PROSECUTION GUIDELINES

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You will find here all the important information about filing trademarks, designs and patents.

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El Salvador

GDP: $26,057 BILLION

IMPORTS: $12,768 BILLION

POPULATION: 6,420,744

TOTAL AREA: 21,040 KM2

OFFICIAL LANGUAGES: SPANISH

CURRENCY: UNITED STATES DOLLAR ($) (USD)

Local time:
WIPO-administered Treaties:
  • Contracting Party of The Paris Convention: YES.
  • Contracting Party of The Hague Agreement on Industrial Designs: 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.
  • Graphic representation of the design.
  • Payment of official fee.
  • Classification of the design.
  • Brief description.
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.

WIPO-administered Treaties:
  • Contracting Party of The Paris Convention: YES.
  • 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 trade marks:

All distinctive and graphically representable signs, words, names, acronyms, letters, colours, numbers (letters, colours and numbers cannot be registered if the are filed individually), devices, emblems, combinations or shades of colours, three-dimensional forms, the three-dimensional form of a good or its packaging, sounds and smells.

Formal filing requirements:
  • Power of Attorney notarised and legalised within 2 months from the official request.
  • Certified copy of the priority application and its translation into Spanish within 3 months from the application date.
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.

Term of protection:

10 years from the date of registration.

Use requirements:

YES. Cancellation can be requested if the trade mark has not been used for 5 years, counting from the registration date. Partial cancellation is possible.

Renewal terms:

1 year prior to renwal date.

 

Grace period:

6 months.

Link to Trade Mark Office:

http://www.cnr.gob.sv/

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.
First filing requirements with the local Patent Office for inventions made by nationals:

NO.

Formal filing requirements:
  • Power of Attorney duly notarized and legalized within 10 days from notification.
  • Assignment document from the inventors duly notarized and legalized (which may be substituted by a sworn declaration by the representative) within 60 days from office action.
  • 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).
Filing of the patent application in a foreign language:

Accepted. Late submission of the Spanish translation is possible within 6 months.

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:

4-5 years.

Term of protection for patents:

20 years from filing date.

Term of protection for utility models:

1o 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.

Marking of the product with the application/ patent number:

NOT mandatory.

Compulsory licensing:

YES.

Link to Patent Office:

http://www.cnr.gob.sv/

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