WIPO and the United Nations

In one line

WIPO became a specialised agency of the United Nations in 1974, agreed to cooperate with the World Trade Organization in 1995, and committed itself to a development mandate in 2007.

In exam wording: the World Intellectual Property Organization entered into an agreement with the United Nations which took effect on 17 December 1974, by which it became a specialised agency responsible for taking appropriate action to promote creative intellectual activity and to facilitate the transfer of technology related to industrial property to developing countries; it concluded an agreement with the World Trade Organization on 22 December 1995 in force from 1 January 1996; and its General Assembly adopted the Development Agenda in 2007.

Why WIPO wanted the relationship

Because BIRPI was outside the United Nations system altogether, and by the 1960s that was a problem.

Institutional competition. UNESCO administered the Universal Copyright Convention of 1952 and was making a claim to the copyright field. Without a place in the system, WIPO risked being absorbed or bypassed.

Membership. Newly independent States joined the United Nations first, and an organisation inside the system was easier for them to join and to trust.

Resources and legitimacy. Access to the development machinery of the United Nations, and the standing that comes with a formal relationship.

The agreement of 1974

Article 1 of the agreement recognises WIPO as a specialised agency responsible for taking appropriate action in accordance with its basic instrument and the treaties and agreements administered by it, inter alia for promoting creative intellectual activity and for facilitating the transfer of technology related to industrial property to the developing countries in order to accelerate economic, social and cultural development, subject to the competence and responsibilities of the United Nations and its organs.

That last clause matters. WIPO's mandate is subject to the competence of the United Nations bodies, in particular the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization.

The agreement also provides for reciprocal representation, for the exchange of information and documents, for cooperation on personnel and statistics, and for WIPO's reports to the Economic and Social Council.

What it did not do. It did not give WIPO any power it lacked, and it did not subordinate WIPO's assemblies to any United Nations organ.

The agreement with the World Trade Organization, 1995

Concluded on 22 December 1995 and in force from 1 January 1996. It has three substantive articles.

Article 2 concerns laws and regulations. WIPO agrees to make available to WTO members and their nationals the collection of laws and regulations held in its library, on the same terms as to WIPO members, and to accept and make available notifications under TRIPS Article 63.2.