world intellectual property organization an overview - WIPO

HOW WIPO BEGAN
The need for a system to protect IP internationally became evident when foreign
exhibitors refused to attend the International Exhibition of Inventions in Vienna in 1873
because they were afraid that their ideas would be stolen and exploited commercially
in other countries.
The 1883 Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property was the first
major international treaty designed to help the people of one country obtain protection
in other countries for their intellectual creations, in the form of industrial property
rights. The Paris Convention entered into force in 1884 with 14 Member States.
In 1886, copyright entered the international arena with the Berne Convention for
the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works. The aim of this Convention was to
help nationals of its Member States obtain international protection of their right to
control, and receive payment for, the use of literary and artistic works.
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Both the Paris Convention and the Berne Convention set up International Bureaus to
carry out administrative tasks, such as organizing meetings of the Member States.
In 1893, these two small bureaus united to form an international organization called
the United International Bureaus for the Protection of Intellectual Property – best
known by its French acronym, BIRPI. Based in Berne, Switzerland, with a staff of
seven, BIRPI was the predecessor of the WIPO of today.
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In 1960, BIRPI moved to Geneva to be closer to the United Nations (UN) and other
international organizations. In 1970, following the entry into force of the Convention
Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization, BIRPI became WIPO,
undergoing structural and administrative reforms and acquiring a secretariat
answerable to the Member States. In 1974, WIPO became a specialized agency of the
UN, with a mandate to administer IP matters recognized by the UN Member States.
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