
The Legislative Assembly’s Committee on Salvadorans Abroad, Legislation, and Government issued a favorable opinion for El Salvador to ratify the Singapore Treaty on the Law of Trademarks, an international instrument that seeks to simplify and harmonize administrative procedures related to trademark registration and management.
The initiative also includes the ratification of the Resolution of the Supplementary Diplomatic Conference and the regulations implementing the treaty. The next step will be for the opinion to be put to a vote in the plenary session of the Legislative Assembly to decide whether it becomes law.
The Singapore Treaty was adopted in march 2006 and entered into force on november 1, 2011. Its objective is to establish common standards that facilitate the registration, administration, and protection of trademarks in the countries that are party to the agreement, reducing unnecessary procedures and promoting more efficient processes.

During the review of the proposal, the committee met with the Director of Legal Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Diego Góchez, who explained that the treaty strengthens international legal instruments for trademark registration and licensing, while also unifying criteria among the countries that have adopted it.
The official noted that one of the main benefits is the simplification of administrative procedures, as it optimizes communication between Industrial Property Offices and eliminates certain bureaucratic formalities, such as the requirement for notarized certifications in some processes.
He also emphasized that this treaty represents an improvement over previous agreements because it expressly recognizes so-called non-traditional trademarks. These include three-dimensional trademarks, holograms, sounds, colors, smells, tastes, and tactile elements, thus expanding the possibilities for intellectual property protection.

In El Salvador, trademark registration and administration are handled by the Instituto Salvadoreño de la Propiedad Intelectual (ISPI), a branch of the Centro Nacional de Registros (CNR), the entity responsible for protecting the distinctive signs used by companies and entrepreneurs to identify their products and services.
With the eventual ratification of the Singapore Treaty on the Law of Trademarks, the country would strengthen its legal framework for intellectual property, streamline processes for trademark holders, and align its procedures with international standards.
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