Where URLs are requested below, it is preferred that either URLs which are likely to remain stable over time (three years or more) are provided, or home (main) page URLs are provided with a short explanation of how to access the corresponding information.
The expression "industrial designs" covers industrial designs and models. Offices which issue design patents should report their design patent information activities in this series of Annual Technical Reports.
Applications
2001 - 1023 (national 449)
2002 - 1018 (national 519)
2003 - 1095 (national 534)
2004 - 1011(national 498)
2005 - 1027(national 550 and 50 from foreign applicants in national order)
2006 - 977 (national 418 and 44 from foreign applicants in national order)
2007 - 713 (national 356 and 15 from foreign applicants in national order)
Registrations
2001 - 784 (national 232)
2002 - 877 (national 303)
2003 - 879 (national 372)
2004 - 1033 (national 510)
2005 - 885 (national 411 and 54 from foreign applicants in national order)
2006 - 944 (national 335 and 35 from foreign applicants in national order)
2007 - 680 (national 243 and 22 from foreign applicants in national order)
The comparison with 2006 shows a further drop in the number of industrial design applications owing to the decrease in the applications filed by both Bulgarian and foreign applicants
http://www1.bpo.bg/images/stories/statistics/bpo_statistics06en.pdf
The Patent Office of the Republic of Bulgaria publishes the applications and registered national industrial designs in the Official Bulletin on paper monthly.
According to the Law on Industrial Design with alterations and supplements, in force as of October 6, 2006, the first industrial design application is published in issue 9A/2007 of Bulgarian Official Bulletin.
The publications comprise bibliographical data and graphical presentations or coloured images of the industrial design applications and registrations.
The dossiers are on paper and are stored following the registration number or the application number for the refusals.
The office automation, functioning as of 01.10.2001, is for administrative support, for searching industrial designs information. There are national and international (according to the Hague Agreement concerning Bulgaria) database with graphical presentations or coloured images. The database contains the bibliographic data, the legal status and correspondence, fees, forms, etc..
Functions of this Oracle Based "Industrial Design Information System" (IDIS), developed from outside company, are currently being updated.
Will be available in 2008.
The Patent Office of the Republic of Bulgaria uses the International Classification for Industrial Designs (Locarno Classification) since 1968. All the documents are classified according to class and subclass of the Locarno Classification. In 1995 the card file was reclassified. Now the Office uses and classifies according to the last edition of the Classification.
The classification is used for the novelty examination search and for search purposes in the PC (IDIS - Industrial Designs Information System), paper or electronic (CD) files, for statistics and for searches in the Official gazettes.
The BG registration process includes a novelty search.
The Patent Office of the Republic of Bulgaria maintains an Automation Database - IDIS, Register and four paper files (archives) of the industrial designs:
1. Automation Database - IDIS.
2. Dossiers of the registered designs arranged in numerical order according to the registration number.
3. Dossiers of the rejected design applications arranged in numerical order according to the application number.
4. The other paper card file contains the bibliographic data and the graphical presentation of all expired registered industrial designs. The file is arranged according to the classes and subclasses of the Locarno Classification
The updating of the files is regular depending on the number of registrations and rejections.
The storage is in boxes and storage closets
Documentation from other offices maintained and/or considered part of the available search file and is constituted from the following official bulletins:
WIPO "INTERNATIONAL DESIGNS BULLETIN" (WO);
"OFFICIAL GAZETTE OF THE UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE" (US);
"GESCHMACKSMUSTERBLATT" (DE);
"...И ПРОМЬIШЛЕННЬIЕ ОБРАЗЦЬI" (RU);
"BULLETIN OFFICIEL DE LA PROPRIETE
INDUSTRIELLE DESSINS ET MODÉES" (FR), etc.
In the Patent Office of the Republic of Bulgaria computer aided possibilities for searching industrial designs information and correspondences are used. There are national and international (according to the Hague Agreement concerning Bulgaria) databases with graphical presentations and coloured images. For all purposes the computerized system is used therefore.
There are Internet external databases available. RCD-online is used.
There is a computerized system - IDIS (Industrial Designs Information System) for administrative support - register, legal status, fees and statistics in regular using.
Hardware:
Server: HP K360 9000/800;
Workstations: Intel Pentium based PCs, about 60;
Software:
Server: UNIX 11.xx as OS, Oracle 8i as DBMS
Workstations: Windows'XP as OS, MS Office as documents management, etc;
Carriers used: CDs, DVDs.
The information services available to the public through the Patent Office are as follows:
1. Searches related to the legal status
2. Subject search
3. Numerical search
4. State of the art search
5. Searches in one or several classes
6. Searches on firm names
7. Combination of the above mentioned.
All the searches are carried in house and in the available collections of documents and official bulletins and paper cards.
The Central Patent Library provides for public access to the Official Bulletins from 32 countries, containing industrial design information.
The Office works on BPO-online Project - Industrial Design Information available to the public. Deadline for the implementation of the product is April 2008.
Not available
http://www1.bpo.bg/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=75&Itemid=122
http://www1.bpo.bg/images/stories/charged%20sevices/ids_search_08.pdf
The international and regional cooperation is in the form of exchange of official bulletins.
There is a collection of the "WIPO International Designs Bulletin" on CD-ROM.
In the framework of the Cooperation Programme between the OHIM and the national IP offices, an agreement for Technical Cooperation has ben signed between OHIM and BPO on March 2, 2007, with the main purpose to promote the Community Trade Marks and Designs in Bulgaria
- Seminars "Protection of CTM and RCD" (implementation of Technical cooperation agreement BPO-OHIM 2007);
- Creating, publishing and dissemination of guidelines about RCD;
- Creating, publishing and dissemination of brochures about RCD;
- Advertising in different media - electronic, websites
http://www1.bpo.bg/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=75&Itemid=122
http://www1.bpo.bg/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=23&Itemid=150
There are no other relevant matters to mention.