Intellectual
Property
with strategic vision.

One of Larrea's principal practice areas is copyright, related rights and intellectual property. We advise on copyright, periodical publications and broadcasts, fictional and human-characterization characters, software, and television and radio programs. Our expertise includes establishing and properly safeguarding the rights of authors, performers, artists and phonogram producers across all possible fields (music, dance, visual arts, literature, software, cinema, theater, etc.), both in Mexico and worldwide.
We also advise authors, artists and companies exploiting their works on contracts, royalties, authors' societies and related matters.
A key part of the firm's work in this area is enforcing copyright and related rights, both in conciliation proceedings before the Ministry of Culture's National Copyright Institute and before civil and federal courts and the Prosecutor General's Office.

Another principal practice area is industrial property, in which the firm provides general advice on patents, trademarks and related rights, including trade secrets, both in Mexico and worldwide.

Services in this area include general advice, applications for and securing patents, utility models, industrial models, trademarks, trade names, advertising slogans and related rights, both in Mexico and abroad, without restriction as to the country concerned.

Our work also includes industrial property audits, valuation of intangible assets relating to industrial property rights, advice on licensing industrial property rights, including tax implications, and advice on establishing and maintaining trade secrets.

The firm also advises on the enforcement of industrial property rights, including related administrative, criminal and civil litigation, and combating unfair competition and piracy.
At times, our advice extends to employment law, particularly concerning inventions and intellectual creations (copyright) by salaried employees.

In summary, the firm represents and defends industrial property rights holders before the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (IMPI), District Courts, Collegiate Circuit Courts, the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation, local and federal civil courts and the Prosecutor General's Office.

The firm has extensive experience in creating and incorporating all types of companies and civil entities, holding ordinary and extraordinary meetings and advising on their organization.

This experience includes import and export companies, permits and procedures before the Foreign Investment Institute, and registration in the importers' and exporters' registries.

The firm has a dedicated civil and criminal litigation practice, which can also take matters before administrative bodies such as the Ministry of Economy, the Federal Consumer Protection Agency, the Civil Registry, the Public Registry of Property and Commerce and the Social Prosecutor's Office. In civil matters, the firm handles all types of contentious and non-contentious proceedings relating to:

• Intellectual property: moral damages, damages and losses, invalidity of registrations or reservations of rights, etc.
• Industrial property: damages arising from unlawful use of a trademark, infringement of copyright, trademark or patent rights, among others.
• Civil matters: performance of contracts, rights in rem over real estate, condominiums, mortgages, etc.
• Commercial matters: judicial and out-of-court recovery of overdue receivables (negotiable instruments), trusts, insurance and surety bonds, bank loans (factoring, fixed-asset and working-capital financing, etc.), among others.
• Family matters: estates, divorce, parental authority, guardianship, correction of civil registry records, injunctions, etc.
• Real estate leases: rescission and termination of contracts, damages and losses, etc.

In every case, the firm's services cover all required legal stages, including constitutional protection proceedings (amparo), as well as the preparatory stages of the action to be brought.

Competition law, governed by the Federal Economic Competition Law, is another of the firm's practice areas, both because of its close relationship with industrial and intellectual property licensing and because of the monopolistic practices and monopolies prohibited by that legislation.
The firm has extensive experience in this field and is equipped to successfully address any challenge it faces.

The firm has a specialized immigration law practice. Its services include entry into the country, changes of immigration status (FM3, FM2), naturalization and all procedures foreign nationals require for lawful residence in and/or entry into Mexico.

We also file all types of appeals aimed at ensuring the proper handling of any procedure or matter in this field.

LARREA provides services in the financial, banking and securities sectors to domestic and foreign financial institutions, public and private companies, private investment funds and individuals requiring advice or assistance in this area of law. The corporate finance practice offers, among others, the following services:

• Structuring, negotiating and documenting loans and other financial transactions, including venture capital and finance leases.
• Establishing security interests such as mortgages, pledges and security trusts, as well as personal guarantees.
• Corporate, real estate and financial due diligence on local borrowers in connection with financing and security arrangements.
• Installment or credit sales and sales with retention of title.
• Organization, legal audits and regulatory compliance for financial entities, including banks, investment companies, multiple-purpose financial companies (SOFOMES), stockbrokers, insurers, surety companies and Mexican subsidiaries of foreign financial institutions.
•  Registration of banks, financial institutions, insurers and reinsurers and their representative offices or branches.
• Syndicated loans.
• Domestic and foreign loans and financing.
•  Debt restructuring.
• Investment and financing by private investment funds.
• Initial public and private offerings.
• Compliance and corporate governance for public issuers.
• Registration with the National Securities Registry and the International Quotation System.
• Issuance of shares, debentures, bonds and commercial paper.
• Receivables securitization, asset-backed securities and structured loans.
• Project financing.
• Legal risk audits of banks and other financial institutions.

LARREA also prepares and negotiates civil and commercial contracts and agreements, including those relating to the purchase and sale of businesses and companies, mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures across various industries and trades, with domestic and international participants. We also advise on tax, competition, employment, environmental, immigration and customs law, as well as industrial and intellectual property, among other areas.

In addition to preparing and negotiating standard and non-standard contracts and agreements, we offer:

• Legal audits.
•  Corporate regularization.
• Preparation and resolution of shareholder and joint venture agreements and contracts.
• Preparation of civil, commercial and/or non-standard contracts.
• Negotiation of joint ventures, acquisitions and/or mergers.
• Analysis and assistance in obtaining authorizations, permits and licenses arising from the conclusion of contracts.

In franchising, we offer a broad range of services at every stage, for both franchisors and franchisees. These include:

• Establishing franchises.
• Negotiation and preparation of franchise agreements and related documents.
• Advice and assistance in developing franchise financing plans.
• Advice and assistance on employment and human resources matters.
• Negotiation and preparation of technical assistance agreements, trademark licenses and other contracts involving intellectual property rights.
• Registration of franchises and related documents with the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property.
• Industrial property advice.
• Advice and assistance in dispute resolution.
• Litigation in all areas concerning franchising.

LARREA advises clients on public tenders and privatizations and defends them against government decisions that may infringe rights guaranteed by Mexican law and the Constitution, using the legal remedies available, such as constitutional protection proceedings (amparo) and actions for annulment.

Among other services, we offer:

• Handling administrative inspections.
• Real estate regularization.
• Applications for licenses, permits and authorizations before any federal, state or municipal authority.
• Advice on public tenders, expropriations and public officials' liability, among other matters.
•  Recommendations on steps to comply with federal, state or municipal legislation and prevent potential contingencies.
• Constitutional protection proceedings (amparo) against laws and acts of public authorities.
• Litigation before federal and local administrative courts.