Bulgaria

Закон за авторското право и сродните му права (Law on Copyright and Neighboring Rights)

Baseline · Effective 1990-01-01

?

Relevant section: Art. 24, Art. 25

Dates: Effective 1990-01-01

Why this score

Bulgaria's copyright law prior to the 1993 LCRR was governed by the 1951 Law on Copyright (Закон за авторското право, 1951, amended 1956, 1972). The full text of this law as in force on 1990-01-01 could not be retrieved or verified via web search. It is known that Bulgaria had a copyright law in force at that date, but the specific exceptions and limitations relevant to research cannot be confirmed from primary statutory text. The 1993 LCRR (SG No. 56/1993) replaced this earlier law entirely. Because the actual statutory text in force on 1990-01-01 could not be verified, this baseline is marked AMBIGUOUS.

Source links

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Закон за авторското право и сродните му права (Law on Copyright and Neighboring Rights, SG No. 56/1993)

Relevant update · Effective 1993-08-01

60%

Relevant section: Art. 24, Art. 25

Dates: Effective 1993-08-01 · Enacted 1993-06-29

Why this score

The 1993 LCRR introduced several research-relevant exceptions. Art. 24(2) permits use of 'parts of published works or of a small number of works' for scientific research — this covers only parts/excerpts, not full-work reproduction of any single work (except possibly very small works in a collection). Art. 25 permits reproduction of already disclosed works by a natural person for personal use without commercial purpose — this is a private/personal use exception that on its face permits reproduction of full works but is limited to natural persons for personal use. Art. 25 is the most permissive exception: it allows full-work reproduction but is restricted to natural persons for personal (private) use. It does not authorize sharing or communication. Art. 24(2) is narrower because it limits to 'parts' of works. The combination yields LIGHT BLUE: full-work reproduction is permitted but only for private/personal use by individuals, with no sharing right. Non-commercial restriction in Art. 25 is classification-neutral per the rules.

Exceptions considered

Original text

Чл. 24. Без съгласието на автора и без заплащане на възнаграждение е допустимо: 1. използването на цитати от вече разгласени произведения на други автори при критика или обзор при условие, че обемът им не надхвърля обема, оправдан от целта, и че се посочва източникът и името на автора, освен ако това е невъзможно; 2. използването на части от публикувани произведения или на неголям брой произведения в други произведения в обем, необходим за анализ, коментар или друго научно изследване; такова използване е допустимо само за научни и образователни цели, при условие че се посочва източникът и името на автора, освен ако това е невъзможно; ... Чл. 25. Без съгласието на автора и без заплащане на възнаграждение е допустимо възпроизвеждането на вече разгласени произведения от физическо лице за негово лично ползване, при условие че не се извършва с търговска цел.

English rendering

[Unofficial translation]: Art. 24. Without the consent of the author and without payment of remuneration, the following shall be permitted: 1. the use of quotations from already disclosed works of other authors in criticism or review, provided that the extent does not exceed the extent justified by the purpose, and that the source and the name of the author are indicated, unless this is impossible; 2. the use of parts of published works or of a small number of works in other works to the extent necessary for analysis, commentary or other scientific research; such use shall be permitted only for scientific and educational purposes, provided that the source and the name of the author are indicated, unless this is impossible; ... Art. 25. Without the consent of the author and without payment of remuneration, the reproduction of already disclosed works by a natural person for his personal use shall be permitted, provided that it is not carried out for commercial purposes.

Source links

• Official text 1 ↗
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Закон за изменение и допълнение на ЗАПСП (SG No. 28/2000)

Relevant update · Effective 2000-04-06

20%

Relevant section: Art. 24, Art. 25, Art. 25a

Dates: Effective 2000-04-06 · Enacted 2000-03-22

Why this score

The 2000 amendment restructured Art. 25 and added Art. 25a. Art. 25(1) now permits reproduction for personal use of disclosed works but explicitly excludes: (1) computer programs, (2) architectural works in the form of buildings and plans, (3) sheet music when reproduced by reprography. This means full-work reproduction is permitted for most types of works but specific categories are carved out — this is ORANGE for Art. 25 individually. Art. 25a permits institutional reproduction (libraries, educational establishments, museums, archives) excluding computer programs, not for distribution, not commercial — this is PURPLE individually (institutional only). Art. 24(2) remains unchanged (parts of works for scientific research — RED individually). The most permissive exception is Art. 25: it permits full-work reproduction for personal use by natural persons, but excludes certain categories of works. Since full-work reproduction is available for most works but not all (computer programs, architectural works, sheet music by reprography are excluded), this is ORANGE. The exclusion of specific work categories is the determining factor. No sharing is permitted. Non-commercial restriction is classification-neutral.

Exceptions considered

Original text

Чл. 25. (Изм. - ДВ, бр. 28 от 2000 г.) (1) Без съгласието на автора и без заплащане на възнаграждение е допустимо за лично ползване възпроизвеждането на вече разгласени произведения, с изключение на: 1. компютърни програми; 2. архитектурни произведения под формата на строежи и схеми; 3. нотни материали, когато възпроизвеждането е чрез репрографиране. (2) Възпроизвеждането по ал. 1 трябва да не е предназначено за разпространение и да не се извършва с търговска цел. Чл. 25а. (Нов - ДВ, бр. 28 от 2000 г.) Без съгласието на автора и без заплащане на възнаграждение е допустимо възпроизвеждането на произведения от общодостъпни библиотеки, учебни или други образователни заведения, музеи и архивни учреждения, с изключение на компютърни програми, при условие че възпроизвеждането не е предназначено за разпространение и не се извършва с търговска цел.

English rendering

[Unofficial translation]: Art. 25. (Amended - SG No. 28/2000) (1) Without the consent of the author and without payment of remuneration, the reproduction for personal use of already disclosed works shall be permitted, with the exception of: 1. computer programs; 2. architectural works in the form of buildings and plans; 3. sheet music, where reproduction is by reprography. (2) Reproduction under para. 1 must not be intended for distribution and must not be carried out for commercial purposes. Art. 25a. (New - SG No. 28/2000) Without the consent of the author and without payment of remuneration, the reproduction of works by publicly accessible libraries, educational or other educational establishments, museums and archival institutions shall be permitted, with the exception of computer programs, provided that the reproduction is not intended for distribution and is not carried out for commercial purposes.

Source links

• Official text ↗

Закон за изменение и допълнение на ЗАПСП (SG No. 99/2005)

Relevant update · Effective 2006-01-10

20%

Relevant section: Art. 24, Art. 25, Art. 25a

Dates: Effective 2006-01-10 · Enacted 2005-12-09

Why this score

The 2005 amendment (SG No. 99/2005, effective 10 January 2006) transposed Directive 2001/29/EC (InfoSoc Directive) into Bulgarian law. The core structure of Art. 24 (scientific research exception for parts of works), Art. 25 (personal use with exclusions for computer programs, architectural works, sheet music), and Art. 25a (institutional reproduction) remained substantively the same. Art. 25 continued to exclude computer programs, architectural works, and sheet music from personal-use reproduction. The classification remains ORANGE for the same reasons as the 2000 amendment: full-work reproduction is permitted for personal use but with categorical exclusions of certain types of works.

Exceptions considered

Source links

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Закон за изменение и допълнение на ЗАПСП (SG No. 25/2011)

Relevant update · Effective 2011-03-25

20%

Relevant section: Art. 24, Art. 25, Art. 25a

Dates: Effective 2011-03-25 · Enacted 2011-03-25

Why this score

The 2011 amendment (SG No. 25/2011) made various changes to the LCRR but the core research-relevant exceptions in Art. 24, 25, and 25a remained substantively unchanged. Art. 25 continued to permit personal-use reproduction with the same categorical exclusions (computer programs, architectural works, sheet music by reprography). The classification remains ORANGE.

Exceptions considered

Source links

• Official text ↗

Закон за изменение и допълнение на ЗАПСП (SG No. 28/2018)

Relevant update · Effective 2018-03-29

20%

Relevant section: Art. 24, Art. 25, Art. 25a

Dates: Effective 2018-03-29 · Enacted 2018-03-29

Why this score

The 2018 amendment (SG No. 28/2018) made changes to the LCRR primarily related to collective management of rights and other provisions. The core research-relevant exceptions in Art. 24, 25, and 25a remained substantively unchanged. Art. 25 continued to permit personal-use reproduction with categorical exclusions. Classification remains ORANGE.

Exceptions considered

Закон за изменение и допълнение на Закона за авторското право и сродните му права (SG No. 108/2023)

Relevant update · Effective 2023-12-22

20%

Relevant section: Art. 24, Art. 25, Art. 25a, Art. 25б (new), Art. 25в (new), Art. 25г (new)

Dates: Effective 2023-12-22 · Enacted 2023-12-22

Why this score

The 2023 amendment transposed the DSM Directive (2019/790) and CabSat Directive (2019/789) into Bulgarian law. New TDM exceptions were added: Art. 25б (TDM for scientific research by research organizations and cultural heritage institutions — this is PURPLE individually as it is limited to specific institutional users) and Art. 25в (general TDM exception for any user, but subject to rightholder opt-out, covering reproduction and extraction — this covers reproduction for TDM purposes by any user). The general TDM exception (Art. 25в) permits reproduction and extraction for TDM by any user from lawfully accessed works. However, the TDM exceptions cover 'reproduction and extraction' — they do not explicitly authorize communication/sharing of results beyond what is inherent in TDM. The general TDM exception (Art. 25в) is potentially BLUE (reproduction for any user, any work, but no sharing). However, the pre-existing Art. 25 (personal use reproduction excluding computer programs, architectural works, sheet music) remains in force and is ORANGE due to categorical work exclusions. Comparing: Art. 25в (general TDM) would be BLUE if it covers all works without exclusion for reproduction purposes. But the overall classification must reflect the most permissive exception. Art. 25в covers reproduction and extraction for TDM by any user for any work — this is BLUE (reproduction only, all works, all users). This is more permissive than Art. 25 (ORANGE). However, Art. 25в is specifically for TDM purposes. For general research reproduction, Art. 25 (ORANGE) remains the most permissive. The most permissive exception overall for research use is now Art. 25в (general TDM) which permits reproduction of full works by any user — BLUE. But upon closer analysis, the TDM exception permits 'reproductions and extractions' for the purpose of text and data mining specifically. For a researcher doing TDM, this is BLUE. For general research reproduction not involving TDM, Art. 25 (ORANGE) applies. Since the classification should reflect the most permissive exception available for any research use, and TDM is a research use, the overall classification moves to BLUE.

Exceptions considered

English rendering

[Unofficial translation based on secondary sources]: New Art. 25б introduces a mandatory exception for text and data mining (TDM) for the purposes of scientific research by research organizations and cultural heritage institutions, transposing Article 3 of Directive (EU) 2019/790. New Art. 25в introduces a general TDM exception (transposing Article 4 of Directive 2019/790), permitting reproductions and extractions of lawfully accessible works for the purposes of text and data mining, subject to the right of rightholders to opt out. Additional exceptions were introduced for illustration for teaching in the digital environment and for preservation of cultural heritage. Caricature, parody, and pastiche were explicitly added as exceptions. The existing exceptions in Art. 24 (quotation, scientific research use of parts of works), Art. 25 (personal use reproduction with categorical exclusions), and Art. 25a (institutional reproduction) remain in force.

Source links

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Закон за авторското право и сродните му права (Law on Copyright and Neighboring Rights, as amended through SG No. 108/2023)

Current law confirmation · Effective 2025-01-01

80%

Relevant section: Art. 24, Art. 25, Art. 25a, Art. 25б, Art. 25в

Dates: Effective 2025-01-01

Why this score

As of 2025, the most permissive research-relevant exception in Bulgarian copyright law is the general TDM exception (Art. 25в, transposing DSM Directive Art. 4). This permits reproduction and extraction of lawfully accessed works for TDM purposes by any user, covering all types of works. It does not explicitly authorize communication or sharing of the reproduced materials beyond what is inherent in TDM. The rightholder opt-out mechanism is a unique feature but does not change the classification per the rules (analogous to proportionality qualifiers/lawful access requirements). Uses: reproduction and extraction only (no explicit sharing/communication right) → not GREEN. Works: all types of works (no categorical exclusions) → not ORANGE. Users: any user (not limited to institutions or individuals) → not PURPLE or LIGHT BLUE. This yields BLUE. The pre-existing Art. 25 (personal use, ORANGE due to work exclusions), Art. 25a (institutional, PURPLE), Art. 24(2) (parts of works, RED), and Art. 25б (institutional TDM, PURPLE) are all less permissive. Non-commercial restrictions and lawful-access requirements are classification-neutral.

Exceptions considered

English rendering

[Unofficial translation, composite from verified sources]: Art. 24(2): The use of parts of published works or of a small number of works in other works to the extent necessary for analysis, commentary or other scientific research is permitted without the consent of the author and without payment of remuneration, for scientific and educational purposes, with attribution. Art. 25(1): Reproduction for personal use of already disclosed works is permitted without the consent of the author and without payment of remuneration, with the exception of: 1. computer programs; 2. architectural works in the form of buildings and plans; 3. sheet music, where reproduction is by reprography. Art. 25a: Reproduction by publicly accessible libraries, educational establishments, museums and archival institutions is permitted, excluding computer programs, provided not for distribution and not commercial. Art. 25б (new, 2023): TDM exception for scientific research by research organizations and cultural heritage institutions — permits reproduction and extraction for TDM for scientific research purposes from lawfully accessed works. Art. 25в (new, 2023): General TDM exception — permits reproduction and extraction for text and data mining by any person from lawfully accessed works, subject to rightholders' right to opt out (reserve their rights).

Source links

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• Official text 2 ↗
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