Top IP regulator handles 166 IP disputes overseas in H1

China has increased efforts to help enterprises deal with intellectual property disputes overseas, with guidance in handling 166 such cases during the first half of this year, an official from the country's top IP regulator said on Wednesday.

Song Beibei, deputy head of the China National Intellectual Property Administration's Intellectual Property Protection Department, told a news conference that it has established 71 centers nationwide and opened similar agencies in five countries to guide Chinese companies going global to tackle IP disputes.

"We've also provided training for various Chinese market entities nearly 1,000 times to enhance their awareness and capability of protecting IP rights," she said, adding that over 1,800 experts have been selected as mentors of handling IP disputes overseas.

Additionally, IP-related information overseas have been continuously updated and published by the administration on an online platform, with issuance of a number of guidelines, such as those on cross-border e-commerce IP protection and trademark protection in major countries, according to her.

Liang Xinxin, spokesman for the administration, revealed that The Third Belt and Road High-level Conference on Intellectual Property is scheduled to be open in Beijing next week, aiming to boost international exchanges in multiple sectors, including patent, trademark, copyright and geographical indication.

He said that the conference will contribute to serving high-quality of the Belt and Road Initiative and promoting high-level opening-up.

Data released by him showed that from 2013 to last year, the number of patents applied by Chinese firms in countries and organizations involved in the initiative reached 70,000, with an average annual growth rate of over 20 percent.

During the same period, the cumulative number of patents applied by the BRI countries in China reached 285,000, an annual growth rate of 5.6 percent, he added.