One of the things that Gringo's have always been puzzled on is Costa Rica' very old "dry law” (Ley Seca); a liberal law that prohibits sales of liquor, wine and beer at Easter and Christmas, besides elections and such sectarian holidays as Sept. 15 (Independence Day). Bars are supposed to be closed … but as most know, it usually is the front door only! Establishments … [Read more...]
Social Media Marketing Costa Rica
03/19/2012 by Leave a Comment
Years ago when a client's only bullheadedness concern was getting in the top five at Google under a few very major Costa Rica keywords, I said to myself, Oh boy, here we go again! I had to shake my head. It took me about six months (after his keywords hit the top five) for him to realize, even if keywords are good way to drive traffic to ones websites, it is not the only way. In my … [Read more...]
Serving Legal Papers in Costa Rica Via Facebook
02/25/2012 by 6 Comments
Take The Poll The distance between Costa Rica, Social Media, Internet and technology is narrowing all the time. No, I'm not referring to iPhones and better Internet services, but to a judge in the United Kingdom's High Court, who ruled this week that legal claims can be served on Facebook. The big question, whether or not, Costa Rica's Judicial System will … [Read more...]
Paypal and Costa Rica – Banco National, Scotiabank, and Citibank
02/18/2012 by 5 Comments
Paypal has been hyped as the best way to send and received money anywhere in the world and personally it is the simplest and easiest way to accept credit and debit cards and e-checks. So you’re an expat, and you start a business in Costa Rica. Then you signup for PayPal (which is free), so you can start accepting credit card payments instantly. Right? Well, as many know, not so true! The … [Read more...]
Increase of Phone Solicitations in Costa Rica
02/10/2012 by Leave a Comment
At the end of January two major events took place in Costa Rica. 1) The iPhone craze finally took place when three primary cell phone operators (ICE Kölbi, Móvistar and Claro) started selling the iPhone 4S with numerous plans. At some of the major shopping centers customers bounced like pin balls comparing prices and plans - all three companies say sales have been [very] good in the last … [Read more...]
What Does SOPA and PIPA Have To Do With Costa Rica?
01/19/2012 by 1 Comment
Yesterday many websites were in a World-Wide Blackout against The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) bill, and it's sister bill, Protect IP Act (PIPA), that is currently working their way through the United States Congress and the Senate. These new bills threaten every facet of the internet by letting government regulate what can and can not be seen; a form of censorship - just like China and Iraq … [Read more...]
Costa Rica’s Mediterranean Fruit Fly – X-Rays and Regulations
01/15/2012 by 1 Comment
In 2011 National Geographic had a photo contest and ironically one of the winners in the nature category was a picture of a fruit fly resting on a green coffee bean in Monteverde, Costa Rica. Obviously unknown to the photographer, it implicated one of Costa Rica's worst nightmares is alive, well, and continues to threaten Costa Rica's multimillion dollar agriculture business. The Mediterranean … [Read more...]
Solar Energy in Costa Rica – Saving Money and the Planet
11/11/2011 by 1 Comment
Up until quite recently in Costa Rica, the proposition of saving both money and the Earth with photovoltaic solar systems has stood on some pretty shaky ground. But that is changing. Nowadays, more and more Costa Ricans and expats are installing stand-alone or autonomous photovoltaic systems in the country's remotest regions and have made it possible for people to live well where ordinarily they … [Read more...]
Costa Rica Coffee and Produce Get Trademark Protection
09/23/2011 by Leave a Comment
Coffee has always played a major role in Costa Rica's history and economy. Up until a few years ago it was Costa Rica's #1 exported and very commercialized product. The largest growing areas are in the provinces of San José, Alajuela, Heredia, Puntarenas, and Cartago. It is grown just about everywhere in Costa Rica. Even if I like all the commercial brands like Cafe Milagro and Britt, I really … [Read more...]
Are Costa Rica’s Internet Service Providers Going to Be Charging Extra for Excessive Bandwidth?
08/23/2011 by 4 Comments
In the last couple of weeks one of our accounts has been having a hard time logging into their server. So after they rebooted the router a few times and then cleaned the ends of the cables the problem still existed. For a while it was driving me a bit crazy why this was happening until suddenly that light bulb clicked on; I remembered the article I wrote back in April, 2010, Net Neutrality For … [Read more...]
Costa Rica’s Internet Future – IPv6, Competition and Fraud
08/05/2011 by Leave a Comment
The world’s most advance technology will have it 20th Birthday on Aug, 8th; thats when the “World Wide Web (www)” first gained a public face in 1991. CERN, which straddles the border between France and Switzerland, publicized the new World Wide Web project, two years after, British scientist Tim Berners-Lee had begun creating HTML, HTTP and the first few Web pages at CERN. The World Wide … [Read more...]
Process Serving in Costa Rica – Subpoenas & Summons
07/04/2011 by 1 Comment
I know that there are many questions about serving process here in Costa Rica. This blog is not intended to be legal advice nor is it a legal opinion. However, I think a review of the procedure for serving process in the States would shed light on the problems encountered here in Costa Rica serving process. In the United States we are accustomed to paying anywhere between $50 to $100 to have … [Read more...]
Comments