other physical resources, prioritising negotiated agreements between concessionaires. Where no agreement is reached, and sharing is necessary, the Commission may set the applicable technical, tariff, and operational conditions, and resolve disputes through the interconnection procedure, subject to a maximum time frame of 30 working days. The Law also requires that sharing agreements be registered in the Public Telecommunications Register.
Art. 123 further provides that operators with significant market power in the telecommunications sector are subject to specific obligations, including the obligation to conclude agreements for the shared use of infrastructure. The Law expressly repeals the previous Federal Telecommunications and Broadcasting Law (LFTR, DOF 14/07/2014), which already contained comparable infrastructure-sharing provisions (Arts. 138 and 139) under which the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission promoted co-location and shared-use arrangements. In addition, the “Agreement issuing the Guidelines for the Deployment, Access and Shared Use of Telecommunications and Broadcasting Infrastructure” (DOF 15/01/2020) sets out operational rules, including procedures, timelines, and registration requirements, for implementing access and shared-use arrangements.

The Mexican State maintains equity participation in parts of the telecommunications sector through the Federal Electricity Commission (Comisión Federal de Electricidad, CFE). Following the publication of the Agreement creating CFE Telecomunicaciones e Internet para Todos in the Official Gazette in August 2019, the CFE created CFE Telecomunicaciones e Internet para Todos (CFE TEIT), a State-owned entity mandated to provide mobile telephony and internet services on a non-profit basis in order to support the right of access to information and communication technologies. In addition, in February 2025, CFE reported that its Board of Directors authorised the acquisition of a 49% stake in Altán Redes, a provider of wholesale mobile telephony and internet services, thereby strengthening the State’s presence in wholesale telecommunications infrastructure and operations.

Pursuant to Art. 17 of the Public Sector Procurement, Leasing and Services Act, agencies and entities involved in open international procurement processes are required to prioritise the use of domestic human resources when conditions are comparable. Furthermore, for the procurement and leasing of goods, the Act establishes a preferential margin of 15% for domestically produced goods that incorporate at least 65% national content.

Pursuant to Art. 123 of the Telecommunications and Broadcasting Act, operators designated as having significant market power (SMP) in the telecommunications sector are subject to specific obligations, including the obligation to submit, at least once per year, separated accounts and cost-accounting information for interconnection services to the Commission and to the authority responsible for competition and market access, in the form and in accordance with the methodologies and criteria determined by the competent authorities. Moreover, operators designated as having SMP are subject to functional separation obligations in the telecommunications market (Art. 256 and 267).

Since December 2018, Mexico has pursued greater centralisation and consolidation of federal procurement under the leadership of the Secretariat of Finance (SHCP/Hacienda), framed primarily as an anti-corruption and efficiency initiative, including through consolidated purchasing. However, it is reported that government procurement in Mexico lacks transparency and remains vulnerable to corruption and favouritism. Businesses have reported losing government contracts or commercial opportunities because competitors resorted to corrupt practices, bribery or personal influence. More recent reports indicate that corruption may influence tender outcomes and that shortened procurement windows, sole-source awards and other exceptions to open tendering may limit fair and effective participation.

Mexico has appended the World Trade Organization (WTO) Telecom Reference Paper to its schedule of commitments.