– Law on Topography of Integrated Circuits, in force since December 15, 1999 (Official Gazette No. 81/September 14, 1999), with latest amendments as of October 27, 2020.
– Instructions for the drafting, filing, formal examination and registration of applications for integrated circuit topologies (adopted by the President of the Patent Office on November 30, 2023).

Definition: a three-dimensional arrangement of the elements and the connections between them in the integrated circuit, represented in an arbitrary way, or such an arrangement prepared for an integrated circuit intended for production.

Entitlement to protection: the creator who is national of Bulgaria or of a State member of international agreements in which Bulgaria is a part or on reciprocity basis. The topography should be filed within two years from its first commercial use.

Filing requirements for an application (to be sent to resident agent):
1. Power of attorney, simply signed;
2. Material allowing the topography for which protection is sought to be identified (the material or part thereof may be classified as a trade secret);
3. Declaration of the date of first commercial use (if such use took place before the filing date).

Examination: only formal.

Registration system: is provided for. 

Cancellation of registration: on request of any interested person in case of unconformity of the registration with the provisions of the law.

Scope of protection: the protection includes protection against copying of the topography, sale, rent, import, export and any other actions of commercial distribution of the topography or of the product which contains it, including offers for such distribution. 

Exception to protection: copying of the topography or part thereof for personal use, evaluation, analysis, research or training. The development of a distinctive topography based on an analysis or evaluation of a protected topography can be protected.

Duration: the protection starts from (a) the date of application in case the topology has not been used prior to filing; or (b) the date of first commercial use in case the application was filed within two years of such use. Protection ends after ten years after the end of the calendar year during which the protection started.