Mexican Prosecutor’s Office drastically reduces the fight against piracy
The Attorney General’s Office (FGR) of Mexico has recorded a pronounced and sustained decline in the opening of investigations and in the prosecution of crimes linked to trademark counterfeiting and copyright piracy. This situation has developed despite persistent concerns and formal complaints by the United States, which identifies Mexico as a significant focus of intellectual property infringements.
The analysis of official data provided by the National Public Security System reveals an alarming trend. Since the beginning of the administration of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the number of investigations initiated for these crimes has plummeted by more than 50 percent compared to the previous six-year term. In certain specific categories, activity has been practically non-existent.
A statistical collapse in law enforcement
The statistics are eloquent and show a clear relaxation in the application of the law. With regard to the crimes contemplated in the Federal Copyright Law, the activity of the FGR has been non-existent. Since 2019 and until the first half of 2025, not a single research folder has been started for these concepts. The last year with activity records was 2018, with just four files, a tiny figure when contrasted with the 869 cases handled by the then Attorney General’s Office (PGR) in 2012.
The situation in the area of the Federal Law for the Protection of Industrial Property, which prosecutes crimes such as trademark counterfeiting, is no better. During the government of Enrique Peña Nieto (2013-2018), the ministerial institution opened 12,431 research folders. On the other hand, during the equivalent period of the current administration (2019-2024), that figure was reduced to 8,261 files, which represents a drop of 33.5 percent.
The setback is even more severe when examining the copyright crimes contained directly in the Federal Penal Code. In the previous six-year period, 4,512 investigations were initiated, while in the current one only 2,065 have been registered, a reduction of 54.2 percent that shows a radical change in the priorities of the crime prosecution policy.
International concern and expert justification
This inaction has not gone unnoticed on the international stage. The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), in its Special 301 Report of 2025, located Mexico as one of the territories with the highest levels of piracy, including digital products such as software and video games. The report is blunt: “Mexico currently operates with reduced resources for numerous government agencies. Criminal investigations and prosecutions for trademark counterfeiting and copyright piracy appear to be non-existent, with the FGR failing to report any Intellectual Property enforcement statistics over the past five years.”
Mexican lawyers and specialists in intellectual property agree that the neighboring nation’s concern is fully justified. They point out that, beyond resources, there are legal gaps and structural problems that prevent effective protection. Arturo Rodríguez, an expert in editorial law, explained that a 2015 reform to the Penal Code, which allowed these crimes to be prosecuted without the need for a prior complaint, generated a counterproductive effect. The modification, in practice, left the Public Ministry without the institutional incentives or logistical resources necessary to carry out complex ex officio investigations.
For his part, specialist Daniel Legaspi added another fundamental legal obstacle: the lack of regulations. He recognized that, although substantial modifications to the Federal Law for the Protection of Industrial Property and the Federal Copyright Law were approved in 2020, to date the necessary regulations have not been issued to apply said reforms. This regulatory omission leaves authorities without the clear and updated procedural framework they need to act effectively, creating a vacuum that is exploited by counterfeiting and piracy networks.
The combination of diminished political will, lack of allocated resources, poorly implemented reforms and the absence of updated regulations has created an environment where impunity for intellectual property crimes is the norm. This not only affects rights holders, but weakens the formal economy, discourages national innovation and creative development, and exposes consumers to substandard and potentially dangerous products.
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