http://www.romeropineda.com/resources/ en-us Nucleus CMS v3.24 © Weblog http://backend.userland.com/rss http://www.romeropineda.com/resources//nucleus/nucleus2.gif http://www.romeropineda.com/resources/ http://www.romeropineda.com/resources/index.php?itemid=45 www.GettingTheDealThrough.com. This edition provides comparative international analysis in 37 jurisdictions about the most important issues that corporate counsel and cross-border legal practitioners face when navigating international patent rights.
Romero Pineda & Associates provided El Salvador chapter, a research made by partner José Roberto Romero Mena and associate Jorge Enrique Méndez.
The published chapter on El Salvador issues can be consulted in the following PDF:
El Salvador
Reproduced with permission from Law Business Research. This article was first published in Getting the Deal Through - Patents 2008, (published in January 2008 - contributing editor Stuart J Sinder). For further information please visit www.GettingTheDealThrough.com

]]> General http://www.romeropineda.com/resources/index.php?itemid=45 Fri, 14 Mar 2008 09:33:49 -0600 http://www.romeropineda.com/resources/index.php?itemid=44 Francisco Bertrand Galindo in celebration of his 80th birthday.

Surrounded by partners, associates and his family, Dr. Bertrand Galindo viewed the unveiling of his portrait.

The event took place in the main conference room of the Firm, which will now be known as the Dr. Francisco Bertrand Galindo Library and Conference Room. He also received a diploma from the Firm in recognition of his 30 years of service with Romero Pineda & Associates. “This is where all big decisions of the Firm are made” said Firm founder Roberto Romero Pineda. Dr. Romero spoke at length of the professional and personal contributions made by Dr. Bertrand Galindo as well as the sterling quality of his legal advice.

“I feel so excited that I am at a loss for words… If I had to lose a case, I would”, thanked Bertrand Galindo in a humorous tone and “blamed” the Firm for being the main reason responsible for his longevity.

His sons and daughters Francisco Bertrand, Mauricio Bertrand, Evelyn Beatriz de Henríquez and Katia Bertrand de Meléndez, as well as granddaughter Vanessa Henríquez Bertrand, accompanied Dr. Bertrand Galindo and spoke lovingly about him as a father and a role model.

Dr. Bertrand Galindo has more than 50 years of experience in the practice of law and has been a part of this Firm since its foundation in 1978.

Dr.Bertrand & Family
Dr. Bertrand Galindo and his family.

Speech Dr. Roberto Romero Pineda
Firm founder Roberto Romero Pineda spoke of the contributions made by Dr.Bertrand Galindo. ]]> General http://www.romeropineda.com/resources/index.php?itemid=44 Tue, 4 Mar 2008 13:00:14 -0600 http://www.romeropineda.com/resources/index.php?itemid=43
Banco Azteca El Salvador, S.A. is the first bank created in El Salvador after the boom of acquisition of local banks by foreign banks.

The participation of the Banking and Financial Division of the firm consisted in the study, preparation and coordination of all the process for obtaining the license to incorporate and operate Banco Azteca El Salvador S.A., before all the supervising entities, such as the Superintendency of the Financial System, Central Bank of Reserve, Deposit Guarantee Insitute, Salvadoran Stock Exchange, among others. In addition, the firm rendered legal advise to the new Bank in all related areas at all levels in the phase of inititation of operations.Banco Azteca is part of Grupo Salinas, one of the most succesful and important business groups in Mexico, formed by TV Azteca, Iusacell, Unefon, Salinas y Rocha, among others.

The incorporation of Banco Azteca El Salvador, S.A. is part of the international expansion of Banco Azteca. The Bank has initiated operations in Guatemala, Honduras, Brazil, Argentina and Peru.

El Salvador has become one of the favorite financial markets in the area for prestigious international banks that have acquired almost all of the existing local banks operating in the country. The incorporation of Banco Azteca El Salvador, S.A. brings a true added value to the Salvadoran financial system.]]> General http://www.romeropineda.com/resources/index.php?itemid=43 Wed, 23 Jan 2008 15:10:13 -0600 http://www.romeropineda.com/resources/index.php?itemid=40 By: Francisco Serarols

CAFTA-DR is a pioneer among Free Trade Agreements as it incorporates a complete chapter of protections for the environment and regulation of local legislation (“any law or regulation or part of it, whose main purpose is the protection of the environment or the prevention of any damage or harm against the life or health of any human or animal and vegetables”).

Some relevant issues mentioned in the chapter dedicated to the protection of the environment are: a) Warrantees that the legislation will grant appropriate protections and that each signing party will make its best effort to constantly improve it; b) Recognition by the signing parties that is inappropriate to promote commerce or investment by means of a reduction or a weakening to the protection of the environment contemplated in each legislation; c) Warrantees to the public fair, equal, and transparent judicial and administrative processes that sanction or repair the infringements to the environment; d) Stimulation of the development of the environment and creation of incentives that promote and contribute to the actual protection of the environment and its maintenance. This chapter also incorporates the possibility of sanctioning the parties that repeatedly fail to apply legislation in a way that affects commerce between the signing parties. Another novelty of CAFTA-DR is the direct relationship between chapters in the Treaty, such as the chapters of Investment, Intellectual Property, Services and Access to Local Markets. The economic development of El Salvador walks hand in hand with protection of the environment: every national and international corporation has to comply with certain environmental requirements and their breach is the basis for the imposition of potentially considerable fines. CAFTA-DR also incentivizes corporations to implement good use and handling of their productive processes in the areas of protection and conservation of the environment.

The Treaty creates a Secretariat and a Council of Environmental Affairs that deals with accusations of violations or infringements of the Treaty or the Environmental Law. The Secretariat, is the entity responsible for receiving the accusation (in Spanish) and to confirm that the person or corporation is an actual party to the Treaty. The Secretariat then verifies that the accusation clearly identifies the provisions that have been infringed. The Council will take cognizance of the case and will try to reach an agreement between the parties If no agreement is reached, then the accusative party has the option to invoke to the mechanism of solutions of controversies established in chapter 20 of the CAFTA-DR. The Treaty also establishes the creation of an Advisory or Consultation Council, composed of representatives of environmental organizations and corporations with the sole purpose of having different points of view related to the application of the provisions of this Chapter.

If the accusation reaches arbitration, a jury of twenty eight arbitrators (environmental specialists) will be selected, agreed upon by three arbitrators of each signing party and seven that are independent of the signing parties. The arbitrators will have a term of no more than one hundred and eighty days to issue an initial report. Such report may be revised by the parties in a term of fourteen days, and within the next thirty days the arbitral jury will issue its final report. If an agreement is still not reached by the parties, then consitution of the arbitration panel may be requested again in order to impose an annual tax upon the defendant,

It is also important to mention that the signing parties of the Treaty also signed a cooperation agreement, undertaking mutual collaboration in the investigations and studies of the environment, the realization of forums, or the exchange of new technology in order to improve the standards of the mechanism of production to make them more clean and efficient.

The worldwide concern with protecting the is advancing its goals by incorporating protections in the legislation of a majority of countries or by means of awareness campaigns all with a common purpose: protect and preserve our environment.
]]> General http://www.romeropineda.com/resources/index.php?itemid=40 Thu, 26 Jul 2007 10:01:57 -0600 http://www.romeropineda.com/resources/index.php?itemid=39 By: Antonio Mendez

CAFTA defines investment as any asset owned or controlled (directly or indirectly) by an investor that has the characteristics of an investment, including the characteristics of undertaking of capital or other resources, the expectation of gains and losses and assumption of risk. The chapter of Investments in the Treaty is applicable to financial institutions and investors of all signing parties, and their investments in financial institutions in the territories of all other signatories, as well as cross border commerce of financial services.

The chapter regulates national treatment and the treatment of the most favored nation and both principles are of general application either to cross border financial service providers or to the investment in financial services; however, the obligatory application of national treatment is only applicable in the period in which the investment is expanding. The Treaty also establishes that Consuetudinary International Law must be applied to national treatment and treatment of most favored nations.
CAFTA warrants access to markets of financial institutions if the procedures established by the other party are complied with. Furthermore the Treaty distinguishes access to cross border financial services markets and access to investments in financial services markets. With respect to cross border financial markets, the treaty focuses on a positive list, meaning that each party will allow the provider to supply services specified in the Treaty under the principle of national treatment. These include, but are not limited to:
 risk insurance in relation to maritime transportation
 commercial aviation, transport and space launch
 insurance of goods in international transit and services of reinsurances
 retrocession and auxiliary services provided by a service provider company.
With respect to access to markets in investments on financial services the Treaty focuses on a negative list. This includes outlining the rules and regulations to insurance companies, money exchange offices, banks, saving institutions, retirement fund administrators and stock markets. The majority of these rules and regulations refer to the proper and correct legal incorporation of these institutions in El Salvador, establishing percentages of participation with respect to the nationality of their shareholders and regulating the periods of admission of foreign branches for insurance companies. It is important to mention that this chapter demands the confidentiality of the information related to financial business and to the accounts of individual clients of financial services providers, as well as the relevant information for complying with the law or the commercial interest of the companies.

Some of the non-conformity issues established by El Salvador relating to this chapter are: a) The impossibility of owning real state, if this prohibition is also applicable to Salvadorans in the other party’s country; b) The impossibility of creating a small business (defined as a business with a capitalization of not more than two hundred thousand dollars of the United States of America); c) The requirement that at least seventy percent of the associates in a cooperative association must be of Salvadoran nationality; d) the restriction that only Salvadorans born in El Salvador and/or corporations formed pursuant to Salvadoran law may request a permit to establish a duty free store in the maritime ports of El Salvador (this prohibition includes companies whose capital is mostly owned by foreigners); e) The authorization of flying into Salvadoran air space is subject to reciprocity between the countries; f) Concessions or licenses for broadcast services are granted to Salvadorans or to corporations constituted according to the Salvadoran law in which at least 51% of their corporate capital is owned by of Salvadorans; g) The requirement for a special permit that must be requested to the correspondent authorities in order to perform several professional services in El Salvador, such as, medical, legal, veterinarian, paramedic, physiotherapist, psychological, teaching and customs (custom agents).

With respect to the alternative dispute resolution, the Treaty creates a Committee of Financial Services and the conclusions of their meetings will be reported to the Free Trade Commission. This Committee will intervene on all controversies raised between an investor and a signing party, however all controversies between the signing parties will be solved by a Court of Arbitrators or a jury. Negotiation and mediation will be the first step to the resolution of the conflict and if the parties wish for an arbitration process, then the solicitation of arbitration must be filed ninety days in advance. When arbitration is requested it is mandatory for the Signing Party to submit to such process, however the investor has the option of accepting or denying arbitration. The interpretation of the conflict given by the Free Trade Commission is obligatory to the Court of Arbitrators or jury, and their decisions will only be given in relation to the possible monetary damages raised by the conflict, court costs and restitution of property. The Treaty establishes that a mechanism or a form of appeal to these resolutions must be created within three months of the date of enforcement of the Treaty.

Finally, CAFTA establishes provisions that warrantee to the parties that they may adopt or maintain precautionary measures to secure the integrity of their own financial systems, such as monetary policy and exchange credit policy. ]]> General http://www.romeropineda.com/resources/index.php?itemid=39 Thu, 26 Jul 2007 10:00:11 -0600 http://www.romeropineda.com/resources/index.php?itemid=35 By: Roberto Romero Pineda

El Salvador has consistently strived to developits industrial activity; therefore it has embraced legislation to guarantee Industrial and Intellectual Property rights.

At the beginning of the twentieth centurythe Law of Invention of Patents was enacted in El Salvador. Later, the Political Constitution of 1983 recognized privileged rights to discoverers, inventors and perfectionists of productive processes. Such provisions were widely developed in the Law of Promotion and Protection of Intellectual Property, issued by Decree No.604 on July 15th, 1993. (The definition for inventions is defined in title III, chapter II of said Law, and it reads as follows: "Invention is an idea applicable to the solution of a determined technical problem. It may be referred to a product, or to a procedure".) This law also indicates that in order to obtain protection for an invention in various countries, individual applications must be filed in each country. This law replace the Law of Inventions of Patents.

Additionally, El Salvador, who headed the negotiations for the Commercial Free Trade Agreement between Central American countries and The United States of America( “CAFTA”), ratified CAFTA on December 17, 2004 under Decree No. 555; however its enforcement was conditioned upon a series of amendments to, among others, the Law of Promotion and Protection of Intellectual Property. Therefore, on December 14, 2005, under Decree No. 912 the amendments were made to the law making El Salvador the first Central American country to enforce CAFTA. On March 1st, 2006, under Decree No. 977, the Legislative Parliament ratified the Treaty for Cooperation in Patents Matters, (know as the “PCT” for its Spanish initials) that drastically simplified the protection in various countries, by simply presenting to the Receiving National Office of the PCT, a unique application (International Application) drafted in Spanish. Such application will produce the effects of a National Application among the members of the PCT, or in those countries in which the protection is requested. Once the patent is verified and a presentation date is assigned to the application, the Original Copy will be sent to the International Office of the OMPI; one copy will be sent to the administration responsible for conducting the International Search, and another copy will be kept by the receiving country in its Office.

The international search will be one the highest procedures in its level as it will enforce strict rules over the documents, and will be made by qualified personnel and methods used by very well experienced offices. It will be conducted over the patent document and the technical literature. The result will reveal notes of the previous technique; the corresponding claims of the international application; and will indicate the possible possession of novelty of the invention; the result will be sent to the International Office, for publication and a copy will be sent to the designated National Office.

The international publication will appear in the Newspaper of the PCT, which will be available in DVD and CD-Rom and will describe the invention itself and will determine the scope of its protection. A pamphlet will contain the data of the applicant, as well as the international classification of the patent, drawing, description, claims, and the report of the search. Additionally, there will also be an electronic format located at: www.ompi.int/pct/es/index.html. This publication will be placed for 18 months after the date of priority of the International Application. The International Office will communicate the results of the search to the National Office in order to initiate the local procedure in such country, since it is the only entity authorized to revise the Patents.

It is therefore imperative that the benefits granted by the PCT are understood, since this treaty will come into effect in El Salvador on August 17, of 2006. Progress in a country is obtained by the constant contribution of national inventions or by the licenses of technologies of other countries adopted by such, since they stimulate foreign investment and confirm the words of Pope John Paul II: "another form of property exists, that has no less importance than earth itself; this the Property of the Knowledge and the Technique of knowledge. Much more than the natural resources itself, the wealth of the industrialized nations is based on this type of Property... "
]]> General http://www.romeropineda.com/resources/index.php?itemid=35 Thu, 26 Jul 2007 09:34:55 -0600 http://www.romeropineda.com/resources/index.php?itemid=34 By. Dr. Roberto Romero Pineda

Bankruptcy is the legal situation in which a corporation may temporarily or permanently close, due to the impossibility of fulfilling its obligations.

In El Salvador, bankruptcy is regulated under several legal authorities, such as: the Code of Commerce, the Law of Commercial Procedure and the Code of Civil Procedure. The process itself is basically to immobilize the goods of the debtor and supervise that such goods are equally distributed among its creditors. During bankruptcy process, a Trustee is named and is responsible for administration of the estate and liquidation of the goods/assets of the corporation.

Besides the process of bankruptcy, a debtor, may also request a suspension of its payment obligations; however both legal processes are obsolete as once a corporation or a debtor is in an extreme debt, banks and financial institutions immediately file Executory Proceedings in order to obtain the appointment of an Intervenor to exercise authority over the corporation’s assets. Any other creditors that appear in Court will embargo the same properties, triggering a technical joinder of legal actions or claims into one. Notwithstanding the aforementioned, secured or preferred creditors have priority over the rest of the creditors
This does not alleviate the obligations of a debtor; furthermore, it does not guarantee either a restructuring or a re-organization of the debt that may assure that the creditors will indeed receive their payments.It may also be the case that corporations have goods whose assets are worth many times the amount owed by it. In this circumstance they will be condemned to lose all their assets in order to pay their debts if they don’t find potential buyers.

In contrast to the Salvadoran system, other countries have modern insolvency regimes, in which honest debtors seek protection under a special procedure. In the United States, the US Code, regulates Bankruptcy and Chapter 11 contemplates the re-organization of a corporation that is in bankruptcy. Chapter Eleven allows large corporations facing a complicated financial situation to declare themselves in bankruptcy and may temporarily suspend their payment obligations. They also have to generate a plan of re-organization of their corporation, and it has to be approved by creditors and confirmed by a Bankruptcy Court, allowing the corporations not to close their businesses and to move on gracefully.

CAFTA has caused a series of reformations to the Salvadoran legal system, allowing us to anticipate the adoption of more sophisticated bankruptcy procedures in the near future. Adoption of such procedures will foster the investment environment in El Salvador which has always been in the vanguard of progress for Central America.
]]> General http://www.romeropineda.com/resources/index.php?itemid=34 Thu, 26 Jul 2007 09:30:51 -0600 http://www.romeropineda.com/resources/index.php?itemid=32
Romero Pineda is top ranked by Chambers and Partners, a well known UK research company that rates leading law practices, in all rated categories for El Salvador, namely, corporate/commercial, intellectual property and litigation/dispute resolution. Romero Pineda is also the exclusive member in El Salvador of Lex Mundi, The Bomchil Group, Terralex and World Services Group.

In announcing the new partners, Managing Partner, Jose Roberto Romero said, "With our 5 new partners, we have not only enhanced our Corporate and Intellectual Property practices but also broadened our expertise with the addition of a full service Banking and Financial Department."
Romero Pineda is pleased to welcome its new partners:

Marcela Mancia – Trademark and Health Registrations Department
Ms. Mancia heads the Trademark and Health Registrations Department with responsibility for approximately 50,000 files. Representing “Fortune 500” and other prestigious multinational corporations, as well as local clients, Ms. Mancia's practice includes the registration, renewal, transfer and licensing of intellectual property rights, food and drug regulation and registrations and technology transfers.

Roberto Flores – Business Development Partner
Mr. Flores joined the firm in 2005 with extensive experience working with financial institutions, having specialized in financial felonies, acted as consultant for the creation of financial legislation applicable to non-banking institutions and served as advisor to the Presidential Cabinet in economic matters. His practice at Romero Pineda includes banking, commercial, contracts, corporate, CAFTA, finance, capital
markets and tourism. He is also an authorized Notary Public by the Supreme Court of Justice.

Mario Ayala – Banking and Finance Department
With more than 20 years of experience in the banking sector, Mr. Ayala joined the firm in 2007 after serving as President of the Legal Commission of the Salvadoran Banking Association (ABANSA), as a founding member of the Commercial Law Association and as a member of the Board of Directors of the Salvadoran Banking Law Association. Mr. Ayala also has represented private companies and institutions including the Multisector Investment Bank in electronic factoring matters. He is an authorized Notary Public by the Supreme Court of Justice. His post-graduate studies were in commercial law at Salamanca University, Spain and international law at Georgetown University- INCAE. Mr. Ayala's practice currently includes banking, finance, leasing, factoring, commercial law, contracts and notarial services.

Antonio Mendez - Corporate and International Department
Mr. Mendez' areas of practice include corporate, securities, CAFTA, agency and distribution, energy, finance; mergers and acquisitions, tax and telecommunications. He has been responsible for due diligence processes on behalf of clients undertaking international public and private bids relevant to El Salvador as well as the Central American region. He has also acted as a principal advisor to the Salvadoran Government entity that executed the privatization of El Salvador's telecommunications industry. Prior to joining the firm in 2003, he served as Director of the Consumer Protection Bureau. In addition to his law degree, Mr. Mendez holds a degree in economics from Georgetown University. He is an active professor of Economics, Constitutional Law and Philosophy of Law at Dr. Jose Matias Delgado University.

Freddy Zometa - Corporate and International Department
Mr. Zometa is responsible for a diversified client portfolio ranging from the most sophisticated mergers and acquisitions to annual corporate maintenance reporting. Among his clients are multinational corporations established in El Salvador, either directly, by a merger or acquisition or via contractual agreements. He is also in charge of the firm's aviation practice, with four prestigious airlines and cargo companies as clients. Mr. Zometa is an authorized Notary Public by the Supreme Court of Justice. His areas of practice cover corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, contracts, legal and specialized due diligence, labor, immigration, foreign investment and notarial services.
]]> General http://www.romeropineda.com/resources/index.php?itemid=32 Wed, 18 Jul 2007 17:22:59 -0600 http://www.romeropineda.com/resources/index.php?itemid=31
During this event, celebrated at the new offices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Francisco Bertrand Galindo (father) received from the President of the Republic of El Salvador, Mr. Elías Antonio Saca González and from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Francisco E. Laínez a special Award, given for the very first time, in pursue to recognize those special men and women who during the Salvadoran history have realized valuable and important contributions to the Nation rendering their diplomat services around the world.

The establishment of the day of the Salvadoran Diplomat was inspired by the life and work of the international jurist José Gustavo Guerrero, who was born on June 26, 1876.

null]]> General http://www.romeropineda.com/resources/index.php?itemid=31 Fri, 29 Jun 2007 11:38:22 -0600 http://www.romeropineda.com/resources/index.php?itemid=29 By: Freddy Zometa

El Salvador recently increased its minimum wage for the minimum salaries, benefiting workers in the following sectors: commerce, industrial, services, maquilas of confection and textile, farming, coffee, cotton, sugar cane and coffee harvesting, and seasonal agricultural industries.

COMMERCIAL, INDUSTRIAL, SERVICES, TEXTILE AND CONFECTION MAQUILAS SECTORS



Workers from the service and commerce sector will earn US$5.81USD for an ordinary workday; or $0.73 USD per hour; or $174.30 USD monthly.

Industrial workers (except textile and confection workers in maquilas) will earn $5.68 USD for each ordinary workday; or $0.71 USD per hour; or $170.40 monthly.

Textile and confection maquila workers will earn $5.24 USD for an ordinary workday; or $0.65 USD per hour, or $157.20 USD monthly.

FARMING SECTOR

These workers will earn $2.72 USD for an ordinary workday; or $0.34 USD per hour.

HARVESTING OF COFFEE; SUGAR CANE AND COTTON.

COFFEE HARVESTING

Workers hired on the basis of unit time, will be paid as an ordinary day labored at $2.97 USD or $0.37 USD per hour. If they are hired by the amount of harvest, they will be paid $0.59 USD per each arroba of coffee collected.

Ten cents of dollar (US$ 0.10) will be multiplied to the total of arrobas recollected on a week.

COTTON HARVESTING

Workers hired on the basis of unit time, will be paid as an ordinary day labored at $2.27 USD or $0.28 USD per hour; and cero point cero twenty three cents of dollar (US$ 0.023) per each pound of cotton.

Thirty eight cents of dollars (US$0.38) will be multiplied to the total of quintales (100 pounds) of cotton recollected on a week.

SUGAR CANE HARVESTING

Workers hired on the basis of time unit will be paid as an ordinary day labored at $2.52 USD or $0.32 USD per hour; and $1.26 USD per each ton of arrobas recollected.

Twenty one cents of dollar (US$ 0.21) will be multiplied to the total of ton of sugar cane recollected on a week.

SEASONAL AGRICULTURAL INDUSTRIES

Seasonal coffee, cotton and sugar cane manufacturing workers will earn the following minimum salaries for each ordinary workday:

A) Coffee: $3.93 USD or $0.49 USD per hour.

B) Cotton and sugar cane: $2.87 USD or $ 0.36 USD per hour.]]> General http://www.romeropineda.com/resources/index.php?itemid=29 Fri, 25 May 2007 17:00:42 -0600