International Institutional and Legal Framework

World Intellectual Property Organisation

The World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) has been the main international intellectual property related institution in the United Nations system since 1967. However, prior to its establishment, some of the main international intellectual property treaties had been adopted¹². The United International Bureaux for the Protection of Intellectual Property had been entrusted with carrying out administrative tasks linked to the implementation of the Paris and Berne Conventions. The WIPO has become the focal point within the UN for intellectual property related matters as a consequence of an agreement with the UN making WIPO one of its specialised agencies¹³.

The institutional mandate of the WIPO is rather specific, that is, to promote the protection of intellectual property throughout the world. More specifically, WIPO is meant to facilitate the efficient protection of treaties and to promote the harmonisation of national legislation. WIPO is also called upon to perform the administration of certain treaties in the field of intellectual property and to provide legal and technical assistance to member states, in particular to developing countries.

The mandate of the WIPO requires to be examined in detail. On the one hand, the WIPO Convention does not acknowledge potential links and/or conflicts with other fields and limits itself to ultimately seek to encourage creative activity ¹⁴. On the other hand, the UN-WIPO Agreement is much broader, since it includes in WIPO's mandate the facilitation of transfers of technology related industrial property to developing countries in order to accelerate economic, social and cultural development. In fact, WIPO is specifically called upon to co-operate with relevant UN organs.

Notes and References

¹² Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organisation, Stockholm, 14 July 1967 (hereafter WIPO Convention).

¹³ Agreement between the World Intellectual Property Organisation and the World Trade Organisation, Geneva, 22 December 1995 (hereafter UN-WIPO Agreement).

¹⁴ Preamble, WIPO Convention.