The State Office for Inventions and Trademarks of Romania and the Patent Office of the Republic of Bulgaria, hereinafter referred to as "the Parties",wishing to join efforts for the purpose of achieving a major efficiency in the protection of industrial property rights and widening the scope of the interests of users and consumers,convinced that the information exchange and the cooperation within the framework of the friendly relations between both parties promote the protection of industrial property in Romania and the Republic of Bulgaria and contribute to the extension of its dissemination, have agreed on the following:

Article I

The parties declare their willingness to maintain permanent communication for the exchange of information on the modernization, development and harmonization of the protection of industrial property rights. In particular, the information exchange concerns their industrial property laws in force.
The parties shall carry out consultations and negotiations on the organization, collection, publishing, storing of and access to the industrial property information and documentation.

Article 2

The parties shall jointly establish mechanisms of technical cooperation in the field of industrial property, which comprise technical training and organization of courses and seminars for the personnel of both offices in the different fields of industrial property.

Article 3

The cooperation under this Agreement shall be developed through working plans scheduled on short, medium and long term, coordinated between both parties.
The financing of the activities under this Agreement shall be undertaken by the offices of both countries on the basis of the working plans, the financial obligations of each of the parties being specified therein.
In the carrying out of training plans or programs, including other kinds of assistance financed by international organizations, the issues related to the costs are solved according to the respective provisions of the above-mentioned programs.With respect to training and specialization, the general principle is that each party shall bear the costs and all allowances of their experts and personnel during travelling to and staying at the other office or institution.

Article 4

After the entry into force of this Agreement, the parties shall regularly send to each other, free of charge, copies of all of their official periodical and non-periodical publications.
The parties shall use English as a working language. All publications, legal texts and other materials apart from correspondence shall be sent in English only in case it is possible to make an appropriate English translation.
Each party has the right of internal use of the information transmitted by the other party in solving different legal issues, unless otherwise provided for by the laws of Romania and of the Republic of Bulgaria or by the Agreement between the two offices.

Article 5

On demand, the parties shall furnish each other with national regulations related to particular issues.

Article 6

The parties shall furnish each other, under mutually agreed conditions, with CD-ROM collections of their industrial property documentation.

Article 7

The parties shall develop the technical assistance and promotion mechanisms in the field of spread of information on all the fields of industrial property.
Where the implementation of the programs and activities under this Agreement involves the participation of other state authorities, each of the parties shall cooperate with such authorities in order to make the information concerning such programs and activities, available to the other party.

Article 8

The parties shall regularly check the efficiency of this Agreement and, by mutual consent, may operate changes therein, depending on the results.
The changes shall become effective according to the proceedings provided in Article 9 of this Agreement.

Article 9

The present Agreement shall enter into force on the day of receipt of the second of the notes with which both parties informed each other of the fulfilment of all internal procedures necessary for its entry into force, and shall be valid for an indefinite period of time. Each party may denounce the Agreement by a six-month written notice addressed to the other party.

Done at Varna on the 15th of May 2003 in two original copies each in Romanian, Bulgarian and English, all texts being equally authentic. In case of any divergence the English text shall prevail.

For the State Office for Inventions                                                 For the Patent Office of
and Trademarks of Romania                                                            the Republic of Bulgaria

Gábor Varga                                                                                 Tsonka Taushanova
Director General                                                                              President