Glossary of Industrial Property Terms

World Intellectual Property Organization

The legal rules of a country - so the legal rules related to the intellectual property as well - can only be used in a certain country. Intellectual property, due to its nature, cannot be limited within the borders. As a result international protection is required. It can be ensured by the system of agreements amongst the states. The system building from the middle of the last century needed an international organization. The Agreement to set up the World Intellectual Property organization (the English abbreviation is WIPO, the French and the Spanish abbreviation is OMPI) concluded in 1967 in Stockholm. The Agreement entered into force as of 1970 and at the present the World organization has 184 member states. The WIPO operates as a specialized agency of the United Nations since 1974.