National Map of Intellectual Property in the Republic of Bulgaria Is Created for the First Time at the Initiative of UNWE

The National Map of Intellectual Property in the Republic of Bulgaria was officially presented in Maxima Aula of UNWE in the presence of the President of the Republic of Bulgaria, representatives of the academic community, ministries and state agencies, universities, municipalities and the business.

The Map is a large-scale study of the Institute of Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer of UNWE in partnership with the Ministry of Culture, the Patent Office, the National Statistical Institute /NSI/, the National Association of Municipalities in the Republic of Bulgaria /NAMRB/ and the National Association of Chairmen of Municipal Councils in the Republic of Bulgaria /NACMCRB/. The interactive map was presented by the Head of the Prof. Dr. Borislav Borisov Institute of Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer at UNWE Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nikolay Krushkov. The presenters of the ceremony were generated with artificial intelligence.

The President Rumen Radev said that the science, inventions, innovations, technological transfer are the driving force of progress and enable the country to move in an upward direction. "All applications for patents, inventions, trademarks are an expression of a nation's ambition of what place it will occupy on the geopolitical map of innovation. This activity should become a national priority", said the Head of the State.

“For the first time in Bulgaria, and in the European Union, we have an interactive map in such an important area”, said Radev. According to him, this is a really comprehensive and in-depth study with the tools of statistics, of many branches of science, which gives a real idea not what decisions are made at a high level, but what happens "on the ground" - in municipalities, in the education system, in the business.

In the picture /from the left to the right/: the President Rumen Radev, the Chairman of NACMCRB Ventsislav Spiridonov, the Chairman of NAMRB Daniel Panov, the Rector of UNWE Prof. Dimitar Dimitrov, the President of the Patent Office of the Republic of Bulgaria Olya Dimitrova, the President of NSI Assoc. Prof. Dr. Atanas Atanasov, the Director of the Directorate of Copyright and Related Rights at the Ministry of Culture Mehti Melikov, the Head of Prof. Dr. Borislav Borisov Institute of Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nikolay Krushkov

The Rector of the UNWE Prof. Dimitar Dimitrov expressed thankfulness to the President for his presence at the presentation of this important national study. "The research is extremely serious and would not have happened if we did not have six partner organizations, if 10 Departments from our university, specialists in various fields, knowledgeable in artificial intelligence, statistical research, proficient in analysis and generalization, had not participated. As Professor William Deming, the originator of the concept of quality management, says “you can't manage if you can't measure”. I hope the government institutions will take advantage of this research in their further work and policy in this area", said Prof. Dimitrov.

The President of the Patent Office of the Republic of Bulgaria Olya Dimitrova said that the Patent Office is extremely pleased to be involved in this wonderful project. "For the first time we have aggregated data on industrial property, which includes patents, industrial designs, trademarks and information on copyright and related rights activities. This sets the direction for all of us to do our part together and finally have a strategy for intellectual property development in Bulgaria."

The Chairman of NACMCRB Ventsislav Spiridonov, the Chairman of NAMRB Daniel Panov, the Chairman of NSI Assoc. Prof. Dr. Atanas Atanasov, who is also a lecturer at the UNWE, and the Director of the Directorate of Copyright and Related Rights at the Ministry of Culture Mehti Melikov spoke at the official presentation of the National Map and emphasized that its main purpose and the analytical report created is to serve as a management tool in determining the strategic priorities for the development of the country, in the formation of state policies in the fields of innovation, education and culture, in promoting the regional competitiveness through local initiatives.

It is generally agreed that the map marks an important step in promoting the intellectual property as a key factor for economic development and cultural enrichment. The event will provide a platform for discussions between the government representatives, local administrations and academia on the future development strategies.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nikolay Krushkov specified that the research was carried out in 265 municipalities and official data on the industrial and literary-artistic property of the country were collected and analyzed. "Through extensive cooperation between the state institutions, local authorities and the UNWE, official data on the economic development, industrial and literary-artistic property of the country were summarized, processed and analyzed, and this allowed the creation of an interactive National Map of Intellectual Property. The team includes 31 scientists, PhD students at the UNWE and other universities, lecturers, specialists, representatives of relevant partner organizations, who have studied 23 indicators", said Assoc. Prof. Krushkov.

The interactive National Map of Intellectual Property in the Republic of Bulgaria can be seen HERE.

The ceremony continued with awarding the prizes to the most active municipalities in terms of innovation, representatives of academia, business and individual inventors.