In connection with inaccurate and false statements appearing in a publication on the Club Z website, Gallup International Balkan EAD would like to clarify the following:
1. Since August 2024, when the Gallup International Balkan polling agency changed ownership, it has not been involved in the activities of the non-governmental association based in Zurich called Gallup International Association (GIA). Neither before nor after that date have the surveys conducted by the agency on domestic issues and on behalf of Bulgarian clients been organized or financed by the association in question, nor has it had or has it anything to do with them.
2. GIA, based in Zurich, does not hold the legal rights to the Gallup and Gallup International trademarks either in Bulgaria or even in the country where it is registered, Switzerland. These facts can be easily verified from public information in the relevant national registers. Due to the lack of legal rights, the GIA association cannot and does not grant any “licenses” for the use of the trademark. This can only be done by its legitimate owner, Gallup, Inc. In Switzerland, these trademarks belong to Gallup, Inc. – USA. GIA also has no rights in Bulgaria. The trademark under which the Bulgarian agency has been publicly known for years – Gallup International Balkan – was registered with the Patent Office in 2023 (the application was filed by Gallup International Balkan), and is opposed by Gallup, Inc. This proceeding was suspended in May 2025 due to negotiations between the Bulgarian and American agencies. As established by journalistic investigations, the previous owners of Gallup International Balkan used their participation in GIA as a pretext to justify their use of the trademark. From a legal point of view, this pretext was and remains unfounded.
3. The authoritative American and global company Gallup, Inc. is not “under the umbrella” of GIA, but left it in the 1990s, requesting that GIA and its members not use the trademark without permission—a request that GIA has not complied with. These issues are the subject of legal proceedings around the world, which, with the exception of a few specific cases, are being won by the American company Gallup, Inc. Such cases were brought during the time of the previous owners and against Gallup International Balkan.
4. Guided by our understanding that legality and business ethics require that these relations be settled and that, insofar as the Swiss-registered GIA has no legal rights, by mutual agreement between the new owners of Gallup International Balkan and the American side, for the first time in the history of these relations, business negotiations were initiated. On this basis, the pending court cases and proceedings before the Patent Office were suspended.
5. Given the participation of Gallup International Balkan in GIA at the time of the previous owners, nearly six months after the change of ownership, during which there were no relations, at the beginning of 2025, GIA inquired whether Gallup International Balkan wished to continue its relations with the association. In a spirit of goodwill, in February we expressed such a wish and provided the relevant information. Beyond that, GIA didn’t ask for and isn’t aware of any relevant info on any aspects of Gallup International Balkan’s professional activities, its sociological research, methodology, analyses, or its new and respected team.
6. Meanwhile, given the obstacles that relations with GIA could potentially create for negotiations with Gallup, Inc., we decided in May to refrain from participating in GIA at this stage. Among the reasons for our decision were the unacceptable participation and positions of GIA board members in Vladimir Putin’s Valdai Forum and some anti-Israel suggestions in one of GIA’s own surveys on the Gaza Strip. GIA proposed a meeting in July, which did not take place. Due to the progress of our negotiations with Gallup Inc., in early August Gallup International Balkan explicitly notified GIA that it was terminating its relationship with the association. GIA’s reaction is a response to all of this and is part of the overall context of their conflict with Gallup, Inc.
7. The domain gallup-international. bg did not belong to Gallup International Balkan and was not part of the company acquisition deal. At the time of the transfer, it was owned by a company of the previous owners, who subsequently transferred it. For this reason, Gallup International Balkan, as our partners and clients are aware, now uses the domain www. gallupinternational.bg