On 6 March 2026, Bulgaria enacted a package of amendments to the Trade Marks and Geographical Indications Act (TMGIA), promulgated in SG No. 24/2026, which modernises national procedures, introduces new digital and administrative standards, and brings Bulgarian trade mark legislation more closely into line with recent developments EU developments.
The law now expressly recognises a broader set of mark types, reflecting current EU practice (Art. 9 TMGIA). In addition to traditional word, figurative, combined, 3D, position and pattern marks, as well as colour and colour combinations, any sign represented through the use of commonly available technology, that allows for clear, accurate, autonomous, easily accessible, understandable, durable, and perceptible reproduction, is now recognised.
A key change is that the Bulgarian Patent Office (BPO) can now establish bad faith upon the filing of a trade-mark application. Previously, only the Sofia City Court could determine whether an application was filed in bad faith thus binding the outcome to court proceedings in three court instances, which could take years to be resolved. The BPO was forced to suspend related administrative proceedings until a court judgment was issued. Under the amended Art. 12(11) TMGIA, the BPO is now also entitled to assess and establish bad faith directly within opposition and cancellation proceedings with the court remaining as an alternative. This new competence of the BPO is considered an important development since it is expected to lead to faster dispute resolution and reduce litigation costs. This reform is also a step towards harmonisation with the European Union Trade Mark (EUTM) approach.
The reform greatly enhances the range of tools available to trade-mark owners for enforcement purposes. Firstly, it addresses the trafficking of counterfeit goods via courier and postal networks. The amended Article 13(2)(2)TMGIA now explicitly states that dispatching goods bearing a trade mark by post, courier, or transport operator constitutes use of this trade mark, and requires the authorisation of the trade-mark owner. This is a major win for brands, which have been increasingly troubled by the continuous flow of courier packages containing counterfeit goods sent from Bulgaria to various western markets, and by the lack of effective enforcement tools to address this issue.
Secondly, the reform finally takes a firm stand against grey imports. The new Article 113(2)(5) TMGIA states that using a trade mark for goods designated by or with the consent of the trade-mark owner when the right to the trade mark has not been exhausted constitutes trade-mark infringement under the TMGIA. Previously, the TMGIA lacked a provision explicitly qualifying parallel imports as a trade-mark violation, forcing brand owners to rely on general tort legislation to address unauthorized imports flooding Bulgaria and parts of the EU market. Now, updates in the TMGIA allow brands to use the extended enforcement toolbox provided by trade-mark law to prevent the import of genuine goods into Europe at the Bulgarian border when trade-mark rights have not been exhausted.
The TMGIA also represents a significant expansion of the BPO's digital enforcement powers. New Article 127a introduces an online enforcement mechanism, empowering the BPO to swiftly remove illegal digital content that infringes IP rights. The BPO can instruct the infringer to remove the unlawful content within three days and simultaneously direct hosting providers and electronic communications operators to block or restrict access to the infringer’s online interface. If these measures fail, the BPO can order domain registrars to terminate the infringer’s domain name and require them to seek prior approval before registering new domains for sanctioned parties. Orders are issued by the President of the BPO and take immediate effect, even if appealed. These orders may be made independently or alongside administrative penal proceedings. Non-compliance triggers fines for individuals and administrative sanctions for businesses with fines doubled in the case of repeat violations.
Several amendments refine the absolute and relative grounds for refusal, aligning them with EU rules on traditional specialities, quality terms for agricultural products and GI protection (Art. 11) TMGIA. The reform enhances procedural clarity and improves accessibility for trade-mark applicants by permitting email filings.
For more information on trade-mark law in Bulgaria, contact your CMS client partner or the CMS experts who contributed to this article: Maxim Hristov, Andrea Andreev and Elina Kostadinova.
