• Patents and Utility Models
  
  • chemistry and biology (medical products, cosmetics, etc.);
    
  • machine-building and construction;
    
  • electrical engineering and electronics.
    
• Trademarks and Industrial Design;
• Geographic Designations (appellation of origin and geographic indication);
• Copyright and Neighboring Rights;
• Topology of the Integrated Circuits and Software;
• Plant Breeders' Rights (Plant Variety Protection).

  The Agency informs at regular intervals its clients, most of them being international companies, about the current changes in the Bulgarian legislation in the field of the intellectual property.

  After 11 years of work as a head of the Law Department of the Patent Office of Bulgaria I find with pleasure that for me and for the Office this period was more than successful.

  This period of time is characterized with an intensive work for the preparation of five new IP laws, respectively passed in the National Assembly and entered into force - THE PATENT LAW (1993), THE LAW ON THE PROTECTION OF NEW PLANT VARIETIES AND ANIMAL BREEDS (1997), THE LAW FOR THE MARKS AND THE GEOGRAPHIC DESIGNATIONS (1999), THE LAW FOR THE INDUSTRIAL DESIGN (1999) and THE LAW FOR THE TOPOLOGY OF THE INTEGRATED CIRCUITS (1999). With the approval of these laws and of the new LAW ON COPYRIGHT AND NEIGHBORING RIGHTS (1993), harmonized with the international agreements of WIPO and WTO (TRIPS), the legal reform of the national legislation in the IP field came to an end. Bulgaria expects the challenges of the 21-st century.

  There is also an immense practical experience accumulated during these years when hundreds of lawsuits for IP rights protection on objects of special jurisdiction had been carried through. I initiated the creation of a section "Unfair competition" in the Law Department, which persecutes effectively the infringers of rights over the IP objects and obtained popularity with some of the widely discussed cases made public by the mass media - for the products of British American Tobacco (555), Bayer, Philips, Coca Cola, BiC, Nestle and many more.

   Now, being already a free lance and patent attorney (member of AIPPI), I have directed my professionalism in aid of those who would like to do a successful business in Bulgaria by making the most of the IP potentialities. The Agency defends the legal interests of bigger or smaller (of the above mentioned) companies and in this way they have the comfort to use the exclusive IP rights for their products without hindrance, guaranteeing them monopoly on the market.

   I am thoroughly acquainted with the practice of the Patent Office and of the Court on IP rights protection and supplement my activity with lecturing on intellectual property in some Bulgarian universities and as an arbitrator in the Court of Arbitration attached to the Bulgarian Industrial Association.

  Foreign companies recognize NKK as the most rapidly prospering and prestigious IP agency in Bulgaria. Besides the main services related to representation of foreign and local entities before the Bulgarian Patent Office in connection with the registration and maintenance of their IP objects, NKK assists in all cases of IP infringements, including the procedures before the Customs Authorities, the Commission for Protection on Competition, other governmental bodies, the Prosecutor's Office and the Court, as well. The Agency is already retained also by companies (occupying 10-50 place in GLOBAL 500 - FT 500), whose legal interests it defends successfully in court. The cases concern infringement of patents (in pharmacy and electrical engineering) and TM.

  At the moment NKK has two offices, one near the Patent Office and one next to the Courts of Justice in the center of Sofia, which are in a walking distance of about 50 m from both institutions. The Agency has 7 branch offices in the bigger towns of Bulgaria.

   The agency "N. Kolev & Kolev" assures to its clients a beneficial cooperation in the IP field, which requires a high level of competency and professionalism as to start working as an instrument for growth and development, and for creation of wealth and prestige.