Registration of patents in Bulgaria. Patent attorney in Bulgaria.
IUSAUTHOR law firm has been operating for many years in the field of registration, protection and consulting in the process of filing and prosecution of national and international patents.
In 2021 IUSATHOR was selected as the law firm of the year in Bulgaria.
A key consultant on the subject is Atanas Kostov, who is an industrial property attorney registered as such in the list of professional representatives at the Patent Office of the Republic of Bulgaria. Mr. Kostov has made an indisputable contribution to the doctrine, in view of his capacity as a lecturer in patent law and speaker at various seminars, as well as his numerous publications and articles, which are mainly intended to provide clarity on practical issues affecting patent law.
1. Patent registration in Bulgaria. Procedure.
The right to apply for a patent belongs to the inventor or his successor in title. An inventor who is a resident or has a registered office in the Republic of Bulgaria may file a patent application with the Patent Office either in person or through a Bulgarian industrial property agent. An applicant who does not have a domicile or registered office in the Republic of Bulgaria must file his invention application with the Patent Office through a local industrial property representative.
The filing date of the patent application shall be the date of receipt at the Patent Office of the patent application containing the name of the invention, the name and address of the applicant, the name and address of the inventor and a description of the invention disclosing its nature, claims, drawings (if necessary for clarification), and an abstract. A declaration of the actual inventors should also be submitted with the application in cases where the applicant is different from the actual inventor. If the patent application is filed through an industrial property representative, the name, address, contact telephone number and email of the representative shall be indicated in the application, and the representative's power of attorney shall be attached to the application. Where priority is claimed, the application shall indicate the number, date and country of the priority document. In such cases, a priority certificate shall be submitted with the application.
If the applicant for a patent is willing to grant a licence to it, a declaration of willingness to license shall also be attached.
The application must be accompanied by proof of payment of the application, formal examination, preliminary examination and eligibility, claim and priority fees, if any. The patent application documents shall be submitted in Bulgarian. Where the description, claims, drawings and abstract are submitted in another language, they shall be submitted in Bulgarian within three months in order to preserve the filing date. Any application for which the applicant is a Bulgarian citizen with a permanent address in the Republic of Bulgaria or a legal entity with its registered office in the Republic of Bulgaria shall be subject, within one month from the date of filing, to a security check for classified information.
Within 13 months from the date of filing of the patent application, or the priority date, the applicant may file a request for examination and examination. By filing the request, the applicant must pay a fee for examination and examination of the patent as well as a fee for publication of the application. Upon filing the application and paying the examination and examination fees, the application is published on the 18th month and subsequently examined and examined for novelty, inventive step and industrial applicability.
If the applicant fails to file a request for examination and examination of the patent or fails to pay the fees, he may file an application for transformation of the patent application into an application for registration of a utility model. This application must be filed no later than 15 months from the filing date of the application, or its priority date. If no such request is filed, the application shall be deemed to have been withdrawn. In practice, the registration of a patent can be completed in about 19 months if you work with a professional and he/she tries to strictly comply with all the deadlines specified by the Patent Office.
2. Registration of a utility model in Bulgaria. Procedure.
The right to apply for a utility model belongs to the inventor or his successor in title. The applicant who has a permanent address or registered office in the Republic of Bulgaria may file an application for registration of a utility model with the Patent Office in person or through a local industrial property representative.
An applicant who does not have a permanent address or registered office in the Republic of Bulgaria shall file an application for registration of a utility model with the Patent Office through a local industrial property representative. The date of filing of the application shall be the date of receipt at the Patent Office of the following documents:
- an application for registration containing the name and address of the applicant, the name and address of the inventor, the name and address of the industrial property representative (if any), the number, date and country of the priority document (if priority is claimed);
- a description of the utility model;
- drawings (where necessary);
- abstract
The application must also be accompanied by:
- proof of payment of the application and examination fee;
- a power of attorney where the application is filed through an industrial property representative;
- a declaration of priority and a priority certificate, and the priority fee paid (if priority is claimed);
- declaration of the actual inventors;
- a statement of the particulars of the patent application, where the application is filed in accordance with Article 75b of the Patents ant utility models act.
The documents for the utility model application shall be submitted in Bulgarian. Where the description, the claims, the drawings and the abstract of the utility model are submitted in another language, the same shall be submitted in Bulgarian within three months in order to preserve the filing date.
The utility models are subjected to a check of the formal requirements and, if they are fulfilled, the registration procedure starts. Publication of the registered utility models is carried out. Examination and examination of a utility model may be carried out at the request of the applicant/owner or a third party during the validity of the utility model registration. In practice, the registration of a utility model can be completed in about 2 months if you work with a professional and he tries to strictly comply with all the deadlines indicated by the Patent Office.
3. The main services offered by IUSAUTHOR law office in this respect are:
- Patent clearance searches in Bulgaria and abroad: these are expert searches of the official patent registries and databases in order to determine whether the same (or similar) patent is not already considered to be legally owned by another person.
- Filing the patent claims and completing an application form for registration of a national patent or utility model and filing it with the Bulgarian Patent Office, respectively a European patent with the European Patent Office or an international patent under the PCT with the International Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), together with a receipt for the registration fee paid.
- Advice on any disputes arising in the formal examination and substantive examination phases.
- Grant and publication of the patent.
IUSAUTHOR Law Firm offers you professional legal protection in court by a lawyer with significant experience in patent law in the person of Mr.Atanas Kostov, in case of conflict of interests concerning patents and utility models.
Please refer your question regarding the registration of patents and utility models in Bulgaria here: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or at mobile phone +359888915215.