According to Art. 5 of the Investment Law, foreign investors have the same rights and obligations as Salvadoran investors and shall not be subject to unfair or discriminatory measures with respect to the establishment, administration, use, usufruct, extension, sale and liquidation of their investments.

It is reported that certain restrictions apply to micro businesses, which are defined in Art. 3 of the Law on the Promotion, Protection and Development of Micro and Small Enterprises as having 10 or fewer employees and annual sales of approximately USD 175,930 or less. Investors who start operations with 10 or fewer employees must submit plans for increasing employment to the Ministry of Economy’s National Investment Office.

El Salvador is a party to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).

El Salvador maintains a copyright framework under its Intellectual Property Law. The statutory exceptions do not align with either the fair use or fair dealing models, therefore restricting the lawful use of copyrighted works by third parties. Chapter II of Book II sets out the relevant exceptions. These include, among others, that with respect to works that have been lawfully disclosed, it is permitted, without authorisation or remuneration to the author, to reproduce a single copy of a computer program exclusively for backup or security purposes, and to load the program into the internal memory of a device solely to enable its use by a user (Art. 45). In addition, the adaptation of a computer program carried out by the user for their exclusive use does not constitute a modification of the work (Art. 49).
Similarly, Chapter III of Title Two in the previous Intellectual Property Law enumerated exceptions that also did not follow the fair use or fair dealing models.

It is reported that El Salvador’s enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPR) protections falls short of the standards set out in its formal legal frameworks, and that Salvadoran authorities possess limited resources to allocate to the effective enforcement of IPR legislation. Trade in pirated software remains prevalent.

El Salvador has adopted the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty.

El Salvador has adopted the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Performances and Phonograms Treaty.

Pursuant to Arts. 1 and 2 of Resolution No. 008-2022 issued by COMEX, imports classified under "Category B" must be below the annual limit of USD 1.600 in FOB value per fiscal year. Category B refers to consignments weighing no more than four kilograms and with an FOB value not exceeding USD 400, or its equivalent in another currency, provided that such goods are not intended for commercial purposes.

Ecuador does not apply any de minimis threshold, meaning there is no minimum consignment value below which customs duties are waived. As of June 2025, pursuant to Art. 1 of Resolution No. 006‑2025, a fixed tariff of USD 20 per package is imposed on personal imports up to 4 kilograms and a maximum FOB value of USD 400 ("Catergory B").
Art. 1 amended Ecuador’s customs tariff, originally established by Resolution No. 002‑2023 and adopted on 2 March 2023, which had previously set the applicable tariff rate at zero for imports valued up to 400 USD.

According to Art. 415 of the Companies Law, foreign companies must appoint at least one representative to carry out all legal acts and businesses that are destined to take effect in the national territory. This representative must be able to answer the demands and comply with the obligations. In addition, they must constitute in Ecuador a capital destined for the activity to be developed.

The Consumer Protection Law and Law No. 67 establish a comprehensive regulatory framework for the protection of consumers, which extends to transactions conducted in digital environments. Chapter III of Title III of Law No. 67 concerns the rights of users or consumers of electronic services.

Ecuador has not signed the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts.

Ecuador has adopted national legislation based on or influenced by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law on Electronic Commerce.