CARLOS CASTILLO > Romero Pineda > San Salvador, El Salvador > Lawyer Profile
Romero Pineda Offices
EDIFICIO AVANTE, SUITE 5-01
BLVD LUIS POMA, SANTA ELENA
ANTIGUO CUSCATLÁN
El Salvador
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CARLOS CASTILLO
Work Department
- Advertising
- Anticounterfeiting
- Arbitration and Mediation
- CAFTA
- Commercial Law
- Consumer Protection
- Contracts
- Distribution and Agency
- Intellectual Property
- Litigation
- Unlawful Competition
Position
Partnep
Career
Carlos is managing partner of the Romero Pineda Firm and director of the Litigation area, as well as legal advisor in various Intellectual Property matters such as Corporate and corporate matters that the firm represents. He is a consummate authority on Intellectual Property in El Salvador and the Central American region, being one of the first expert lawyers in drafting the Intellectual Property chapters in different international treaties signed by El Salvador.
He has more than 40 years of experience in Intellectual Property in which he has supported activities to defend the rights of this area.
In 1996, upon observing the need for control and surveillance of Intellectual Property in El Salvador, he was motivated to carry out joint work with Dr. Roberto Romero Pineda and the Attorney General of the Republic at that time to form the Protection Unit. of Intellectual Property, later the Intellectual Property Unit, leaving a legacy of utmost relevance in the observance and protection of Intellectual Property rights.
Carlos has been part of different chambers and associations in matters of Intellectual Property and Litigation both nationally and internationally. Thus, as a member of the American Chamber of Commerce in El Salvador (AmCham), he organized the creation of the Intellectual Property committee. This effort to create a committee specialized in Intellectual Property was replicated and incorporated in the different Chambers. Americans from the entire Central American region.
He has participated in the Central American effort to modernize regional Intellectual Property legislation through various programs of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). From 2001 to 2002, he was part of the legal advisory team of the Ministry of Economy, in the drafting of the new Law on Trademarks and other Distinctive Signs.
In the realm of international treaties, he has served as legal advisor for the private sector in various negotiations. He acted as an advisor to the Salvadoran Association of Industrialists (ASI) during the negotiations for the Free Trade Agreement between Central America and Mexico (FTA), specifically in the dispute resolution and Intellectual Property discussions.
He also participated as an advisor to the Organization for Support to the Productive Sector in International Trade Negotiations (ODASP) in all negotiation rounds of the Free Trade Agreement between the United States of America and the Central American countries (CAFTA), particularly in the dispute settlement and Intellectual Property discussions.
Due to his experience in international treaty negotiations, Carlos was called upon to advise officials from the Government of El Salvador on protecting cultural traditions, particularly regarding the national dish, pupusas. In this capacity, Carlos recommended that the pupusa be officially recognized and declared as an expression of El Salvador’s culinary tradition. He proposed designating a day for its celebration, leading to the declaration of the second Sunday of November as the “National Pupusa Day.”
In his capacity as an international consultant, he has participated in events organized by the American Chamber of Commerce in the Dominican Republic (AmCham), Chemonics International, among others. His extensive experience in matters of Intellectual Property and his career spanning several decades in academia were key elements to be appointed legal advisor of the Republic of Peru in the internationally relevant case regarding the Pisco designation of origin.
For his key participation in the legal defense of the ownership and Peruvian origin of the Pisco Denomination of Origin, he was recognized in 2011 with the decoration of the “Order of Merit for Distinguished Services”, in the rank of Commander, by the Republic of Peru.
He is currently a professor of Intellectual Property at the José Matías Delgado University in the Faculty of Law and in other faculties such as Design, Communications and Economics. He has been a professor in a master’s degree at the Technological University of El Salvador. He has also participated as a lecturer at the Mónica Herrera School of Communications and the Francisco Gavidia University, among other prestigious universities and schools, and has given seminars on Intellectual Property within the framework of CAFTA-DR: Registered Trademarks and Copyrights. He was appointed by the Culture Commission of the Honorable Supreme Court of Justice, as a lecturer on issues of Intellectual Property and International Trade, and has written numerous articles on Intellectual Property and Litigation, which have been published by institutions.
This year he has been appointed as a delegate of the José Matías Delgado University for the formation and creation of the RED Center for Support of Technology and Innovation (CATI) together with the National Center for Records (CNR) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
He is a member of the Inter-American Intellectual Property Association (ASIPI) and has worked with the different subcommittees of the International Trademark Association (INTA) for several decades. He is a member and advisor of the Salvadoran Association of Designers-CROMA and has served as a founding member and president of the Intellectual Property Committee of AmCham El Salvador. He is currently legal advisor to the COEXPORT Franchise Committee.
Apart from his bachelor’s degree in legal sciences, he holds a Master’s in Strategy and Business from E-Myth Worldwide, San Salvador, along with numerous courses and diplomas in his specialized fields. He also holds a certification in Administrative Law and a specialization in Commercial Law from the University of Central America “José Simeón Cañas” in El Salvador.
CAMERAS AND ASSOCIATIONS:
Lex Mundi, INTA, ASIPI, ASI, AmCham, CAMARASAL, Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, COEXPORT as legal advisor to the Franchise Committee in El Salvador.
RANKINGS AND OTHER RECOGNITIONS:
Decoration “Order of Merit for Distinguished Services” by the Republic of Peru, in the rank of Commander.
Ranked in: WTR 1000, The Legal 500, Chambers & Partners.
OTHER ARTICLES OF INTEREST FROM Carlos:
https://issuu.com/derechoynegocios/docs/edici_n_124_dyn/s/16771142
Intellectual property for beginners – Disruptiva Magazine
Languages
Spanish and English
Memberships
American Chamber of Commerce
(AmCham)
Interamerican Intellectual Property
Association (ASIPI)
Salvadoran Graphic Designers
Association (CROMA)
Education
- Master E-Myth
- Law School Degree, J.D.
- Universidad Dr. José Matías Delgado, 1984
Lawyer Rankings
El Salvador > Dispute resolution
(Leading individuals)Domestic firm Romero Pineda marshals the experience of its team to assist major national, regional and global corporations (including key market players Belcorp and Grupo Bimbo) across such sectors as entertainment, cosmetics, aviation, sports, food and telecoms with high-stakes litigation, complex negotiations and alternate dispute resolution strategies. The sizeable leadership group is made up of founding partner and firm chairman Roberto Romero, a specialist in international arbitration who has served as counsel to the embassies of both Mexico and Guatemala; litigation department director Carlos Castillo, an authority in IP litigation who brings over 30 years of experience to the practice; and associates Feridee Alabi, who handles complex contentious-administrative cases, with a focus on those related to government sanctions, and Nadya León, who handles extra-judicial negotiations in relation to the enforcement and protection of trade marks, in addition to nullity and cancellation actions.
El Salvador > Intellectual property
The powerhouse IP team at Romero Pineda remains a market leader, assisting such household-name multinationals as Disney, Kraft-Heinz and Pfizer with the maintenance and defence of their global IP portfolios. The team is led by managing partner José Roberto Romero
, an authority in the IP field whose expertise spans a broad range of industries, including telecoms, real estate, entertainment, pharmaceuticals, and food and beverages, and litigation practice director Carlos Castillo, who brings over 30 years’ experience to his handling of IP enforcement and anti-counterfeiting disputes. The team was bolstered at senior level in March 2023 by the elevation to the partnership of Elsy Duran, the founder of the firm’s foreign IP matters division, who advises clients on searches, new filings, assignments, mergers and prosecution. Capable support is provided by associates Nadya León, who has notable strength in opposition actions, objections and refusals, as well as extra-judicial negotiations related to the protection and enforcement of trade marks, and Susana Navarro, who assists clients with the registration of their industrial designs, patents, utility models and domain names.
Lawyer Rankings
- Intellectual property El Salvador
- Leading individuals El Salvador > Dispute resolution
- Dispute resolution El Salvador