Criminal Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights in Latin America: An Institutional Grammar Tool Approach

Manuel Vélez and Doria Vélez, 2025

Do criminal sanctions actually deter intellectual property crime? This white paper examines how Latin American countries design and enforce criminal intellectual property rights laws, with a deep dive into Mexico’s recent enforcement decline.

The main objective of the research is to describe and compare the similarities and differences between institutions of criminal enforcement of IPR in Latin America to promote a better understanding of criminal enforcement institutions, pitfalls and risks. Specifically, the project:

Analyzes the criminal enforcement of IPR in Latin-American countries included in the USTR Special 301 report watchlists using the Institutional Grammar Tool Technique.
Provides case study on Mexico’s criminal enforcement of IPR based on expert interviews.

This white paper was published by the Center for Anti-Counterfeiting and Product Protection at Michigan State University.

To read the full online publication, click here.