Register a trademark in El Salvador
Register a trademark in El Salvador to protect your brand and company’s profitability in the country. This includes carrying out a comprehensive trademark search in El Salvador.
El Salvador’s economic landscape offers great opportunities for foreign business. As a small country with a small set of staple revenue generators, the potential for development lies in almost every sector. El Salvador’s new President, Nayib Bukele, was dubbed the ‘candidate of change’ for the country, and his intention is to achieve exactly that in the country’s commercial environment. Businesses looking to take advantage of increasingly attractive business conditions must however understand their rights in terms of intellectual property protections, and how to activate them.
As the smallest country by population in Central America, El Salvador is looking to diversify its economy and reliance on traditional sectors, such as agriculture, manufacturing and mining, and commerce. Additionally, remittances from Salvadoran workers in the United States make up a large percentage of the country’s GDP. In 2018, remittances totaled US$5.4 billion (21.3% of GDP). In recent years the government has worked to improve El Salvador’s ease of doing business – and subsequently, foreign investment levels – by introducing a number of regulation reforms in areas of taxing, importing and exporting, accessing permits, and property. Doing business in El Salvador means having the opportunity to stake your claim in almost any market with few competition barriers. The country, with its small clutch of economic strengths and government appetite for development, offers potential in many diverse sectors for foreign businesses to make their marks.
To register a trademark in El Salvador, you can follow the steps below:
- Conduct a trademark search in El Salvador
- Presentation of application
- Publishing your trademark application
- Presentation of publications
- Trademark application review
- Approval and trademark registration in El Salvador
The lifespan for the registration of your registered trademark is 10 years. You can renew it, but you must do so within this 10-year period (i.e. before the expiry date). You must be very precise with the scope of the services and products that your sign protects or identifies, as once it is registered you will not be able to modify it. For future-proofing purposes, make sure you understand fully the specifications you want to attach to this design for your business in the foreseeable future.
For more information on the subject, contact Biz Latin Hub for personalized support.
Biz Latin Hub does not provide formal guidance or advice. Please consult a professional for your specific situation. Information provided is for informative purposes only and may not capture all pertinent laws, standards, and best practices.
