Trademark protection is achieved through its registration.
Registration is territorial in nature, meaning that protection is limited to the territory where the registration is made.
What does this mean?
If you have business interests and operate with your trademark on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria – register your trademark with the local industrial property office. In Bulgaria this is the Bulgarian Patent Office.
If you have a business in Bulgaria, but also in at least one other EU member state or have close plans to expand your business in at least one other EU country – the most suitable for you is the registration of a European trademark – a trademark of the European Union, which will have a single effect on the territory of the union as a whole. The office that is competent for this registration is the European Union Intellectual Property Office, which is headquartered in Alicante, Spain.
If your business is located in Bulgaria and is developing or will develop in Bulgaria and third countries outside the EU. You should protect your brand in Bulgaria and in the countries where you do or will do business. The protection strategy in this case can include either several national brands – in each of the countries of interest or one national brand in Bulgaria and registration of a brand internationally, which is a system that facilitates the management of registration in several countries through a single application procedure. Which procedure is most suitable for you – it depends on the specific countries where you need protection, as this is the factor that decides which of the two approaches is more economically advantageous.
What is important to know?
It is important for businesses to keep in mind and be aware that exclusive rights to a trademark are achieved only through the registration of the trademark with the competent institutions.
Registration is territorial in nature, that is, the protection of a trademark in a given territory does not protect you outside it. It is entirely possible and common for the owners of the same trademark in different countries to be different persons.
What should you do?
When choosing a trademark with which to identify your business, services and goods, you should protect this trademark everywhere where you use it or will use it.
The IP CONSULTING team specializes in creating successful strategies for protecting your trademark in any third country, and a good knowledge of the options for achieving this protection will guarantee you the choice of the most suitable option for you with the best chances of success and cost-effectiveness.