WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONIP/N/1/BGR/1
9 April 1998
(98-1455)
Council for Trade-Related Aspects
of Intellectual Property RightsOriginal:  English
NOTIFICATION OF LAWS AND REGULATIONS
UNDER ARTICLE 63.2 OF THE AGREEMENT
Bulgaria
By means of communications, dated 20 March 1997, 22 May 1997 and 24 February 1998, the
following notification of laws and regulations under Article 63.2 of the Agreement has been received
from the Permanent Mission of Bulgaria.
Annex I concerns a list of the main dedicated intellectual property laws and regulations as
notified by Bulgaria and Annex II contains the listing of "other laws and regulations" as notified by
Bulgaria.IP/N/1/BGR/1
Page 2
ANNEX I
NOTIFICATION OF LAWS AND REGULATIONS
UNDER ARTICLE 63.2 OF THE TRIPS AGREEMENT
I. Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria - Article 5, paragraph 4 and Article 54, paragraph 3.1
II. Main Laws and Regulations Dedicated to Intellectual Property.
Copyright and Related Rights2
Law on Copyright and Neighbouring Rights
Published in State Gazette No. 56 of 1993.
Entry into force:  1 August 1983.
Amendments published in State Gazette No. 63 of 4 August 1994 and No. 10 of
27 January 1998.
Trade Marks3
Law on Trademarks and Industrial Designs
Published in State Gazette No. 95 of 5 December 1967.
Entry into force:  9 December 1967.
Amendments published in State Gazette No. 55 of 18 July 1975, No. 56 of 18 July 1986 and
No. 27 of 2 April 1993.
Geographical Indications3
Law on Trademarks and Industrial Designs
Published in State Gazette No. 95 of 5 December 1967.
Entry into force:  9 December 1967.
Amendments published in State Gazette No. 55 of 18 July 1975, No. 56 of 18 July 1986 and
No. 27 of 2 April 1993.
                                                     
1According to an unofficial transl ation provided by the Permanent Mission of Bulgaria, paragraph 4 of
Article 5 of the Constitution of the Republic of Bu lgaria, established by the Grand National Assembly on
12 July 1991, reads:  "Any international instruments which have been ratified by the constitutionally established
procedure, promulgated and come into force with respect to  the Republic of Bulgaria, shall be considered part of
the domestic legislation of the country.  They shall supersede any domestic legislation stipulating otherwise."Paragraph 3 of Article 54 reads:  "The state shall protect all inventors' rights, copyrights and neighboring rights."
2Unofficial English translations of the text of the law and the 1994 amendment can be found in
documents IP/N/1/BGR/C/1 and Add.1.  The 1998 amendment will be circulated once a translation of its text
has been received.
3An unofficial English translation of the text of the law including its amendments can be found in
document IP/N/1/BGR/I/1.IP/N/1/BGR/1
Page 3
Industrial Designs3
Law on Trademarks and Industrial Designs
Published in State Gazette No. 95 of 5 December 1967.
Entry into force:  9 December 1967.
Amendments published in State Gazette No. 55 of 18 July 1975, No. 56 of 18 July 1986 and
No. 27 of 2 April 1993.
Patents4
Patent Law
Published in State Gazette No. 27 of 2 April 1993.
Entry into force:  1 June 1993.
Amendment published in State Gazette No. 83 of 1 October 1996.
Plant Variety Protection5
Law on the Protection of New Plant Varieties and Animal Breeds
Published in State Gazette No. 84 of 4 October 1996.
Entry into force:  4 January 1997.
Protection of Undisclosed Information
No specific main law on undisclosed information (see, however, the section on undisclosed
information under "Other Laws and Regulations").
                                                     
4An unofficial English translation of the text of the law and its 1996 amendment can be found in
document IP/N/1/BGR/P/1.
5An unofficial English translation of the text of this law can be found in document IP/N/1/BGR/P/2.IP/N/1/BGR/1
Page 4
ANNEX II
NOTIFICATION OF LAWS AND REGULATIONS UNDER
ARTICLE 63.2 OF THE TRIPS AGREEMENT
Other Laws and Regulations Dedicated to Intellectual Property
TITLE, DATE OF ADOPTION AND
ENTRY INTO FORCEBRIEF DESCRIPTION
Copyright and Related Rights
Regulation of the Council of Ministers No. 87 of
16 April 1996 on the System of Verification of
the Right of Reproduction and Distribution of
Audio- and Video Recordings
Published in State Gazette No. 35 of
24 April 1996
Entry into force:  28 April 1996The Regulation provides for registration of all
contracts on the acquisition of reproduction and
distribution rights of audio- and video recordings
with the National Counc il of Copyright and
Neighbouring Rights Protection in the Ministryof Culture.
Regulation of the Council of Ministers No. 164
of 18 April 1997 on the Amendment to
Regulation of the Council of Ministers No. 87 of
16 April 1996
Published in State Gazette No. 34 of25 April 1997The Regulation stipulates additional requirements
with respect to control of the National Council of
Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Protection in
the Ministry of Culture over the use of subjectsof copyright and neighbouring rights.
Regulation of the Council of Ministers No. 21 of
28 January 1998 on the Amendment to Decree of
Council of Ministers No. 87 of 16 April 1996
Published in State Gazette No. 14 of4 February 1998
Entry into force:  8 February 1998The Regulation stipulates additional requirements
with respect to control of the use of objects of
copyright and neighbouring rights and licensingof the manufacturers of CDs.
Regulation of the Council of Ministers No. 493
of 23 December 1997
Published in State Gazette No. 126 of
30 December 1997
Entry into force: 1 January 1998The Regulation introduces automatic licensing
regime on exports of computer software on CD-
ROM and sound and video carriers with
recordings.IP/N/1/BGR/1
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TITLE, DATE OF ADOPTION AND
ENTRY INTO FORCEBRIEF DESCRIPTION
Regulation of the Council of Ministers No. 120
of 25 March 1997 on the establishment of
Council for Copyright and Neighbouring Rights
Protection
Published in State Gazette No. 27 of 1 April 1997
Amendment published in State Gazette No. 45 of
6 June 1997The Council for Copyright and Neighbouring
Rights Protection is established at the Council of
Ministers as a body for co-ordination of measures
and activities undertaken by state institutions
against the illegal use of objects of copyright
protection.  Chairman of the Council is a viceprime minister, determined by the Council of
Ministers and vice chairman is the minister of
culture.
Regulation of the Council of Ministers No. 22 of
28 1998 amending and supplementing the Tariff
of Fees Collected by the Ministry of Industry
under the Law on State Fees, adopted by
Regulation of the Council of Ministers
No. 118/1995
Published in State Gazette No. 14 of 1998The Regulation sets forth a fee for issue of a
licence for production of compact disks at the
amount of 5 000 000 BGL.
Trade Marks, Industrial Design and GeographicalIndications
Regulation issued by the State Committee on
Science and Technological Progress on the
Application of the Trade Marks and Industrial
Design Law of 1969
Entry into force:  1 April 1969.The Regulation stipulates detailed provisions on
the procedure of registration, use and cancellation
of trade marks, industrial design and
geographical indications.
Regulation of the Council of Ministers No. 277
of 27 June 1996 on the Tariff of Fees Collected
by the Patent Office of the Republic of Bulgaria
Published in State Gazette No. 53 of 4 July 1997.
Entry into force: 8 July 1997.The Regulation sets forth the fees collected by
the Patent Office of the Republic of Bulgaria
with respect to patents, trade marks, service
marks, industrial design, geographicalindications, new plant varieties and animalbreeds.IP/N/1/BGR/1
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TITLE, DATE OF ADOPTION AND
ENTRY INTO FORCEBRIEF DESCRIPTION
Patents
Regulation of the Council of Ministers No. 137
of 15 July 1993 on Industrial Property
Representatives
Published in State Gazette No. 65 of
30 July 1993.
Amendments published in State Gazette
No. 86/1994 and 41/1997.The Regulation stipulates in detail the
requirements that the industrial property
representative has to comply with in order to
represent and defend the rights and legitimate
interests of natural and judicial persons in the
area of industrial property.  The Regulation also
determines the categories of persons which may
become industrial property representatives.
Regulation of the Minister of Agriculture and
Food Industry No. 31 of 1996 on Industrial
Property Representatives
Published in State Gazette No. 108 of20 December 1996The Regulation stipulates in detail the
requirements that the industrial property
representative has to comply with in order to
represent and defend the rights and legitimate
interests of natural and judicial persons in thearea of new plant varieties and animal breeds.
Regulation of the Council of Ministers No. 214
of 10 October 1994 on Amendments to
Regulation No. 137 of 15 July 1993 on Industrial
Property Representatives
Published in State Gazette No. 86 of21 October 1994
Entry into Force:  25 October 1994The Regulation introduces amendments in the
procedure of the examination for industrial
property representative and in the deletion of anindustrial property representative in the Registerof industrial property representatives.
Regulation of the Council of Ministers No. 277
of 27 June 1997 on the Tariff of Fees Collected
by the Patent Office of the Republic of Bulgaria
Published in State Gazette No. 53 of 4 July 1997
Entry into force: 8 July 1997The Regulation sets forth the fees collected by
the Patent Office of the Republic of Bulgaria
with respect to patents, trade marks, service
marks, industrial design, geographical
indications, new plant varieties and animalbreeds.IP/N/1/BGR/1
Page 7
TITLE, DATE OF ADOPTION AND
ENTRY INTO FORCEBRIEF DESCRIPTION
Plant Variety Protection
Regulation of the Council of Ministers No. 277
of 27 June 1996 on the Tariff of Fees Collected
by the Patent Office of the Republic of Bulgaria
Published in State Gazette No. 53 of 4 July 1997
Entry into force: 8 July 1997The Regulation sets forth the fees collected by
the Patent Office of the Republic of Bulgaria
with respect to patents, trade marks, service
marks, industrial design, geographical
indications, new plant varieties and animal
breeds.
Undisclosed Information
Law on Protection of Competition
Published in State Gazette No. 39 of17 May 1991.
Amendments published in State Gazette No. 79
of 24 September 1991 and No. 53 of30 June 1992.The Law provides for the protection of fair
competition.  It prohibits disclosure of productionor trade secrets.
Civil and Administrative Procedures andRemedies
Code of Civil Procedure
Published in State Gazette No. 12 of
8 February 1952.
Last amendment published in State Gazette
No. 21 of 1998
Entry into force:  1 April 1998The Code provides for civil litigious and non
litigious proceedings applied by Courts.  District
Courts and in Sofia - the City Court of Sofia,
have jurisdiction in intellectual property cases.IP/N/1/BGR/1
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TITLE, DATE OF ADOPTION AND
ENTRY INTO FORCEBRIEF DESCRIPTION
Law on Administrative Infringements and
Penalties
Published in State Gazette No. 92 of
28 November 1969.
Last amendment published in State Gazette
N° 11 of 1998.The Law defines administrative violations and
stipulates general principles and provisions on
application of administrative penalties.
Law on the Administrative Procedure
Published in State Gazette No. 90 of13 November 1979.
Amendments published in State Gazette
No. 9/1983, No. 26/1988, No. 94/1990, No. 25
and 61/1991, No. 19/1992, No. 65 andNo. 70/1995, No. 122/1997.The Law stipulates rules and provisions of
administrative proceedings.
Provisional Judicial Measures
Code of Civil Procedure
Published in State Gazette No. 12 of 8 February1952.
Last amendment published in State Gazette
N° 21 of 1998
Entry into force:  1 April 1998The Code provides for civil litigious and non
litigious proceedings applied by Courts.  DistrictCourts and in Sofia – the City Court of Sofia,have jurisdiction in intellectual property cases.
Law on the Judicial Authority
Published in State Gazette No. 59 of22 July 1994.
Amendments published in State Gazette No. 79
and 87/1994, No. 93/1995, No. 64, 96, 104 and110/1996, No. 58, 122 and 124/1997.The Law stipulates general principles of the
authority of Courts and their respective
jurisdiction.IP/N/1/BGR/1
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TITLE, DATE OF ADOPTION AND
ENTRY INTO FORCEBRIEF DESCRIPTION
Criminal Procedures
Penal Code
Published in State Gazette No. 26 of
2 April 1968.
Entry into force:  1 May 1968.
Last amendment published in State Gazette
85/1997.The Code provides for penalties to be applied in
cases of infringements of copyright and
neighbouring rights, wilful counterfeiting of
trademarks and service marks, illegal use of
industrial design and appellation of origin.  The
Code provides penal procedures for plagiarism.
Code of Penal Procedure
Published in State Gazette No. 89 of15 November 1974.
Entry into force:  1 March 1975
Last amendment published in State Gazette
N° 95/1997.The Code stipulates rules and provisions of
criminal procedures applied by courts.
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