January 13, 2021 EU Intellectual Property Network
European Cooperation: Sofia and Plovdiv join the European Network of ‘Authenticities’
On 18 November 2020 and 22 December 2020, under the framework of the European Cooperation Project (ECP8) ‘European Network of Authenticities’, the municipalities of Sofia and Plovdiv became the first certified Bulgarian ‘Authenticities’.
Following a Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Patent Office of the Republic of Bulgaria and both municipalities, and in cooperation with different stakeholders, a series of IP-related awareness-raising activities will take place locally over the next two years in the newly certified Authenticities.
This European Cooperation Project aims to raise awareness, among local policymakers, businesses and the European public, of both the value of IP and the damaging effects of counterfeiting in European cities.
Sofia is the capital of Bulgaria and its largest city. It is also the country’s main administrative, cultural and educational centre. A sixth of Bulgaria’s industrial production is concentrated in Sofia.
Plovdiv, European Capital of Culture in 2019, is the second largest city in Bulgaria. It’s a city with over 8000 years of history. Plovdiv is fast becoming Southern Bulgaria’s most dynamic and developed city and hub. Its economy is well-developed and diversified, which includes a mixture of industry, services, tourism and information technology.
Through this EUIPO project, the Patent Office of the Republic of Bulgaria, in cooperation with these two municipalities and several local stakeholders, will aim to combat counterfeiting and to simultaneously increase IP awareness on a local level. In that sense, it will also be joining the recent Authenticity of Thessaloniki in the task of further building a European network of certified Authenticities, where best practices can be shared and new synergies created.
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