World Intellectual Property Day (or Happy Birthday WIPO)

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The World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) was established in 1967 as an agency of the United Nations. WIPO is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and is “the global forum for intellectual property services, policy, information and cooperation” (http://www.wipo.int/about-wipo/en/). From a practical perspective, WIPO administers a number of International Intellectual Property treaties, including the Patent Cooperation Treaty (the International Patent System), the Madrid System (International Trademark System), the Hague Agreement (International Design System), the Lisbon Agreement (International System of Appellations of Origin) and the Budapest Treaty (International Microorganism Deposit System). Of course, WIPO is involved in a lot more than these treaties, but for an Intellectual Property Professional, these are the main areas of focus.

Each year, on 26 April, WIPO celebrates World Intellectual Property Day. Why 26 April? Well, it turns out that 26 April was the date in 1970 when the Convention establishing WIPO came into force, so World Intellectual Property Day is essentially WIPO’s birthday.

The first World Intellectual Property Day was 26 April 2000, following a suggestion from the Chinese delegation to WIPO in the previous year. Whilst the general aim of World Intellectual Property Day is to further promote the awareness of intellectual property protection, each year has a specific theme.

This year the theme is “Innovation – Improving Lives” (http://www.wipo.int/ip-outreach/en/ipday/).

The purpose behind the theme is to explore how innovation is making our lives healthier, safer, and more comfortable.

Therefore, this year, WIPO is encouraging people to join in the conversation using the Twitter handle #worldipday. Have a think about the following questions and start a conversation:

Which innovation has most improved your life?

What more can be done to make sure new technologies reach the people who need them?

What do you think should be the priorities for future innovation?

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