World Intellectual Property Organization

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is the United Nations agency that serves the world’s innovators and creators, ensuring that their ideas travel safely to the market and improve lives everywhere.

We do so by providing services that enable creators, innovators and entrepreneurs to protect and promote their intellectual property (IP) across borders and acting as a forum for addressing cutting-edge IP issues. Our IP data and information guide decisionmakers the world over. And our impact-driven projects and technical assistance ensure IP benefits everyone, everywhere.

What WIPO does

1) A forum for international IP rules

Member states negotiate in WIPO’s Assemblies and standing committees (e.g., on patents, trademarks/designs, copyright, genetic resources). Recent milestones include the WIPO Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge (adopted May 24, 2024) and the Riyadh Design Law Treaty (adopted November 2024). 

2) Global IP services

WIPO runs “one-to-many” international filing/registration systems used by businesses and creators worldwide:

PCT – International Patent System: 158 Contracting States. 

Madrid System – International Trademarks: 115 members covering 131 countries. 

Hague System – International Designs: 82 contracting parties. 

Lisbon System – Appellations of Origin & Geographical Indications: the Geneva Act now has 26 contracting parties; overall, the Lisbon System covers up to 73 countries. 

Budapest Treaty – international recognition of deposits of microorganisms (supports patent procedures). 

WIPO also offers neutral dispute resolution via the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center, including administration of UDRP domain name cases (marking its 25th anniversary in 2025). 

3) Cooperation, training and capacity-building.

Through the Development Agenda and the Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (CDIP), WIPO supports members - especially developing and least-developed countries - with policy advice and practical projects (e.g., Technology and Innovation Support Centers (TISCs) and the WIPO Academy’s multilingual e-learning). It also leads the Accessible Books Consortium (ABC) to expand books in accessible formats.

4) Open IP knowledge and data.

Flagship databases and publications include PATENTSCOPE, the Global Brand Database, the Global Design Database, and WIPO Lex (laws, treaties and judgments). WIPO also publishes the Global Innovation Index and the World Intellectual Property Report. 

Mandate & governance

WIPO’s mandate, governing bodies and procedures are defined in the WIPO Convention. The main decision-making bodies are the WIPO General Assembly and the WIPO Coordination Committee (alongside the WIPO Conference and the Assemblies/Unions of WIPO-administered treaties). Including the Convention, WIPO administers 28 IP treaties. 

Membership

Who are the members?

WIPO has 194 member states. They set WIPO’s strategic direction, approve the budget, and take decisions through the annual WIPO Assemblies.

What we buy

Yes, therefore the user should be automatically taken to the external website.

e-Procurement system used by this UN organization: Jaggaer

Contact email of the e-Procurement system: https://www.jaggaer.com/contact/  

How to participate in procurement opportunities requiring electronic submission on UNGM?

If a procurement protest needs to be submitted, click on the Complaints Form by WIPO. 

• Procurement value: $180,13 M
  Number of countries the organization procured from: 170
• Percentage of total UN procurement: <1%
• Ranking by procurement value: 16th
• Top category: Engineering and Research Services
• Top country: Switzerland

To learn more about the procurement volume of each UN organization, visit the Annual Statistical Report and use the interactive dashboard.