World Intellectual Property Day, observed annually on April 26 worldwide, was celebrated in Bulgaria with one day delay on April 27. The celebration came in the form of the official announcement of the founding of yet-another intellectual property rights organisation.

A number of local organisations, including Bulgarian Association of Music Producers (BAMP), the association of publishers of business software (SIBS), the collective right organisations Muzikautor Profon, the Association of Bulgarian Radio and television operators (ABRO) and the Association of TV Producers (ATP) announced the founding of the Intellectual Property Association.

The new association hoped it would "succeed in promoting the importance of intellectual property to influence public understanding of its value, to encourage the creation of national products of intellect, creativity and technical thought to support the efforts of public sector and businesses on the protection of intellectual property rights and to contribute to the normalization of economic and social environment in Bulgaria," a media statement of the new association said.

The new association would be formally presented at a cocktail party, organised on the occasion of World Intellectual Property Day, but held on April 27 in the Central Military Club in Sofia.

Invited to the cocktail were prominent figures from political and public life in the country, along with representatives of diplomatic missions of international partners and European Union member states, business partners and people working in the field of intellectual property, the media statement said.

Special guest at the cocktail was US ambassador to Bulgaria Nancy McEldowney, the media statement said.

World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) had set promoting green innovation as the key to a secure future as the theme for the 2009 World Intellectual Property Day.

The Bulgarian Patent Office had celebrated the day by organizing two periods of information, from April 6-9 and April 13-15, about the Patent Office and about intellectual property at the Angel Kanchev university in Rouse and the Asen Zlatarov university  in Bourgas.

The objective of the events was to build awareness of intellectual property among students, faculty members and researchers.

All the participants in these events received the message of WIPO director general and had the opportunity to share their thoughts about green innovations at round tables, the WIPO said in a media statement.