LEGAL BASIS

• Law on Patents and Utility Models Registration, in force since June 1, 1993, with latest amendments as of May 18, 2012.

MEMBERSHIP IN INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS

• Paris Convention, Stockholm Act.
• Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), as from May 21, 1984.
• European Patent Convention, as of July 1, 2002.

FILING REQUIREMENTS

• Power of Attorney (no legalization);
• 3 specifications;
• 3 sets of drawings, size 21 x 29.7 cm (format A4);
• Priority document, if priority is claimed.

REMARKS

National Phase of PCT: both under Chapter I and Chapter II: 31 months.
Validity: issued after full examination - valid for 20 years from filing date.
Annuities: accumulated and due within three months after the granting decision; subsequent annuities are payable in advance, before the anniversary of the filing date.
Opposition: possible within three months after the date of publication of the patent application, and any time after the registration of the patent.

LEGAL BASIS

• Law on Marks and Geographical Indications, in force since December 15, 1999, with latest amendments in force as of March 10, 2011.
• Regulation for Drafting, Filing and Examination of the Applications for Registration of Marks and Geographical Indications, amended on September 11, 2007.

MEMBERSHIP IN INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS

• Paris Convention, Stockholm Act.
• Madrid Agreement, as of May 1, 1985.
• Madrid Protocol, as of October 2, 2001.

FILING REQUIREMENTS

• Power of Attorney (no legalization);
• Priority document, if priority is claimed.

REMARKS

Kinds of protection: trademarks or service marks may consist of words, including names of persons, letters, numerals, drawings, figures, form of the article or the packing thereof, combination of colors, sound signs or any combination of such signs. Besides the original version, filing of word mark applications in the Bulgarian Cyrillic alphabet is highly recommended.
Classification: International.
Obligation to use the registered mark: compulsory; if not used within five years after the registration date, the registration can be cancelled upon request of an interested party.
Duration - renewals: 10-year period from the filing date, renewable for further 10-year periods.
Opposition: possible within three months from the publication of the trademark application.

LEGAL BASIS

• Law on Industrial Designs, in force since December 15, 1999, with latest amendments in force as of February 12, 2011.
• Regulation for Drafting, Filing and Examination of the Applications for Registration of Industrial Designs, with latest amendments of February 14, 2006.

MEMBERSHIP IN INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS

• Paris Convention, Stockholm Act.
• Hague Agreement, Stockholm Act, and Geneva Act, since October 7, 2008.

FILING REQUIREMENTS

• Power of Attorney, no legalization;
• As many photos or drawings necessary to obtain an exact idea of the design, but not more than 7;
• 5 copies of each of the views according to point 2; not smaller than ¾ cm and not larger than 14/24 cm;
• Brief description of the design (up to 100 words), only by initiative of the applicant;
• Priority document, if applicable.

REMARKS

Duration – renewals: after formal and substantive examination: 10 years from the filing date, renewable for three consecutive 5-year periods.
Opposition: not provided for.

LEGAL BASIS

• There is no specific legislation although some regulations on the organization and management of country code top-level domain names do exist.

FILING

• ccTLD: .bg
• Applicant: individuals and legal entities.
• Local presence: required.

REMARKS

Duration – renewals: one year, renewable optionally for 1, 2, 3, 5 or 10 years.
Uniform dispute resolution procedure: none, but an administrative procedure other than UDRP is available.