WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION  
ORGANISATION MONDIALE DU COMMERCE  
ORGANIZACIÓN MUNDIAL DEL COMERCIO  IP/N/1/BGR/P/2/Add.1 
8 November 2010 
 (10-5960) 
Council for Trade-Related Aspects 
of Intellectual Property Rights Original:   English/ 
 anglais/ 
 inglés 
   
MAIN DEDICATED INTELLECTUAL PR OPERTY LAWS AND REGULATIONS 
NOTIFIED UNDER ARTICLE 63.2 OF THE AGREEMENT 
 
BULGARIA 
 
Addendum
 
 The present document reproduces the text1 of the Law on the Protection of New Plant 
Varieties and Animal Breeds, as notified by Bulg aria on 24 August 2010 under Article 63.2 of the 
Agreement (see document IP/N/1/BGR/2). 
 
 
Conseil des aspects des droits de propriété intellectuelle qui touchent au commerce 
 
PRINCIPALES LOIS ET RÉGLEMENTATIONS CONSACRÉES À 
LA PROPRIÉTÉ INTELLECTUELLE NOTIFIÉES AU TITRE 
DE L'ARTICLE 63:2 DE L'ACCORD 
 
BULGARIE 
 
Addendum
 
 Le présent document contient le texte1 de la Loi sur la protection des obtentions végétales et 
des nouvelles races animales, notifiée par la Bulgarie  le 24 août 2010 au titre de l'article 63:2 de 
l'Accord (voir le document IP/N/1/BGR/2).  
 Consejo de los Aspectos de los Derechos de Propiedad Intelectual relacionados con el Comercio 
 
PRINCIPALES LEYES Y REGLAMENTOS DEDICADOS A LA 
PROPIEDAD INTELECTUAL NOTIFICADOS EN VIRTUD 
DEL PÁRRAFO 2 DEL ARTÍCULO 63 DEL ACUERDO 
 
BULGARIA 
 
Addendum
 
 En el presente documento se reproduce el texto1 del Ley de Protección de las Nuevas 
Obtenciones Vegetales y Razas Animales, notificado por  Bulgaria el 24 de agosto de 2010 en virtud 
de lo dispuesto en el párrafo  2 del artículo 63 del Acuerdo (v éase el documento IP/N/1/BGR/2). 
 
                                                      
1 In English only./En anglais seulement./En inglés solamente. IP/N/1/BGR/P/2/Add.1 
Page 2  
 
  LAW ON THE PROTECTION OF NEW PLANT VARIETIES AND ANIMAL BREEDS  
 
(publ. State Gazette N 84/4. 1996, , in force as from 04.01.1997, amend. No. 27/10.03.1998, amend. 
No. 81/14.09.1999, in force as from 15.12.1999, No. 86/20.10.2000)   Chapter I - GENERAL PROVISIONS   Scope   
Article 1. (1) The present Law is to arrange th e relations concerning the creation, protection 
and use of new plant varieties and animal breeds.  
 (2) The provisions of this law apply to:   
1. created or discovered and developed, pl ant varieties of any botanical genus and 
species, including clone, line, hybrid, and rootstock, irrespective of the method 
(artificial or natural) of their production,  hereinafter referred to as "varieties".  
 2. created or discovered and developed, br eeds, lines or hybrids of farm animals, 
irrespective of the method of their producti on, hereinafter referred to as "breeds".  
 Authorities participating in the procedure of securing legal protection   
Article 2. The State Variety Commission and th e State Breed Commission of the Ministry of 
Agriculture and Food Industry and the Patent O ffice are the authorities that participate in the 
procedure of securing legal protection of the new varieties and breeds.  
 
National treatment  
 
Article 3. The provisions of this Law apply equa lly to foreign citizens of countries, parties to 
international treaties in this field, to which th e Republic of Bulgaria is a party, such countries 
being hereinafter referred to as "Contracting States".  
 
Right to Authorship  
 
Article 4. (1) The authorship in a plant variety or animal breed arises with its being created or 
discovered and developed.  
 
(2) The person who has created or discovered a nd developed, a plant variety or animal breed 
is the author (breeder) of this plant variety or animal breed.   (3) When several persons have created or disc overed and developed a plant variety or animal 
breed jointly, they are co-author s of the variety or the breed.  
 
(4) The right to authorship is persona l, termless and not transferable.  
 (5) The author or co-authors of the plant variety or animal breed has the right to be identified 
as such in the application, in the certificate a nd in publications on the variety or the breed.  
 
Representation  
 
Article 5. (1) The applicant, the certificate ow ner, as well as their assignees have the right to 
perform acts before the Patent Office, the State Variety Commission and the State Breed  IP/N/1/BGR/P/2/Add.1 
 Page 3 
 
 
  Commission either personally or through a local intellectual property representative, 
registered with the Ministry of Agriculture a nd Food Industry in accordance with rules set by 
the Minister.   (2) Applicants with permanent residence or w ith company main office abroad are obliged to 
perform acts before the Patent Office, the State Variety Commission and the State Breed 
Commission through intellectual property representatives.  
 
Assignment of rights  
 
Article 6. (1) All rights stipulated by this Law are transferable, unless otherwise provided for 
in the Law.   (2) Any assignment of rights as per the preceding pa ragraph is registered in the Patent Office 
and published in the Official Bulletin of the Office.  
 
 
Chapter II - LEGAL PROTECTI ON OF PLANT VARIETIES  
 PART I - Conditions for the grant of legal protection   
Requirements (criteria)  
 
Article 7. (1) Legal protection for plant va rieties is granted when the variety is:  
 
1. new;  
 
2. distinct;   3. homogeneous;   4. stable.  
 
(2) The plant variety should bear a variety de nomination related to its generic designation as 
per Article 12.  
 
Novelty  
 
Article 8. (1) The variety is deemed to be new if, at the date of filing the application for a 
certificate, the same or propagating material of  the variety or harvest thereof has not been 
offered for sale, sold, or otherwise used commerc ially, or has been offered with the consent of 
the breeder:   
1. in the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria for not more than one year;  
 2. in the territory of any other country for not more than:   
a) 6 years when concerning trees or vines;  
b) 4 years when concerning any other plant species.  
 (2) Any variety test does not affect its novelty and cannot be used to the prejudice of the breeder's right.  
 IP/N/1/BGR/P/2/Add.1 
Page 4  
 
  Distinctness (distinguishability)  
 
Article 9. (1) The variety is deemed to be distinct when it clearly differs from any other 
variety which is a variety of common knowledge by  the date of filing of the application with 
the Patent Office.  
 
(2) A variety shall be deemed to be a variet y of common knowledge if, by the filing date of 
the appication, it has been made by cultivation, is an object of marketing, trade or any other kind of realization, or is an object of a breeder's right, has been entered in the registers of varieties, included in a reference collection or in a publication containing its precise 
description, or has become well-known in some other way.  
 (3) An application for the grant of a breeder's right or for entry of another variety into the 
Official Register of Varieties in any country shall be deemed to render the variety well-known 
as from the filing date of the application, provide d the application has resulted in the grant of 
a breeder's right or in the entry of the variet y in the Official Register of Varieties.  
 (4) The indications allowing to define the char acteristics and the peculiarities of the variety 
must be capable of clear and precise description.  
 
Homogeneity (Uniformity)  
 
Article 10. (1) The variety is deemed to be  homogeneous when, irrespective of the presence 
of minor deviations, the plants are identical in  their basic features, including the peculiarities 
of their sexual or vegetative reproduction.   
(2) The deviations from any species are determ ined in accordance with the methods approved 
by the State Variety Commission.  
 
Stability (Steadiness)  
 
Article 11. The variety is stable when it remains unchanged in terms of its basic features after multiple reproduction (propa gation) or, if the breeder has defined a peculiar propagation cycle 
for the variety bred, and at the end of each cycle the variety has kept a conformity to the description specified for it.  
 
Denomination  
 
Article 12. (1) Any new variety is given a de nomination which is rela ted to its genus or 
species and serves for its identification. The de nomination may consist of one or two words, 
or of a combination of words, letters and numerals, but not exceeding a four-digit number.   (2) The variety denomination should also satisfy the following requirements:  
 
1. it should differ from any other denomination used in the country for this species or 
for species close to it, or from a denomin ation which designates a variety already 
existing in each Contracting State, including after the expiration date of the certificate;  
 
2. it should exclude any possibility for mislea ding or misunderstanding with regard to 
the features, the nature or the identity of the specific variety or the personality of the breeder;    IP/N/1/BGR/P/2/Add.1 
 Page 5 
 
 
  3. it should not infringe earlier acquired right s of third parties who have obtained the 
right to such denomination, if the breeder  may be granted the right to the same 
denomination as per item 4. In this case the Patent Office requires from the breeder to propose another variety denomination.   
4. any person offering for sale or for commercial use in any Contracting State a 
reproducing material of a protected variety or of a variety in a process of examination is obliged to use the variety denomination even  after the lapse of the protection of this 
variety, as far as it does not contradict to earlier acquired rights for its use, as per the preceding paragraph.  
 
(3) When a variety is offered for sale or for commercial use, a trademark, an appellation of 
origin or other designation may be added to the registered variety denomination of the 
protected variety. After the addition of such designations the variety denomination must be 
clearly and easily distinguishable.  
 
 
PART II - DOCUMENT FOR PROTECTION  
 Certificate   
Article 13. (1) The legal protection of a variety is provided by a certificate.  
 (2) The certificate certifies for the existence of a re gistered plant variety, the priority, the right 
to authorship and the exclusive right of  the certificate owner on the variety.  
 
(3) The certificate is granted by the Patent Offi ce after an expert examination of the variety - 
object of the application.   (4) The certificate has a duration limit as from its date of grant:   
1. 30 years for tree and vine varieties;  
 
2. 25 years for all other varieties.  
 
Right to apply  
 
Article 14. (1) The right to apply belongs  to the author or to his assignee.  
 (2) The applicant is considered to have the ri ght to apply, unless otherwise instituted by the 
court.   (3) In cases when several authors have jointly created or discovered and developed a variety, 
the right to apply belongs to them jointly. The re fusal of one or several of them to participate 
in the process of application or in the procedure of grant of a certificate is not an obstacle to the rest of them to perform acts as stipulated  by the Law, or to exercise their rights.  
 (4) When a variety is bred under the conditions of  Article 16, the right to apply belongs to the 
employer if he files an application within three months from the date of receiving a written 
notification by the author about the variety ha ving been made. Otherwise the right to apply 
moves to the author.   IP/N/1/BGR/P/2/Add.1 
Page 6  
 
  (5) In case of a variety made on a contract basi s, the right to apply belongs to the person 
assigning the task, unless otherwise provided for in the contract. If the task assigner does not exercise this right of his within the time limits  as per paragraph 4, the right to apply moves to 
the author of the variety.   
(6) The employees of the Patent Office and of the State Variety Commission have no right to 
file applications for plant varieties or to be  mentioned as co-authors for the period of their 
labour relations with these state authorities and for three years after the termination of these 
relations, excluding the cases when the variety is a result of natural mutations, established during the examination as to substance, as per Article 38, paragraphs 1 and 2.  
 
Right to a certificate  
 
Article 15. (1) The right to a certificate belongs to the person who has the right to apply as per 
Article 14.  
 
(2) When several persons have made a variety independently, the right to a certificate belongs 
to the person who has first filed an applicati on for this variety with the Patent Office.  
 
Service Variety  
 
Article 16. (1) A service variety is a variet y made or discovered and developed in the 
performance of duties arising from employment or other legal relations of the author of the 
variety, unless otherwise provided for by a contract.   (2) The variety is a service variety as per paragr aph 1, when during the process of its creation 
the author has been:  
 
1. performing duties inherent to his position;   2. performing duties beyond the ones specified  in item 1, when such duties have been 
specifically assigned to him and he has been expected to make the new variety;  
 
3. using material or financial resources, provided by the employer or the person who has assigned the task.  
 (3) When the variety is a service variety only with  regard to one or to several of the authors, 
or the performers respectively, the provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2 and of Article 14 are 
applicable only to these authors, their employers or task assigners.  
 (4) Within three months of the creation of the variety, the author is obliged to notify in writing the employer, the task assigner, respectively, about that fact.   
(5) The person who has created a service variety has the right to authorship as per Article 4, 
paragraphs 2, 3 and 4, and the right to an e quitable remuneration of not less than 4%, if no 
provisions for such have been made in th e respective contract. The remuneration is 
determined taking into account in particular the following:   
1. the profit determined by all kinds of rea lizations of the variety for the period of the 
effect of the certificate;   2. the value of the variety;    IP/N/1/BGR/P/2/Add.1 
 Page 7 
 
 
  3. the contribution of the employer and/or  the task assigner in terms of capital 
investments for the creation of the variety, materials, equipment, knowledge, experience, personnel and other assistance provided.   4. the conditions of employment of the author.  
 
(6) When the interests of the employer impose that the variety be applied for after the threemonth time period as per Article  14, paragraph 4, the author has the right to an equitable 
remuneration for the time of suspension of the act of filing the application, as well as to all 
rights arising from the certificate granted for th at variety later. These relations between the 
employer and the author are arranged by a contract before the expiration of the three months.  
 (7) When a variety certificate application is f iled by the author within three years from the 
termination of the labour contract or of any other legal relations as per paragraph 1, the 
employer, the task assigner, respectively, may claim for the right to obtain the certificate, 
except for the case when he has been notified by the author of the variety created and has not 
exercised the right under Art. 14(4). This right  may be exercised within one year from the 
publication for the application as per Article 36.   (8) The remuneration to the author is payable by  the employer, and when the employer is not 
the certificate owner it is payable by the certificate owner  
 
(9) In case of remuneration as per paragraphs 5, 6 and 8, irrespective of whether it is 
negotiated in a contract or specified in acco rdance with the rules regulated, which is 
considered unfair in view of the real profit gained and the value of the variety, such 
remuneration may be increased upon the author's re quest. In case of refusal on the part of the 
employer, the dispute is settled through the court.  
 (10) When a service variety is created or di scovered and developed out side the country, the 
rights of the author, if any, are determined in accordance with the ope rative rules, regulating 
the relations with the employer.  
 Provisional Protection   
Article 17. (1) For the period from the publicati on for the application for grant of a certificate 
for a variety with the Patent Office until the gr ant of a certificate, a provisional protection is 
provided to the applicant against illegal acts of other persons.  
 
(2) The scope of the provisional protection is determined by the description and the 
embodiment, insofar as the certificate granted does not extend the latter.   (3) The applicant is entitled to an equitable re muneration payable by the person who, during 
the period specified in paragraph 1, has performed  acts which, after the grant of a certificate, 
require the certificate owner's consent in accordance with Article 18.  
  
PART III - BREEDER'S RIGHTS  
 
Scope of the Exclusive Right of the Certificate Owner  
 
Article 18. (1) The exclusive right of the cer tificate owner with regard to reproductive or 
vegetative propagating material of a variety protected by a certificate includes the right to use, IP/N/1/BGR/P/2/Add.1 
Page 8  
 
  the right to dispose of the certificate and the prohibition of other persons  to use it without his 
consent. The right to use cove rs the following activities:  
 
1. production or reproduction (propagation);   
2. preparation for the purpose of propagation;  
 3. offering for sale;   4. selling or other marketing;  
 
5. exporting;   6. importing;   
7. stocking for any of the purposes specified in items 1 to 6.  
 (2) The acts of third persons referred to in items  1 to 7 of paragraph 1performed in respect of 
reproductive or vegetative propagati ng material of a variety protected by a certificate require 
the authorization of the certificate owner. The latter may give his consent in accordance with 
the conditions and limitations of Articles 19, 20 and 21.  
 
(3) The provisions of paragraph 2 apply in  respect of harvest, obtained through the 
unauthorized use of reproductive or vegetative propagating material of the protected variety 
and if the certificate owner has not had reasonable opportunity to exercise his rights in relation to the said reproductive or vegetativ e propagating material of the variety.  
 
(4) The provisions of paragraph 2 apply in certain cases to products obtained directly from 
material of the protected variety, in accordan ce with the regulations or instructions as per 
paragraph 9. They may apply only if such  products have been obtained through the 
unauthorized use of the protected variety, and if the certificate owner has not had reasonable 
opportunity to exercise his right in relation to the said material. Under the provisions of 
paragraph 2 directly obtained products ar e also considered to be "material".  
 (5) The provisions of the preceding paragraphs apply also to:   
1. varieties which are essentially obtained from the variety for which a certificate has 
been granted and when this variety is not itself an essentially derived variety;  
 2. varieties which are not distinct in accordance with the provisions of Article 9 from the protected variety;   3. varieties whose production requires the repeated use of the protected variety.  
 
(6) For the purposes of paragraph 5(1), a variet y is considered to be essentially derived from 
another variety, referred to herein after as "initial variety", when:  
 
1. it is predominantly derived from the initial variety, or from a variety which is itself 
essentially derived from the initial variety;  
 2. it is clearly distinct from the initial va riety in accordance with the provisions of 
Article 9;    IP/N/1/BGR/P/2/Add.1 
 Page 9 
 
 
  3. irrespective of the resulting differences, it conforms to the initial variety in the 
expression of the essential characteristics, which result from the genotype or combination of genotypes of the initial variety.  
 (7) Regulations and instructions issued in accordance with paragraph 9 may specify possible 
acts of obtaining derived varieties at least unde r the provisions of the preceding paragraph.  
 
Limitation on the Breeder's Rights  
 
Article 19. (1) Irrespective of the provisions of  Article 18, paragraph 1, for the purposes of 
stimulating agricultural production, farmers have the right to use for their own needs for the 
purpose of reproduction in their own farms the pr oduct of harvest they have obtained through 
planting in their own farm, propa gating material of a variety other than the hybrid or the 
artificially obtained variety, protected by a certificate.   
(2) The provisions of the preceding paragraph a pply only to plant species in accordance with 
a list specified by the Ministry of  Agriculture and Food Industry.  
 
Exceptions to the Breeder's Right  
 
Article 20. The breeder's right does not extend to:   
1. acts done privately with a view to personal needs and for non-commercial purposes;   2. acts done for experimental purposes;  
 
3. acts done for the purposes of breeding other varieties except when the provisions of Article 18(3) apply and the acts under the preceding item.  
 
Exhaustion of the Breeder's Right  
 
Article 21. The right of the breeder does not extend to acts concerning the material of the 
protected variety, or material derived from it, or of a variety specified in the provisions of Article 18, paragraph 5, which has been sold or  otherwise marketed by the certificate owner 
or with his consent in the territory of the country, unless such acts:   
1. involve further propagation of the variety;  
 2. involve an export of material of the variety, allowing its propagation in a country which does not protect varieties of the plant genus or species to which the variety belongs, except when the exported material  is for final consumption purposes.  
 Contractual license   
Article 22. (1) The variety applied for or prot ected by a certificate may be a subject to a 
license contract.   
(2) The license contract may grant exclusive,  non-exclusive, full or limited license.  
 (3) License contracts are recorded  in the Register of the Patent Office, and enter into effect 
from their registration date. A publication for them is made in the Official Bulletin.  
 IP/N/1/BGR/P/2/Add.1 
Page 10  
 
  Compulsory license  
 
Article 23. (1) The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry may grant a compulsory license 
for a protected variety in favour of any person involved upon his request, if at least one of the following conditions is satisfied:  
 
1. The variety has not been used for a period of five years from the filing date of the certificate application or three years from the date of grant of the certificate, and when the public interest requires the granti ng of a compulsory license, the time limit 
which expires later being valid;  
 
2. The variety has not been used to a degr ee sufficient to satisfy the national needs or 
social necessities within the time limits as per the preceding item, except when the 
certificate owner proves that he w as not in a position of doing this;  
 
3. Declared national state of emergency - for the time of its duration and when the 
variety contributes to overcoming such state.  
 (2) The petitioner as per the preceding paragraph h as to prove that he is in a position to use 
the variety within the limits of the compulsory license requested.  
 
(3) The compulsory license may be only non-exclusive and untransferable.  
 (4) The compulsory license may be terminated if the licensee, within one year after its grant, 
has made no steps towards preparation for the u se of the variety. In any case, the compulsory 
license shall be terminated if, within a time lim it of two years after its grant, the licensee has 
not started to use the variety.  
 (5) The certificate owner may ask for cancellation or  change of the conditions for the grant of 
a compulsory license as per paragraph 1 after the expiration of one year, if the conditions for the compulsory license decision have changed in the meantime.   
(6) For a granted compulsory license, the breed er is entitled to an equitable compensation 
payable by the user. When there is no agreemen t, the compensation due is determined through 
the court.   (7) Compulsory license is not granted in favour of a certificate infringer.  
 
Service license  
 
Article 24. (1) The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry may order the grant, only in 
cases of emergency, for the needs of national defence and security, of a service license for the use of a certain variety which is the object of a certificate application or of a certificate 
already granted.  
 (2) The service license is ordered upon the request of the Ministry of Defence or the Ministry 
of Internal Affairs. Such order determines all conditions for the service license including 
those related to the equitable compen sation for the use of the variety.  
 
(3) Where there is no agreement regarding the compensation payable to the breeder, the latter is determined through the court.  
  IP/N/1/BGR/P/2/Add.1 
 Page 11 
 
 
  Special treatment  
 
Article 25. (1) The Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry approves, in some extreme 
cases only, a List of a limited number of varie ties being subject to certificate applications, 
which cannot be distributed or used freely wit hout special authorization, when they are of 
interest to the national defence and secu rity or the social health care.  
 (2) The breeder has the right to an equitable compensation. Where there is no agreement, the 
compensation to be paid is determined through the court.  
 Legal protection abroad   
Article 26.(1) Bulgarian natural persons and legal entities have the right to choose any other 
Contracting State as per Art.3, in which they would file their first application for granting legal protection of a variety.  
 
(2) The applicant may file an application for legal protection in any other state after having 
applied as per the preceding paragraph without wa iting for the grant of a title of protection by 
the country as per the preceding paragraph.   (3) The applicant as per paragraphs 1 and 2 canno t apply for legal protection abroad without a 
special permission in case his variety is in the List as per Article 25(1).  
 
Lapse of the certificate  
 
Article 27. (1) The certificate lapses in cases of:   
1. expiration of the time for which it has been granted;   2. written refusal by the certificate owner, considered from the day of deposit with the 
Patent Office. The refusal of one of the certificate co-owners does not terminate its effect with respect to the others;  
 
3. in cases when the certificate owner:  
 
a) is not in a position to provide, with in one year for annual species and two 
years for perrenial species from the requ est of the State Variety Commission, 
authentic sowing or planting material, allowing the reproduction of the 
variety already created with its morphological and biological characteristics as defined at the moment of the grant of the certificate, the Patent Office being notified thereof.   b) does not provide the competent authorities, within the prescribed time 
limit, with reproductive material, docum ents or instructions considered 
necessary for exercising control over th e new variety or does not allow the 
Institute of Introduction and Plant Resour ces to take a sample for the storage 
of the variety;  
 
4. in case of failure to pay the due maintenance annuity for the certificate under 
Art. 42, paragraphs 2 and 3.  
 IP/N/1/BGR/P/2/Add.1 
Page 12  
 
  (2) A certificate which has lapsed for failure to  pay the annuity may be renewed within six 
months from the last day of the month when th e certificate was granted, provided the overdue 
fee is paid at a double rate at the Patent Office.  
 
Infringements of the certificate owner's rights  
 
Article 28. (1) Any use of the variety covered by the scope of the certificate protection as per 
Article 18, which has been made without the c onsent of the certificate owner, constitutes an 
infringement.   
(2) Any person who performs the acts as per the preceding paragraph with a certificate 
protected variety produced by other persons in infringement of the certificate, is responsible 
for infringement only if the person has acted deliberately.   (3) The owner of a certificate for a variety an d the exclusive licensee can bring an action for 
infringement of rights, unless otherwise specified.  
 (4) The licensee as per Article 22, the compulso ry licensee as per Article 23 and the licensee 
as per Article 24 may bring an action for infringement of rights stemming from the certificate, if the certificate owner does not exercise his own right to bring an action within six months 
from the date of receipt of a written invitation from the licensee.  
 
(5) Any licensee may take part in the court pr oceedings for infringement of rights stemming 
from the certificate, when the action has been entered by the certificate owner. The same 
applies also to the certificate owner, when th e action has been entered by the licensee as per 
paragraphs 3 and 4.  
 
(6) The action for infringement of rights to the variety may also be entered by the applicant before the grant of a certificate, after the publi cation for the application have been performed 
by the Patent Office.  
 
Actions for infringement of rights stemming from a certificate  
 
Article 29. (1) The actions for infringement of  rights, stemming from a certificate may be:  
 
1. Action to ascertain the fact of the infringement;   
2. Action for compensation of the damages suffered and benefits lost;  
 3. Action to stop the infringer from acts infringing the certificate owner's rights.  
 (2) In case actions for infringement as per th e preceding paragraphs are respected by the 
court, the court can decree also reprocessing or destruction of the subject of infringement, as 
well as of the tools of the infringement if the latter is done deliberately.  
 
Provision of proofs  
 
Article 30. The type of proofs and the orde r of their gathering and provision as per the 
preceding Article is performed in accord ance with the Civil Procedure Code. 
  IP/N/1/BGR/P/2/Add.1 
 Page 13 
 
 
  Invalidity of the certificate  
 
Article 31. (1) The certificate granted is decl ared invalid when it is ascertained that:  
 
1. the conditions specified in Articles 8 and 9 were not complied with at the time of 
the grant of the certificate;  
 2. the breeder's right has been granted to a person who is not entitled to it, unless it is 
transferred to a person who is so entitled.  
 
(2) On the basis of an enforced court decisi on as per item 2 of the preceding paragraph, the 
Patent Office grants a new certificate to the person named in the decision, at his request, 
without terminating the effect of the certificate declared invalid.   (3) The invalidation of a certificate does not affect:  
 
1. effective awards concerning infringement of the certificate;   2. license contracts concluded and performed before the invalidation of the certificate, 
unless otherwise agreed.  
 PART IV - EXAMINATION OF VARIETIES   Filing of a certificate application   
Article 32. (1) The certificate application for a va riety is filed with the Patent Office and is 
recorded in the Variety Applications Register.  
 (2) Filing date of the applicati on is the date of receipt by the Patent Office of the following 
documents:   
1. a request for grant of a certificate for a variety with identification data for the 
applicant and the author of the variety;  
 2. a description of the variety;   3. a proposal for a denomination of the variety;  
 
4. filled in technical questionnaire for the species;   5. paid fees for filing and publication of the application.  
 (3) The certificate application should relate to one variety only.  
 
(4) The documents as per paragraph 2 are submitt ed in Bulgarian. The variety denomination, 
the technical questionnaire and the descripti on accompanied by illustrating materials are 
submitted in three copies. The names of the a pplicant and the author, as well as the variety 
denomination are filled also in Latin.  
 
(5) In case of an applicant filing an applicati on through an intellectual property representative, 
a power of attorney is attached to the application. 
 IP/N/1/BGR/P/2/Add.1 
Page 14  
 
  Withdrawal of the application  
 
Article 33. The application for a variety cer tificate may be withdrawn through a written 
declaration by the applicant, unless there is a certificate already granted. In case of 
withdrawal of the application, the applican t loses the priority right as per Article 34.  
 
Priority Right  
 
Article 34.(1) The applicant who has filed a certificate application in accordance with 
Article 32 enjoys the priority right from the filing date.  
 
(2) In case the applicant has filed earlier applica tions for legal protection of one and the same 
variety in Contracting States prior to his app lication with the Patent Office, he may claim 
Convention priority for a period of twelve mont hs considered from the date of the initial 
application filing.  
 
(3) The priority right as per the preceding paragr aph is recognized if the applicant has made a 
declaration for a claimed priority when filing his application with the Patent Office and has paid the relevant fee. The priority right is pr oved within three months from the date of filing 
the application with the Patent Office by copies of the documents constituting the initial 
application, as well as by samples or other proofs. The copies must be certified by the office 
in which the initial application has been filed. Any failure to observe the above time limits 
and unpaid fees for the claimed priority result in the loss of the latter.   (4) The applicant as per the preceding paragraph is given the opportunity within a period of 
two years after the expiration of the term of prio rity or in case the initial application has been 
rejected or withdrawn, to submit for examin ation additional informa tion, documentation or 
material.  
 
Preliminary examination  
 
Article 35.(1) The application for a variety certificate registered in the Patent Office is subject to preliminary examination within one month from its filing date in order to check:  
 
1. the formal regularity of the application and the documents attached to it according 
to Article 32;   
2. the contents of the documents enclosed;  
 3. the compliance of the denomination of the plant variety to the requirements of Article 12. With the consent of the Patent Office, the applicant may give a provisional 
proposal for a denomination instead of the variety denomination for the needs of the 
examination.  
 
(2) The Patent Office notifies the applicant of  the shortcomings found and gives him three 
months to correct them. If the applicant fails to respond within the specified period of time, 
the application is deemed to be abandoned and the examination for it is terminated. In such 
case the applicant loses the priority right as per Article 34(1).  
  IP/N/1/BGR/P/2/Add.1 
 Page 15 
 
 
  Publication for the application  
 
Article 36. (1) The Patent Office makes a pub lication for the application in the Official 
Bulletin immediately after the expiration of the fourth month, but not later than the sixth 
month from the filing date of the application.  
 
(2) The Patent Office does not allow access to ma terials related to a certificate application 
prior to the publication for it, unless there is a written permission by the applicant.  
 (3) The access to materials related to applications as per paragraph 2 is admissible to the 
Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry under Articles 23, 24 and 25, and to the Ministry 
of Defence and the Ministry of Internal A ffairs in accordance with Articles 24 and 25.  
 
Submission of the application for examination as to substance  
 
Article 37. Within one month after performing th e preliminary examination of the application, 
the Patent Office submits the application to the State Variety Commission for examination as to substance, notifying the applicant to pay the due fees to the State Variety Commission.  
 
Examination as to substance  
 
Article 38.(1) For each application for a certificate the State Variety Commission undertakes 
an examination within a period of two to four  years in order to establish whether the plant 
variety complies with the requirements of Article 7. When necessary, this time limit may be prolonged upon the applicant's request.   
(2) For the purposes of examination, the State Variety Commission tests the variety in its own 
or other experimental stations, specialized in stitutions, laboratories and offices, and describes 
and proves the features which allow to define and distinguish the new variety.   (3) (new - State Gazette No. 27/1998) The Mini stry of Agriculture and Forests shall issue 
licenses to persons going to carry out variety testing. The conditions and order of granting 
licenses shall be specified in an ordinance of the Minister for Agriculture and Forests.  
 (4)(former (3) State Gazette No 27/1998) The a pplicant provides, free of charge, sowing and 
planting material necessary for the variety tes ting, as well as any additional information and 
documentation specified in the Regulations of  Work of the Executive Variety Testing, 
Approbation and Seed Control Agency.  
 (5)(former (4) State Gazette No 27/1998) If during the process of examination it is found that 
the denomination applied for in the Patent Offi ce does not comply with the requirements of 
Article 12(1 and 2), the applicant is given two months to propose a new denomination. In case 
of failure to observe the time limit specified,  the application is considered abandoned and the 
proceedings related to it are terminated.  
 (6)(former (5) State Gazette No 27/1998) The ex amination with respect to the denomination 
should establish whether the variety denomination applied for is identical to that of the application for the same variety in other Contracting States.  
 
(7)(former (6) State Gazette No 27/1998) When  the Executive Variety Testing, Approbation 
and Seed Control Agency judges that the vari ety does not comply with the requirements of 
Article 7, it notifies in writing the applicant givi ng the grounds for this judgement, and invites 
him to respond within three months. If the appli cant fails to respond within this time limit or IP/N/1/BGR/P/2/Add.1 
Page 16  
 
  unreasonably maintains his application, the Executive Variety Testing, Approbation and Seed 
Control Agency refuses to make a conclusion fo r the recognition of the variety, sending a 
report to the Patent Office.   (8)(former (7) State Gazette No 27/1998) Th e Executive Variety Testing, Approbation and 
Seed Control Agency makes a decision for the recognition of the variety when, as a result of 
the examination as to substance, it finds out th at the variety applied for complies with the 
requirements of Art.7 and, within one month, prepares a report to the Patent Office.   (9)(former (8) State Gazette No 27/1998, cancelled,  No. 6/2000) When the variety meets also 
the requirements for economic properties in acco rdance with the Work Regulations of the 
State Variety Commission, it is registered in the Register of Varieties and in List A of the Official Variety List of the country. The decision for the registration of the the variety in List A is made by an expert commission of the State Variety Commission and is approved by the Minister for Agriculture and Food Industry.  
 
(10)(former (9) State Gazette No 27/1998, cance lled, No. 86/2000) When the variety does not 
meet the requirements of the preceding paragraph, it is registered in the Register of Varieties 
and in List B of the Official Variety List.   (11)(former (10) State Gazette No 27/1998, ame nd. No.86/2000) Within the terms specified 
in paragraph 8, the Executive Variety Testing, Approbation and Seed Control Agency submits 
to the Patent Office its report, the formalized  description, the abstract, and a copy of the 
decision for the recognition of the variety. The Executive Variety Testing, Approbation and Seed Control Agency may correct or s upplement the description at any time in 
correspondence with the development of the agronomic science. Those corrections and 
additions do not affect the scope of protection.  
 (12)(former (11) State Gazette No 27/1998) The State Variety Commission may use the results of an earlier examination of the same variety carried out by competent authorities in 
the country or abroad.   
(13) (former (12) State Gazette No 27/1998)Th e Executive Variety Testing, Approbation and 
Seed Control Agency may enter into agreemen ts with competent authorities of Contracting 
States for the performance of examination of fo reign plant varieties in the country, as well as 
to assign the use of the results of such exam inations by the competent authorities of the 
Contracting States.  
 
(14)(former (13) State Gazette No 27/1998) A ll actions for protection after the performed 
examination as to substance are carried out by the Patent Office on the basis of the decisions 
and reports of the Executive Variety Testing, Approbation and Seed Control Agency.  
 
Prolongation of terms  
 
Article 39. Upon applicant's request, filed be fore the expiration of the time limits as per 
Article 35(2), Article 38(4 and 6), these time limits  may be prolonged by three months but not 
more than twice. On request of prolongation of time limits the applicant pays fees.  
 Grant of a certificate   
Article 40. The Patent Office grants a certifi cate based on the decision for the recognition of 
the variety and if within three months from the notification of the applicant of the decision the 
fees are paid for the grant and publication of a certificate.  IP/N/1/BGR/P/2/Add.1 
 Page 17 
 
 
   
Publication for a certificate granted  
 
Article 41. (1) A publication for a granted variety certificate is made in the Official Bulletin 
of the Patent Office.  
 
(2) Any changes of the legal status of the a pplication and the certificate are published in the 
Official Bulletin.   (3) The granted certificate is entered in the Register of Variety Certificates of the Patent 
Office.  
 
FEES  
 
Article 42.(1)For all actions under this Law be fore the Patent Office and the State Variety 
Commission due fees are payable at rates regulated by the Council of Ministers.  
 (2) An annual fee is payable for keeping the certificate in force.   (3) The annual fee for the first and for any of th e following years is payable not later than the 
last day of the month in which the certificate has been granted.  
 
(4) The funds raised as per paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 are used for financial support of the 
specified authorities.  
  Chapter III - LEGAL PROTEC TION OF ANIMAL BREEDS  
 Examination of the Animal Breeds   
Article 43.(1)The application for an animal breed  certificate is filed with the Patent Office and 
is entered into the Register of animal br eeds applications, wh ereupon examination is 
performed by the State Breed Commission in acco rdance with the Work Regulations of this 
Commission.   (2) In the procedure of the substantive examin ation of the breed the State Breed Commission 
studies and analyses the following specific requirements:  
 
a/ breeding purpose;  b/ brief characteristics of the initial breeds;  c/ description of the methods for the creation of the breeds;  d/ productive qualities and morphological features of the breeds;  e/ adaptability and resist ance against diseases;  
f/ number, race and genealogical structure;  
g/ region of distribution.  
 (3)The examination as to substance for foreign animal breeds is done with their generation, 
born in our country.  
 
(4)The State Breed Commission, after a decisi on is taken for the recognition of the breed, 
submits within one month to the Patent Office its report, the formalized description, the abstract and a copy of the decision for recogn ition of the breed, notifying the breeder to pay 
the due fees to the Patent Office.  IP/N/1/BGR/P/2/Add.1 
Page 18  
 
   
LEGAL PROTECTION  
 
Article 44. The legal protection of animal br eeds is provided by a certificate, which has a 
duration of 30 years from the date of its grant.  
 
PROVISIONS FOR ANIMAL BREEDS  
 
Article 45. (1)The provisions for plant varieties are also applicable to animal breeds, unless 
otherwise specified in this Chapter.  
 
(2)The provisions of Chapters IV and V ar e also applicable to animal breeds and in 
compliance with the specific peculiaritie s, stipulated in this Chapter. 
  Chapter IV - DISPUTES   Kinds of disputes   
Article 46. Disputes related to the creati on, protection and rights stemming from the 
certificate, are considered through administ rative channels or through the court.  
 
DISPUTES CONSIDERED through ADMINISTRATIVE channels  
 
Article 47. (1) Through administrative channels are considered:  
 
1. appeals against decisions for the suspen sion of the proceedings on applications for 
grant of certificates as per Article 35;   2. appeals against decisions for the re fusal to grant a variety certificate;  
 3. appeals against decisions for the suspen sion of the proceedings as per Article 38, 
paragraph 4, regarding the compliance of th e variety denomination to the provisions 
of Article 12;   4. requests for invalidation of a certificate granted as per Article 31;   
5. appeals against a refusal to renew the certificate as per Art.27(2);  
 6. appeals against decisions on the grant or  refusal to grant a compulsory license.  
 (2) The appeals and requests as per the preceding paragraph are considered by specialized commissions appointed by the President of the Patent Office and consisting of a state 
examiner and a lawyer from the Patent Office a nd an expert from the Ministry of Agriculture 
and Food Industry. The commissions as per paragraph 1(6) are appointed by the Minister for Agriculture and Food Industry.   (3) With regard to the requests as per paragraph 1, item 4, it is possible to organize ex officio
 
proceedings by the Patent Office and the State Variety Commission.  
 (4) The proceedings as per paragraphs 1 and 2 are initiated after the payment of a fee, excluding the cases of ex officio
 proceedings.  
  IP/N/1/BGR/P/2/Add.1 
 Page 19 
 
 
  (5) The commissions as per paragraph 2 take decisi ons within 3 months in  relation to appeals 
under paragraph 1, items 1,2,3 and 5, and w ithin 6 months in relation to requests under 
paragraph 1, item 4.  
 
Terms of appeal  
 
Article 48.(1) Appeals as per Art.47(1), items 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 are filed within 3 months from 
the date of receipt of the decision.   (2) The requests as per Art.47(1), item 4 are admissible during the entire term of effect of the 
certificate.  
 
Renewal of time limits  
 
Article 49. Time limits exceeed because of special, unforeseen circumstances may be renewed upon the applicant's request. The request  is filed within three months after the 
elimination of the reason for exceeding the time limit, but not later than one year after the 
expiration of the exceeded time limit. The decision on the renewal of the time limit is taken by the President of the Patent Office.  
 
COURT CONTROL  
 
Article 50. The decisions of the commissions of the Patent Office or of the Ministry of 
Agriculture and Food Industry are subject to appeal before the Sofia Civil Court under the 
Administrative Proceedings Law.  
 Court disputes   
Article 51.(1) The Sofia Civil Court considers:  
 
1. Disputes for authorship (co-authorship);   
2. Disputes for the right to apply and the right to a variety certificate;  
 3. Disputes for infringement of the applican t's rights and the exclusive rights of the 
variety certificate owner. When the claim is  presented by the applicant before the 
grant of the certificate, the proceedings are suspended until the publication of the 
certificate by the Patent Office;  
 4. Disputes related to the conclusion, reali zation and termination of license contracts;  
 5. Disputes related to the service nature of the variety as per Article 16 and the 
amount of remuneration payable to the author of a service bred variety;  
 
6. Disputes related to the amount of the compensation, due to the certificate owner as per Articles 23, 24 and 25.  
 (2) Claims as per paragraph 1(5) are lodged within one year after the grant of the certificate.  
 
 IP/N/1/BGR/P/2/Add.1 
Page 20  
 
  Chapter V - ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTY PROVISIONS  
 Sanctions   
Article 52.(1) Any person who without the consen t of the certificate owner performs any of 
the actions specified in Art.18, is sanctione d with a penalty from 100 up to 1 000 leva, and 
with a penalty from 1 000 to 10 000 leva when repeating the infringement. The the propagation material shall be confiscated.   (2) The infringement is ascertained with an act  drawn up by an official appointed by the 
Minister for Agriculture and Food Industry. The administrative penalty does not exclude 
criminal liability and other sanctions  under the laws of the country.  
 (3) The act shall be drawn up and the penal in juction shall be issued, appealed against and 
implemented under the Administrative Violations and Penalties Law.  
 
 
ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS  
 
§1. Within the meaning of this Law:  
 
1. "plant variety" is a plant grouping within a single botanical taxon of the lowest known rank, 
which grouping, irrespective of whether the cond itions for the grant of a breeder's right are 
fully satisfied:   
a/ can be defined by the expression of the features, characterizing a given genotype or 
a certain combination of genotypes;  
 b/ can be distinguished from any other plant grouping by the expression of at least one of the specified characteristics;   c/ is considered as a unit with regard  to its suitability for being propagated 
unchanged.  
 2."propagating material" is a whole plant, seeds, planting material, as well as parts of this plant, insofar as they contain at least one cell and are used for reproduction of the whole plant, irrespective of the method of their production - artificial or natural.  
 
3."animal breed" is a group of animals of co mmon origin and of one species, similar in 
genetically determined economic and biological  properties and morphological characteristics, 
demanding similar requirements as to natural and production conditions.  
 4."breeder" is the person:  
 
a/ who has created or discovered and develope d the plant variety or the animal breed;  
 b/the employer or task assigner to the person as per the preceding item on the basis of a contract between them;  
 
c/ assignee to the persons as per the preceding items.  
  IP/N/1/BGR/P/2/Add.1 
 Page 21 
 
 
  5. "economic properties of the variety" are properties conditioning the suitability of the 
variety to be used as an object of reproduction and as a material for the production of plant products having specific destination and quality.   6. "official variety list" is a catalogue consisting of:  
 
a/ list A for varieties recommended (allow ed) to be used in the country;  
 b/ list B for varieties for which certificates have been granted under the present Law.  
 
 
TRANSITIONAL AND FINAL PROVISIONS  
 
§2. Applications for inventors' certificates for pl ant varieties and animal breeds, for which 
there is no document for protection granted or final decision for rejection issued before the 
entry into force of this Law, may be tr ansformed into certificate applications. The 
transformation is carried out after filing a requ est with the Patent Office within the terms 
specified in paragraph 3(2) by the persons and under the order of the provisions of Art.14.  
 
§3.(1) Inventors' certificates for plant varieties and animal breeds issued prior to the entry into 
force of this Law, which in accordance with paragraph 2(2) of the Patent Law have been 
excluded from transformation as per Article 7 of the Patent Law, may be transformed into 
certificates after filing a request with the Patent Office.   (2) The requests are filed within 6 months after th e entry into force of the Law, and the Patent 
Office issues a certificate to one of the applican ts, observing the following order of persons so 
entitled:  
 
1. to the author, when the variety or th e breed has been created independently;  
 2. to the following persons, when the variet y or the breed has been created under the 
conditions of a service bred variety:  
 
a/ to the employer and/or the task assigner;   b/ to the user of the variety or th e breed, when such variety or breed 
represents his main production;  
 
c/ to the author of the variety or the breed.  
 (3) Transformation of inventors' certificates is carried out on the basis of an additional 
examination for compliance with the provisions of Articles 9, 10 and 11 and a decision proposed by the State Variety Commission as pe r Article 38, paragraph 10. The additional 
examination may use the results of earlier tests of the variety or the breed.  
 (4) Certificates issued as per the preceding para graphs have a term of validity of 20 years 
from their date of granting. The persons who have used the variety or the breed prior to the transformation of inventors' certificates but after the date of an inventor's certificate 
application, do not enjoy the rights of prior users.  
 (5) The rights stemming from a certificate issued under this paragraph arise from the date of 
its grant by the Patent Office.   IP/N/1/BGR/P/2/Add.1 
Page 22  
 
  (6) Inventors' certificates which have not b een transformed into certificates as per the 
preceding paragraphs will lapse.  
 
§4. The decisions of the Patent Office for the tr ansformation of applications and inventors' 
certificates into certificates are subject to appeals before the Sofia Civil Court under the order 
of the Administrative Procedure Law.  
 §5. For transformation of inventors' certificates into certificates due fees are payable for 
transformation,examination, grant of a certificate, publication of the performed transformation. The fees for transformation of inventors' certificates into certificates are 
payable upon filing the requests as per paragr aph 3(1), and all other fees are payable in 
accordance with this Law.   §6. Property and non-property rights of authors of recognized and introduced inventors' 
certificates, which have arisen prior to the entr y into force of this Law and have not been 
transformed as per paragraph 3(1), are settled un til their exhaustion under the order of the 
Law which has been in force when they have arisen.  
 §7. (1) The status of the State Variety Comm ission and the State Breed Commission is 
arranged by the Rules of the Council of Ministers.   
(2)The State Breed Commission is constituted in case of necessity and its members are 
approved by the Minister for Agriculture and Food Industry.  
 
§8. The Law on Sowing and Planting Materials (publ. State Gazette No.12 of 1958, rev. State 
Gazette No.99 of 1963, No.36 of 1979, No.103 of 1990) is changed as follows:  
 
1. in Article 2 the words "regional vari eties" are replaced by "of the varieties 
registered in List A of the Official Variety List".   2. in Article 3 the text "approved by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forests" is replaced by "registered in List A of the Official Variety List".  
 
3. Article 5 is cancelled.   4. Article 6 is cancelled.   
5. in Article 8, paragraph 1, the words "reg ional, bred and local varieties" are replaced 
by "varieties registered in List A of the Official Variety List".   6. in Article 8, paragraph 2, the word "not  regional" is replaced by "not registered in 
List A of the Official Variety List".  
 
§9. The Minister for Agriculture and Food Indust ry and the President of the Patent Office 
issue regulations and instructions and give dir ections for the execution of the provisions of 
this Law.   §10. This Law enters into force three months after its publication in the State Gazette.  
 
§11. The execution of this Law is assigned to the Minister for Agriculture and Food Industry 
and the President of the Patent Office. This La w is accepted by the 37th People's Assembly on 
September 19,1996 and is signed with the state seal.  
  IP/N/1/BGR/P/2/Add.1 
 Page 23 
 
 
   
TRANSITIONAL AND FINAL PROVISIONS  
of the Law on the Bulgarian Currency Denomination  
(State Gazette No.20/1999, amend. No. 65/1999, in force as from 05.07.1999)   
§ 4. (1) (suppl. State Gazette No. 65/1999). After the Law comes into effect, all old lev 
amounts as indicated in the laws in force before  5 July 1999 shall be replaced by 1000 times 
reduced new lev amounts. The replacement of th e old lev figures by 1000 times reduced new 
lev figures shall apply also to all laws adopt ed prior to 5 July 1999, which have or will 
become effective after 5 July 1999.  
 
§ 7. This Law shall come into effect on 5 July 1999.  
  
TRANSITIONAL AND FINAL PROVISIONS  
of the Law on Sowing and Planting Materials  
(State Gazette No. 86/2000)    
__________