Protection of Well-Known Marks
March 14 2005
The protection of well-known trademarks is regulated by the Law on Marks and Geographical Indications. An interpretation of the law is also set out in the Methodological Instructions issued by the Bulgarian Patent Office.
As Bulgaria has been a member state of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property since 1921, both the Law on Marks and Geographical Indications and the Methodological Instructions are fully harmonized with the requirements of the convention and the World Intellectual Property Organization’s Joint Recommendation on the Protection of Well-Known Marks.
In accordance with the Law on Marks and Geographical Indications, the Patent Office can refuse to register a trademark pursuant to Article 12(1)(2), which provides:
„A mark shall likewise not be registered if:
(ii) it is identical or similar to an earlier mark, and the goods or services to which the two marks relate are identical or similar and users are liable to be confused, notably by the likelihood of association with the earlier mark„.
Article 12(2)(3) defines an ‘earlier mark’ as „a mark that is [already] well known in the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria on the filing date or priority date, as appropriate, of the [subsequent] mark“.
A trademark registered in contravention of Article 12(1)(2) can be cancelled by an interested third party filing a petition before the Appellate Department of the Patent Office, or by the office ex officio.
However, a trademark registered in contravention of Article 12(1)(2) will not be cancelled if the trademark owner can prove that the earlier trademark, although well known, has not been used for five years (Article 26(5)).
Patent Office Practice
The Patent Office has not issued a list of the trademarks recognized as well known in the Bulgarian territory. Patent Office practice bears out that it is unusual for the Patent Office to declare a trademark as well known ex officio, even though this is provided for by law.
A request for recognition of a trademark’s well-known status will be examined by a commission appointed under Order 195/2002 of the president of the Patent Office. The commission will examine all the evidence presented and will issue a protocol with its statement.
The trademarks which the commission has so far recognized as well known are as follows:
- Нивалин/NIVALIN for pharmaceuticals, at the request of Sopharma AD;
- Кинтекс/KINTEX for services, commercial transactions, import and export of special equipment, at the request of Aleksander Josifov Aleksandrov;
- BELSHINA for tyres, at the request of Belorussky chtrnny Kombinat;
- VODKA ABSOLUT for vodka, at the request of V&S Vin&Sprit Aktiebolag;
- Манастирска изба for wine, at the request of the National Chamber of Vines and Wine;
- ALEXANDRA VIDEO for production and dissemination of video products, at the of Aleksandra videa OOD;
- ДСК for banking and financial operations at the request of DSK Bank; and
- AQUAFRESH for oral hygiene products.
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