Jul.22 (China Daily) -- The State Intellectual Property Office recently released a series of reports on IP environments in the countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative.

Guan Yuying, director of the Intellectual Property Research Office at the Institute of Law under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, led a team to research IP environments in the Middle East. The research covered Egypt and six member countries of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf - Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

"Their religion is reflected in IP legislation in the region," Guan told China Daily. "As a result, it is necessary to learn about the cultural differences if a business decides to enter such a market."

"They are looking to switch to a diversified industrial structure, which also gives Chinese companies - and their overseas competitors - business opportunities in such matured markets," she added.

Dang Xiaolin, a partner at Beijing Sanyou Intellectual Property Agency, whose team conducted research into the IP environments in a number of countries in Central and Eastern Europe, said, "The region has yet to improve its IP infrastructure and patent filing processing capacities."

"Also, it is worth noting that the countries covered in the research (into Central and Eastern Europe) differ from other regions in their procedures for securing and maintaining industrial property rights including patents and trademarks," Dang said.

The veteran IP attorney identified accurate information gathering through a thorough analysis of target markets and due diligence investigations into local IP environments as vital aspects of a company's strategy.

He also suggested that companies forge closer cooperation with specialist IP attorneys and seek aid from Chinese legal counsels for special solutions.

He called on Chinese companies facing IP disputes to seek legal recourse in order to protect their legitimate interests.

SIPO Deputy Commissioner Gan Shaoning said at the release ceremony for the reports, "Chinese companies that are looking to go global need to have a better understanding of overseas IP rules and environments, which will help protect their own interests and promote business growth while respecting others' rights."