EAPO President Grigory Ivliev announced this at the International Forum “One Belt, One Road”, which is currently held in China. Delegations from 55 countries, including the EAPO Member States, are taking part in it.

Mr. Ivliev reported that the role of intangible assets in economic exchanges is enhancing along with the regionalization of the global economy.

“Business needs require the creation of a simple, cost-effective and efficient procedure for obtaining protection of exclusive rights on the territories of states united by a common market or economic exchange. An advanced set of registration systems, including national, regional, and international ones, enables businesses to flexibly use various tools for specific purposes,” stated Grigory Ivliev.

The EAPO President stated that the IP system is evolving and this process causes new challenges:

• the increasing technical complexity of applications (smaller offices face difficulties with recruiting examiners due to the requirement for specialized knowledge in specific areas);
• the growing significance of prompt availability of quality patent information;
• the increasing focus of IP offices on rights management, technology transfer and commercialization.

“I believe that the only way to overcome the challenges is to join our efforts. We can avoid duplication of work and reduce costs for each national office by integrating, harmonizing approaches, interfacing systems, and exchanging data and information,” highlighted Grigory Ivliev.

The EAPO is implementing a number of projects with national patent offices and willing to contribute to the implementation of the ‘One Belt, One Road’ initiative and the ideas of the Greater Eurasian Partnership. Grigory Ivliev acknowledged the importance of signing the Memorandum of Understanding on the Patent Prosecution Highway Program. The countries participating in ‘One Belt, One Road’are cooperating in a similar way.