The time limit for entering the national phase of a PCT application in Bulgaria is 31 months from the priority date, and the restoration of this term is not possible.
Filing requirements in Bulgaria
The official language of Bulgarian patent applications is Bulgarian. If the application is filed in any other foreign language, the date of application can be maintained if a translation into Bulgarian is provided within three months from the filing date, and this term cannot be extended.
To obtain the filing date, a PCT national phase patent application in Bulgaria should contain:
- A request to grant a patent.
- Applicant’s and inventor’s details.
- Materials that appear to be a description of an invention.
- Proof of payment of the corresponding fees.
The legalization or notarization of a Power of Attorney (POA) is not required. A signed and stamped copy of the POA should be submitted within 3 months of the deficiency notification from the Bulgarian Patent Office.
Examination of a PCT national phase patent application in Bulgaria involves substantive examination, and a request for substantive examination is made at the time of filing by paying the prescribed fee for study and expertise.
The novelty grace period in Bulgaria allows for the invention’s novelty not to be disproved if information about the invention was disclosed by exhibiting the invention at an official or officially recognized exhibition or as a consequence of obvious misuse within 6 months before the filing date or the priority date (if the priority is claimed). The applicant must declare the exhibiting of the invention upon submitting the application and present proofs for this three months after the date of submitting the application.
For grant, validity term, and maintenance fees, annual patent fees until the decision to issue a patent and the fee for the current patent year should be paid simultaneously with the fees for issuing a patent and for publication about the issuing of the patent. The validity term of patents in Bulgaria is 20 years from the international filing date, extendable to a maximum of 25 years if a Supplementary Protection Certificate (SPC) has been applied for and subsequently granted for patents concerning pharmaceutical and plant protection products.
Maintenance fees are annually paid to the Bulgarian Patent Office in respect of each patent year during the term of the granted Bulgarian patent. The annual patent fees may be paid in advance at the latest on the last day of the month in which the previous patent year expires. Late payment is possible within a 6-month grace period by paying a corresponding surcharge.
The duration of the registration procedure in Bulgaria takes an average of 2-5 years from filing up to the grant of a patent.
It is possible to enter the national phase of a PCT application as a utility model in Bulgaria, subject to formal examination only. Methods, chemical compounds, and the use of a product are not protectable. The validity term of a utility model is 4 years with two renewals, each lasting 3 years. The procedure of obtaining utility model protection takes approximately 3-6 years.
For foreigners, it is required to perform patent prosecution in Bulgaria through an agent, a registered Bulgarian patent attorney.
You can find a list of Bulgaria IP firms here.