World Intellectual Property Day 2023: What is World Intellectual Property Organisation? All About WIPO

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is one of the specialized agencies of the United Nations which was created 'to encourage creative activity, to promote the protection of intellectual property throughout the world.'

Shakeel Anwar Updated: Apr 26, 2023 07:42 IST

All you need to know about WIPO

World Intellectual Property Day is observed on April 26 annually, all over the globe. The day is celebrated to make people know how intellectual property (IP) rights encourage innovation and creativity. It was established by the World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO).

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is one of the specialized agencies of the United Nations which was created "to encourage creative activity, to promote the protection of intellectual property throughout the world.”

Happy World Intellectual Property Day!✨

Today we celebrate the ingenuity, curiosity and creativity of women worldwide who are innovating for a better future: https://t.co/mHLSlTaZW5

Spread the word and give a shoutout to women inventors, creators, entrepreneurs🙌#WorldIPDay pic.twitter.com/it7fERDLym

— World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) (@WIPO) April 25, 2023

Women inventors, creators, and entrepreneurs are making a difference 👩💡✨

Meet changemakers that are shaping a better future, or nominate one here: https://t.co/qvHCyXIz4D #WorldIPDay
— World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) (@WIPO) April 25, 2023

Genesis of World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO)

The origins of WIPO are traced back to 1883 during the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, when 14 countries signed Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, Hence, from that convention intellectual-property protections for inventions, trademarks, and industrial designs were created.

WIPO was formally created by the Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization, which entered into force on April 26, 1970. Under this Convention, WIPO seeks to "promote the protection of intellectual property throughout the world." It became a specialized agency of the UN in 1974.

Purposes of World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO)

• To promote the protection of intellectual property on the globe the world through cooperation among states, and collaboration with any other international organization.
• To ensure administrative cooperation among the unions.

Governing Bodies of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO)

It has four organs which are discussed below:

• General Assembly: It consists of all states party to the WIPO Convention that are also members of any of the unions. It meets every two years and has the highest authority of all the organs.

• Conference: It consists of all states party to the WIPO Convention, whether or not they are members of one or more of the unions. It meets every two years to discuss matters of general interest in the field of intellectual property, as well as to establish WIPO's program of technical legal assistance and the budget for that program.

• Coordination Committee: It consists of the States party to this Convention which are members of the Executive Committee of the Paris Union, or the Executive Committee of the Berne Union, or both. However, if either of these Executive Committees is composed of more than one-fourth of the number of the countries members of the Assembly which elected it, then such Executive Committee shall designate from among its members the States which will be members of the Coordination Committee, in such a way that their number shall not exceed the one-fourth referred to above, it is understood that the country on the territory of which the Organization has its headquarters shall not be included in the computation of the said one-fourth.

Contributions of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO)

The WIPO has played a vital role in helping countries set up effective intellectual property regimes in all three areas patents, copyrights, and trademarks. As countries undertake the transition from state-run economies to market-driven ones, they see the necessity of a well-functioning intellectual property infrastructure. Hence, these countries see the advantages of joining the World Trade Organization; they seek the assistance of the WIPO in bringing their intellectual property regimes up to the required standards.

PATENTS: The WIPO's most recent endeavours in the patent area centre on the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs), which was negotiated in the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Although that agreement was negotiated outside of the framework of the WIPO, the officials involved expected at the outset that the WIPO given its institutional strength and special expertise would play a major role in its implementation. And indeed that has turned out to be the case. Through a specific memorandum of understanding between the WIPO and the World Trade Organization (the successor to GATT), the WIPO is undertaking a host of activities in support of the agreements reached on TRIPs.

COPYRIGHTS: The WIPO administers several major treaties dealing with the international protection of trademarks, including the Paris Convention, already mentioned, which assures the right of national treatment in trademark registrations, as well as protecting well-known marks from pirating worldwide.

WIPO oversees 26 international treaties that address a wide range of intellectual property issues, from establishing international patent classification to protecting audiovisual works. The General Assembly and the Coordination Committee, which jointly develop policy and act as the primary decision-making authorities, are in charge of governing it. The Director General of WIPO, who is now Daren Tang of Singapore and assumed office on October 1, 2020, is also chosen by the General Assembly. WIPO is run by a Secretariat, which aids in managing its daily operations.

190 UN member nations, the Cook Islands, the Holy See, and Niue are among the 193 current members of WIPO, whereas Palestine has permanent observer status. The Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, and South Sudan are the only non-members among the nations recognised by the UN.

WIPO's activities include hosting forums where international IP rules and policies are discussed and shaped, offering services globally that register and protect IP in various countries, resolving transboundary IP disputes, assisting in the connectivity of IP systems through uniform standards and infrastructure, and acting as a general reference database on all IP matters, including providing reports and statistics on the state of IP protection or innovation both globally and in specific couThe WIPO collaborates with individuals, NGOs, and governments to use IP for socioeconomic development.