World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO)

World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) is one of the oldest specialised agencies of United Nations.
WIPO was created in 1967 “to encourage creative activity, to promote the protection of intellectual property throughout the world”.
WIPO currently administers 26 international treaties.
It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.
Every year World Intellectual Property Day is being celebrated on 26^th April.

WIPO currently has 193 member states.
All member states of the UN are entitled, though not obliged, to become members of the specialized agencies like WIPO.
190 of UN member states as well as Cook Islands, Holy See and Niue are members of WIPO.
Palestine has permanent observer status.
Besides 281 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and 47 intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) 17 UN system of organizations and 10 IP organizations have official observer status at WIPO meetings.
India joined WIPO in 1975.

Policy forum to shape balanced international IP rules for a changing world.
Global services to protect IP across borders and to resolve disputes.
Technical infrastructure to connect IP systems and share knowledge.
Cooperation and capacity-building programs to enable all countries to use IP for economic, social and cultural development.
A world reference source for IP information.

In order to maintain an appropriate balance between the interests of rightholders and users of protected works, copyright laws allow certain limitations on economic rights.
These are cases in which protected works may be used without the authorization of the rightholder and with or without payment of compensation.
Limitations and exceptions is an issue considered in the agenda of the WIPO.
The debate has been focused mainly on three groups of beneficiaries or activities in relation to exceptions and limitations – on educational activities, on libraries and archives and on disabled persons, particularly visually impaired persons.

Name	Purpose	Has India Acceded/Ratified?
WIPO Performance and Phonograms Treaty	Deals with the rights of two kinds of beneficiaries, particularly in the digital environment: > performers (actors, singers, musicians, etc.); and > producers of phonograms (persons or legal entities that take the initiative and have the responsibility for the fixation of sounds).	India has acceded to this agreement.
Budapest Treaty	International Recognition of the Deposit of Microorganisms for the Purposes of Patent Procedure.	India has acceded to the treaty.
Madrid Protocol for the International Registration of Marks	Provides for the international registration of trade marks by way of one application that can cover more than one country.	India has acceded to the protocol.
Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works by Visually Impaired Persons and Persons with Print Disabilities	The treaty allows for copyright exceptions to facilitate the creation of accessible versions of books and other copyrighted works for visually impaired persons.	India has ratified the treaty.
WIPO Copyright Treaty	A special agreement under the Berne Convention which deals with the protection of works and the rights of their authors in the digital environment.	India has acceded to the treaty.

WIPO and India

India joined the WIPO in 1975.
India is a part of the following WIPO Treaties:
- IPO Convention (1975)
- Paris Convention (1998)
- Berne Convention (1928)
- Patent Cooperation Treaty (1998)
- Phonograms Convention (1975)
- Nairobi Treaty (1983)
- Nice Agreement (2019)
- Locarno Agreement (2019)
- Vienna Agreement (2019)
India acceded to all of the above treaties. India was the first country to ratify the Marrakesh Treaty.

Global Innovation Index – an annual ranking of countries by their capacity for, and success in, innovation.
- It is published in association with Cornell University and INSEAD.
- India has jumped places in the Global Innovation Index (GII) in recent years. In the 2022 GII, India is ranked 40^th position out of 132, which is a big leap from previous years.
  - Since 2011, India is the top-ranked innovative country in the Southern and Central Asia region.
  - India has been outperforming on innovation relative to its GDP per capita for eight years at a stretch.
  - On innovation quality, India ranks second among middle-income economies globally.
  - The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) is a GII Knowledge Partner since 2009.
  - In India, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry deals with WIPO and related issues.