On this day 40 years ago, the Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization entered into force. The purpose of WIPO is to promote the protection of intellectual property throughout the world. The agency administers the Patent Co-operation Treaty system of international patent applications, the Madrid international trade mark registration system and the Hague system for international registration of industrial designs.
Ten years ago, WIPO’s member states decided to make the 26th of April World Intellectual Property Day, to raise awareness of how patents, copyright, trade marks and designs impact daily life, to increase understanding of how the protection of IP rights helps promote creativity and innovation, to celebrate creativity and the contribution made by creators and innovators to the development of societies across the globe, and to encourage respect for the IP rights of others.
Although there are many that dispute the value of intellectual property rights to society, the conventional view is that patents encourage innovation by granting inventors short-term monopolies in return for making their inventions available to the public. Trade marks are badges of origin, enabling purchasers of goods or services to identify the source. Industrial design rights protect the features of shape or appearance of items.