Declaration of small and micro enterprises as patent applicants in Bulgaria

Bulgaria, together with other EU countries, acceded to the European Small Business Charter adopted by the European Council in Sofia, Romania, in June 2000. On 23 April 2002, the European Council adopted the European Small Business Code in Santa Maria da Feira, Portugal, in June 2005. On 23 April 2004, Bulgaria signed the Charter in Maribor, Slovenia.

In Bulgaria, there are two criteria for determining the type of business: average number of employees and financial criteria. A business must meet both criteria to qualify for SME status.

For its part, the financial criterion consists of two alternative sub-criteria: annual turnover and asset value. A business only needs to meet at least one of the two financial sub-criteria, as well as the criterion for average number of employees, to qualify as an SME.

For small and medium-sized enterprises, the application fee can be reduced by 50%.

Patent applicants must fill in the relevant forms for small and micro enterprise declaration when submitting a new application and submit it to the BPO at the same time. (See the attached statement)