New Trademarks and Geographical Indications Act

New Trademarks and Geographical Indications Act

A new Trade Marks and Geographical Indications Act entered into force in the end of 2019. Thus, Directive 2015/2436 dated December 16, 2015 was transposed into the Bulgarian law.

The main changes entail:

• the elimination of the requirement for graphic presentation of the Trademark – according to the new act the mark is a sign, which may, for example, be: words, including names, letters, ciphers, drawings, figures, the shape of the good or its package, colors, sounds and any combination of such signs;

• extending the information to be made available in the Patent Office Registers regarding the Trademarks and Geographical Indications, as well as regarding the procedures of relevance;

• notifying of the respective owner or representative thereof for the expiry of the term of registration at least 6 months in advance;

• changes in the proceedings and in the absolute and relative grounds for refusal for registration.

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