According to abbreviationfinder, WIPO stands for World Intellectual Property Organization. It is a specialized agency of the United Nations, created in 1967 with the signing of the Stockholm Convention. WIPO is dedicated to promoting the use and protection of works of the human intellect.
Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, WIPO is one of the 16 specialized agencies of the United Nations system of organizations. It is responsible for the administration of 24 international treaties that address various aspects of intellectual property protection. The Organization has 183 member states.
What is WIPO?
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations system of organizations. Its goal is to develop a balanced and accessible international intellectual property (IP) system that rewards creativity, stimulates innovation and contributes to economic development, while safeguarding the public interest. It was established in 1967, with the mandate of the Member States to promote the protection of intellectual property throughout the world through the cooperation of the States and collaboration with other international organizations. Its headquarters are located in Geneva, Switzerland.
What is intellectual property?
Intellectual property (IP) has to do with the creations of the mind: inventions, literary and artistic works, symbols, names, images and designs used in commerce.
Intellectual property is divided into two categories: industrial property, which includes inventions, patents, trademarks, industrial designs and geographical indications of origin; and copyright, which covers literary and artistic works such as novels, poems and plays, films, musical works, works of art such as drawings, paintings, photographs and sculptures, and architectural designs.
Rights related to copyright are the rights of performers in their performances, the rights of phonogram producers in their recordings, and the rights of broadcasting organizations in their radio and television programmes.
Strategic goals
WIPO’s Strategic Goals have been revised and expanded, and are part of a comprehensive alignment process that is taking place within the Organization. The new goals will enable WIPO to fulfill its mandate effectively and in step with today’s rapidly changing external environment, and given the serious challenges facing intellectual property in the 21st century.
The nine strategic goals defined in the Program Budget for the biennium 2008 – 2009 are as follows:
- Balanced evolution of the international legal framework for IP
- Provision of quality global services in the field of IP
- Facilitate the use of IP for the sake of sustainable development.
- Coordination and development of the global IP infrastructure
- The world’s leading source of IP information and analysis
- International Cooperation to Strengthen Respect for IP
- Address IP in the context of global public policy issues.
- Effective communication between WIPO, its Member States and all stakeholders.
- Efficient structure of administrative and financial support that favors the execution of WIPO programs.
Functioning
The Organization’s mandate, functions, finances and procedures are set out in the WIPO Convention.
Member states
WIPO Member States determine the strategic direction and activities of the Organization. They meet in assemblies, committees and other decision-making bodies. WIPO currently has 184 member states, that is, more than 90% of the total number of countries in the world.
Secretary
The WIPO Secretariat, or International Bureau, is located in Geneva and its staff members include more than 90 nationalities. The Organization’s staff includes experts in the norms and practices related to intellectual property, as well as specialists in general public policy, economics, administration and informatics.
The respective dependencies of the Secretariat are responsible for coordinating the meetings of the Member States and implementing their decisions, administering the international intellectual property registration systems, developing and executing the programs that allow the achievement of WIPO’s objectives, and assist members of the Organization by providing access to an important source of IP knowledge.
