Any person or entity can apply for a mark in El Salvador, regardless of nationality, domicile or establishment.

What legal or administrative proceedings are available for enforcing patent rights against an infringer? Are there specialised courts in which a patent infringement lawsuit can or must be brought?

The Free Trade Agreement between Dominican Republic, Central America and United States of America (CAFTA-DR) has resulted in substantial amendments to the intellectual property field in El Salvador.

As part of its long-term plan of creating a Free Trade Area of the Americas, the United States is building smaller trade blocs through bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements. The first such agreement was the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico, which came into force on January 1, 1994.