The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO; French: Organisation mondiale de la propriété intellectuelle (OMPI)) is one of the 15 specialized agencies of the United Nations (UN).[1][2][notes 1] Pursuant to the 1967 Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization, WIPO was created to promote and protect intellectual property (IP) across the world by cooperating with countries as well as international organizations.[5] It began operations on 26 April 1970 when the convention entered into force. The current Director General is Singaporean Daren Tang, former head of the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore, who began his term on 1 October 2020.[6]
WIPO's activities include hosting forums to discuss and shape international IP rules and policies, providing global services that register and protect IP in different countries, resolving transboundary IP disputes, helping connect IP systems through uniform standards and infrastructure, and serving as a general reference database on all IP matters; this includes providing reports and statistics on the state of IP protection or innovation both globally and in specific countries.[7] WIPO also works with governments, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and individuals to utilize IP for socioeconomic development.
WIPO administers 26 international treaties that concern a wide variety of IP issues, ranging from the protection of broadcasts to establishing international patent classification.[8] It is governed by the General Assembly and the Coordination Committee, which together set policy and serve as the main decision making bodies. The General Assembly also elects WIPO's chief administrator, the Director General, currently Daren Tang of Singapore, who took office on 1 October 2020.[9] WIPO is administered by a Secretariat that helps carry out its day-to-day activities.
Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, WIPO has "external offices" around the world, including in Algiers (Algeria); Rio de Janeiro (Brazil); Beijing (China), Tokyo (Japan); Abuja (Nigeria); Moscow (Russia); and Singapore (Singapore).[10] Unlike most UN organizations, WIPO does not rely heavily on assessed or voluntary contributions from member states; 95 percent of its budget comes from fees related to its global services. [11]
WIPO currently has 193 member states,[12] including 190 UN member states and the Cook Islands, Holy See and Niue; Palestine has permanent observer status.[13] The only non-members are the Federated States of Micronesia, Palau and South Sudan.
History
Pre BIRPI
1883 – Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property
The Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property was adopted in 1883 and was one of the first intellectual property treaties. It established a Union for the protection of industrial property. It applies to a wide range of industrial property including patents, trademarks, utility models, industrial designs, trade names, service marks, geographical indications as well as the ‘repression of unfair competition’. The Paris Convention was the first international agreement to protect the works of creators in other countries.[14]
The Convention was adopted in diplomatic conferences held in Paris, France in 1880 and 1883, it was then signed on March 20, 1883, on behalf of Brazil, France, Guatemala, Netherlands, Portugal, Serbia, Spain and Switzerland, Belgium, Italy and El Salvador. It consisted of the Convention proper, which contains 19 articles, and the Protocole de clôture (Final Protocol), which is almost the same length as the Convention proper.[15]
The "International Bureau" established by the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property later became part of BIRPI and later WIPO.
1886 - Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works
The Berne Convention was adopted in 1886, it deals with the protection of works and rights of authors. It provides creators including writers, poets, painters, musicians with ways to control how and by who their works are used and the terms of use. It also contains provisions on minimum protections and special provisions for developing countries.[16] The "International Bureau" was created to oversee the Berne Convention and later became part of BIRPI and later WIPO.
1891 - Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks
In 1891 nine of the 14 States to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property created the first "special arrangements for the protection of industrial property". Along with the Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement (1989) it created the Madrid System, the primary international system for facilitating the registration of trademarks in multiple jurisdictions around the world.[17]
BIRPI
The Bureaus created to administer the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works and the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property were under "the high supervision" (haute surveillance) of the Government of the Swiss Confederation. In 1893 the Swiss government combined them with the same director and same staff as United International Bureaux for the Protection of Intellectual Property, Bureaux internationaux reunis pour la protection de la propriete intellectuelle’ (BIRPI).[18] BIRPI was the predecessor of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) which superseded it 87 years later, in 1970.[19]
Formation of WIPO
WIPO was formally created by the Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization, which entered into force on 26 April 1970.[20] WIPO allowed members who were part of the Berne Convention, Paris Convention or a member of the United Nations system including the United Nations, any of its specialized agencies, the International Atomic Energy Agency or the International Court of Justice.[21]
That date is commemorated annually as World Intellectual Property Day, which raises awareness of the importance of IP. Under Article 3 of this convention, WIPO seeks to "promote the protection of intellectual property throughout the world". WIPO became a specialized agency of the UN in 1974. The Agreement between the United Nations and the World Intellectual Property Organization[22] notes in Article 1 that WIPO is responsible
The Agreement marked a transition for WIPO from the mandate it inherited in 1967 from BIRPI, to promote the protection of intellectual property, to one that involved the more complex task of promoting technology transfer and economic development.[23][need quotation to verify]
WIPO joining the United Nations
In 1974 WIPO became a specialized agency of the United Nations through a bilateral agreement between WIPO and the United Nations.This was approved by the General Assembly of WIPO on September 27, 1974, and by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 17, 1974. A protocol was signed by Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kurt Waldheim and Director General of WIPO Árpád Bogsch, on January 21, 1975 with the Agreement starting on December 17, 1974.[24]
The Patent Cooperation Treaty system
The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) was created in 1978 with, initially, 18 states to enable the filing of international (PCT) patent applications, assist patent offices in different countries with patent granting decisions[clarification needed] and give public access information relating to patents. An international (PCT) application has the potential to lead to patent protection in a large number of countries.[25][26]
WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center
The WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center was established in 1994, it offers Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) options to resolve international commercial disputes between private parties. It is based in Based in Geneva, Switzerland, with an office in Singapore.
Developed by leading experts in cross-border dispute settlement, the arbitration, mediation and expert determination procedures offered by the Center are widely recognized as particularly appropriate for technology, entertainment and other disputes involving intellectual property. Since 2010 the Center has an office at Maxwell Chambers in Singapore.[27]
WIPO Academy
The WIPO Academy was established in 1998 to provide education on intellectual property (IP) and provide training and skills-building for WIPO member states, especially for developing and least-developed countries (LDCs) and ‘countries in transition’.[28]
Lisbon System
The Lisbon System for the International Registration of Appellations of Origin and Geographical indications provides a means of obtaining international protection for a geographical indication or an appellation of origin.[29][30][31][32] Geographical indications and appellations of origin are intellectual property rights which identify a product that originates from a specific geographical area and that has characteristics that are attributable to its geographical origin.[33] Comté cheese (France), Chulucanas pottery (Peru), Tequila (Mexico), Porto (Portugal), Herend porcelain (Hungary), and Kampot pepper (Cambodia) are examples of appellations of origin and geographical indications registered under the Lisbon System.[34][35][36][37][38][39][40] Through a single registration and one set of fees, protection can be obtained in the other countries (and intergovernmental organizations, such as the European Union) covered by the Lisbon System.[41][42][43]
The Lisbon System includes the Lisbon Agreement for the Protection of Appellations of Origin and their International Registration of 1958 (‘the Lisbon Agreement’) and, its latest revision, the Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement on Appellations of Origin and Geographical Indications of 2015 (‘the Geneva Act’) form the Lisbon System.[44][45][46][47] Registrations under the Lisbon System are published in the official bulletin and can be searched through the Lisbon Express Database.[48][49][50][51]
WIPO Development agenda
In October 2004, WIPO agreed to adopt a proposal offered by Argentina and Brazil, the "Proposal for the Establishment of a Development Agenda for WIPO"—from the Geneva Declaration on the Future of the World Intellectual Property Organization.[52] This proposal was well supported by developing countries. The agreed "WIPO Development Agenda"[53] (composed of over 45 recommendations) was the culmination of a long process of transformation for the organization from one that had historically been primarily aimed at protecting the interests of rightholders, to one that has increasingly incorporated the interests of other stakeholders in the international intellectual property system as well as integrating into the broader corpus of international law on human rights, environment and economic cooperation.
A number of civil society bodies have been working on a draft Access to Knowledge (A2K)[54] treaty which they would like to see introduced.
In December 2011, WIPO published its first World Intellectual Property Report on the Changing Face of Innovation, the first such report of the new Office of the Chief Economist.[55] WIPO is also a co-publisher of the Global Innovation Index.[56]
Recent events
In September 2020 China blocked the Wikimedia Foundation from observer status at the WIPO citing the existence of a Wikimedia affiliate in Taiwan. According to the Chinese statement "there is reason to believe that this foundation has been carrying out political activities through its member organizations which could undermine the state's sovereignty and territorial integrity."[57][58]
Funding
Unlike other branches of the United Nations, WIPO has significant financial resources independent of the contributions from its Member States. In 2018, WIPO's revenue amounted to CHF 430.6 million.[59] 74.6% of WIPO's 2018 revenue was generated from its Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) fees.[citation needed]
WIPO Academy
The WIPO Academy is the training arm of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), it was established in 1998.[60] It offers intellectual property (IP) education, training and IP skills-building to government officials, inventors, creators, business professionals, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), academics, students and individuals interested in IP.[61] The Academy hosts IP courses through its four programs: the Professional Development Program, University Partnerships, Distance Learning and WIPO Summer Schools.[62][63][64]
World Intellectual Property Day
World Intellectual Property Day is an annual global public awareness campaign to “highlight the role and contribution of intellectual property in the economic, cultural and social development of all countries as well as to raise public awareness and understanding in this field of human endeavor.” In 2000, WIPO's Member States formally designated April 26 – the day on which the WIPO Convention came into force in 1970 – as World Intellectual Property Day. The first World Intellectual Property Day was held in 2001.[65]
Economics and Statistics Division
WIPO's Economics and Statistics Division gathers data on intellectual property activity worldwide and publishes statistics to the public. The Division also conducts economic analysis on how government IP and innovation policies affect economic performance.[66]
World Intellectual Property Indicators
Since 2009, WIPO has published the annual World Intellectual Property Indicators, providing a wide range of indicators covering the areas of intellectual property.[67] It draws on data from national and regional IP offices, the WIPO, the World Bank, and UNESCO.[68]
Directors General
On 1 October 2020, Daren Tang of Singapore succeeded Gurry as Director General.[70] His candidacy was backed by the United States and 54 other countries over China's preferred candidate, Wang Binying,[71] who received 28 votes out of the 83 voting members. [72]
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