site.btaGeographical Indications of 40 Bulgarian Industrial and Craft Products Can Receive EU Protection

About 40 Bulgarian craft and industrial products registered under national law can be proposed by the end of 2025 for protection under a new EU regulation. Geographical indications falling within the scope of the new regulation will be deleted from the national register of the Patent Office of the Republic of Bulgaria (PORB) unless they are re-registered. For instance, Troyan pottery, which is currently in the PORB register for its geographical indication, can expand the territory of its protection by obtaining official guarantees that the name Troyan may not be used in any EU member state to describe ceramic products or other comparable items not meeting the specifications of this geographical indication, PORB Vice President Maya Filipova-Demireva said, interviewed by BTA.

After the EU offered protection for geographical indications for agricultural products and foods, from 2025 onward the option will also be available for craft and industrial products.

The registration procedure will include two stages, national and EU, and the legal effect will be protection in all member states, Filipova explained. Applications should be submitted to the competent national authority, which will publish them if they conform to the requirements. All interested persons residing in the country will be given at least two months to challenge the application if they wish. Upon successful completion of the national procedure, the application will be referred to the EU Intellectual Property Office. The EU stage of the registration process also involves a documentary check and publication of the application, followed by three months in which the application may be challenged.

The competent national authority and the certification authorities are yet to be designated, the expert said. The matter will be deliberated with interested institutions, including sectoral and employer organizations such as the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Filipova noted that it will make sense if PORB is designated as the national authority in charge of handling applications under the new EU regulation.

No electronic service is planned for now for the submission of applications, because this is an entirely new activity, and it will depend on who takes charge of it and how they choose to administrate it, Filipova said.

She pointed out that applying for protection under the new EU regulation is a voluntary act. All entities enjoying national protection of craft and industrial products will be notified that the respective geographical indications will be deleted from the national register and the entities will be invited to seek protection under the new EU regulation.

Craft and industrial products whose geographical indications are currently protected under Bulgarian law are dominated by various kinds of stone and sand, such as Ilindentsi and Lepenitsa Marble, Vratza Limestone, Vyatovo Silica Sand, Kardzhali Pearlstone and various kaolinites.

The new EU regulation says that the product should be from a specific geographical area in a given country, have specific features, enjoy high reputation or possess other characteristics attributable mainly to its geographical origin, and at least one of the stages of its production should be carried out in that area, Filipova said.