USPTO FEBRUARY 12-16, 2007 GLOBAL INTELLECTUAL

UNCLAS SOFIA 001626 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON ETRD KIPR AORC BU SUBJECT: USPTO FEBRUARY 12-16, 2007 GLOBAL INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ACADEMY (GIPA),ADVANCED PATENT LAW AND PROCEDURE PROGRAM IN ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA REF: A) STATE 187995 B) EMAIL McCAFFREY-TONEV 11/17/2006 ¶1. (U) Per reftel, we would like to nominate Mrs. Anka Chervenkova and Mrs. Svetla Iordanova, of the Bulgarian Patent Office, for the USPTO Advanced Patent Law and Procedure Program scheduled for February 12-16, 2007. From April 2006 until now Chervenkova has headed the Disputes Department at the Bulgarian Patent Office, which is responsible for settling disputes that may arise during new patent registration. Her department considers requests for invalidation of patents, trademarks and industrial design registrations. ¶2. (U) Svetla Iordanova is currently a state examiner in the International Activities, Cooperation and Development Directorate, Bulgarian Patent Office. Iordanova is responsible for working with the European Patent Office (EPO) and World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in the field of patent protection of industrial property. She was part of the working group that prepared the amendments in the Law on Patents and Utility Models. She has also participated in the meetings of the Committee on Patent Law at EPO and the work of the Standing Committee on Patents at WIPO. ¶3. (U) The Bulgarian government has recently made strong progress towards improving its IPR regime. Insufficient government resources remain a major obstacle to strengthening IPR protection. We greatly appreciate USPTO's efforts to provide training and capacity. The Bulgarian candidate(s),however, are unlikely to travel without funding assistance. Post respectfully requests USPTO funding for travel costs and lodging (Ref B). ¶3. (U) Nominees' contact information: --Mrs. Anka Chervenkova Disputes Department, Head Patent Office 52B G.M. Dimitrov Blvd Tel. (359-2) 9701-467 Fax. (359-2) 870-8325 E-mail: atchervenkova@bpo.bg Work Experience: April 2006 - present, Disputes Department, Patent Office, Head; August 1998 - March 2006, Mechanical Examination Department, Patent Office, Head; December 1986 - July 1998, Mechanical Examination Department, Patent Office, State Examiner. Education: Sofia Technical University, Graduate in Mechanical Engineering; Specialization(s): Postgraduate patent course, patent specialist --Mrs. Svetla Iordanova International Activities, Cooperation and Development Department, Patent Office, State Examiner. 52B G.M. Dimitrov Blvd Tel. (359-2) 9701-464 Fax. (359-2) 870-8325 E-mail: siordanova@bpo.bg Work Experience: April 2006 - present, International Activities, Cooperation and Development Department, Patent Office; July 1978 - March 2006, Chemistry Examination Department, Patent Office. Education: "St. Kliment Ohridski" Sofia University, Graduate in Chemistry; Specialization(s): Postgraduate patent course, patent specialist --Embassy Sofia Point of Contact (POC) will be Economic Specialist Danko Tonev. Contact information for Mr. Tonev follows: (Office) 359-2-937-5212, (Fax) 359-2-937-5320, and (E-mail) tonevdt@state.gov. BEYRLE