World Intellectual Property Organization

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is a specialised agency of the United Nations responsible for promoting the global protection of intellectual property (IP). Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland—home to the second-largest UN centre after New York—WIPO facilitates cooperation among states, supports the development of international IP standards, and administers a large portfolio of global IP treaties and registration systems. Established through the Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization of 1967, it began operating formally on 26 April 1970, a date now commemorated annually as World Intellectual Property Day. The organisation is headed by Director General Daren Tang of Singapore, who assumed office on 1 October 2020.
WIPO’s mission encompasses the protection of IP rights, harmonisation of legal frameworks, support for countries’ innovation systems, and the development of mechanisms that enable IP to contribute to wider socio-economic goals. Its activities include administering international registration services, conducting research and statistical analysis, hosting policy discussions, and assisting member states in strengthening their national IP institutions. Uniquely among UN agencies, WIPO is largely self-financing: approximately 95 per cent of its budget is derived from fees paid for its global IP systems and services.

Historical Background: Pre-WIPO Developments

International cooperation on intellectual property predates WIPO by nearly a century. In the late nineteenth century, several landmark treaties established the foundations for modern global IP governance.
The Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (1883)This convention was among the world’s first multilateral IP treaties. It created a union for the protection of industrial property, addressing patents, trademarks, industrial designs, trade names, service marks, and the repression of unfair competition. Its adoption provided crucial guarantees of national treatment and signalled a growing international consensus on protecting industrial innovation. The administrative body created under the Paris Convention later formed part of the institutional structure that evolved into WIPO.
The Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (1886)Adopted to protect copyright and related rights, the Berne Convention established minimum standards for safeguarding literary and artistic works such as books, music, art, and films. It introduced three core principles: national treatment of foreign works, automatic protection without formal registration, and independence of protection irrespective of the laws of the country of origin. Its administration also became integrated into the institutional framework that preceded WIPO.
The Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks (1891)This agreement created the basis of the Madrid System, enabling the international registration of trademarks through a single application. Initially adopted by nine states, the Madrid System now forms a major component of WIPO’s global registration services and continues to support multinational trademark protection.

BIRPI: Institutional Origins

In 1893, the Swiss government consolidated the bureaux overseeing the Paris and Berne Conventions into the United International Bureaux for the Protection of Intellectual Property (BIRPI). BIRPI, operating under Swiss supervision, coordinated treaty administration for decades and served as the organisational predecessor to WIPO. As IP grew increasingly central to economic policy and technological development, the need for a more formal and globally representative structure became apparent, prompting the establishment of WIPO in 1970.

Formation and Early Development of WIPO

WIPO was established by the 1967 Convention, entering into force on 26 April 1970. Membership was open to all parties to the Paris or Berne Conventions, as well as to members of the United Nations system. Upon its formation, WIPO inherited the mandate to promote the global protection of IP and to encourage cooperation among states.
Under Article 3 of the founding convention, WIPO seeks to promote intellectual property worldwide by harmonising legal frameworks, providing technical and legal assistance, and fostering international collaboration. WIPO became a specialised agency of the United Nations in 1974 through a formal agreement between the organisation and the UN General Assembly, marking an expansion of its scope beyond protection to include technology transfer and economic development.

Functions, Activities, and Global Services

WIPO’s operations broadly span legal, administrative, and developmental roles within the global IP ecosystem:

• Policy and standard-setting: WIPO hosts negotiations and expert forums on IP treaties, governance, and emerging IP issues.
• Global registration systems: It administers systems such as the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), the Madrid System for trademarks, and the Hague System for industrial designs, enabling IP protection across multiple jurisdictions through unified procedures.
• Dispute resolution: WIPO provides arbitration and mediation services for cross-border IP conflicts.
• Research and data: The organisation publishes statistical reports and analyses, including the World Intellectual Property Report and the Global Innovation Index.
• Capacity building: WIPO works with governments, NGOs, and private actors to support IP infrastructure development and integrate IP policy into national development strategies.

WIPO administers 26 international treaties, covering fields such as copyright, patents, trademarks, audiovisual works, genetic resources, and traditional knowledge.

Governance and Organisational Structure

WIPO’s decision-making bodies include:

• The General Assembly, comprising all member states, which sets policies and elects the Director General.
• The Coordination Committee, which oversees budgetary and strategic matters.

The Secretariat, led by the Director General, manages daily operations. WIPO maintains regional and international offices in Algiers, Rio de Janeiro, Beijing, Tokyo, Abuja, Moscow, and Singapore, enabling geographically distributed support for member states.
With 193 members, WIPO encompasses nearly all UN-recognised states, excluding the Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, and South Sudan. Entities with unique status, such as the Holy See, the Cook Islands, and Niue, are full members, while Palestine holds permanent observer status.

Integration into the UN System

WIPO’s status as a specialised UN agency was formalised in 1974. The cooperation agreement affirmed WIPO’s responsibilities in the administration of IP systems and aligned aspects of its work with wider UN objectives in development, economic cooperation, and technology transfer. This transition represented a significant shift from BIRPI’s narrower mandate toward a broader developmental role.

WIPO Development Agenda

Adopted in 2004 following a proposal by Argentina and Brazil, the WIPO Development Agenda sought to rebalance the organisation’s priorities by incorporating the interests of developing countries. It consists of more than 45 recommendations addressing issues such as access to knowledge, technology transfer, and the integration of human rights and environmental considerations into international IP frameworks. The agenda marked a historic transformation, broadening WIPO’s focus beyond rights-holders to include users, creators, and wider societal stakeholders.
In 2009, WIPO expanded its engagement with Indigenous peoples and local communities through the Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore. The publication of the first World Intellectual Property Report in 2011 further enhanced WIPO’s analytical profile, examining global trends in innovation.

Recent Developments

WIPO continues to refine its role in global innovation governance. In 2016, it launched the High-Level Conference on Intellectual Property for Belt and Road Initiative countries, encouraging greater participation in global IP frameworks. The organisation remains an active co-publisher of the Global Innovation Index and plays a growing role in shaping policy on emerging technologies, digital innovation, and the protection of genetic resources and traditional knowledge.