RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONIP/C/W//117/Add.2
1 December 1998
(98-4812)
Council for Trade-Related Aspects
of Intellectual Property RightsOriginal:  English
REVIEW UNDER ARTICLE 24.2 OF THE APPLICATION OF THE
PROVISIONS OF THE SECTION OF THE TRIPS AGREEMENT
ON GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS
Checklist of Questions1
Responses from Bulgaria
The present document represents the responses to the Checklist which the Secretariat has
received from Bulgaria, by means of a communication from its Permanent Mission, dated
16 November 1998.
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I. RESPONSES TO THE QUESTIONS IN DOCUMENT IP/C/13
A. GENERAL
1. Is protection for geographical indications provided through unfair competition law, e.g.,
passing off, false designation of origin; through a fo rmal procedure for notification/registration before
protection is available; or th rough both?  Does the recognition of  a geographical i ndication require
registration?
The Bulgarian laws do not provide for the protection of geographical indications within the
sense of Article 22.1 of the TRIPS Agreement.  In  Bulgaria, being member of the Lisbon Agreement
for the Protection of Appellations of Origin and their International Registration, the Law on
Trademarks and Industrial Designs provides for the protection of appellations of origin. Legalprotection is granted through their registration at the Patent Office. The term "geographical
indication" is not used in the Bulgarian Unfair Competition Law. The Law uses the term "origin".
Article 33.1 of the Law provides for a prohibition of offering for sale or advertising of goods with a
mark, packing or name, which mislead or lead into error with regard to the origin of the product.
2. Is there one single regime of protection of geographical indications for all products?  If not,
identify the different regimes.
The regime of protection of appellations of origin is the same for all products.
3. Do(es) the regime(s) of protection of geographical indications also extend to services?
The regime of protection of appellations of origin concerns products only.
                                                     
1 Documents IP/C/13 and IP/C/13/Add.1.IP/C/W/117/Add.2
Page 2
4. What provisions of law or regulations are directed to the recognition of geographical
indications required by Articles 22.2 and 23.1 of the TRIPS Agreement?  Citations to laws should beprovided and, if the texts of the laws have not been notified to the WTO, copies should be providedpursuant to Article 63.2.
There are not any specific provisions of this kind in the Law on Trademarks and Industrial
Designs.
5. If the required recognition of geographical indications is not provided through statutes or
regulations, please explain, in detail, the mechanism or mechanisms through which the protectionrequired is provided.
The Law on Trademarks and Industrial Designs provides for legal protection of appellations
of origin through their registration at the Patent Office.
6. Please provide a few examples of domestic geographical indications protected in accordance
with the means discussed above and indicate the means by which such protection is provided.
There are 192 local appellations of origin registered, e.g. Bulgarian yoghurt, Traminer from
Khan Kroum for wine, Merlou from Sakar for wine, etc.
7. Is the higher level of protection required for wines and spirits under Article 23.2 of the TRIPS
Agreement provided for any other product?  If so, please specify such products and the law underwhich they are protected.
The Law on Trademarks and Industrial Designs does not provide for a higher level of
protection for wines and spirits compared to any other product.
B. 
DEFINITION AND CRITERIA FOR RECOGNITION
8. How are geographical indications defined?
The definition of appellation of origin is in compliance with that contained in the Lisbon
Agreement. Under Article 38 of the Law on Trad emarks and Industrial Designs an appellation of
origin is the geographical name of the country, region or locality, which serves to designate the goods
originating in that country, region or locality, whose characteristics or peculiarities are due
exclusively or essentially to the geographical envi ronment, including the natural factors or traditions
of production.
9. Would such a definition comprise geographical indications identifying products of a certain
quality or reputation which are indirectly linked to a specific region?
The definition of appellations of origin under the Law on Trademarks and Industrial Designs
does not comprise the reputation of the products as a criterion.
10. In determining whether recognition should be given a geographical indication, what criteria
are considered?
The criteria are: geographical environment, in cluding natural factors and/or traditions of
production; specific properties of the products due to the geographical environment; products shall bemade in the indicated territory.IP/C/W/117/Add.2
Page 3
11. Is there any human creativity involved in th e making of spec ific products under protection by
the system of geographical indications?  If so, how much?  And do these products involve any humanfactors?
There is a human factor involved in the registration of appellations of origin, i.e. the traditions
of production.
12. Are there any other intellectual property rights involved, such as patents for example?
No other intellectual property rights are involved in the registration of appellations of origin.
13. What authority, if any, may define the geographic region or area for which rights are claimed
and on what basis is such definition made?
The geographic region or area shall be defined by the office whose activity covers the
production of the respective goods.
14. Does your legislation contain criteria for homonymous geographical indications for wines?
Bulgarian laws do not contain criteria concerning homonymous appellations of origin.
15. Does your national legisl ation provide for recognition and protection of  geographical
indications or appellations of origin of foreign countries?
Under the Law on Trademarks and Industrial Designs, appellations of origin registered in the
country of origin may be applied for registration in Bulgaria too.
16. Is there any specific prohibition in the legislation/regulations/rules/procedures covering
geographical indications not protected in the country of origin?  If so, please specify the relevantstatutory provision.
Foreign appellations of origin are registered in Bulgaria if only they have been registered in
the country of origin (Article 39.3 of the Law on Trademarks and Industrial Designs).
C. 
PROCEDURE FOR RECOGNITION
17. With respect to any formal system for recognition of geographical indications, must the
applicant be a governmental organization or can a private entity ow n the rights to a geographical
indication?
Any natural or legal person who carries out his production activity in the indicated locality
shall be entitled to use the appellation of origin (fil e the application resp.), provided that the properties
of the products he makes correspond to the specific features characterizing the appellation of origin.
18. What are the compet ent authorities where the protection of a geographical indication can be
obtained?
Appellations of origin shall be registered at the Patent Office.
19. Do the procedures which lead to the recognition of a geographical indication take place
ex officio or must they be based on the initiative of an entity or person?IP/C/W/117/Add.2
Page 4
Appellations of origin are not registered ex officio; registration is carried out at the request of
the person concerned.
20. What, if any, fees are involved in the application and maintenance of rights in a geographical
indication?
There is a fee provided for the registration and publication in the Official Bulletin of the
Patent Office (Tariff of Fees Collected by the Patent Office of the Republic of Bulgaria, State Gazette
No. 53 of 4 July 1997).
21. If criteria must be set out in an application for recognition of a geographical indication, are
those criteria purely geographic in nature?
The criteria are not purely geographic in nature; they comprise the human factor as well.
22. What other criteria, if any, must be set out in an application for recognition of a geographical
indication?
The criteria are: geographic environment, including natural conditions and/or traditions of
production; specific properties of the products due to the geographic environment; products shall be
made in the indicated territory.
23. What information must be supplied in an application for rights in a geographical indication?
An application must contain: data identifying the applicant; data concerning the subject of
activity of the applicant; a list of the products the appellation of origin relates to; the appellation of
origin; the country, region or locality where the products are made; the borders of the geographicregion; specific properties or peculiarities of the products.
24. Must the goods or services with respect to which a geographical indication is claimed be set
out?
A list of the products covered by the application for registration of the appellation of origin
must be given.
25. What mechanisms are provided to oppose the recognition of a geographi cal indication?  How
is an investigation conducted after such a complaint?
There are no such mechanisms provided.
26. Who can oppose the recognition of a geographica l indication?
Please, see the answer to question 25 above.
27. If your national legi slation provides for recognition and protection of geogr aphical indications
or appellations of origin of foreign countries, what is the procedure that has to be followed in order toobtain such recognition and consequent protection?
The procedure is the same.
D. 
MAINTENANCE
28. How long does recognition for a geographical indica tion continue?IP/C/W/117/Add.2
Page 5
Protection of appellations of origin is not restricted in time.
29. If recognition of a geographical indication must be renewed or reaffirmed, what information
must be provided in order to effect such a rene wal or reaffirmation?  Spec ify any fees involved in
renewal or reaffirmation.
There are no such provisions (see the answer to question 28 above).
30. Must a geographical indication be used in order to maintain rights?  If so, how is such use
determined?
There is no provision requiring use of the appellation of origin in order to maintain its
protection.
31.  Is there a specified limit fo r non-use before rights in a geogr aphical indication cease and, if
so, what is that limit?
There is no provision for such a requirement in the law (see the answer to question 30 above).
32. Who monitors the use of geographical indications to determine if the criteria identified in the
application continue to be met?
The institution whose activity the production of the respective goods relates to.
33. If a government entity is responsible for m onitoring the use of geogr aphical indications, what
are its procedures for doing so?
The Law on Trademarks and Industrial Designs contains no provisions concerning such
procedures.
34. Are there means by which interested parties may request termination of a geographical
indication based on non-use or failure to maintain the criteria identified in the application?  Describethe procedure.
No (see the answer to question 30 above).
35. Do the procedures which lead to forfeiture  of a geographica l indication take place ex officio
or must they be based on the initiative of an entity or person?
Registered Bulgarian appellations of origin are cancelled upon termination of the production
of all users of the appellation of origin. Foreign appellations of origin are cancelled upon their
cancellation in the country of origin.
E. 
SCOPE OF RIGHTS AND USE
36. May anyone who meets the cr iteria submitted to obtain recognition of a geographical
indication use t hat geographical indica tion after recognition is given or must additional criteria or
procedures be followed by that party before use is permitted?
Any person who carries out production activity in the indicated locality and whose products
possess the specific properties characterizing the appellation of origin may use that appellation ofIP/C/W/117/Add.2
Page 6
origin after he is registered as a user thereof in the Register of Appellations of Origin kept by the
Patent Office.
37. Who makes the determination regarding use of a geographical indication by particular
parties, the entity responsible for the recognition or the entity  that obtained the recognition?
The manner of use of an appellation of origin shall be determined by the parties entitled to use
it (the users).
38. Are there fees involved in receiving authorization to use a particular geographical indication
and, if so, what are those fees and how are they established?
In order to acquire the right to use an appellation of origin, users must be registered in the
Register of Appellations of Origin, subject to payment of fees for the registration and the publication
in accordance with a tariff of fees endorsed by the Council of Ministers (Tariff of Fees Collected by
the Patent Office of the Republic of Bulgaria, State Gazette No. 53 of 4 July 1997).
39. If there is a dispute regarding use of a geographical indication by a particular party, what
procedures are followed to resolve it?
According to Article 51 of the Law on Trademarks and Industrial Designs disputes regarding
use of appellations of origin are resolved by District courts.
40. Must individual authorized users of a geographical indication use that geographical indication
continually to retain their right to use it and, if so, how is their use determined and how long willdisuse be permitted?
Under the Law on Trademarks and Industrial Designs, there is no obligation for continuous
use of appellations of origin in order to maintain the protection thereof.
41. If there is a dispute over continuity of use by a particular party, how is it resolved?
There is no provision concerning disputes over continuity of use of appellations of origin.
42. Does the regime for protection of geographical indications allow geographical indications to
be licensed and, if so, what conditions are imposed on such licenses?  If such conditions are not met,what is the effect on the geographical indication?
There is no provision allowing licensing of rights to use appellations of origin.
43. How is "grandfathered use" of a geographical indication, under Article 24.4 of the TRIPS
Agreement, applied in your country?
The Law on Trademarks and Industrial Designs does not contain such provisions.
F. 
RELATIONSHIP TO TRADEMARKS
44. What steps are taken to ensure that, in recognizing a geographical indication, the obligations
of Article 16.1 of the TRIPS Agr eement are not nullified and impaired?
There are no provisions of this kind in the Law on Trademarks and Industrial Designs. The
Law provides for a possibility to register a mark containing a registered appellation of originIP/C/W/117/Add.2
Page 7
(Article 44). Such a mark may be registered if the applicant is registered as a user of the appellation of
origin.
45. What steps are taken to ensure that, in recognizing a geographical indication, the obligations
of Article 16.2 and 16.3 of the TRIPS Agreement are not nullified and impaired?
The Law on Trademarks and Industrial Designs does not contain such provisions.
46. What procedures are foreseen in case of  a conflict of a geographi cal indication with a
trademark?
Trademark registration shall be refused or cancelled, where there is a registered appellation of
origin for identical or similar goods.
G. ENFORCEMENT
47. How are rights in the geographical indication enforced?  Are provisions available under
unfair competition law?  Trademark law?  Other laws?  Provide citations to the laws and, if they havenot been notifie d under Article 63.2 of the TRIPS Agreement, please provide copies.
Article 52 of the Law on Trademarks and Industrial Designs provides for the deprivation on
behalf of the State of goods, imported or produced in Bulgaria and bearing a false appellation of
origin.
Article 33 of the Law on the Protection of Competition prohibits the advertising or offering
for sale of goods bearing a name which misleads or may lead into error as regards the origin of the
goods.
Article 227 of the Penal Code provides for a penalty, i.e. imprisonment of up to 3 years or a
fine of one million leva, for any person illegally using the appellation of origin of a third party for the
purpose of unfair competition.
48. Who has the right to enforce a geographical indication?
The right to enforce an appellation of origin belongs to all registered users.
49. What judicial or administrative bodies have jurisdiction over enforcement actions related to
geographical indications?  Are there fees involved and, if so, what are those fees?
Under Article 52 of the Law on Trademarks and Industrial Designs the deprivation on behalf
of the State shall be carried out on the basis of a penal injunction issued by the President of the PatentOffice. Under the Law on the Protection of Competition, the Competition Protection Committee is
authorized to ascertain the fact of infringement and to impose property sanctions and penalties.
50. Must the public be notified of the existence of a geographical indication and, if so, how and
how often?
Appellations of origin shall be published in the Official Bulletin of the Patent Office
following their registration.
51. Is unauthorized use of a geographical indication subject to criminal action and, if so, describe
the procedures.  If the law has not been notified pursuant to Article 63.2 of the TRIPS Agreement,please provide a copy.IP/C/W/117/Add.2
Page 8
Where a registered appellation of origin is used, for the purpose of unfair competition, by a
person who is not registered as a user, such an act shall be regarded as a crime. The procedures are
stipulated in the Code on Penal Procedure.
H. INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS
52. Is your government party to an international, including bilateral or plurilateral, agreement for
the notification and/or registration of geographical indications?  If so, please name the internationalagreement and explain the relationship between it and your national legislation.
The Republic of Bulgaria is party to the Lisbon Agreement for the Protection of Appellations
of Origin and their International Registration. Chapter III "Appellations of Origin" of the Law on
Trademarks and Industrial Designs is in compliance with that Agreement.
53. What other international agreements, if any, have been entered into?  What do those
agreements provide?
The Republic of Bulgaria is party to the Madrid Agreement for the Repression of False or
Deceptive Indications of Source on Goods, and Article 52 of the Law on Trademarks and Industrial
Designs is in compliance with the provisions of that Agreement.
II. RESPONSES TO THE QUESTIONS IN DOCUMENT IP/C/13/ADD.1
A. 
GENERAL (SECTION A OF DOCUMENT IP /C/13)
1. Does your economy's industrial property law and/or related law prevent the use of
geographical indications identifying wines or spirits against products not originating in the place
indicated by the geographical indication, even where the true origin of the goods is indicated or the
geographical indication is used in translation or accompanied by expressions such as "kind", "type",
"style", "imitation" or the like?
The Law on Trademarks and Industrial Designs provides for appellations of origin to enjoy
protection against incorrect use or counterfeit also in cases where the true origin of the products is
indicated on the product itself, or where the appellation of origin is translated into a foreign language
and the terms "kind", "type", "style", "imitation", etc. are added thereto. That prohibition concerns any
products, not only wines or spirits.
B. DEFINITION AND CRITERIA FOR RECOGNITION (SECTION B OF DOCUMENT IP /C/13)
2. Is there a clear distinction among the terms "geographical indications", "appellations of
origin" and "indications of source" in your economy's industrial property law and/or related law, or
are there any substantive criteria to distinguish these terms?
Subject of protection under the Law on Trademarks and Industrial Designs are appellations of
origin only.
3. Does your legislation contain criteria for homonymous geographical indications for wines
and spirits?
The Law does not contain any provisions concerning homonymous geographical indications
for wines and spirits. The Patent Office disposes of no information as to whether such provisions are
contained in other specific laws.IP/C/W/117/Add.2
Page 9
C. RELATIONSHIP TO TRADEMARKS (SECTION F OF DOCUMENT IP /C/13)
4. Does your economy's industrial property law and/or related law provide the refusal or
invalidation of a trademark registration, which consists of or contain geographical indications
identifying wines or spirits with respect to such wines or spirits not originating in the indicated
territory?
According to Article 4 (i) of the Law on Trademarks and Industrial Designs provides for a
trademark registration to be refused or cancelled, if the mark consists of or contains a geographic
indication differing from the place of the true origin of the products.
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