WIPO Convention Enters into Force (1970)
On April 26, 1970, the The Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization, or WIPO Convention, entered into force. It was signed in Stockholm, Sweden, in July 1967. The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is one of the 16 specialized agencies of the United Nations. The WIPO was created in 1967 "to encourage creative activity, to promote the protection of intellectual property throughout the world."
Prior to the WIPO, the leading authority on intellectual property was the Bureaux Internationaux Réunis pour la Protection de la Propriété Intellectuelle (BIRPI), which translates in English to the United International Bureaux for the Protection of Intellectual Property. BIRPI was established in 1893 and was the first international organization designed to help the people of one country obtain protection in other countries for their intellectual creations.
Over time, intellectual property and intellectual property laws became increasingly more important. The member states of BIRPI recognized that their organization would need to change to keep up with modern trends. In 1967, the Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization met in Stockholm, Sweden. There, it developed the concept for the WIPO, which entered into force on April 26, 1970.
The WIPO aims to encourage innovation and creativity through protection of intellectual property throughout the world and in cooperation with other international organizations. Intellectual property is considered to be “creations of the mind” such as inventions, musical, literary, and artistic works, symbols, images, phrases, and designs and includes such legal protections as patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets.
Today, the WIPO has 184 member states, administers 24 international treaties, and is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.