wipo

Successor United Nations speciality agency and successor to the Bureaux Internationaix Réunis pour la Protection de la Propriété Intellectuelle (BIRPI) established by the Berne and Paris Conventions in 1893, the World Intellectual Property Organisation entered into force on this day in 1970, the anniversary since enshrined annually as World Intellectual Property Day. The agency’s agenda is to harmonise international law regarding patent and copyright protection, managing treaties regarding access to knowledge and ensuring proper disposition of protected and registered materials throughout its lifecycle—from extension of trademarks to release into the public domain—arbitrating disputes, and monitoring the global status of said practises and protections.