Patent registration in Bulgaria. Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. Bulgaria is a developing country, with an upper-middle-income economy, ranking 56th in the Human Development Index. Its market economy is part of the European Single Market and is largely based on services, followed by industry—especially machine building and mining—and agriculture. Accordingly, many businesses want to enter this market and one of the most important preparations a business needs to take before expanding to this country is to learn the procedure of patent registration in Bulgaria.
Patent in Bulgaria
A patent in Bulgaria is temporary ownership of an invention. During the patent’s term, the patentee will have the right to exclude third-party actions related to the protected subject such as manufacture, commercialization, use, and others.
To protect an invention through patenting means to prevent its unauthorized exploitation by competitors who were not involved in nor bore the invention’s research and development costs.
To be patentable in this country, an invention must meet the requirements of novelty, inventiveness, and industrial applicability.
Necessary documents for patent registration in Bulgaria
The necessary documents for patent registration in Bulgaria include:
- The request to grant a patent (patent application);
- Detailed information on the applicant(s) including the applicant’s and inventor’s names, addresses, citizenships, etc.;
- A description of the invention;
- A signed and stamped power of attorney by the applicant(s);
- A copy of the amendments (if any);
- Priority documents (if any).
- Other required documents.
Note:
The official language in Bulgaria is Bulgarian. The applicant needs to file the related documents in Bulgarian. If there are any other documents filed in a different language, a translation of those documents are required to be submitted within 3 months from the filing date of the application. This term cannot be extended.
If the applicant wants to claim priority, they need to submit the request within 2 months from the filing date.
A Bulgarian patent application may be filed within six months after the disclosure at an officially recognized exhibition.
The procedure for patent registration in Bulgaria
To obtain a patent in Bulgaria, the applicant needs to submit their patent application to the Bulgaria IP Office.
The application will then be checked to ensure that it meets all the requirements on formality. If inaccuracies are found in the documents or the application fees have not been paid, the Patent Office will provide a 3 month period for the elimination of any defects.
In regard to substantive examination, the applicant may file their request within 13 months from the filing date or from the priority date.
If the invention is patentable, the patent will be granted to the applicant.
Validity period and maintenance
A patent in Bulgaria is valid for 20 years from the filing date.
To maintain the validity period of a patent in Bulgaria, the patentee needs to pay the annual maintenance fees each year starting from the first one.
The payment should be made within 3 months from receipt of the Notice of Allowance alongside fees for grant and publication.
All subsequent annual fees should be paid in advance no later than the last day of the month when the anniversary of the filing date occurs.
If the patentee misses the deadline to pay the annual maintenance fee, he/she can file the annuities fee within 6 months from the due date together with a corresponding surcharge.
It is not possible to pay annuities in an accumulated manner in Bulgaria.
You can find a list of Bulgaria IP firms here.