Advertising & Marketing 2023

Last Updated October 17, 2023

El Salvador

Law and Practice

Author



IDEAS IP was established in 2009 in Costa Rica, as a firm specialising in intellectual property matters, and as a one-stop shop for Central America and the Caribbean Islands. The firm has offices in El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala and recently opened a new office in Haiti, offering services throughout the region and in the Caribbean. A team of professional staff is highly specialised in intellectual property matters, and our main services are: trademark and patent prosecution, copyrights, regulatory law, health and sanitary registrations, advertisement law and fashion law. The firm has extensive experience in advising national and multinational companies.

Provisions that should be considered in relation to advertising and marketing in El Salvador include the following:

  • The Constitution of El Salvador;
  • Ley Penal Juvenil (Juvenile Criminal Law);
  • Ley Especial Reguladora de la Obligacion de las Personas Naturales y Jurídicas de Derecho Privado de Cumplir con el Principio de Publicidad (Special Law regulatory of the Obligation of Natural and Legal Persons of Private Law to Comply with the Principle of Publicity);
  • Ley Crecer Juntos (Law Growing Together);
  • Ley de Medicamentos (Pharmaceutical Law);
  • Guia de la Publicidad de Medicamentos (Guide of Drug Advertisement);
  • Aspectos Eticos para la Publicidad Farmaceutica en El Salvador (Ethical Aspects for Pharmaceutical Advertisement in El Salvador);
  • Ley de Proteccion al Consumidor (Consumer Protection Law);
  • Codigo de Trabajo (Labour Code);
  • Ley de Promocion, Proteccion y Apoyo a la Lactancia Materna (Law for the Promotion, Protection and Support of Breastfeeding);
  • Ley de Igualdad, Equidad, y Erradicacion de la Discriminacion Contra las Mujeres (Law on Equality, Equity, and Eradication of Discrimination Against Women);
  • Ley Especial Integral Para Una Vida de Violencia Para las Mujeres (Special Law for a Life Free of Violence for Women);
  • Codigo de Autoregulacion Publicitaria (Advertising Self-Regulation Code); and
  • the Digital Asset Issuance Law.

The regulatory authorities involved in matters related to advertising and marketing in El Salvador include:

  • Consumer Defense;
  • the Ministry of Labour;
  • the Ministry of Health;
  • the National Council for Children and Adolescents;
  • the Salvadoran Institute for the integral development of childhood and adolescence;
  • the judicial courts.

Anyone can be held liable, depending on the publicity in question, regarding pharmaceuticals, drugs, cosmetics, alcohol, food, beverages and other type of products in which they affirm or confirm something that is not true. This can also be regulated in the Consumer Protection Law and in the Advertising Self-Regulation Code.

Products can be advertised on television, radio, social media and the internet.

Pre-approvals are sometimes required, mostly regarding pharmaceutical products. A pre-approval must be obtained from the National Directorate of Medicines.

There are no special rules, just general rules regarding intellectual property under the Intellectual Property (Trademark and Other Distinctive Signs, Intellectual Property Law, Treaties and ADPIC and the Advertising Self-Regulation Code.

El Salvador used to have the National Bureau of Publicity, but after COVID this entity was dissolved. However, the Advertising Self-Regulation Code is still in effect and this regulates advertising and how to advertise. There is a special commission that oversees handling all advertising practices and procedures when there are complaints filed by advertisement agencies, advertisers, associations and ONGs, consumers, and the government. It also has the Consumer Protection Defense, which oversees conducting inspections and has the power to sanction individuals or companies in  the event of infringement of any regulation. They are not only in charge of advertising issues, but also carry out inspections regarding the use, commercialisation and sale of products for human consumption.

If the special commission issues a ruling, they admit an appeal; once the ruling is issued, there can be no additional appeal.

Anyone can file a complaint before the Consumer Protection Defense, the Commission of the Self-Regulation of Advertisement, the courts or any other entity, depending on the content or issue related to advertisement practices.

Anyone can file a complaint before the Consumer Protection Defense regarding the publicity or advertisement of goods and services. The complaint will be allowed, within a period of five days depending on the documents and proof provided.

With regard to official complaints where the facts are clearly determined, because they have been recorded by the Consumer Protection Defence or proven with actions by other institutions, being recognised by the offender, recorded in administrative records or due to other justified circumstances, the file may be processed in a simplified procedure.

Once the procedure has been started, the court will summon the supplier to appear to their defense in writing within a period of five days starting from the day after the notification was received.

Upon the expiration of the term, whether the supplier has appeared or not, the trial will be opened for eight days. During the trial period, the parties may present and request the evidence they deem appropriate.

The court must ex officio provide for the taking of the evidence it deems appropriate at any time during the procedure, giving intervention to the interested parties.

The means of proof recognised in the common law will be admitted, in what is applicable manner and with suitable scientific backing. The evidence provided in the process will be appreciated according to the rules of sound criticism. The court, once the proceedings have concluded, will issue a resolution within a maximum period of ten days.

Also, complaints may be filed before the Commission of Self-Regulation of Advertisement and must be formulated in writing and filed accompanied by the specific advertisement, complete information on the campaign and must specify the advertising media, expressing the alleged violations attributed to it and adding the evidence it deems necessary to support the claim.

It must be verified that everything meets the requirements, the parties must appear at the hearing and the commission must carry out the necessary procedures and investigations. All rulings must be in writing and be based on the rules of the Code and the sanctions that may be imposed include the immediate suspension of the advert or public or private reprimands to the sanctioned. Once the ruling is issued, there is no additional appeal.

Finally, anyone can file a complaint before other entities such as the Ministry of Health, the National Bureau of Medicines, the courts, among others, depending on what they are complaint is about within the publicity or advertisement practices.

The most relevant cases are related to clothing stores, shoes and accessories, restaurants and supermarkets, aesthetics and beauty centres by not detailing the validity of the promotions. Usually, advertisers put out promotions that say when they will start but do not state when the promotions they have published end.

In relation to supermarkets, there are cases where they leave the labels of special prices attached to products, but when a customer arrives at the checkout, they are told that the promotion has ended, and they are charged the regular price.

Drugstores usually promote the date of discounts on medicines, cosmetics and other goods that are sold in drugstores, but they do not advertise the time at which these promotions will end. Since some drugstores just apply the discount from 6.00am to 12.00pm or for several hours, and this is not completely clear in their advertisements.

In all of these cases, the entities are subject to fines and must comply with the authorities' ruling.

Advertisers are urged to have respect for local customs and not make any kind of parody or mockery regarding El Salvador’s cultural customs.

Areas that impact the regulation of advertising in El Salvador include the following:

  • children's advertising;
  • women's rights;
  • diversity;
  • inclusion;
  • discrimination;
  • stereotypes;
  • feminism; and
  • sexual advertisements.

Factors which can apply to determining whether claims are deceptive or misleading include:

  • the characteristics of the goods, activities, or services, such as:
    1. geographical or commercial origin, nature, composition, destination, purpose, suitability, availability and newness;
    2. the quality, quantity, category and specifications;
    3. method and date of manufacture, supply or provision; and
    4. results that can be expected from its use;
  • the complete price or method of fixing the same;
  • legal and economic conditions for the acquisition, use and delivery of the goods or the provision of services;
  • reasons for the offer or promotion; or
  • the nature, qualifications and rights of the advertiser.

No information has been provided in this jurisdiction.

They types of substantiation that is generally required to support advertising claims typically includes:

  • testimonials;
  • scientific information;
  • the special characteristics of the products and services; and
  • studies.

The Advertising Self-Regulation Code prohibits the comparison of products for advertisement campaigns or products that share one or more specific attributes of another product. If an advertiser announces or suggests the comparison, that affirmation can be supported by true information.

If advertisers would like to demonstrate a product, they must have sufficient evidence of what they are saying in the advertisement, testimonial or scientific information.

The Advertising Self-Regulation Code establishes in articles 18, 19 and 20 regulations for this type of advertisement. It stated that advertisement testimonials must not contain any claims or visual representations that could be misleading, nor must they be used in a way that could produce a similar effect. The testimonials that for whatever reason have ceased to be valid as support for the statements made in the advertisement should not continue to be used.

The use of models dressed in uniforms or attire that represents the characteristic of a profession, trade or occupation, should not mislead the consumer. In this sense, if the model is a legally accredited professional or technician, this must be clarified in the announcement with reference to their license or registration, otherwise, it must be clarified that this is a representation of a model.

The use of doubles or identifiable photographs will depend on the authorisation of the imitated person.

Also, with regard to publicity or advertisements related to doctors or pharmacists, these are regulated by the Medicines Act as well as by the Guide of Advertisement of Medicines.

The Advertising Self-Regulation Code states that the advertisement must be clearly identifiable as such, whatever its form or the means used to disseminate it.

The advertisement, report, article, note, text, legend or any other form of information that is disseminated through payment must be clearly identified as a paid advertising field, so that it is distinguished from news material and does not confuse the consumer. In no advertisement should techniques be used that prevent the consumer from realising that advertising is being disseminated.

There are no special laws that regulate this; however there are several laws that regulate different subjects and matters related to diversity and equality, inclusion or stereotyping, since in the past some companies have made advertisements with regard to these issues and people have filed complaints before the Consumer Protection Defense and, in the past, before the National Bureau of Publicity in order to take down the campaign or advertisement.

There have been some cases in which women have been treated as sexual objects and those campaigns are being taken down when a complaint is filed. One example includes a company that had a campaign in which they showed that politicians and old men with money can get and have what they want and in the campaign, they showed rich men with sexy women. This campaign was taken down since it denigrated women and suggested that women are for sale if men have the money.

Job postings are also a sensitive area since in some cases, they are directed toward women or men over certain age, and this is considering discrimination since everyone, if they comply with the requirements, is entitled to apply for the job. Now job postings must be generalised and not gender-based.

The Advertising Self-Regulation Code states that advertisements that directly or indirectly encourage pollution of air, water, forests and other natural resources should not be accepted. The extinction of fauna, flora and other natural resources or their inappropriate exploitation, the inappropriate use of natural resources and the pollution of urban areas are also unacceptable.

Claims such as “not harmful to the environment”, “ecologically safe” and other similar phrases that imply that a product or activity does not cause an impact on the environment, or only does so positively, should not be made unless there is true scientific information and verifiable evidence that supports the authenticity of said claims.

There are no special laws or guidance related to dark patterns in advertising; however, these may be regulated by the Consumer Protection Law, the Advertising Self-regulation Code, the Constitution or the Electronic Commerce Law, as well as other laws that protect consumers.

The Law of Growing Together as well as the Constitution, which regulates rights for children, prohibits the distribution or facilitation of access to public shows, publications, videos, recordings, television programmes, radio or other means of communication or media which contains inadequate or harmful messages for the development and training of underage people. However, the Advertising Self-Regulation Code has, in the past, regulated the use of minors for advertisements and stated that they were not permitted to be used in the advertisement of drugs, alcohol or sexual matters. Also, there are the regulations stated in the Advertising Self-Regulation Code.

The Constitution of El Salvador regulates that the government is the body that must ensure the defense, mental and physical health and interests of minors.

Also, the Special Law against computer crime and related crime regulates extortion of sexual content of children and adolescents as well as the use of children and adolescents in internet pornography.

There are no specific rules related to sponsor identification or branded content.

There are no other claims that are regulated by special laws.

The Advertising Self-Regulation Code established in article 23 and 24 that comparative advertising is considered advertising that specifically mentions the name of a competitor.

It is prohibited for an advertiser that compares one or more specific attributes of an advertised product or announces or suggests in the comparison that the affirmation can be supported by true information.

This regulation is still maintained since claims can be filed before the Consumer Protection Defense for comparative advertisements and the unauthorised use of a trade mark, as well as false affirmations when they are committed.

Based on the Advertising Self-Regulation Code, it is not permitted to use the name of a competitor in advertising. Also, this can be considered as an infringement of the competitor's Intellectual Property rights, since the use of the name of a product of a competitor might be consider as unauthorised use of the trade mark, so this is not allowed.

Advertisements can be challenged before the Commission of Advertising Self-Regulation since the Advertising of Self-Regulation Code establishes that complaints may be filed before the Commission. Claims must be formulated in writing and filed accompanied by the scheduled advertisement and complete information on the campaign, specifying the advertising media and expressing the alleged violations attributed to it, adding any evidence it deems necessary to support the claim.

It must be verified that everything meets the requirements and the parties must appear at the hearing. The commission must carry out the necessary procedures and investigations. All rulings must be in writing and be based on the rules of the Code. The sanctions that can be imposed include the immediate suspension of the ad or public or private reprimands to the sanctioned. Appeals are permitted; however, once the ruling is issued there is no additional appeal.

The Advertising of Self-Regulation Code also regulates unfair competition and it states that advertisements must not denigrate or distort the image of the product or trade mark of another company, nor contain statements or insinuations that violate the good name of third parties and, in general, must respect the principles and rules of loyalty in commercial competition.

Advertisements must not have any reference to another company or product that could cause the public to reject them or make them look ridiculous.

In turn, advertisements must not take advantage of the prestige of the trade name and/or symbols of another firm or product or prestige acquired by an advertising campaign.

In El Salvador, there is no specific regulation in that deals with ambush marketing; however, there are regulations which may be applied to infringers under the Trademarks and Other Distinctive Signs Act, the Commercial Code, the Consumer Protection Act and the Advertising Self-Regulation Code.

The Special Law Against Computer Crime and Related Crime and the Advertising Self-Regulation Code apply to this area.

Since the advertiser owns the site or social media channels, they are liable for content that is posted or provided though such channels, whether or not it has been posted directly by the advertisers, their employees, marketing personnel or others that have access to their channels.

El Salvador has the Trademark and Other Distinctive Signs Act, the Consumer Protection Law, the Special Law Against Computer Crime and Related Crime and the Constitution. However, this type of advertising is more complicated to prove bad faith or who has directly disclosed the advert.

There are no unique rules; the social media platforms’ general rules apply in this jurisdiction and the platforms are allowed to take down an account if they consider that they are infringing the rights of third parties, using unauthorised content or that they are using social networks or platforms to promote pornography or other crimes. There are no prohibitions to the use of social media platforms in El Salvador.

There are no specific rules, just the general rules that apply to prohibitions of advertising in general.

The following regulations apply:

  • the Advertisement Self-Regulation Code;
  • the Consumer Protection Law;
  • the Trademark and Other Distinctive Signs Act; and
  • Intellectual Property Law.

According to El Salvador law, the only regulatory body is the Advertisement Self-Regulation Code which is mostly explanatory on what the use and content of testimonials must include. Also, the Consumer Protection Law establishes the Ombudsman to ensure compliance with the mandatory standards of safety, information, labelling, quality, weights and measures of the goods and services that are commercialised in the market.

However, the advertiser is not liable for content posted by an influencer since the advertiser must sign a contract with the influencer and in such document, establish the rules and actions that the influencer must carry out as well as the limitations the influencer has and the liabilities for not complying with what is established in the contract.

The following regulations may apply:

  • the Consumers Protection Law;
  • the Constitution;
  • the Special Law Against Computer Crime and Related Crime; and
  • the Advertising Self-Regulation Code.

There are no special law or rules applicable to this in El Salvador.

There are no special rules, just the general rules regarding advertisements. The advertiser must:

  • establish the starting and finish date of promotions;
  • the promotion to be held;
  • the promotion's requirements;
  • maintain an opt-out requirement in case the owner of the e-mail account does not wish to receive the advertisements;
  • not promote any sexual material or pornography;
  • ensure the use or language is in accordance with the applicable legislation;
  • in the case of advertisements featuring children, must comply with all regulations; and
  • comply with all requirements for the advertisement and promotion of alcohol and tobacco.

The liability could include imposing fines, taking out the email address and parties can even initiate proceedings in the courts for serious infractions.

Also, there is the E-Commerce Law that has some rules regarding communications and emails.

The liability for violating these rules includes complaints filed in the courts which have civil and criminal liabilities, depending on the violations. Also, complaints can be filed before the Consumer Ombudsman.

No specific rules are applicable. However, if there is no specific user consent, advertisements must expressly indicate that they constitute an unsolicited advertising or promotional electronic commercial communication. They must include in the message a simple, free and viable option to request exclusion from the lists of recipients of the same at any time, and state that the data of the recipients have been obtained without infringing the rights of protection of personal data. The judicial authority may order to interrupt the provision of the service or access to content in the exercise of precautionary measures or in execution of resolutions, which will depend on the violations and the measures requested.

No specific rules are applicable, just the general rules of advertisement and promotions. However, text messages must be limited if they are excessive, as this could constitute harassment, which would be the subject of a complaint to the corresponding authorities.

The Telecommunications Law and well as the Consumer Protection Law regulates this type of advertisement. The Telecommunications Law now establishes a schedule from Monday through Friday for limited use for calls for advertising of products or services that companies are selling by telephone.

Advertising aimed at minors should positively influence their behaviour, developing a communication that, whenever possible, supports beneficial social steps.

Special care should be taken to ensure that advertising does not show images of situations of violence or situations of a sexual nature.

Advertisements should not make exaggerations regarding the qualities or uses of the products. Therefore, they should report truthfully and accurately.

Advertisements aimed at minors must be respectful of their physical, mental or moral integrity, always respecting the naivety, credulity, inexperience and sense of loyalty of minors.

Advertisements should promote and strengthen a culture of social peace, especially through the evaluation and control of film material, television, and radio broadcasts; as well as prevent and provide guidance about the inconvenience of public shows that promote a loss of values or promote a climate of violence, especially in children and young people.

Classify the content of public shows with the participation of international artists for the moral protection of children and adolescents, in accordance with current legal regulations on the rights of children and adolescents.

Violating such rules could lead to a party being penalised and denounced criminally and civilly before the corresponding courts for arbitrary acts on minors and punished with fines and/or imprisonment, depending on the responsibility for the actions and violations committed.

The following areas are subject to privacy rules relating to advertising:

  • foods and non-alcoholic beverages;
  • sick people, treatments, diets and pharmaceutical products;
  • wines and liquors;
  • moderation drinks;
  • cigarettes and tobacco;
  • insurance, loans and investments;
  • education and training courses;
  • home improvement plans and catalogue sales;
  • excursions, trips and timeshares;
  • safety and accidents; and
  • Protection of privacy.

Sweepstakes and contests are regulated by the Ministry of Governance since they must provide authorisation for sweepstakes and contests to be held. However, there is no specific regulation for online promotions, raffles or contests.

The authorisation must be requested from the Ministry of Governance.

All documents, rules, information and advertising materials related to sweepstakes and contest must be filed along with the form for authorisation and the payment.

Everything must be translated into the Spanish language.

The Organic Law of the National Charity Lottery establishes the definitions in article 3; however it defines online games like bingo, keno, slot machines, card games, instant games, roulette wheels and any other form of chance played electronically or online, through websites or mobile applications.

The Ministry of Governance has the responsibility for authorising and regulating games of chance and/or contests of skill.

The filing and registration required to offer a chance-based game and/or skill-based game is regulated in the Ministry of Governance's applicable law for raffles, contests, commercial promotions and similar activities. Consider that this law is applicable if the contest is held in Salvadoran territory and if the prize has a monetary value. Article 3 and 4 of that law regulates the requirements of the authorisation request, which are the following:

  • the Request: a letter addressed to the Minister of the Interior and Territorial Development, signed by the Legal Representative or Proxy of the entity they represent, authenticated by a Notary Public, with the stamped seal of the entity they represent. Set in the Request is the name of the person who will be authorised to hear, present and receive notifications from the requested procedure, the address, email (if any) and the telephone number to be contacted;
  • the Bases of the Promotion: see the Model to Follow for Bases of Commercial Promotions;
  • a quote of the prizes to be awarded to the winners, signed and stamped by the commercial provider (via certified or original photocopy). Unit prices must include VAT;
  • a Certified Photocopy of the DUI and NIT of the Legal Representative or Power of Attorney of the requesting Entity;
  • a Certified Photocopy of the NIT and VAT Card of the requesting Entity;
  • a Certified Photocopy of the Deed of Incorporation of the requesting Entity, registered in the National Registry Centre;
  • a Certified Photocopy of the Credential of the Board of Directors of the Applicant Company Entity, current and Registered in the National Registry Centre;
  • a Certified Photocopy of the Deed of Power of Attorney (Legal Representative) of the Entity Applicant, Registered in the National Registry Centre;
  • a Certified Photocopy of the Contract(s) issued by the Telecommunications Companies, which authorise the use of a text message service (SMS) or telephone calls (mobile-landline), for the development of the promotional activity requested. (this is in the exclusive case of entities that carry out commercial promotions using text messaging services and telephone calls);
  • a Current Municipal Solvency, original or certified copy (of the domicile of the requesting Entity).

Regarding the costs, the official page and according to the rules (as stated in applicable law mentioned before) of the Ministry of Governance, a Payment Order in the amount of USD500, as rights for the authorisation and certification of the resolution, will be provided after the presentation of the documentation required for the commercial promotion process (bingos, raffles, contests, trivia, sweepstakes, lotteries, and others).

Article 7 of the same law establishes that in case the authorisation request is granted, the beneficiary will have to pay USD51 in terms of the authorisation procedure, which have to be paid in the next three business days after the notification of admission and after receipt of the payment order.

The deadline for the aforementioned: the company or person organising the sweepstake, contest,etc must process the authorisation, meeting the requirements with a minimum period of fifteen business days prior to the start of advertising, as per Article 5 of the same law.

There may be applicable laws depending on the municipality in which the contest or sweepstake will take place, for example, the municipal law of San Salvador regarding these matters.

The regulations that may apply to free or reduced-price offers are:

  • the Consumer Protection Law;
  • the Advertising Self-Regulation Code; and
  • the Medicines Law.

The advertiser who communicates an offer or price reduction must be able to comply with it. The ability and actual willingness to comply with the offer must be verifiable. In the same way, the advertiser must specify the limitations. Once the inventory subject to the offer or price reduction is exhausted, the promotion may no longer be advertised.

There are no specific laws, but the general rules regarding contracts establishes that if a contract is signed and a clause of automatic renewal is established, the marketer or entity is allowed to continue charging unless a written termination is signed or if the parties come to an agreement terminating the contract.

For example, if you hire a marketer to be in charge of the company’s marketing, social networks and other public media, they will always continue to charge, and the contract will be understood to be automatically renewed if there is no agreement between the parties of termination or early termination giving notice to the other of the intention to terminate the contract.

Also, in regard to publicity in social media, the same thing happens if there is a clause or any part of a clause where it says that parties agree to automatic renewal - they will continue to charge for advertising and they will be fully entitled to do so.

There are no specific rules in connection with artificial intelligence.

There are no special rules related to making a claim that a product is developed using AI, is powered by AI or has AI-related capabilities.

There are no special rules; however, virtual assistants have been mostly used by telecommunications companies and banks, who are in charge of enquiries by virtual or telephonic means.

There is a special Bitcoin Law since Bitcoin is a national currency. However, this law does not establishes special regulations in regard to advertising, marketing or sale but the Bitcoin Law Regulation states that digital exchange houses are considered as Bitcoin or dollar exchange houses, whose usual activity is the buying and selling of Bitcoin through an electronic platform or computer applications at the prices determined by market supply and demand.

Also, in the case of digital wallets for Bitcoin offered by the state, to guarantee the financial inclusion of the population, banks must provide their services as exchange platforms in such a way that they do not generate commission for the end user of said wallets, in accordance to the regulations issued by the BCR for this purpose.

There are no special regulations regarding advertisements within the metaverse.

The Medicines Law has rules and restrictions related to the advertisement of medicines, medical devices, cosmetics and drugs. All advertisements must be pre-approved by the national Directorate of Medicines.

There is also the Advertisement Self-Regulation Code which establishes the regulation of advertisements of alcohol, drugs, food, beverages and tobacco.

Cannabis is not authorised in El Salvador.

The advertising of food and non-alcoholic beverages, their text, visual and auditory presentations that refer to the physical characteristics of the products, such as flavour, size, content, nutrition and health benefits, should not mislead the consumer in any way.

Advertising for food and non-alcoholic beverages must not:

  • encourage or justify immoderate, excessive, or compulsive eating or drinking;
  • go against the promotion of a varied and balanced diet or underestimate the importance of a healthy and active lifestyle; or
  • food products that are not meal substitutes must not be presented as such.

When the advertising of food and non-alcoholic beverages contains statements and terms referring to health or nutrition, such statements must be supported by adequate scientific evidence and, therefore, have the pertinent information in advance.

Comparisons related to nutrition and health must be based on an objectively demonstrable and clearly understandable basis.

No advertisement should include a promise of cure, unless said promise can be supported by evidence provided by individuals or ad hoc entities. Any advertising piece, in terms of its technical content, must have the endorsement of the competent authority.

No advertisement should offer advice for the treatment of a disease that requires the services of a professional.

No advertisement should contain statements that may mislead the consumer, regarding the composition, characteristics or results of the medicine or treatment or about the indications for which it is recommended.

The advertising of wines and spirits must be carried out in order to guarantee responsible dissemination, which does not promote abusive consumption that leads to undesirable behaviour and is contrary to the general interests of society.

In cigarette advertising, the messages, in addition to complying with the provisions of the respective legislation, must not:

  • encourage the consumption of cigarettes and tobacco;
  • exploit eroticism;
  • use images, language or ideas that suggest that consumption of the product is a sign of maturity or that it contributes to professional, social or sexual success;
  • be directed to minors;
  • use in testimonials, testimonial models that are old or that are not, as they appear to be; or
  • being placed in programmes where the audience is mostly children.

In the case of outdoor advertising, it may not:

  • be located in front of schools;
  • promote the acceptance of the product as appropriate for minors; or
  • use language, graphic and audiovisual resources belonging to the children’s universe that may arouse the curiosity or attention of minors and contribute to the adoption of moral values or habits incompatible with their condition.

There are no special rules related to the placement of products in an entertainment content.

There are no specific rules or restrictions that apply to advertisements of any other category of products.

IDEAS IP

7a Calle Pte. Bis y Calle
José Martí #15-229
Col. Escalón, San Salvador
El Salvador

+503 2566 5260

mmancia@ideasips.com www.ideasips.com
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IDEAS IP was established in 2009 in Costa Rica, as a firm specialising in intellectual property matters, and as a one-stop shop for Central America and the Caribbean Islands. The firm has offices in El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala and recently opened a new office in Haiti, offering services throughout the region and in the Caribbean. A team of professional staff is highly specialised in intellectual property matters, and our main services are: trademark and patent prosecution, copyrights, regulatory law, health and sanitary registrations, advertisement law and fashion law. The firm has extensive experience in advising national and multinational companies.

New Legislation on the Marketing of Cryptocurrency and Greater Inclusivity in Advertising in El Salvador

El Salvador has been strengthening legislation and current issues in order to be at the forefront with what consumers, investors and the general public needed. The change of government that took place in 2019 saw that these offered and were focused on promoting new ideas to improve the country, promote new technologies, generate investment and improve the quality of life of Salvadorans.

This new government has been the promoter of many reforms and new laws to promote investment and be at the forefront of technology, thus modernising the country.

Unfortunately, at the end of that year and at the beginning of 2020, COVID-19 arrived, and despite all the misfortunes that it brought in terms of health and to what was experienced from confinement, it brought positive things to modernise the way of working. Private entities and government entities were able to offer other types of mechanisms to achieve compliance with daily work without the need to be there in person.

During this time, there was a need to start generating electronic files and electronic platforms with the ability to work from home and thus be in constant communication with government entities and others. It provided the ability to work hand in hand. with them without having to be in their offices in person. This was due to the fact that the government saw the need to make several changes, thus providing the necessary tools to modernise.

Among the changes that have been generated has been the creation of the Bitcoin Law in which the Bitcoin cryptocurrency was established as legal tender in the country, in addition to the American dollar and the Salvadoran colon. The country now has three currencies of legal tender, of which the most used are the US dollar and Bitcoin.

In turn, there have been new changes in legislation, thus reinforcing online sales. The Electronic Signature Law, the Electronic Billing Law, the Digital Asset Issuance Law and the Electronic Commerce Law are among laws that have been approved by the current government and that have come to modernise the system and the way of working in El Salvador.

We have seen that the world has been in constant change and our country cannot be left behind; we must be at the forefront to be able to offer other products, services and modern alternatives to be an attractive country in terms of tourism, investment and housing, among others. All these changes and new tools that have come to revolutionise the world have also helped Salvadorans.

However, in view of all the changes that have occurred, we have also seen the need to protect people’s rights, and we have seen that the world is currently very demanding. There has been a revolution to protect the rights of humans, women and children, and although this has always been present in the world and in all laws, we have seen the need to provide much wider protection.

There have been many cases of violations of children’s and women’s rights, and a constant evolution with issues of inclusion, diversity and racism, among others. There is a need to build better protection in relation to the laws that manage and ensure these types of rights, especially human rights.

These changes have come to open our eyes and change our way of acting, making us more humane, more careful in our language, in our publicity, our announcements, thus avoiding degrading people and infringing the rights of women and children.

Nowadays, even if we do not have special regulations or laws related to what is going on around the world, we have general guidance and regulations that prohibits the use of inappropriate language and misleading or stereotyping women and children, among others.

It is very difficult to make these changes overnight in a community that is traditionally very conservative and especially in which most citizens profess certain religions and in which the Catholic religion predominates. However, as mentioned before, with the constant evolution of the world and new generations that have come to modernise our way of acting, we have seen the need to be more permissive. Given what is truly happening around the world, what was previously presumed to be morally correct is no longer so, since many rights of people, of women or members of the gay community were being violated, allowing constant abuses towards them.

Currently, El Salvador has undergone changes to be more inclusive and more alert to what is around us, maintaining respect for others and being clear where one set of rights end and another begins.

For our country to become better known, we have found ourselves in need of modernising ourselves, of changing many things and still continue to evolve to be able to offer the world another El Salvador by improving our legislation, legal security, the life of our citizens and of all those who visit us either for tourism, work or because they move to live in our country.

We consider that we can offer everyone what is required that our legislation and legal security, as we have mentioned, have been improving over the years, thus being able to create a good investment climate, security and above all, putting our country in the eye of all the world promoting our little El Salvador.

Generating a climate of security is how greater and better investment is generated in the country. It is for this reason and everything that we have stated that we consider that our laws, provisions and regulations - although they do not regulate the new ways of creating, living or working - are evidence of our best efforts to evolve and include all these new regulations as they are. Artificial intelligence, telework, e-commerce, among others, offer broad and secure protection for anyone who wants to invest, promote, manufacture and visit our country.

Advertising is a means to attract investment, trade and work, and above all so that the world realises that El Salvador is a rich country, rich for its people, for its beaches, for its legal security, and wants to live the experience so that you fall in love with our country, just as we Salvadorans are in love with it.

Although we have more than a million Salvadorans living outside our territory who for some reason or other had to desert, we are currently seeing that more and more people who emigrated are returning to live, invest and promote tourism, visit and above all, to give our country a little of what they have learned and studied in other places, providing better jobs and benefitting the economy and education.

IDEAS IP

7a Calle Pte. Bis y Calle
José Martí #15-229
Col. Escalón, San Salvador
El Salvador

+503 2566 5260

mmancia@ideasips.com www.ideasips.com
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IDEAS IP was established in 2009 in Costa Rica, as a firm specialising in intellectual property matters, and as a one-stop shop for Central America and the Caribbean Islands. The firm has offices in El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala and recently opened a new office in Haiti, offering services throughout the region and in the Caribbean. A team of professional staff is highly specialised in intellectual property matters, and our main services are: trademark and patent prosecution, copyrights, regulatory law, health and sanitary registrations, advertisement law and fashion law. The firm has extensive experience in advising national and multinational companies.

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IDEAS IP was established in 2009 in Costa Rica, as a firm specialising in intellectual property matters, and as a one-stop shop for Central America and the Caribbean Islands. The firm has offices in El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala and recently opened a new office in Haiti, offering services throughout the region and in the Caribbean. A team of professional staff is highly specialised in intellectual property matters, and our main services are: trademark and patent prosecution, copyrights, regulatory law, health and sanitary registrations, advertisement law and fashion law. The firm has extensive experience in advising national and multinational companies.

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