What is industrial design?
According to Article 3, paragraph 1 of the Bulgarian Industrial Design Act, the design is the visible appearance of a product or part of it, defined by the peculiarities of the form, lines, contours, ornaments, color or combination of them. A product is an article produced by industrial or craft way, including parts intended to be assembled in a composite article, sets or composition of articles, packaging, graphic symbols and printed fonts except for computer programs.
Acquiring of right over design on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria
Right over a design shall be acquired through its registration at the Patent Office of the Republic of Bulgaria from the date of filing of the application for registration. It is important to note that registered shall be a design that is new and original. The Bulgarian Industrial Design Act gives definitions of novelty and originality. The design shall be new if before the date of filing of the application, respectively before the date of priority, another identical design is not known to have become publicly available through publications, use, registrations or disclosure in any other way anywhere in the world. The designs shall be considered identical if their peculiarities differ only in insignificant elements. The design shall be considered original if the overall impression it creates on the informed user differs from the overall impression created by a design that has become publicly available prior to the date of the submission of the application for registration or if priority is claimed, before the date of priority. The extent of the freedom of the designer shall be taken into account at the assessment of the originality.
A design contradicting with the public order or good morals shall not be registered. A design whose peculiarities are grounded solely on the technical function of the product shall not be registered as well. A design whose peculiarities are grounded on the need the product in which is included or to which the design has been applied to be mechanically connected or put into, around or opposite to another product so that both the products may perform their functions, except a design, aimed at allowing the multiple assembling or connection of mutually interchangeable products within a modular system shall also not be registered.
The duration of the registration of a design is ten years from the date of filing of the application for registration. The registration shall be possible to be renewed for three subsequent periods of five years.
This article will describe the procedure for registration of a national design with effect in the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria, which procedure is governed by the Bulgarian Industrial Design Act and the Ordinance for drawing up, filing and examination of applications for registration of industrial designs.
Who can submit an application for registration of a national industrial design in the Patent Office of the Republic of Bulgaria?
Under the Bulgarian Industrial Design Act, applicants for registration of national designs can be Bulgarian natural and legal persons, as well as foreign individuals and legal entities, who should perform actions before the Patent Office through a Bulgarian industrial property representative.
The application for registration of the industrial design shall be submitted at the Patent Office of Republic of Bulgaria in one of the following ways:
– directly in the Patent Office;
– by post;
– by fax (the original documents must be received by the Patent Office within one month from the date of the receipt of the fax);
– electronically (this service functions since 2014).
Applicants and industrial property representatives are recommended to use the official form, which is provided by the Patent Office.
The application for registration of the industrial design shall contain the following:
– the application for registration;
– the name and the address of the applicant;
– one or several graphic or photographic representations that clearly and comprehensively disclose the design, for which protection is sought;
– the name of the country of which the applicant is a citizen, where he has a permanent address or a seat;
– the name and the address of the industrial property representative, if appointed, and a power of attorney;
– priority claims when there is a reference to such;
– copy of the image of the design;
– the number of designs for which protection is sought;
– pointing out of the products;
– an indication of the classification of the products in the International Classification for Industrial Designs under the Locarno Agreement;
– description of the presented images;
– the name and address of the author;
– proof of payment of fees for application, examination, and priority;
– request for deferment of registration under Article 48a of the Industrial Design Act.
The application shall also contain at the initiative of the applicant a brief description of the peculiarities of the design – up to 100 words.
The first check that is performed by the experts at the Patent Office is checking whether the requirements of the Industrial Design Act are met regarding the filing date. The filing date shall be the date on which the Patent Office has received the following documents:
– request for registration;
– name and address of the applicant;
– one or several graphic or photographic representations that clearly and comprehensively disclose the design, for which protection is sought;
When these requirements have not been met, the application shall be deemed as if it has not been filed. The next check, which is carried out by the experts at the Patent Office is whether a document for paid state fees for application, examination, and deferment of the publication of the registration if requested, has been attached. When such a document is not attached, the applicant shall be given one month to correct the defect. One month after the expiry of that period, charges can be paid double. The fees can be paid in double amounts within two months from the expiration of this term. If within this period the fees are not paid, the application shall be considered withdrawn.
Formal examination
Within two months of presentation of the document for payment of the fees the next expertise is carried out, the so called formal expertise at which the experts of the Patent Office shall check whether the requirements of Articles 33 and 34 of the Industrial Design Act are met as well as whether the application contains: the name and the address of the applicant; one or several graphic or photographic representations that clearly and comprehensively disclose the design, for which protection is sought; the name of the country of which the applicant is a citizen, where he has a permanent address or a seat; the name and the address of the industrial property representative, if appointed, and a power of attorney; priority claims when there is a reference to such; copy of the image of the design; the number of the designs for which protection is sought; pointing out of the products; an indication of the classification of the products in the International Classification for Industrial Designs under the Locarno Agreement; description of the presented images; the name and address of the author; proof of payment of fees for application, examination, and priority; request for deferment of registration under Article 48a of the Industrial Design Act. The experts also check whether the documents have been presented in the Bulgarian language.
When deficiencies are ascertained, the applicant shall be given two months to correct them. When within the provided term the applicant fails to remedy the deficiencies, the proceedings shall be terminated.
Registration procedure
| Within two months after the formal examination expertise shall be carried out whether the declared design:
– is a design within the meaning of Article 3 of the Industrial Design Act; – is a design contradicting with the public order or good ethics? In case there are grounds for refusal of registration of the declared design, the applicant shall be notified about this and all the grounds shall be pointed out as well as given two months to appeal. When within the given two-month period the applicant does not make reasonable objections, a decision for refusal of the registration shall be taken. Where it is established that the declared design can be registered, the applicant shall be notified and he shall be given one month term to pay the fees for registration, issuance of a certificate for registration and publication. One month after the expiry of that period the fees can be paid in double amount. When the fees are paid, a decision for the registration fo the design shall be taken and in a one-month term, a certificate for registration shall be issued. If the fees are not paid, the application shall be considered withdrawn. When there is a ground for refusal of the registration of part of the declared designs, included in a multiple application, the applicant shall be informed about this, stating all the motives and shall be given two months to reply. If within this period the applicant fails to respond, a decision shall be taken for full or partial refusal of the registration. What is a multiple application? Several designs may be included in a multiple application provided that the products they are included in or to which the designs have been attached belong to the same class of the International Classification of the Industrial Designs under the Locarno Agreement or to the same set or composition of products. |
| Withdrawal, restriction, and changes in the application |
The applicant has the right to withdraw the application until a decision about the application is taken with regard to all designs or parts of them. Multiple applications may be restricted when the withdrawal concerns only some of the designs.
In the application changes shall not be possible to be entered except there is a change in the name or address of the applicant or it is necessary errors in the name and address of the applicant and obvious mistakes to be corrected, provided that these corrections do not affect the design. The changes shall be implemented at the request of the applicant accompanied by proof of payment of a fee.
Deferment of the publication of the registration
The Industrial Design Act entitles the applicant for a design to request with the filing of the application, that the publication of the design if it is registered, be deferred for a period of 30 months from the date of filing the application or from the priority date. The request for deferment of the registration must be accompanied by proof of payment of a fee. In the event of a multiple application, the request for deferment of the publication may concern only some of the designs.
When a decision for the registration of the design is taken, it shall be entered into the State Register of the Industrial Designs, but no public access to the registered design or its file shall be granted. A notification for deferment of the publication of the registered design shall be published in the Official Bulletin of the Patent Office, containing identity data of the holder of the design, filing date of the application or priority date and registry number of the design.
Request for publication
Request for publication of the registration shall be submitted by the holder of design no later than 27 months from the date of filing of the application and shall be accompanied by a document for paid fee for publication and in the event of a multiple application – a document proving payment of additional fees depending on the number of designs.
Publication after expiration of the deferment period
Where the request for publication has been filed within the legal term and the fee for publication has been paid, the publication of the registration of the design shall be made in the Official Bulletin of the Patent Office immediately after the expiration of the 30-month time limit. The publication shall contain a mandatory indication that the application contains a request for deferment of the publication.
Due to the above-mentioned peculiarities when filing an application for registration of industrial design, the assistance of a specialist with experience in this area is recommended to be sought. The specialist will file the application for registration of industrial design, that will contain all the information and documentation required by the Industrial Design Act as well as the Ordinance for drawing up, filing and examination of applications for registration of industrial designs.
The IP attorney in Bulgaria Krasimira Kadieva will gladly assist you with the filing of the application for registration of industrial design by providing professional advice and preparation of all necessary documents.
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Legal Disclaimer: This material prepared by Krasimira Kadieva aims to describe the industrial designs registration procedure 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 an intellectual property 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. Krasimira Kadieva is a Bulgarian and European trademark and design attorney. She offers comprehensive analysis and strategy for the effective protection of industrial designs as objects of industrial property, both at the time of registration and in violation of the rights thereto. The IP lawyer in Bulgaria Krasimira Kadieva assists in all types of industrial design registrations by providing professional advice and preparation of all necessary documents.