It is reported that Bulgaria imposes an identity requirement for SIM registration. Anyone wanting to purchase a SIM card has to provide their national ID card or a passport in case of foreigners to activate a new prepaid SIM card.

It is reported that Bulgaria exhibits inadequate prosecution efforts, lengthy and inefficient procedures, and a lack of deterrent criminal penalties, particularly in the area of online piracy. Stakeholders have expressed concerns about notorious online piracy sites reportedly hosted in or operated from Bulgaria.

Bulgaria and the European Union have adopted the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty. Bulgaria acceded to the Treaty on 29 March 2001, with its provisions coming into force on 6 March 2002. Subsequently, the European Union ratified the Treaty on 14 December 2009, and it entered into effect on 14 March 2010.

Bulgaria and the European Union have adopted the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Performances and Phonograms Treaty. Bulgaria acceded to the Treaty on 29 March 2001, with its provisions coming into force on 20 May 2002. Subsequently, the European Union ratified the Treaty on 14 December 2009, and it entered into effect on 14 March 2010.

The Directive 2016/943 on the protection of undisclosed know-how and business information (trade secrets) is key in harmonising national laws concerning trade secrets. In Bulgaria, the Trade Secret Protection Act introduces a comprehensive protection framework for business secrets.

The "Act on the Economic and Financial Relations with Companies Registered in Preferential Tax Regime Jurisdictions, the Persons Related to Them and Their Beneficial Owners" stipulates that companies registered in the jurisdictions listed in §1 No. 64 of the "Supplementary Provisions of the Corporate Income Tax" may not participate in public procurement procedures. This includes a closed list of countries and territories, as well as all jurisdictions with which Bulgaria has no effective double taxation treaties and where taxes are lower than 40% of the taxes in Bulgaria. The ban includes "related parties" – notably shareholders. This restriction is waived when the owners of the company in question are "Bulgarian citizens and known to the public" if the company is publicly traded or if the parent company is a media publisher and declared its owner.

Art. 85 of the Utilities Directive (2014/25/EU) contains provisions allowing contracting public entities to reject foreign goods not covered by any EU international commitments from its tender procedures. In these cases, a tender submitted for the award of a supply contract may be rejected where the proportion of the products originating in third countries exceeds 50% of the total value of the products constituting the tender (Art. 85.2). Additionally, in cases of equivalent offers, the provisions provide for a preference for European tenders and tenders covered by EU's international obligations. In practice, this possibility has rarely been used.
In 2019, the Directive has been transposed with the Implementing Rules of the Public Procurement Act, as well as by the Public Procurement Act.

It is reported that the lack of transparency is a challenge for public procurement procedures in Bulgaria, especially for foreign bidders, including with respect to overly narrow definitions of tenders and implicit biases in favour of local vendors and state-owned enterprises.

It is reported that in Bulgaria, there are no restrictions for domestic or foreign private entities to establish and own businesses. The Offshore Companies Act (not accessible online) prohibits companies in offshore jurisdictions with more than 10% foreign ownership from engaging in 28 specific activities, including banking and insurance. However, these companies may operate if the physical owners of the parent company are publicly known Bulgarian citizens if the parent company's shares are listed on a stock exchange, or if the parent company is registered in a jurisdiction with a double tax treaty with Bulgaria.

Art. 3 of the Act on Patents and Registration of Utility Models requires applicants that are not established in the EU, the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland to act before the Patent Office through a lawyer or an industrial property representative.

Bulgaria is a signatory of the Patent Cooperation Treaty.

There is no general principle for the use of copyright-protected material comparable to the fair use/fair dealing principles. Directive 2001/29/EC defines an optional but exhaustive set of limitations from the author´s exclusive rights under the control of the “three-step test” in line with the Berne Convention that establishes three cumulative conditions to the limitations and exceptions of a copyright holder’s rights. The Directive has been transposed by Member States with significant freedom.
Art. 23 of the Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Act specifies a series of exceptions, including scientific research, educational uses, analysis and comment and news coverage. Art. 25 provides an exception for private copies.

The Law on Protection of Consumers' Rights and the Law on E-Transactions provide a comprehensive consumer protection framework that also applies to online transactions. The Law regulates the rights and obligations of consumers, the liability of organisations or individuals trading goods and/or services to consumers, the liability of social organisations in protecting the interests of consumers, resolving disputes between consumers and sellers, the liability of the State on the protection of consumers’ interests. In addition, the Law on E-transactions provides the legal framework for electronic signatures and e-transactions.