Mexico has joined several agreements with binding commitments to open transfers of data across borders. These include: the Mexico-Panama Free Trade Agreement (Art. 14.10), the First Amending Protocol [which amends the Additional Protocol to the Framework Agreement of the Pacific Alliance (Arts. 13.11 and. 13.12(c)], the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP, Art. 14.11.2), and the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA, Art. 19.8.6).

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.

Pursuant to Art. 39.3 of the Public Sector Procurement, Leasing and Services Act, public tenders may be conducted under three modalities: (i) national, limited to Mexican suppliers or to suppliers offering goods or services with at least 50% national content; (ii) international under treaty coverage, open to Mexican suppliers and to suppliers from countries with which Mexico has an applicable free trade agreement or other procurement-covered treaty; and (iii) open international, in which both domestic and foreign suppliers may participate regardless of nationality.
Art. 39.3 further provides that the open international modality may be used only where: (i) a national tender has been declared void; (ii) its use is required under an external-loan arrangement; (iii) market research shows that a foreign option is more cost-effective even after applying a domestic preference margin of up to 15%; or (iv) market research indicates that suitable suppliers or goods are unavailable, or cannot meet the required quantity, quality, or delivery timeframe, either in Mexico (where the procurement is not treaty-covered) or in Mexico and the relevant treaty-partner countries (where the procurement is treaty-covered).
In addition, Art. 39.1 provides that national tenders are restricted to persons of Mexican nationality and require that the goods be produced in Mexico with at least 65% national content, calculated on the basis of labour, inputs/assets, and other factors determined through general rules issued by the Ministry of Economy. National tenders may be used where the contract value falls below the thresholds established in Mexico’s procurement-covered treaties, or where the relevant goods are subject to a treaty reservation.

Pursuant to Art. 113 of the Regulations to the Public Sector Procurement, Leasing and Services Act, where procurement is carried out under exceptions to open tendering (as provided in Art. 55 of the Act), agencies must award at least 50% of the annual value of acquisitions to MSMEs, cooperatives, social economy entities certified by the National Institute of Social Economy (NISE), and priority groups. At least 25% of that value must be awarded specifically to cooperatives and to National Institute of Social Economy–certified social economy entities.
In addition, Art. 48 of the Act provides that, in the event of a tie in an open tender, preference must be given to cooperatives and to NISE–certified social economy organisations, including those that promote the labour-market inclusion of women and vulnerable persons and those constituted by priority groups, provided they hold the relevant incorporation and registration documentation under the applicable legal framework.

Mexico is not a signatory of the 1996 World Trade Organization (WTO) Information Technology Agreement (ITA) nor the 2015 expansion (ITA II).