Legal protection
Legal protection for utility models shall be granted through registration with the Patent Office of the Republic of Bulgaria. The registration shall have effect with respect to third parties as of the date of publication in the Official Bulletin of the Patent Office.
The right to registration shall belong to the person who has the 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, but he 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 has been made on a contractual basis, the right to file shall belong to the commissioning person, unless otherwise provided in the contract.
Utility models shall be registered, which are new, involve an inventive step and are susceptible of industrial application.
Novelty – a utility model shall be considered to be new if it does not form part of the state of the art. The state of the art shall be held to comprise everything made available to the public through use in the Republic of Bulgaria by means of a written or oral description or in any other way, anywhere in the world, before the filing date or the priority date, as appropriate, of the utility model application.
A disclosure which is not prejudicial to novelty
Disclosure of the utility model shall not be prejudicial to novelty if it was carried out within twelve months preceding the filing date or the priority date of the application for registration by the applicant or his grantor or a third party in an evident abuse with respect to the applicant or his grantor.
Inventive step – the utility model shall be considered to involve an inventive step if a person possessing ordinary knowledge and skills in the art cannot easily realize it on the basis of the state of the art.
Industrial application – the invention shall be considered susceptible of industrial application if its subject matter can be made or used repeatedly in any branch of industry or agriculture.
Term of validity
The term of validity of a utility model registration shall be four years as of the filing date of the application. It may be extended by two consecutive three-year periods. Therefore the total term of validity may not exceed ten years as of the filing date of the application.
Filing of utility model application
The application for utility model registration shall be filed with the Patent Office of Republic of Bulgaria and it shall comprise:
1. a request for registration;
2. a description of the utility model
3. claims;
4. drawings;
5. an abstract;
6. a document certifying payment of the filing and examination fee;
7. power of attorney, if the application is filed through an industrial property representative;
8. a priority declaration and a priority certificate, where priority is claimed, as well as a document certifying payment of the priority fee;
9. a declaration as to the true inventor and for establishing the right to file, where the applicant is not the inventor.
The documents in the application shall be submitted in Bulgarian language and the description, claims, drawings, and abstract shall be filed in two copies.
Filing date: The filing date of the application for utility model registration shall be the date of receipt at the Patent Office of Republic of Bulgaria of the following documents:
1. a request for registration, containing the name and address of the applicant and the title of the utility model for which registration is sought;
2. a description of the utility model;
3. drawings, if needed;
4. one or more claims.
The request shall contain the request for registration, containing the name and address of the applicant and the title of the utility model for which registration is sought; the name and address of the inventor; a declaration as to the true inventor; name and address of the industrial property representative if the application is filed through an industrial property representative; data concerning the priority claim – number, date, and country of the priority document; a declaration with data identifying the patent application, where the application for utility model registration is filed in correspondence with Article 75b of the Law on patents and utility model registration.
The description shall contain an indication of the utility model title, its application, and one or more embodiments disclosing its technical essence. It may also contain an indication of the prior art, as far as known to the applicant, as well as the advantages of the utility model.
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.
Examination of the formal requirements
Within one month following the date of filing of the application by 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 as to whether the application contains classified information within the meaning of Article 25 of the Law on the Protection of Classified Information.
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 Articles 75 and 75b as well as Article 75c, paragraph 1 of the Law on patents and utility model registration, namely:
1. If the application for the utility model registration contains: a request for registration; a description of the utility model; claims; drawings; an abstract; a document certifying payment of the filing and examination fee; a power of attorney, in case the application is filed through an industrial property representative; a priority declaration and a priority certificate, where priority is claimed, as well as a document certifying payment of the priority fee; a declaration as to the true inventor and for establishing the right to file, where the applicant is not the inventor.
2. If the request for registration contains: the name and address of the applicant and the title of the utility model for which registration is sought; the name and address of the inventor; a declaration as to the true inventor; name and address of the industrial property representative, in case the application is filed through an industrial property representative; data concerning the priority claim – number, date, and country of the priority document; a declaration with data identifying the patent application, where the application for utility model registration is filed in correspondence with Article 75b of the Law on patents and utility model registration.
If after the examination of the formal requirements deficiencies are ascertained, the applicant shall be informed and shall be given a one-month period to correct them. If the applicant fails to respond or to make the corrections within the above time limit and/or his arguments are groundless, a decision for termination of the procedure shall be taken.
Registration procedure
If the application meets the formal requirements, an expert from the Examination Department shall within three months examine whether:
1. the application meets the requirements of Article 75c paragraphs 2 and 3 and Article 40 of the Law on patents and utility model registration;
2. the utility model applied for registration falls under the provisions of Article 73 paragraphs 4 and 5 of the Law on patents and utility model registration;
3. the utility model as disclosed in the application is in evident contradiction with Article 10 of the Law on patents and utility model registration.
In case deficiencies are ascertained, the applicant shall be informed and shall be given three months to furnish his arguments and/or make amendments to the application. If the applicant fails to respond or to amend the application so as to eliminate the drawbacks within the prescribed period, and/or his arguments are groundless, a decision for termination of the proceedings shall be taken.
Where following the examination no discrepancies are found, or the discrepancies are eliminated, the applicant shall be invited to pay, within a one-month period, the fees for registration, issuing a registration certificate, publication of the description, drawings, claims and abstract, as well as a fee for publication in the Official Bulletin of the Patent Office of Republic of Bulgaria. If the applicant fails to pay the fees, the application shall be deemed to be withdrawn. If all the fees are duly paid, a decision for the registration of the utility model shall be taken within 14 days, and the utility model shall be recorded in the State Register of Utility Models.
State of the Art Search
The applicant has the right to file a request for state of the art search, subject to payment of the prescribed search fee. During the term of validity of the utility model registration, any person has the right to file a request for state of the art search, subject to payment of the prescribed search fee. Within three months following receipt of the request for state of the art search, a search report shall be drafted, which shall be sent to the requesting person together with the materials that have been found.
Suspension of registration
Within three months following the filing date of the application for utility model registration, the applicant may request suspension of the utility model registration for a period of fifteen months of the filing date or the priority date.
Extension of the term of validity of the registration
The term of validity of a utility model registration shall be extended at the request of the owner accompanied by a document certifying payment of the prescribed fee. Each extension request shall be filed during the last year of the preceding term of validity of the registration. The validity of the utility model registration may still be maintained if the owner files an extension request and pays the fee at twice the rate within six months following the expiration of the term.
Publications. Access to application.
Finally, a publication shall be made in the Official Bulletin of the Patent Office of the Republic of Bulgaria within one month following the entry of the utility models into the State Register. Within one month following the publication, a utility model registration certificate shall be issued and the description, drawings, claims, and abstract shall be published.
Following the publication of a mention of the registration, any person shall be entitled to request access to the application for the utility model registration as filed, as well as to the search report.
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Legal Disclaimer: This material prepared by Krasimira Kadieva aims to provide information about the registration procedure of utility models 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.