Identification of potential markets for Bulgarian SMEs in North African countries

The Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, together with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) and the Africa IP SME Helpdesk, held a hybrid seminar to promote cooperation between Bulgarian companies with partners from North Africa, namely: Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia. More than 70 companies, organizations, industry associations, academic sector, consultants, patent offices, lawyers, etc. participated in the event. The participants received useful information and expert advice on how to facilitate their access to this market and how to prevent possible risks in the implementation of business cooperation, preserving their intellectual property rights (protection and registration of brands and inventions).

The event was opened by Mr. Tsvetan Simeonov, President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, who welcomed the participants and noted that the protection of intellectual property is a competitive advantage of any company when positioning itself in international markets. Prof. Dr. Vladya Borisova, chairman of the Patent Office of the Republic of Bulgaria, introduced the audience to the main functions of the office for the protection of objects of industrial property and the cooperation that is realized in this direction between the individual institutions.

The Minister of Economy and Industry, Mr. Bogdan Bogdanov, also participated in the opening of the event, thanked the Chamber of Commerce and Industry as the organizer of the event and mentioned that more informational events should be organized in Bulgaria, supporting the internationalization of SMEs on international markets.

The speakers of the seminar were Mrs. María Clara Ibáñez Fiorillo, expert in intellectual property, who presented the main functions of the Africa IP SME Helpdesk and Mr. Ivan Sempere, expert in intellectual property, who presented the main specifics for the individual countries of North Africa (Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia), in relation to the protection of intellectual property rights, patent registration, types of protection and competitive advantages when registering these rights.

In the discussion panel, Mr. Vladimir Yosifov, a specialist in the field of intellectual property and a long-time employee of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), including in leadership positions, emphasized the need for closer cooperation between chambers of commerce and patent offices in relevant North African countries, to improve the overall business climate, sustainability and conduct of commercial activity.

A recording of the event, photos and all available presentations can be found here.

For additional information, European Integration and European Projects Directorate, e-mail: projects2@bcci.bg, contact phone: 02/8117556