Fees associated with filing patent applications in Bulgaria as well as other patent fees are available in the fee calculator.
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Term for filing a patent application in Bulgaria
The term for filing a patent application in Bulgaria claiming conventional priority is 12 months from the priority date. Extension of this deadline is not possible.
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Filing requirements in Bulgaria
The official language of Bulgarian patent applications is Bulgarian. If the patent application is filed in any other foreign language, the date of application should be maintained if translation into Bulgarian is provided within three months from the filing date of the application. This term cannot be extended.
To obtain a filing date, it is necessary to provide the Bulgarian Patent Office with:
- a request to grant a patent;
- applicant's and inventor's details;
- materials that appear to be a description of an invention;
- proof of payment of the corresponding fees.
If priority is claimed, the Priority Document must be submitted within 3 months of filing the Bulgarian patent application. Translation into Bulgarian should be provided at the request of the BPO.
The legalisation or notarization of a Power of Attorney is not required. A signed and stamped copy of POA should be submitted within 3 months from the deficiency notification from BPO.
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Examination of the Bulgarian patent application
The Bulgarian patent application undergoes a substantive examination. A request for substantive examination is made at the time of filing by paying the prescribed fee for study and expertise.
The novelty of the invention is not disproved if the information about the invention was disclosed exhibiting the invention at an official or officially recognised exhibition or if it is a consequence of obvious misuse within 6 months before the filing date or the priority date (if the priority is claimed). The applicant must declare the exhibiting of the invention upon submitting the application and present proofs for this three months after the date of submitting the application.
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Grant, validity term and maintenance fees
The annual patent fees till the taking of decision for issuing a patent and the fee for the current patent year shall be paid simultaneously with the fees for issuing of a patent and for publication about the issuing of the patent. The validity term of patents in Bulgaria is 20 years from the filing date. This term can be extended by a maximum of 25 years if Supplementary protection certificate (SPC) has been applied for and subsequently granted for patents concerning pharmaceutical and plant protection products.
Maintenance fees shall be paid annually to the Bulgarian Patent Office in respect of each patent year, starting from the filing date of the Bulgarian patent application, during the term of the granted Bulgarian patent. The annual patent fees may be paid in advance at the latest on the last day of the month in which expires the previous patent year. Late payment is possible within 6 months grace period by paying a corresponding surcharge.
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Duration of registration procedure
It takes an average of 2-5 years from filing up to grant of a patent in Bulgaria.
Inventions may also be protected as Utility Models in Bulgaria, which are subject to formal examination only. Methods, chemical compounds and use of a product are not protectable. The validity period of a utility model is 4 years with the option for two renewals, each lasting 3 years, up to a maximum total of 10 years. The procedure of obtaining utility model protection takes approximately 2-6 months.
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Representation by a patent attorney
An applicant who is not established in the Republic of Bulgaria, another Member State of the European Union, a state party to the European Economic Area Agreement, or the Swiss Confederation, shall be obliged to perform the patent prosecution in Bulgaria through a lawyer or an industrial property representative (patent attorney).
1. Online Search Databases: Bulgarian Patents, European Patents (EPO) Search.
2. The patent in Bulgaria may also be obtained via registration of the European patent and its further validation in Bulgaria.
The above information was verified by K TAHTADJIEV - M.SC. KONSTANTIN TAHTADJIEV - EUROPEAN AND BULGARIAN PATENT ATTORNEY on 21.02.2024
Please contact us if the above information is not in conformity with Bulgarian IP Laws