Users of the Madrid system worldwide may struggle to determine the exact date IMPI
granted the registration, complicating the management of the DOU deadline. They might
not even be aware of the specific local registration number, which is commonly confused with the local serial number.
According to the LFPPI, failure to file the DOU leads to automatic expiration of the
registration without formal notification from IMPI. Since IMPI does not consistently inform WIPO of the expiration, the registration appears active in WIPO’s system, leaving foreign attorneys unaware of the actual status, and allowing third parties to obtain the registration of confusingly similar or identical trademarks whose invalidation should be pursued, incurring much higher fees.
Finally, as the legal obligation of submitting declarations of use extends to those trademarks whose registration is being renewed, when IMPI receives a renewal application through the WIPO, an office action requesting the submission of the DOU is issued by means of the local trademarks gazette, which, again, usually goes unnoticed by foreign attorneys, and many registered trademarks are lost due to the failure of responding to this office action.