Gugushev & Partners Law Office provided litigation and administrative representation to a leading Bulgarian producer of lyutenitsa in connection with several judicial and administrative proceedings concerning the protection of intellectual property rights. The law office represented the client in disputes involving complex issues concerning the relationship between trademark protection and geographical indications, as well as in proceedings for the cancellation of European and national trademarks.

One of the key matters involved a dispute concerning the relationship between a registered trademark and a geographical indication. In the course of the proceedings, the law office represented the client before the Bulgarian courts, and the Supreme Court of Cassation referred questions to the Court of Justice of the European Union concerning the application of the EU legal framework for the protection of geographical indications. In 2022, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 did not allow for the parallel application of a national regime for the registration and protection of geographical names for agricultural products and foodstuffs falling within the scope of the Regulation.

The ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union had a direct impact on the development of the dispute and the applicable legal framework in Bulgaria. Following the ruling, the law office continued to represent Konservinvest OOD before the Bulgarian courts, which took the interpretation of the Court of Justice into account in subsequent proceedings.