Updated last 26.03.2021
Industrial property protection in the form of a utility model may be obtained through registration with the Patent Office, following the procedure for utility model registration with or without the help of an industrial property agent. The complete utility model registration procedure in Bulgaria is regulated by the Patents and Utility Models Registration Act (PUMRA). The key steps, necessary for the registration of a utility model in Bulgaria are as follows:
 | Preparation of the utility model application |
The application for utility model registration is filed in the Patent Office and contains:
- Registration application. A template of the utility model registration application can be found here;
- Description of the utility model;
- Required drawings;
- Claims;
- Abstract;
- Document for fee paid for applying and verification.
The application has to be accompanied by the following documents:
- Power of attorney by the candidate, when the application is submitted by an industrial property agent or an attornet-at-law;
- A declaration of priority and a priority certificate, when priority is claimed, as well as a document for paid fee for priority;
- A declaration for the actual inventor and for establishing the application rights, if the candidate is not the inventor;
- A declaration for a micro- and small enterprise pursuant to the Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Act, when the candidate is such an enterprise – it entitles you to a 50% discount on some of the fees (here you can find a template of the declaration and guidelines on its completion).
| Fee | A document for paid fee for application and verification – More information on the fees for the registration of a utility model can be found here. |
| Important to know | |
 | Тhe application documents (except for the certificate of priority) are filed in Bulgarian and the description, drawings, claims and abstract should be in two copies. If you file the description, claims, drawings and summary in another language, the filing date is reserved, subject to the submission of Bulgarian versions of these documents within three months after that date. This period cannot be extended. All documents, necessary for filing a patent application for an invention can be found here. More information on the application for a utility model can be found in the document Guidelines on the filling-in of applications for the registration of utility models and for the preparation of the description. Form of the documents to be submitted in the procedure for registration of utility models can be found here. |
 | Filing the application |
Similarly to the patent application, the application for utility model registration may be filed directly in the Patent Office at specifically designated registration counter, through a licensed postal operator, through communication device, transmitting faxes, electronically at the Patent Office contact e-mail and through the Patent Office electronic administrative services portal. When the application is submitted electronically, the scanned images of the required documents are attached. When the application is submitted through the e-mail or through communication device, transmitting faxes or electronic copies, the original of the application should be submitted to the Patent Office within one month. In such case the date of the receipt of the email is considered the application date. For submission through the Patent Office electronic administrative services portal the application should be signed with qualified electronic signature.
The date of filing the application is the date when the following documents are received at the Patent Office:
- Registration application with the name and address of the candidate and the name of the utility model, for which registration is requested;
- Description of the utility model;
- Drawings, if necessary;
- One or more claims.
| Important to know | |
| You will not be assigned a date of filing the application, if the name of the utility model, candidate data or some of the aforesaid documents are absent. |
 | Verification of the formal requirements and the grounds for protection |
After setting the date of filing the utility model registration application, the experts from the Patent Office check in 1-month’s whether it contains any classified information.
This is information, which is state or official secret. If such information is discovered, the application will be sent to the competent authorities, which, within 3 months determine its level of classification.
After the check for any classified information, an expert from the expert department at the Patent Office checks if:
- The application meets all the requirements, listed for the preparation of the utility model application (Step 1). When the experts conclude that there are irregularities, they inform the applicant who could correct them in 1-month’s term;
- The utility model request does not fall within the group of inventions, which cannot be registered as utility models. Items, which cannot be registered as utility models can be found here;
- The utility model is industrially applicable, i.e. it can be manufactured and used on multiple occasions in any sector of the industry and agriculture.
If inaccuracies are found in the documents and non-compliance with the requirements for the utility model registration, the Patent Office provides three months for the elimination of any such defects or for submitting a response to the comments (statement). If you do not make the relevant changes within the specified period of time, your statement is unjustified or if you fail to provide any answer at all, the registration request is terminated. If you have not paid the application and verification fees, you will be notified that within 1 month you can do that or your application for a utility model will be considered withdrawn.
| Important to know | |
| The correspondence in relation to the proceedings before the Patent Office is done at address in the Republic of Bulgaria, at the e-mail or through the Patent Office electronic services portal, if possible. In case of a change of the indicated address the party under the procedure shall notify the Patent Office for the occurrence of the change within 7 days. |
 | Utility model registration |
Each and every utility model application, meeting the formal requirements, listed in the Verification of the formal requirements and the gounds for protection or where any identified defects have been eliminated in due time, is subject to registration.
| Important to know | |
| Compared to the patent registration procedure, when registering a utility model, it is automatically assumed that the patentability criteria of the invention „novelty“ and „inventive step“ are met. This allows for skipping of the investigation and expert analysis of the patentability and significantly facilitates the procedure for the utility model registration. Nevertheless, after the registration of the utility model, everyone is entitled to request to understand whether it meets the “novelty“ and “inventive step“ criteria. The registration is erased, if it becomes evident that the utility model does not meet both criteria. |
| Fee | In order to complete the registration, the candidate must pay, within one month of receipt of the written invitation, issued by the Patent Office, a registration fee, a fee for the issuance of a registration certificate, a fee for the publication of the description, drawings, claims and summary in the State Regustry of Utility Models, a fee for the publication in the Official Gazette of the Patent Office. See the amount of the payable fees here. |
If the fees are not paid within the one month term, they may be paid in an additional one month term, but in double amount. If they are not paid within this second term, the application shall be considered withdrawn. If the fees are paid in due time, another 14-day period follows, in which a Decision for the registration of the utility model is made and an entry is made in the State Utility Models Register. One month after the registration with the State Utility Models Register, a publication is made in the official gazette of the Patent Office. One month after that, the registration certificate is issued.
| For more information | |
 | For more and complete information on the utility model registration procedure and the related regulatory framework, please refer to the website of the: |