Dear medical or dental professional:
Through these lines, I want to share with you a sad story related to an important intangible asset that we all possess. I am specifically referring to the brand or brands with which we promote our professional or commercial services.

The story begins with a client dedicated to the distribution of dental parts and other related products, through a well-known dental supply store in our region —whose name I will omit for reasons of professional ethics—, who came to our law firm seeking advice regarding a problem with a dental office that was using his store’s trade name to promote itself.

Upon hearing his case, we learned that this businessman had been using a certain name for years —which, for the purposes of this article, we will call “Brand X and its corresponding logo”— but, due to carelessness, neglect, or ignorance, had never formally registered it in his favor with the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (IMPI). Therefore, he did not have a registration certificate that accredited him as the legal owner, nor that allowed him to freely market his products under that name.

Our first action as his legal advisors was to request that the dentists cease using “Brand X and its corresponding logo” and transfer the registration rights to our client. However, their response was negative, arguing that at the time of registration, the brand was available and therefore could be registered by anyone.

In response, we explained that the fact that a brand is not registered does not mean that anyone can claim it, since if a person can prove prior use, they have the right to challenge its misuse by third parties. We made it clear that our client could pursue civil, commercial, and even federal criminal actions against them if they did not transfer the rights to the legitimate owner.

However, at that stage of the process, our client informed us that he had reached an informal agreement with the dentists: both parties could continue using “Brand X and its logo,” and since they were good customers, he would not take legal action against them as long as they continued buying his products.

As legal advisors, we warned him that if they did not sign a formal legal agreement clearly establishing the conditions of shared use, future problems could arise. Our client dismissed this recommendation, assuring us that the matter was resolved and that he would no longer need our services.

Months later, the client returned to us, as he was now facing several legal proceedings, including a criminal case for the crime of plagiarism, filed by the dentists for the unauthorized use of “Brand X and its corresponding logo.”

Faced with this situation, we resumed our advisory role, recommending that he confront the legal proceedings with the evidence that proved his prior use of the brand for years. This allowed him to defend himself and obtain a favorable outcome, and even overturn the legal consequences initiated by those who were once his clients and had now become his plaintiffs.

Unfortunately, this story ends tragically. Despite having all the elements to defend himself and a high probability of victory, our client chose not to. He had neither the will nor the intention to engage in legal disputes, which would require time, money, and effort. Instead, he opted to negotiate a payment against him, a considerable sum, as royalties for the unauthorized use of the brand, and agreed to stop using it, adopting a different trade name, even though he had always been its original creator.

In this way, he lost everything he had built with his brand. He was severely affected, not only economically and in terms of market positioning but also in his moral, family, commercial, intellectual, and emotional spheres.

In conclusion, I allowed myself to use the word “abandoned” (“desahuciado”) in the title of this communication because, although it is a medical term referring to an incurable disease, it is also used to describe the total loss of hope of achieving a desired goal. And that is exactly what happened to the protagonist of this story.

I hope this account helps you become aware and take precautions by registering your brands and protecting your intellectual property. This way, you will prevent third parties from making improper use of what rightfully belongs to you, affecting your economic interests, your personal peace of mind, and your professional reputation.