You prove use of your mark with evidence that your goods or services are sold, or available, in Mexico under that mark, in the quantity that is normal for your line of business (article 121 of the LFPPI Regulations). Your strongest case combines invoices with dated evidence: photos, advertising, a Mexican notary’s record or a Prueba de Uso certificate.
What counts as use of a trademark?
Under Mexican law, your mark is in use when the goods or services it identifies are sold or available in Mexico under that mark, in the quantity and manner that are normal for your line of business. Applying the mark to goods for export also counts (article 121 of the Regulations).
You have to use it as you registered it, or with changes that don’t alter its distinctive character, and on the goods or services in your registration (article 233 of the LFPPI, Mexico’s Federal Law for the Protection of Industrial Property).
Ways to prove trademark use, compared
| Option | What it proves | What it doesn’t prove | Effort |
|---|---|---|---|
| Invoices (CFDI, the Mexican electronic invoice) | Real sales, with a date and a folio number. The law expressly recognizes them (article 333). | What the mark looks like on the product. | Low: you already issue them. |
| Dated photos | What the mark looks like on the product, the packaging or the store. | That there were sales. A photo’s date can be disputed. | Low, if you take them regularly. |
| Advertising and social media | That you offered the product to the public on a given date. | That it sold. | Low. |
| A Mexican notary’s record (acta ante notario) | What the notary saw on a given date: your store, your online shop or your products. | Sales, or what happened before or after that day. | High: an appointment and fees every time. |
| Prueba de Uso | That your mark appeared in a weekly edition of the catalog, with a verifiable date from an accredited certification provider. | Sales. It covers the weeks since you subscribed. | Low: you add your mark once, and it appears automatically in every Monday edition. |
Which option fits your case?
- You sell with invoices: your CFDIs are the foundation. Keep at least one a month that names the mark.
- Your invoices don’t name the mark: back them up with inventories, dated photos and advertising.
- You provide services: contracts, invoices and advertising with the name of the service.
- You export: export invoices showing the mark. Applying the mark to goods for export also counts as use (article 121 of the Regulations).
- You have licensees: their invoices count too (article 235). Ask them for copies.
- You want evidence with a verifiable date every week without having to remember: Prueba de Uso publishes your mark every Monday.
How do you combine your evidence of use?
- Collect one invoice a month that names the mark and the product or service.
- Add evidence of what the mark looks like: a dated photo, packaging or post.
- Add evidence with a verifiable date: a Prueba de Uso certificate every week or, for a specific moment, a notary’s record.
- Sort it by year and by product or service in your registration.
- If someone requests the cancellation of your mark, file your evidence within the one month you have to respond (article 336).
For how to defend a mark step by step, see Trademark cancellation for nonuse in Mexico. For what to keep each month, see What to keep as evidence of use.
Where does Prueba de Uso come in?
Every Monday, Prueba de Uso publishes your mark in a weekly edition of its catalog, with a verifiable date from an accredited certification provider. For every edition you can download a certificate showing your mark appeared in it. It goes alongside your invoices: they prove the sales, and the certificate proves the date.
Plans are priced per mark, billed monthly or annually. See how it works. Before your declaration of use or renewal, check the SisteMarca guides.
Sources
- Federal Law for the Protection of Industrial Property (LFPPI, last amended in the DOF on April 3, 2026): articles 233, 235, 333 and 336.
- LFPPI Regulations, article 121 (DOF of April 28, 2026).
- Law as in force on October 28, 2026. All sources are in Spanish.
Frequently asked questions
What evidence can prove use of a trademark?
All kinds of evidence are accepted, except testimony from witnesses or from the parties (unless it is recorded in a document) and evidence contrary to morality or the law (article 333 of the LFPPI). Invoices and inventories are the foundation; photos, advertising, notary’s records and dated certificates complement them.
Is one invoice enough?
Hardly. The Regulations speak of transactions in a number that is relevant for your type of business, not sporadic or token ones (article 121). A single sale can look like token use.
Can I prove use with my website or social media?
They help show that you offered the product to the public on a given date, but they don’t prove sales. Use them together with your invoices.
Does use of my mark in another country count?
The law requires use within Mexico (article 233 of the LFPPI). Applying the mark to goods for export also counts (article 121 of the Regulations).