World Intellectual Property Organization
its significance and importance
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is the United
Nations specialized agency. It seeks to develop a balanced and accessible
International Intellectual Property system, which rewards creativity, stimulates
innovations, and contributes to economic development while safeguarding
public interests.
Intellectual Property (IP) refers to creations of the mind: literary and
artistic works, inventions, symbols, names, images, and designs used in
commerce.
The member states wanted to make this International Bureau a fully-fledged
intergovernmental organization. That is why in 1967 in Stockholm the WIPO was
created through the signing of the Convention. The WIPO is headquartered in
Geneva (Switzerland).
In 1974 the WIPO became a UN specialized agency. Under the agreement,
the WIPO should stimulate creativity and promote IP protection all over the world
through the cooperation between countries.
Currently, the WIPO includes 184 member-states. It is made up of more than
90 per cent of all countries. The WIPO Director General is Harry Francis.
The WIPO main functions are:
assisting campaigns development to improve IP protection all over the world
and to harmonize national legislations in this field;
signing international agreements on IP protection;
applying the administrative functions of the Paris and Berne Unions;
rendering technical and legal assistance in the field of IP;
collecting and disseminating the information, conducting researches and
publishing their results;
ensuring the work of the services facilitating the international IP protection;
applying any other appropriate actions.
Providing technical expertise and advice
The prime and most important WIPO function is administering multilateral
international conventions, i.e. depositing treaties, states’ instruments of accession, of
conflicts settlement, ensuring treaties review, applying the registration functions for
treaties reviewing the international registration of IP objects.
Today, the WIPO administers the treaties in the fields of industrial property,
copyright and related rights.
Since 1998, the WIPO Worldwide Academy has been preparing human
resources in the field of IP protection. The Academy has a Distance Learning Centre
helping obtain knowledge via Internet. Particular highlight is WIPOnet-project, the IP
global network ensuring on-line connection with business processes of national
agencies. Settlement of IP-related commercial conflicts is a perspective direction of
the WIPO activities. In 1994, the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Centre was
created. It renders assistance in settling such conflicts.
In the recent years, the WIPO structure has been reorganized, e.g. the
Organization’s strategic goals have been reviewed and broadened. The WIPO
administration thinks that the renewed goals will help the WIPO apply its mandate
more actively while considering fast changing external situation and the persistent
need to solve problems in the field of IP in the 21st century.
Importance and Benefits
Enable a country to use its IP system in an effective and optimal manner while
ensuring that it contributes to overall national development policies and
goals
Provides a clear picture of where a country wants to go and how it will get
there by using the IP system
Helps ensure the development of a balanced national IP system that fits with
the specific needs and expectations of a country
Provides an effective framework of cooperation between the country
concerned and WIPO (other agencies providing technical assistance in the
areas related IP)
