Bulgaria Removed from "Special 301 Report": A Major Success in the Fight Against Online Piracy

04.05.2026 | Bulgaria

Bulgaria has been removed from the US "Special 301 Report" on intellectual property following successful operations by the Prosecutor's Office and the National Investigation Service against large-scale online piracy networks.

Снимка от Maj. Christopher Vasquez, USAF, Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

A Historic Breakthrough in Intellectual Property Protection

As a result of the consistent and coordinated actions of the Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Bulgaria and the National Investigation Service (NIsS), with the assistance of the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, our country has been removed from the so-called "Special 301 Report" watch list regarding intellectual property protection.

This decision is a recognition of the significant progress made in law enforcement and the intensification of criminal proceedings against cybercrimes.

Key Operations Against Pirated Content

The decision by the U.S. side is based on concrete results, including:

National Network Against Cybercrime

The success is also due to the National Network of prosecutors and investigators specialized in investigating crimes against intellectual property, established at the end of April. Experts comment that this is an important step toward improving the business environment and the protection of copyrights in Bulgaria.