Bulgaria Removed from US Intellectual Property Watch List

The decision was made because of significant enforcement actions and progress in criminal prosecutions over the past year.

Bulgaria has been removed from the Watch List in the annual US report on intellectual property protection. This is stated in the Special 301 Report published by the Office of the United States Trade Representative.

The decision was made because of significant enforcement actions and progress in criminal prosecutions over the past year.

The report notes that in August 2023 Bulgaria adopted amendments to the Criminal Code. They provide for the criminal prosecution of individuals who create conditions for online piracy through the development and maintenance of torrent trackers, web platforms and chat groups in applications for the online exchange of pirated content.

In 2025, the Bulgarian government demonstrated strong engagement and took steps to improve its intellectual property enforcement efforts, the report also says.

In January 2026, Bulgarian law enforcement authorities seized the five most popular Bulgarian piracy domains. One of them was often among the 10 most visited domains in the country. Search and seizure warrants were executed at 30 locations. Several individuals were arrested, with some of them charged under the relevant provision of the Criminal Code.

At the same time, the European Union was added to the Watch List in 2026. The report says the recent provisional agreement on the EU General Pharmaceutical Legislation is of particular concern. Issues related to geographical indications and the implementation of legislation affecting digital copyright were also identified as problematic. | BGNES

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