: +38044 599-5505
  • English
  • Русский

Bulgaria

Trademarkes

General information

  • Valid Nice Classification  – NCL 11-2017

  • Procedure 

Registration period –  about 10 months from the date of filing. Proof of registration – Certificate Procedures feature – From the date of filing you should regularly monitor trade mark applications to check whether any of them conflict with your trade mark.

Step Term Official notification
Filing an application 1 day Notification with entr. number, Name of applicant, Date and time of filing
Formal examination 2 months from the date of filing fee payment Notification. If the BPO detects any error, they will send Notification with proposition to correct it. 2 months to answer.
Examination of absolute grounds for refusal 3 months after previous step Notification. If the application doesn’t meet requirements, they will send Notification – Provisional refusal. 2 months to answer.
Publication 1 moth after previous step Notification about publication
Opposition period  3 months from the date of publication  
Payment of registration, publication fees 1 moth after previous step  Invitation for payment registration and publication fees .
Publication 1-3 months Certificate and publication

Requirements

1. The Applicant details

Legal Entity Physical person
The full official name (Engl. translitaration) The Name (as it is in the passport and/or Engl. transliteration)
 A Legal address  An address

  2. The image of the TM (jpg), The verbal elements, other 3. Goods and services / classes NCL11-2017 (we‘ll help you to choose the classes for your goods/services) 4. POA (scanned copy without legalization)

Representation by a trademark attorney Foreign applicants must perform the trademark prosecution in Bulgaria through an agent, a registered in Bulgaria trademark attorney.

Priority document The priority document must be submitted within three months from filing a trademark application in Bulgaria.

Translation. We translate from English/Russian into Bulgarian for free of charge.

The Power of Attorney

The official legalization is not required. The signed and stamped (if applicable) POA form must be submitted within two months from the date of filing (scanned copy is enough). Download POA here POA

Patent

General information

Invention

  • Procedure

Registration period – about 2-4 years from application filing date.

Proof of registration – Certificate.

Term of validity – 20 years from the application filing date. Patent for invention can be extended for additional 5 years if the object of the patent is a medicine, a pesticide, when the use of the product requires the permission of the competent authority.

What can be protected: product (device, substance, microorganism strain, plant and animal cell culture, etc.); process (method); new use of the known product or process.

Step Term Official notification Deadline
Filing application 1 day Notification with registration number, name of applicant, date and time of filing. Direct filing with claiming priority – 12 months from priority date. PCT national phase entry in Bulgaria – 31 months from the priority date.
Formal examination 3 months from application filing date Formal examination request / Notification of completion of formal examination. Responding to formal examination request – 3 months from date of receipt1.
Preliminary examination 3 months from completion of formal examination Preliminary examination request / Notification of completion of preliminary examination. Responding to preliminary examination request – 3 months from date of receipt1.
Substantive examination 1,5-2 years from application filing date Substantive examination Request / Decision of grant/refusal. Filing petition to proceed substantive examination – at the time of application filing. Responding to Substantive examination request – 3 months from date of receipt1.
Grant and Publication within 5 months from grant fees payment Certificate Payment of grant and publication fees – 3 months from Grant decision receipt2.
Annuity fees each year Invitation to pay annuity fees Annuity fee for each subsequent year is paid during the previous year2. 

1 – This term may be extended for 6 months, upon corresponding fee payment.

2 – This term may be extended for 2 months, upon corresponding fee payment.

3 – Validity of the patent can be renewed within 6 months after expiration of payment period, upon corresponding fee payment.

 

Utility model

  • Procedure

Registration period – about 8-12 months from from application filing date.

Proof of registration – Certificate.

Term of validity – 4 years from the application filing date. Patent for utility model can be extended for additional 6 years.

What can be protected: device.

Step Term Official notification Deadline
Filing application 1 day Notification with registration number, name of applicant, date and time of filing. Direct filing with claiming priority – 12 months from priority date. PCT national phase entry in Bulgaria – 31 months from the priority date.
Formal examination 1 month from application filing date Formal examination request / Notification of completion of formal examination. Responding to formal examination request –  month from date of receipt1.
Preliminary examination 3 months from completion of formal examination Preliminary examination request / Decision of grant/refusal. Responding to preliminary examination request –  month from date of receipt1.
Grant and Publication within 3 months from grant fees payment Certificate Payment of grant and publication fees – 1 months from Grant decision receipt.
Annuity fees each year Invitation to pay annuity fees Annuity fee for each subsequent year is paid during the previous year2

1 – This term may be extended for 3 months, upon corresponding fee payment.

2 – Validity of the patent can be renewed within 6 months after expiration of payment period, upon corresponding fee payment.

Requirements

Invention/utility model

1. Applicant details.

Legal Entity Natural person
Full official name (English transliteration) Name (as per passport and/or English transliteration)
Legal address Address

2. Inventor details.

Natural person
Name (as per passport and/or English transliteration)
Address

3. Number of International publication (PCT procedure) or Application materials: claims, description, abstract, drawings (non-PCT procedure; international application wasn’t published).

4. Bulgarian translation of the application (we prepare by ourselves).

5. POA (no legalization or notarization required).

6. Certified copy of the priority application (if priority is claimed).

Representation by the invention attorney: Foreign applicants must perform the invention prosecution in Bulgaria through an agent, a registered in Bulgaria invention attorney.

POA and Bulgarian translation of the application must be submitted within 3 months from the date of filing.

Priority documents must be submitted within 3 months from the date of filing.

Copyright

Copyright is not subject to registration in Bulgaria. What is registered is every transaction for producing matrices and optical carriers containing objects of copyright and related rights, reproducing objects of copyright and related rights onto blank media, acquiring right to reproduction and/or distribution of records of audio- or audiovisual works, import and export of matrices and other carriers containing records of audio- or audiovisual works. The Ministry of Culture also keeps register for artistic groups names and organizations for collective management of copyright and related rights.