In a landmark decision, the Legislative Assembly of El Salvador approved a new Intellectual Property Law on Thursday with 58 votes in favor. The law consolidates the country’s existing intellectual property and trademark regulations and establishes the Salvadoran Institute of Intellectual Property as a division of the National Registration Center (CNR).
The new legislation introduces a 50% fee reduction for the registration of distinctive signs, patents, and copyrights for micro and small businesses, as well as accredited members of higher education institutions. This move aims to make the registration process more accessible to these groups.
CNR Director Camilo Trigueros highlighted the law’s potential to streamline procedures, adjust costs, and fully implement electronic registration. “We’re not changing the intellectual property framework, but we could in the future. Over the past 30 years, the national and international context has evolved significantly, with technological advancements replacing paper-based governments,” Trigueros said when presenting the project to the Assembly’s Committee on Salvadorans Abroad, Legislation, and Government.
Trigueros described the initiative as a “project that breaks certain paradigms,” emphasizing its modern approach.
The new Salvadoran Institute of Intellectual Property will handle applications, grant various intellectual property titles, publish bulletins on intellectual property activities and services, and promote voluntary dispute resolution in the field.
The law also updates several fees and introduces a new chapter on legal protection of intellectual property in digital environments. It will take effect six months after its publication in the Official Gazette, with the President of the Republic given 90 days to issue implementing regulations.
As with the current laws, the new legislation will cover various artistic works, audiovisual productions, copyrights and related rights, computer programs, publishing contracts, theatrical performances, distinctive signs, trademarks, collective marks, commercial advertising signals, patents, inventions, and trade secrets, among others.
“This law is aimed at modernization,” said Ana Figueroa, a legislator from the Nuevas Ideas party. “The CNR already provides swift services to the public, and this law will be an additional tool to improve the registration of businesses and their research.”
The project was initially presented to higher education institutions on August 21, 2023, during a seminar featuring speakers such as Erick Chang, Director of Innovation at the Presidential Secretariat of Innovation, Salvador Lizama, Director of the Intellectual Property Registry, and Christian Aparicio, National Director of the Ministry of Education.
In 2023, the current Intellectual Property Registry of the CNR received a total of 14,146 intellectual property applications, including 263 patents, some of which were national. The registration of computer programs and video games saw a significant increase, accounting for nearly 30% of the total applications.