The Patent office of Republic of Bulgaria officially admitted that it spreads incorrect information ( “outdated data” ) for the needs of other the institutions and authorities in the country and stopped the information system NIPIES – http://www1.bpo.bg
The Patent Office is the national authority, responsible for the registration of the exclusive industrial property rights – for trademarks, geographical indications, utility models, industrial designs, new plant varieties and breeds, patents for inventions, topology of integrated circuits. This registration engenders rights for the owners – to forbid the use of these objects by third parties without their explicit permission. Violators of industrial property rights are prosecuted by the civil law, as well as bear criminal or administrative liability. In order to fulfil these duties, other authorities in the country (Ministry of Interior Affairs, Customs, Courts, Prosecutor’s Office, Commission for consumers protection, Commission for protection of competition, etc.) need relevant and timely information.
To meet these needs, in Bulgaria there is information system NIPIES – http://nipies.bpo.bg. The info system NIPIES was developed with the financial aid of EU and the Patent office of Bulgaria is responsible for its maintenance with up-to-date information. All Bulgarian institutions dealing with enforcement of rights in the field of industrial property are users of the system.
