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Chinese Toner-Cloner Resellers In Mexico
On Alert Due to New Nafta Trade Agreement.By Gustavo Molinatti (Google Translated)
The approval of the reforms to the Federal Copyright Law in early July raised numerous criticisms about the implications that these changes would have on how people use their technological devices. Will its application affect the Mexican Aftermarket?With much propaganda, the new trade agreement between Mexico, Canada and the United States of North America, called “T-MEC”, was approved. This agreement replaces the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and impacts many areas, including labor practices, environmental protections and digital trade. However, its wide scope, the various modifications that are made in the field of intellectual property rights (IPR) are of particular interest.Although the law is still in its final approval process, there are conflicting and critical positions regarding the implications that these changes would have on how people use their technological devices. Several observers say that, under the new legislation, unauthorized persons would not be able to manipulate a technological item, such as a printer, a smartphone or a computer. In other words, it would be illegal to repair a technology item.Fernando Thompson de la Rosa, General Director of IT at UDLAP, warned that within the document there is “an element that will imply a reform of the law that will seriously harm Mexico, both individually and at the business level.” According to de la Rosa, “now there will be administrative and even criminal offenses, for those who break or avoid the so-called technological protection measures.” The change in article 13 of the Federal Copyright Law is especially mentioned, which grants the creator certain exclusive privileges of a personal and patrimonial nature, protecting him from the illegal use of his work. For many this could henceforth prohibit the repair of electronic devices.The technological protection measures or “digital locks” are those that limit what is allowed to be done with the digital devices and goods that are acquired, to avoid copyright infringements. “Those who repair their devices to extend their life of use and thus avoid environmental contamination, or those who do not have the resources to send them forcibly repaired with a specific supplier and not with technicians who earn their living fixing equipment, now They could not only run out of income but go to prison, ”says de la Rosa. “In the T-MEC, circumventing a digital lock to inspect, repair, maintain or modify a device, vehicle or technological device, can result in fines of 1.7 million pesos and up to 10 years in prison.”
The site Sispe.com for its part, warns that the T-MEC could be the end of the Technology Squares. “Given these new legal provisions, the Technology Plazas will no longer be able to sell generic parts, and although they have the option to protect themselves against these measures, it is difficult for the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation to endorse that the renewed law be nullified. The law prevents small businesses or freelancers from repairing computers and other equipment. For example: the repair of a computer could no longer be done by an independent technician or even a student, but only through the manufacturer of the device, otherwise the “technological protection measures” would be broken.
Verónica Camacho Santillán, president of the Association of Professionals in Information Systems of the State of Jalisco (COPSIJAL) assures that there is the possibility that digital locks are generated, restricting the possibilities for users to freely choose the use, modification or repair that is gives you proprietary hardware and software. “It turns out that, when we acquire a computer equipment, a cell phone, or a device, we acquire the use license and not so much the modification license; so, now if my ‘HP’ or my ‘Dell’ breaks down, I have to look for an authorized dealer to fix it, even though I’m an engineer and can fix it, because it would be copyright infringement.
However, there are contrary opinions. Mariza de la Mora, ClarkeModet Mexico legal services consultant rules out this illegality with the new copyright law. “No provision of the reform says that the repair of technological devices is prohibited, whether you do it yourself or someone else,” he explained.
The Mexican Aftermarket on Alert.
The Mexican aftermarket is already taking note of the uncertainties generated by this reform. Eloy Ríos from Cadtoner commented in the recent interview of the G News cycle ( which you can see in full here), that “there is an interesting concept, which is that of the digital lock that we suppose refers to the chips. We have been in talks with Mexican and foreign lawyers to try to understand this digital lock, whether it is about the content or about the gateway to the content ”. According to Eloy, the aftermarket does not violate a chip, it replaces it. “By replacing a chip and having access to certain information, how much am I violating a legal issue? I am not extracting or modifying protected information like a hacker, but I am making a communication ”. In other words, the uncertainty is whether a copyright law is infringed by establishing that communication. On the other hand, Eloy highlights the Doctrine of the First Sale, which establishes that “if a work protected by an intellectual property right is marketed with the consent of the owner of that right, he or she will no longer be able to oppose the distribution of the work, since this prerogative is exhausted after the first sale of the same ”. In other words, it claims that exclusive rights expire after the first sale made with the author’s permission. “There is then the right to repair that product,” adds Eloy, “and the manufacturer, upon receiving an economic compensation, is giving up the rights it had over that product.”Shortly the reform to the Copyright Law will be approved and in force. The Mexican aftermarket, be it remanufacturers, consumables distributors and NBC, sellers of remanufactured printers, parts and many others linked to the industry, should come together and seriously evaluate the implications in the sector.
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