In recent years, the government of El Salvador has promoted various policies, reforms, and programs to encourage trade and attract domestic and foreign investment, such as:
- The establishment of a legal framework is favorable to investors.
- Tax and customs incentives.
- The promotion of strategic sectors such as technology, tourism, and renewable energy.
- The creation of new intellectual property legislation, one of the most significant changes.
El Salvador’s new Intellectual Property Law represents a very important step forward for the country. It modernizes an outdated legal framework, reduces bureaucracy, digitizes processes, and provides concrete incentives for entrepreneurs, artists, small businesses, and the education sector. At the same time, it strengthens the protection of creations and innovation, which can have a very positive impact on the local economy, culture, and El Salvador’s potential to become more integrated into a knowledge-based economy.
As with any new legislation, there are always a number of challenges arising from its implementation. Among the most important challenges of the new Intellectual Property Law are:
- The institutional, technical, and operational capacity of the new Salvadoran Intellectual Property Institute.
- The adoption of technology and digitization in the provision of services.
However, these challenges have been successfully overcome by the Salvadoran authorities, allowing them to establish themselves as one of the most efficient and qualified intellectual property authorities in Latin America.
Although we have referred to some of the regulatory changes associated with intellectual property in El Salvador in previous publications, it is important that, with the implementation of this new law since February 2025, we inform our current and potential clients of the advantages that this law has generated in practice.
The new law unifies copyright, industrial property, trademarks, patents, design, integrated circuits, and trade secrets into a single legal body. This means a more coherent and modern framework for intellectual property in the country. It also promotes the digitization of procedures such as electronic registration of works, online applications for patents and distinctive signs, and process automation, which reduces time and administrative interactions and makes it more accessible.
Similarly, specific provisions are introduced for the protection of intellectual property in digital environments, as they regulate the unauthorized use of works through networks, the role of operators of computer systems connected to the internet in responding to infringements, and notification mechanisms for removing infringing content.
The promotion of intellectual property generated by the current regulations attracts both local and international investment, especially in creative and technological industries. Furthermore, by recognizing intellectual property as an engine of sustainable development, the law promotes a growth model that is more knowledge-oriented and inclusive of benefits for sectors that were not taken into account in previous legislation, through the implementation of tariff discounts for certain groups such as micro and small businesses, the educational community (students, teachers, researchers), artists, musicians, and writers.
El Salvador is undergoing significant changes in intellectual property and offering nationals and foreigners a stable market that positions the country as the ideal starting point for commercial operations in Central America.
This article seeks to invite entrepreneurs and companies of all sizes to come to El Salvador to take advantage of the regulatory opportunities offered for business development and to learn firsthand about these new opportunities.