Patents are granted for inventions in any field of technology, which are new, involve an inventive step and are susceptible of industrial application.
The owner of the patent receives the exclusive right to use the invention, the right to prohibit other persons from using it without his consent and the right to transfer the patent.
This article will describe the procedure for registration of a patent on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria.
Right to file an application
According to Article 13 of the Law on patents and utility model registration the right to file an application belongs to the inventor or his successor. In case the invention has been made in the performance of duties under an employment relationship, the right to file belongs to the employer. The employer shall file an application within three months of the date of the notification for the invention by the inventor. If he does not do so, the right to file shall devolve on the inventor. The right to file may also belong jointly to the employer and the inventor if contractually agreed.
If the invention is made on a contractual basis, the right to file shall belong to the commissioning person, unless otherwise provided in the contract.
The right to a patent shall belong to the person who has the right to file an application. The extent of legal protection shall be determined by the claims.
Filing of patent application
The patent application shall be filed with the Patent Office of the Republic of Bulgaria and shall be recorded in the State Register. The filing date of the application shall be the date of receipt at the Patent Office of Republic of Bulgaria of the following documents:
1. a request for the grant of a patent containing the title of the invention and the data identifying the applicant;
2. a description of the invention, disclosing at least its essential elements in the Bulgarian language;
3. one or more claims;
4. drawings, if needed to understand the invention;
5. an abstract;
6. a written statement and a priority certificate, where priority is claimed;
7. power of attorney – if the application is filed through an industrial property representative.
The application shall be accompanied by a document certifying payment of state fees for filing, formal requirements examination, preliminary examination and admissibility, patent claims and priority claims. The documents in the application shall be submitted in Bulgarian language and the description, claims, drawings, and abstract shall be filed in three copies.
The request for grant of a patent shall contain:
– the name and address of the applicant and of his industrial property representative, where appropriate;
– the name and address of the inventor;
– a written statement as to the true inventor;
– the title of the invention and the particulars of any claimed priority – number, date, and country of the priority document;
– a written statement of preparedness for licensing, if the applicant so wishes.
The description of the invention shall contain:
– the title and the technical field to which the invention belongs;
– the prior art, as far as known to the applicant, with citation of the documents in which it is described;
– clear and adequate disclosure of the essential technical features of the invention and its advantages, in such manner that the invention may be carried out by a person skilled in the art;
– brief explanations of the drawings and at least one embodiment of the invention using examples, if necessary, and reference of the drawings if any, as well as the manner of working the invention in industry, where this is not obvious from the description or the character of the invention.
The claim or claims shall define the matter for which protection is sought. They shall be clear and precise and be supported by the description. The abstract shall briefly summarize the nature of the invention and shall serve for information purposes only.
It is important to be noted that the application shall relate to one invention only or to a group of inventions so linked as to form a single general inventive concept.
Amendments to the application
The application or a patent may be amended during the proceedings in the application until such time as a decision is taken or during patent invalidation proceedings.
If the applicant is a Bulgarian citizen with a permanent address in the Republic of Bulgaria or a legal person with a principal place of business in the Republic of Bulgaria, the competent authorities shall examine it as to whether it contains classified information within the meaning of Article 25 of the Law on the Protection of Classified Information within one month from the filing date of the application.
Examination of the formal requirements
Within one month following the examination as to the availability of classified information or from the date of filing of an application by a foreign applicant, any application bearing a filing date shall be subjected to examination as to its compliance with the requirements of Article 35, paragraph 1, p. 1, 2 and 3 and paragraph 4 as well as Article 36 of the Law on patents and utility model registration, namely: if the request for the grant of a patent contains the title of the invention and the data identifying the applicant as well as the description of the invention, disclosing at least its essential elements; one or more claims; drawings, if needed to understand the invention; an abstract; a power of attorney – if the application is filed through an industrial property representative. The request for the grant of a patent shall be examined whether it contains: the name and address of the applicant and of his industrial property representative, where appropriate; the name and address of the inventor; a written statement as to the true inventor; the title of the invention and the particulars of any claimed priority – number, date, and country of the priority document; written statement of preparedness for licensing if the applicant so wishes.
If after the examination of the formal requirements deficiencies are ascertained, the applicant shall be informed and shall be given a three-month period to correct them. If the applicant fails to respond or to make the corrections within the above time limit, a decision for termination of the procedure shall be taken.
If the patent application is not accompanied by a document certifying payment of state fees for filing, formal requirements examination, preliminary examination and admissibility, patent claims and priority claims, the applicant shall be given three months to pay them. If the applicant fails to pay the fees, the application shall be deemed to be withdrawn.
Preliminary examination and examination as to legal protection admissibility
Within three months following the examination of the formal requirements, the examiner from the Examination Department of the Patent Office of the Republic of Bulgaria shall carry out the next expertise, the so-called preliminary examination under Articles 37, 38 and 40 of the Law on patents and utility model registration. If deficiencies are ascertained, the applicant shall be informed thereof and shall be given three months to eliminate them. If the applicant fails to respond within this period or fails to remove the deficiencies, a decision shall be taken to terminate the procedure.
Within three months following the examination of the formal requirements, an examination shall be performed also for compliance with the requirements of Article 6, paragraphs 2 and 4 and Article 7 of Law on patents and utility model registration. If deficiencies are ascertained, the examiner from the Examination Department shall inform the applicant and shall give him three months to submit his comments. If the applicant fails to respond or his arguments are groundless, a decision shall be taken to refuse the grant of a patent.
Request for search and examination
Until the expiration of 13 months from the filing date of the application or the priority date, as appropriate, the applicant may file a search and examination request. Along with this request, the applicant shall pay a search and examination fee, as well as a publication fee for the application. In case of failure to pay the fees at the time of filing of the request, they may still be paid at twice the rate within one month following the filing date of the request for search and examination.
If no request for search and examination is filed with regard to the application, and/or the fees are not paid, the application may be transformed into an application for utility model registration, which shall be filed prior to the expiration of 15 months from its priority date. If no such request is filed, the application shall be deemed to be withdrawn and the applicant shall be informed thereof.
Publication of applications
Mention shall be published in the Official Bulletin of the Patent Office of Republic of Bulgaria of an application with respect to which a request has been filed and the fees described above have been paid, such publication following the expiration of the eighteen-month after the filing date or the priority date. At the same time as publishing a mention of the application, the Patent Office of the Republic of Bulgaria shall provide access to its description, claims, and drawings.
Objections from third parties
Within three months following publication of a mention of the application in the Official Bulletin of the Patent Office of the Republic of Bulgaria, any person may file written substantiated objections concerning the patentability of the subject matter of the application. The objecting persons may not be participants in the application procedure.
Search and examination
The next part of the procedure for registration of a patent in Bulgaria is the investigation of the state of art, drawing up a search report and a written statement concerning the patentability of the invention by an examiner from the Examination Department in respect of each application, for which the request has been filed and the fees have been paid. The report, the statement concerning the patentability and the written objections from third parties, if any, shall be sent to the applicant. The applicant shall dispose of three months to comment upon the statement and the objections received.
Where it is determined in the statement concerning the patentability of the invention, that the invention is not patentable and the applicant fails to respond within the given term, fails to remedy the deficiencies or his arguments are groundless, a decision shall be taken to refuse the grant of a patent.
Where the examiner from the Examination Department reveals that the invention applied for is patentable, but the specification and/ or the patent claims do not comply with the requirements of Article 37, paragraph 1 and/ or Article 38 of the Law on patents and utility model registration, he shall invite the applicant to rectify them within a three-month time limit. If the applicant fails to make the necessary corrections within the prescribed time limit, or fails to reply or files a groundless objection, the examiner shall take a decision to terminate the proceedings in the application.
Where, following the examination and the correspondence with the applicant, it is revealed that the invention is patentable and the requirements of Article 37, paragraph 1 and Article 38 of the Law on patents and utility model registration are satisfied, the examiner from the Examination Department shall invite the applicant to pay the fees as stated in the letter by the examiner. The examiner from the Examination Department shall take the decision to grant a patent, provided that the fees are paid. If the applicant fails to pay the fees, the application shall be deemed to be withdrawn.
Publication of the patent
Finally, a mention of the grant of the patent shall be published in the Official Bulletin of the Patent Office of the Republic of Bulgaria right after the expiration of three months following the decision-taking date. A patent shall be granted and the description, claims and any drawings shall be published within one month following publication. Any person shall be entitled to request and be allowed access to the application in a granted patent as filed, after the publication.
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Legal Disclaimer: This material prepared by Krasimira Kadieva aims to provide information about the registration procedure of patents in Bulgaria. It does not constitute a legal opinion and cannot be interpreted as individual consultation on any concrete facts or circumstances. The advice of a legal specialist should be obtained for specific questions and situations. For more information on the above-mentioned issues and individual consultations, please contact Krasimira Kadieva at 00359 882 308 670 or make an inquiry using the contact form of this website.