Protection of computer programs in El Salvador
Sonia Fuentes,  May 14, 2024
Arias Law - In this digital era, where computer programs are key to the development of most sectors of the economy, it is essential to know how computer programs, software and mobile applications are protected by Salvadoran law.
We will start this study with the following question: What is a computer program?
In the national legislation of El Salvador computer programs are defined in Chapter II Article 32 of the Intellectual Property Law as follows:
"Computer program, either source program or object program, is the literary work constituted by a set of instructions expressed by means of words, codes, plans or in any other form that, when incorporated in an automated reading device, is capable of making a computer, that is, an electronic or similar device capable of elaborating information, execute a certain task or obtain a certain result."
Article 13 of the same law establishes that all literary and artistic works, such as books, pamphlets and writings of any nature and length, including computer programs, are considered protected works.
It is understood from the norm that computer programs, software or mobile applications are considered literary works and as such are protected under the protection of the Copyright in El Salvador.
Copyright protection derives both from national legislation and international treaties, to which El Salvador is a party.
On the one hand, the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) establishes in its Article 10 numeral 1: "Computer programs and data compilations. Computer programs, whether source programs or object programs, shall be protected as literary works under the Berne Convention (1971).
On the other hand, El Salvador is a party to the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, where it is established that the right of the creations of the human intellect that are considered protected by copyright, is born from the moment they are created and in its Article 5 numeral 2 establishes "Rights guaranteed: 2) "The enjoyment and exercise of these rights shall not be subordinated to any formality and both are independent of the existence of protection in the country of origin of the work", said article contemplates the principle of automatic protection, that is to say that computer programs being under the protection of copyright, from the moment the computer program is finalized it is protected, without the need to make a deposit or registration.
Therefore, computer programs, software, or mobile applications in El Salvador are protected without the need to make a deposit before the competent authority, which in our case is the Registry of Intellectual Property of the National Registration Center.
However, although it is true that it is not mandatory to make the deposit of the computer program to be protected, it is recommended to make such deposit, since the certificate of deposit of the work issued by the Registry of Intellectual Property serves as a suitable means to demonstrate in cases of conflicts before a judicial authority, the existence and ownership of that right, it is a support that the author has. It is worth mentioning that the copyright in computer programs protects the source code, object code, technical documentation and user’s manuals or user’s guides, i.e. it is the essence of the computer program, software and mobile applications that is protected by copyright.
Computer programs, being protected by copyright, must meet certain requirements to be considered eligible for protection:
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