In its judgment on 14 July 2021 in Case T-399/20, the General Court assessed whether there is likelihood of confusion between figurative trademarks that depict two letters from different foreign alphabets.

At the beginning of 2021 the Bulgarian Competition Protection Act (CPA) was amended, among others, with the implementation of ECN+ Directive. This brought hope that the antitrust activity of the Bulgarian Competition Protection Commission (CPC) may increase.

With the country still helmed by an interim government, it would appear that Bulgaria remains in a position to grow and prosper and is a fruitful target for investors, according to Boyanov & Co Partner Damian Simeonov.

On June 23, 2021, CEE Legal Matters reported that DGKV had advised Internet Corporated Networks on the sale of its hosting and domain business to Superhosting.bg. CEE In-House Matters spoke with Julian Borislavov, CEO and Co-Founder of ICN to learn more about the deal.

On December 31, 2020, CEE Legal Matters reported that CMS had advised contractor Arkad on the completion of the Balkan Stream Gas Pipeline project. We reached out to CMS Sofia Managing Partner Kostadin Sirleshtov for more information about the deal.

Bulgaria’s accession to NATO in 2004 challenged the country’s army to modernize its armaments and replace obsolete military equipment. This is a multi-stage process, based on a series of political decisions and a consistent implementation of a long-term strategy. Bulgaria must catch up with the other CEE members of the Alliance, which have already completed or are in an advanced stage of modernizing their armies and are already in the capacity-building process. What Bulgaria is planning, how that plan is being executed, and what opportunities we should look forward to in the near future are critical considerations.

A year ago, Bulgaria took its first steps into a new world after several months of almost total lockdown following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The July 17, 2021 deadline for implementing Directive (EU) 2019/1023 of the European Parliament and of the Council of June 20, 2019, on preventive restructuring frameworks, on discharge of debt and disqualifications, and on measures to increase the efficiency of procedures concerning restructuring, insolvency, and discharge of debt, and amending Directive (EU) 2017/1132 is quickly approaching, leaving little time for EU Member States to adjust their national legislations to its requirements.

Looking at the past 18 months, as economies across CEE contracted, the technology, media, and telecom sector has been surging. A balancing factor for economies, it helped avoid a deeper recession. For CEE law firms, TMT’s solid performance brought in a steady amount of work, helping polish what might otherwise have been a lackluster year.

Before the democratic changes of 1990 lawyers worked independently but under the supervision of the Minister of Justice. Remunerations were limited, leading to an administrative distribution of work. Lawyers were mainly involved in family and inheritance law, sale-purchase of housing, and cooperative relations.

With the interim government firmly in charge until the upcoming elections take place, Bulgaria is experiencing strong economic wind in its sails, according to Wolf Theiss Partner Richard Clegg.

While the Dealer’s Choice Conference in London could not be organized this year in a safe manner due to current events, on July 20, 2021, CEE Legal Matters sat down with several of the event’s sponsors to take a closer look at the Deals of the Year award winners this year.

CMS’s Kostadin Sirleshtov and Atanas Bangachev Talk About The Deal of the Year in Bulgaria.

Schoenherr’s Alexandra Doytchinova and Stefana Tsekova Talk About The Deal of the Year in Bulgaria.

In “The Corner Office” we ask Managing Partners at law firms across Central and Eastern Europe about their backgrounds, strategies, and responsibilities. The question this time: “What did you most want to be when you were little?”

With the country being steered by a caretaker government appointed by President Rumen Radev, the overall outlook for Bulgaria seems to be positive, according to Gugushev & Partners Partner Victor Gugushev.

CMS' Malgorzata Surdek-Janicka has been appointed as Vice-President of the International Court of Arbitration at the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris. Aside from Surdek-Janicka, 33 lawyers from CEE were appointed as members and alternate members of the court.

On March 24, 2021, CEE Legal Matters reported that Djingov, Gouginski, Kyutchukov & Velichkov had advised the founders of tech start-up MYX AD on EUR 350,000 invested into the company by a group led by New Vision 3 Fund KD. CEE In-House Matters spoke with Yordan Zarev, Partner at New Vision 3 Fund, to learn more about the matter.