WIPO

WIPO (World Intellectual Property Agency) is an international organization dedicated to promoting the protection of both industrial properties (inventions, trademarks, and designs) and copyrighted content across the world (literary, musical, photographic, and other artistic works). The organization was founded in 1970 by a treaty agreed in Stockholm in 1967, and it became a United Nations specialized agency in December 1974. Geneva is the headquarters. The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) offers a free patent search tool that gives you access to millions of patent papers.

The United Nations’ World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is a specialized organization. Its goal is to create a fair and accessible worldwide IP system that promotes creativity, encourages innovation, and supports all countries’ economic, social, and cultural growth while protecting the public interest.

History

Foreign exhibitors declined to attend the International Exhibition of Inventions in Vienna in 1873 because they were frightened that their ideas would be stolen and used commercially in other countries. This demonstrated the necessity for a framework to safeguard IP globally. As a result, the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, signed in 1883, was the first significant international Convention aimed at assisting citizens of one country in obtaining protection for their intellectual works in the form of industrial property rights in other nations. With 14 signatories, the Paris Convention became effective in 1884.

Copyright made its international debut with the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works in 1886. The purpose of this Convention was to assist citizens of its Member States in obtaining international protection for their right to regulate and be compensated for the use of literary and creative works. The Paris and Berne Conventions established International Bureaus to handle administrative functions, including coordinating Member State meetings. The United International Bureaus for the Protection of Intellectual Property – better known by its French acronym, BIRPI – was founded in 1893 when these two small bureaus merged to form an international organization known as the United International Bureaus for the Protection of Intellectual Property. BIRPI, which had seven employees and was based in Berne, Switzerland, was the forerunner to today’s WIPO.

Working of WIPO

WIPO was founded in 1970, following the entrance into effect of the 1967 WIPO Convention, with a mission from its Member States to promote the protection of intellectual property across the world through international cooperation and partnership with other organizations. WIPO’s Member States set the organization’s strategic direction and authorize its actions.

 The WIPO General Assembly, the WIPO Conference, the WIPO Coordination Committee, and the Assemblies of the Member States of each union are the Member States’ principal decision-making organizations (e.g., the PCT Union Assembly; the Madrid Union Assembly etc.). In addition, at WIPO sessions, about 250 non-governmental and intergovernmental organizations are accredited as observers.

WIPO’s purpose to promote the effective use and protection of intellectual property (IP) across the globe is translated into strategic goals and the programmes and activities that WIPO uses to accomplish these goals. These are spelt out in the biannual Program and Budget document, which the Member States have accepted. The headquarters of WIPO is situated in Geneva, Switzerland. Experts in IP law and practice and professionals in public policy, economics, administration, and information technology make up the secretariat’s personnel, which hails from more than 90 nations. The secretariat’s various divisions oversee coordinating Member State meetings and putting their decisions into action; administering international registration systems; developing and implementing programmes to achieve WIPO’s goals; and providing a repository of IP expertise to assist its members.

Strategic Goals of WIPO

WIPO follows a 5-year planning model, with the current 5-year plan lasting from 2017 to 2021. WIPO develops 5-year strategic objectives, Implementing Activities and Milestones, and plans their evolution accordingly.

• To collaborate to enhance research and development for neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), malaria, and tuberculosis (TB). Establishing and sustaining the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases, among other things, is one of the implementing actions for the same purpose, and this work will be done in partnership.
• To hasten the development of promising compounds or leads, Assisting partners in securing funding from donor agencies is one of the implementation actions that will help speed development. As a result, projects with great promise for the compound or lead will be moved quickly through the review process and given top consideration. The project’s goals include linking two to three partnerships or collaborations per year to appropriate financing.
• To improve global IP management and biomedical R&D capacity Supporting member organizations’ capacity development by giving research fellowships at prominent research centres is one of the implementing initiatives. This aim will be met by providing two to four training sabbaticals every year.

• To raise awareness of the importance of intellectual property in the fight against NTDs, malaria, and tuberculosis, Increased distribution of knowledge regarding the significance of IP in R&D in NTDs, malaria, and TB is one of the implementing initiatives. This is the technology-driven objective for addressing the current problems. This goal’s milestones include creating a user-friendly web page with all accessible materials to aid in the establishment of partnerships and updating it annually depending on user input.

Conclusion

WIPO highlights the history and requires adjustments needed to reach this point, beginning in 1883 with the Paris Convention and continuing today in the form and structure known to people. It illustrates the rise of an organization from a concept of dealing with intellectual property concerns to being a global flag bearer for gender equality. This expansion has a lot to do because it joined the United Nations in 1974.