Bulgarian experience in the field of Unitary patent protection Mariana Tsvyatkova Patent Office of Bulgaria Director Legal Directorate PATENT OFFICE OF THE REPUBLIC OF BULGARIA

History Bulgaria has participated actively in the negotiations on the draft unitary patent system; Discussion meeting with stakeholders - SMEs, academics, patent attorneys; Draft agreement on a Unified Patent Court was supported by Supreme Judicial Council, Supreme Administrative Court, Supreme Cassation Court, and Ministry of Justice. Confrontation from the part of the patent attorneys. 2

Observations of patent attorneys Unitary patent and UPC will increase the fragmentation of the patent system; Qualification of judges - smaller Member States like Bulgaria do not have judges with experience and knowledge in the field of industrial property; Translation of unitary patent companies from England, France, Germany and the USA will enjoy a competitive advantage over others who do not speak those languages; the entire financial burden of translation is transferred from patent holders on businesses; requirement for sufficient disclosure of the invention would be disturbed; the machine translation shows many errors Principle of proportionality described in art.42 of Agreement on UPC 3

Unitary patent advantages UP will be based on a European patent granted by the EPO under European Patent Convention’s rules and procedures; Unitary effect will cover the territory of 26 member-states participating in the unitary patent scheme; Reduction of costs related to: translation attorney’s fees maintaining procedures numerous court cases

Unitary patent advantages UP will co-exist with national patents and classical European patents: UP combined with EP: a Unitary Patent for the 26 Member States of the European Union which participate in the Unitary Patent scheme, combined with a classical European Patent taking effect in one or more EPC Contracting States which do not participate in the scheme (e.g. Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, Norway, Iceland, etc.) or UP combined with national patent: a Unitary Patent for the 26 Member States of the European Union which participate in the Unitary Patent scheme, combined with one or more national patent(s) in one or more EPC Contracting States, which either do not participate in the scheme or which allow double protection.

Unitary patent advantages No fee for filing of the request for unitary patent, for its examination and for the registration of the unitary effect; Compensation of a lump sum of € 500 for translation costs for natural persons; SME; non profit organizations; universities; public research organizations Level of renewal fees – true TOP 4 15% fee reduction – statement for a license of right Centralized enforcement - Unified Patent Court 6

National measures Safety net provision - request for unitary effect has been rejected or the unitary effect has been revoked at the time when the validation deadlines have already expired: restoration of right to validate; 3 months to validate a patent Bulgaria doesn’t foresee a simultaneous protection for an invention covered by a European patent with unitary effect and a national patent Supplementary protection certificate - Bulgarian Patent Office will issue the SPC based on UP, if the patentee provides a translation of the patent in Bulgarian language. 7

Ratification of UPC Agreement 08 of April National Assembly of Bulgaria adopted a Law on Ratification of the Agreement on the Unified Patent Court; 22 of April law was published in the "Official Gazette“; The ratification documents were deposited on 3 of June 2016; Bulgaria signed the Protocol on Privileges and Immunities of the Unified Patent Court 8

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION! 9