El Salvador – Latam Guideline
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- El Salvador – Latam Guideline
Trademarks
Patents
Designs
Customs
Data protection
Trademarks
WIPO-administered Treaties:
Contracting Party of the Madrid System: NO.
Trade Mark Law in force:
Trade Mark Act of 6 June 2002.
Classification:
Nice classification, 11th edition.
Multiclass Applications:
YES.
Registrable trademarks:
All distinctive and graphically representable signs, words, names, acronyms, letters, colors, numbers (letters, colors and numbers cannot be registered if they are filed individually), devices, emblems, combinations or shades of colors, three-dimensional forms, the three-dimensional form of a good or its packaging, sounds and smells.
Formal filing requirements:
Power of Attorney notarized and legalized within 4 months from the filing date. Unextendable.
Certified copy of the priority application and its translation into Spanish within 3 months from the filing date. Unextendable.
Examination:
Absolute grounds for refusal: YES.
Relative grounds for refusal: YES.
Opposition period:
2 months from the first publication.
Average time from filing to grant:
Approximately 9 months, unless any obstacles were raised. Certificate of registration only in paper.
Term of protection:
10 years from the date of registration.
Use requirements:
YES. Cancellation can be requested if the trademark has not been used for 5 years, counting from the registration date. Partial cancellation is possible.
Renewal terms:
1 year prior to renewal date.
Grace period: 6 months.
Patents
WIPO-administered Treaties:
Contracting Party of the Paris Convention: YES
Contracting Party of the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT): YES. Due term for entry into national phase: 30 months.
Patent Law in force:
IP Law of March 23, 2006.
Types of protection available:
Patent of Invention; Utility Model.
Formal filing requirements:
- Power of Attorney duly notarized and legalized within 60 days from filing. No possible extension. Original only.
- Assignment document from the inventors duly notarized and legalized within 60 days from office action. No extension of term original only.
- Certified copy of priority application within 180 days from filing (not required for entry into national phase of PCT applications provided that PCT/IB304 form is available).
- Sequence listings must be filed in WIPO Standard ST.26 format.
Filing of the patent application in a foreign language:
Accepted. Late submission of the Spanish translation is possible within two months from notification BUT always prior to 6 months after filing. Unextendable term
Substantive examination must be requested by the applicant:
YES, within 6 months from publication.
Search report must be requested by the applicant:
NO
Observations by third parties:
YES, within 60 days from publication.
Opposition:
YES, within 60 days from publication.
Average time from filing to grant:
6-7 years.
Term of protection for patents:
20 years from filing date.
Term of protection for utility models:
10 years from filing date.
Differences between utility model and patent:
UM Suitable for utensils, instruments, tools, apparatus, devices, or any parts or improvements thereof, but not to chemical products, methods or uses; lower threshold for inventive step.
Maintenance:
Yearly; also during prosecution of the application.
Compulsory licensing:
YES
Designs
WIPO-administered Treaties:
Contracting Party of the Hague System: NO.
Applicable Law:
Intellectual Property Law 1993.
Grace period for filing applications, from disclosure:
2 years.
Multiple design applications -one application for different embodiments-available:
NO.
Formal filing requirements:
Applicant identification. (designer full details)
Graphic representation of the design. (7-8 views)
Power of attorney: Notarized and apostilled. 10 days from Office Action.
Assignment document: if applicable: Notarized and apostilled. 10 days from Office action.
Classification of the design.
Brief description of the design.
Locarno classification:
YES.
Deferred publication:
YES, up to 12 months.
Registration Proceeding Outline:
Filing. Publication. Oppositions. Decision.
Opposition:
YES, although it is not formal. Observations must be filed within 60 days from publication.
Average time from filing to grant:
6-9 months.
Term of Protection and Maintenance:
10 years from filing date. No maintanenance fees applicable. No extensions available.
Customs
Does it accept an administrative request for surveillance?
NO
Intellectual property rights protected through an administrative request for surveillance
As it does not accept the Request, no IPRs can be applied for.
Requirement to file for an application of an administrative request for surveillance
As it does not accept the Request, there are not requirements
Procedure (special aspects)
Although there is no surveillance application procedure, in practice the power of attorney and certificates of registration of trademarks or copyrights are filed before the General Directorate of Customs and the Attorney Generals Office so that the authorities are aware of the rights existence and request for an unofficial “look out”.
Once a fraudulent merchandise is identified, it is mandatory to file a complaint with the Attorney General’s Office and a letter to the General Directorate of Customs. In this court procedure, it is possible to reach an agreement which includes the destruction of the products, recognition of rights and financial compensation at any time of the process.
Data protection
Territory: El Salvador
Data Protection Regulations: Data protection law
Regulatory purpose: The purpose of the law is the comprehensive protection of the personal data of natural persons insofar as it is relevant, regardless of the form in which they are stored and safeguarded, whether in the possession of private individuals or legal persons or public and private entities, or any other type of entity without legal personality, with the aim of regulating their legitimate and informed processing, in order to guarantee the privacy and the right to informational self-determination of natural persons.
Parties:
- Data controller: Natural or legal person, public or private, owner of the database or who decides on the purpose and means of the processing.
- Data Processor: Natural or legal person, whether public or private, who alone or jointly with others processes personal data on behalf of the controller.
- Data Protection Officer: No.
- Supervisory Authority: Consumer Ombudsman.
Principles:
- Principle of Legality.
- Principle of Quality.
- Principle of Purpose.
- Principle of Lawfulness or Prior Informed Consent.
- Principle of data security.
- Principle or duty of confidentiality.
- Principle of Transparency.
- Prohibition Principle.
- Proactive accountability principle.
- Privacy Principle.
Obligations:
- Register of Processing Activities: Yes, the Ombudsman’s Office will keep a Register, which will include a) the names of those responsible for the databases, the physical address of the person responsible for the database and of those responsible for processing requests, as well as the electronic means of receiving notifications; b) the types of information in the public or private databases, the form of capture and its safekeeping; c) the modifications to the databases; d) the final decisions issued by the Ombudsman’s Office.
- Impact Assessments: No.
- Risk analysis: No.
- Technical and organisational security measures: Yes.
- Duty to inform: Yes.
- Data Protection Officer: No.
Data subjects’ rights:
- Right of Access: Yes.
- Right of rectification: Yes.
- Right of Suppression: Yes.
- Right to limitation: No.
- Right to portability: No.
- Right to object: No.
- Automated individual decisions, including profiling: Yes.
International transfers:
The transfer of personal data of any kind is permitted and does not require consent when it is made to countries or international organisations that provide adequate levels of protection in accordance with the standards of this Law or international law on the matter or when the transfer is made to entities or technological intermediaries and the data controller ensures that the necessary measures are adopted so that the data are protected in a manner consistent with this Law through contracts, codes of conduct or applicable international standards.
Sanctioning regime:
There are three types of misdemeanours:
- Minor fine: a fine of one to five times the minimum wage of the commerce and services sector,
- Serious fine: a fine of six to twenty times the minimum wage of the commerce and services sector,
- Very serious fine: a fine of twenty-one to fifty times the minimum wage of the commerce and services sector.
Certification or accreditation of compliance for companies: No.
Other related legislation: Constitution, Special Law against Computer and Related Crimes.
