Region: Bulgaria

Bulgaria's new law on trademarks and geographical indications entered into force on 17 December 2019. It brings significant changes to certain aspects of substantive and procedural law, including new absolute and relative grounds for refusal and cancellation.

10 January 2020

In the first of our five-part series, trademark counsel from law firms across Europe provide an overview of the performance of their countries’ EU trademark courts over the past two years.

23 August 2018

Major amendments to the Bulgarian Civil Procedure Code have entered into force, widening the traditionally narrow scope of cassation grounds.

12 January 2018

The Bulgarian Patent Office has published for public consultation a draft law which aims to align Bulgarian national legislation with EU Regulation 1151/2012, under which EU member states are permitted to grant protection to geographical indications for agricultural products and foodstuffs only at EU level.

11 October 2017

The Bulgarian Council of Ministers adopted the new Ordinance on Industrial Property Representatives, under which all individuals wishing to become industrial property representatives must pass a qualifying exam. This is the first act in Bulgaria to establish industrial property representative as a regulated profession.

28 September 2017

The Disputes Department of the Patent Office has rejected an opposition by Deutsche Telekom AG against an application for the figurative mark GLOBAL NET SOLUTIONS, filed by a Bulgarian competitor. Among other things, the Disputes Department found that the application contained the colours red and blue on a white background, while Deutsche Telekom’s earlier mark was described as 'magenta'.

08 April 2015

The Sofia City Court has dismissed GEA Group’s claims of trademark infringement against Bulgarian construction company Gea Stroy. Among other things, the court held that GEA Group, the owner of several CTMs for GEA, could not prohibit a third party from using its own name in the course of trade, provided that such use was not contrary to honest practices.

01 December 2014

The Supreme Administrative Court has ruled in favour of Austrian energy drink producer Red Bull GmbH in a trademark cancellation action against Bulgarian soft drink producer Nova Trade Ltd, which owned the PIT BULL mark. Among other things, the court held that Red Bull's trademarks are perceived as “original” and are strongly associated with a particular type of product.

17 November 2014

The Supreme Administrative Court has considered whether the provision of services that fell outside the scope of an employee’s main duties amounted to genuine use of the employer’s trademark. The dispute concerned the genuine use of the trademark VASILKA, owned by a cleaning company and registered for office functions services in Class 35.

09 October 2014

A globally known brand of hotels and resorts has succeeded in revocation proceedings for non-use against a Bulgarian hospitality company. The Patent Office found that the evidence submitted by the Bulgarian company showed its intent to use the trademarks, but did not prove that the marks had been put to genuine use.

03 April 2014