Planning a new design or packaging for your product? Planning a new and original appearance of your website or platform?
You can easily and quickly protect them by registering a design for the territory of Bulgaria or for all EU member states.
In our article, you will learn everything important about how to register a design for Bulgaria and the EU.
What should the design be like?
It should represent the external appearance of a product, packaging, website interface, or platform, font, or other, which is new and original. This means that the design or substantially similar design should not have been registered, published, disclosed, or used by another person.
The design should not contradict morality and public order.
It should not be solely determined solely by the technical functionality of the product.
In case you are aware of an existing design on the market, regardless of where in the world, that is identical or very similar to yours, we recommend choosing another design or contacting us for consultation.
Under certain conditions, it is possible to submit a single multiple application to register more than one design.
This will reduce the state fees you owe.
How does the design registration procedure work and what does the postponement of publication mean?
If you want to register a design in Bulgaria, the process begins with an application to the Patent Office. After its submission, the Patent Office conducts an examination of the application to verify its compliance with the legal requirements.
The Patent Office does not verify whether your design is original and new, which is why the procedure is relatively simplified and fast.
At the next stage, if the application meets the requirements, the Patent Office decides to register the design and issues a certificate upon the payment of the state fees.
When applying for the design, you have may request the postponement of its publication for 30 months from the filing date of the application. This means that your design will be registered and protected, but its images will not be published and visible to everyone. This will only happen after the 30th month period expires.
When you want to register a design in all EU member states, the procedure takes place before the EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO). The requirements for the application and the option of postponing the publication of the design are similar to those for registering a design for Bulgaria.
What rights does the design registration grant me?
Registration of your design grants you exclusive rights – only you can use the design or a design substantially similar to it.
The exploitation of the design by other persons is only possible with your consent.
Otherwise, there is a violation of your rights to the design, and you have legal means of protection.
You can prohibit anyone else from using your design or a design substantially similar to it.
These rights are the same for designs registered for Bulgaria only and for those relating to territory of the entire European Union.
How long is my design protected and which countries does the protection apply for?
The term of protection of the design registered with the Bulgarian Patent Office is 10 years from the date of filing the application. It can be renewed for three consecutive periods of 5 years each by filing a request for this and upon payment of a state fee. In other words, the maximum protection period is 25 years.
The design registered in the Patent Office gives you protection for the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria.
The design registered with the EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) provides protection for the territory of all EU member states. The term of its protection is 5 years. The design can be renewed for additional periods of 5 years each by filing a request for this and for a fee payment. Thus, the maximum protection period must be 25 years.
At LegalMasters.bg, you can take advantage of our online services. They are Design Registration in Bulgaria and Design Registration in the European Union. If you need further advice and assistance, you can contact us. Find us via our Facebook page, email contact@legalmasters.bg, or phone 0893050449.
Dear readers, all materials published on LegalMasters.bg are for informational purposes only. These materials reflect the personal views and professional opinion of the respective attorney from the team. They should not be perceived as comprehensive legal analyses or individual legal advice for you. Before taking or not taking legal actions on the issues discussed, seek professional legal advice for your specific case.