Mexico IP News
What is in it for you in Mexico?
Callings from Tata, MindTree, Indra, Genpact, and NoShore, companies originating from India to Spain, have been redirected to new outsourcing companies in Mexico in recent times. But why Mexico? Well, for one, it is situated near to US territory. Two, it has the same time zone and three; intellectual property protection is gaining prominence there. With the explosion of Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) firms in Mexico, there has also been a renewed energy in Mexican IT firms, especially in exporting their business to the US and Europe. It is the rub off effect that is reinvigorating Mexico.
Not only that, Softtek, a Mexican IT firm has also acquired IT United, a Chinese service provider and there are more coming. Companies like Neoris and CEMEX could get more prominence from now onwards. Although Mexico has been a late comer in the outsourcing business, it has however managed to corner about 5% or about 5 billion dollars a year. It might however pick up steam if Mexicans get aggressive enough and if they speed up their English learning as the Spanish language can be a barrier at times when doing international business. With the peso depreciating against the US dollar, there is a real advantage to tap Mexican IT firms during this recession. Mexico is however not without competitors as there are other Latin American countries offering cheaper and better services. It will need to add more value to its offerings in order to lock in US clients across the border. It should strike when the iron is still hot!
reported on April 13 2009.
Whilst the Dragon was feasting, the bull diligently sharpens its horns
That precisely describes the up and booming Mexico. That is where you should put your investment. For the past decade, China has been attracting tons of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), mostly from the US. The Americans have been putting up their money there in factories that make almost everything from tooth brushes to computer chips. And these manufactures were conveniently exported back to the US using trading firms owned by Americans. The Chinese only picked up a small portion of the spoils. But they were happy with the whole episode, such that they forget to push for their own brand. When the recession came and the American orders dried up, the Chinese government realized that they had a big problem on their hands. In order to allay the upheaval and the mounting unemployment, the Chinese government was forced to cough out $560 billion of its own money to prime pump its economy. That is now history. Where will it be in another five years time? Can it still maintain to be the factory of the world?
Right at the other end is Mexico. It is just next door to the US hinterland. Whilst the Chinese Dragon was dancing, Mexico was shaping itself to be the next haven for the new FDI. It had all the bearings of a low cost producer. The economy was right. There was political stability. The Peso was devalued in real terms vis-à-vis the US dollar, thus making exports sustainable. There are other things that made Mexico the new kid in town. It signed an FTA with the US and forty three other countries, making their exports almost duty free in the major economies. Besides, it has a very stable labor market, undisrupted by problematic trade unions. An added incentive is the low tax regime plus the ease of monetary repatriations, both of it makes investor’s eyes brighten up. Looking into the future, Mexico had restructured its intellectual property rights policies such that investors with high technologies will not have to worry about their products being pirated. It would seem that American manufacturing interest in China will need a re-think of the kind that can reshape the world economy a hundred and eighty degrees turn!
September30, 2009
Breaking patents for a good course
The issue of breaking international patents in the pharmaceutical sector has been high lighted by an agreement between the large international pharma and Ecuado. In a surprising move, the big pharma firms that include Bayer, Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline have endorsed the Ecuadorian Government decision to break patents on about 2000 drugs. The group of fourteen big pharma firms has also agreed that the generics to these drugs will be manufactured in South American states because it is more important that lives are saved with a cheaper form of medicine. It is no doubt an extraordinary decision and one that has far reaching consequences, with India and China watching very closely from the other corner of the earth. But it is not a lost all thing for the big pharma as ten percent of the net sales from the generics will be paid back to them as a good faith gesture. Will other states follow and will the needs of the poor states be satisfied by this move?
October 30, 2009.
Picture Mugged
Starbuck has been told by the Mexican government that the mugs that they are selling which depicts figurines of Aztec calendar stone and Pyramid of the Moon from the pre-Aztec ruins of Teotihuacan could be violating the intellectual property rights of the Mexican Government. It is understood that Starbuck has agreed to pay royalty fees for them. It seems that the particular supplier of the mugs had not got permission from the authorities. Meanwhile, the Mexican government is evaluating the amount of royalties and the sale of these mugs has been suspended since.
January 28, 2010.