Global Forum on IP and AI
The two-day program addresses AI-related legal and policy issues across the full spectrum of intellectual property (IP) rights including their broader impact on IP, innovation and creativity.
A scientist uses AI to identify promising drug compounds in weeks rather than years, bringing life-saving therapies closer to reality. A team of engineers develops a prosthetic limb powered by an AI system that learns from its wearer's movements, restoring lost mobility. A filmmaker uses AI to conjure visual sequences no camera could capture, bringing an unrealized creative vision to the screen. At the same time, a singer discovers that an AI system trained on her recordings, without consent or compensation, has replicated her voice.
These stories illustrate AI's dual impact. It is enabling new forms of discovery, creativity and innovation, while simultaneously raising fundamental questions about rights, ownership and responsibility.
From the printing press to the industrial revolution to the rise of the internet, technological change has driven the development and evolution of the IP system. But AI presents a challenge unlike those that came before.
The AI systems reshaping human creativity and innovation were built not simply on raw materials, but on human output: vast quantities of text, images, music, code and more, much of it the work of identifiable people with rights in what they created. In its capacity to generate outputs indistinguishable from those of human creators, and to build on human knowledge at a scale no individual could match, AI raises deep questions about existing IP frameworks, including what it means to invent and create at all.
In an AI-driven world, how should the IP system adapt and evolve to remain fit for purpose, maximizing the benefits of this new technology while ensuring that the human being remains at the heart of innovation and creativity?
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About the Global Forum on IP and AI
Held each year, the Global Forum on IP and AI provides a dedicated, sustained space for stakeholders to build a shared understanding and shape where this fast-moving debate will lead. It is designed to allow Member States, and other stakeholders, to share experiences, exchange views and present updates, fostering an open, inclusive and forward-looking dialogue to shape the future of AI and IP.
The Global Forum covers AI-related legal and policy issues across the full spectrum of IP rights including patents, copyright, trademarks, designs, trade secrets, etc., the interconnectivity between these issues including and their broader impact on IP, innovation and creativity
The two-day program provides structured, up-to-date insights on key and recurring topics, including global regulatory and legislative developments, relevant case law, and core questions such as inventorship and authorship, as well as issues relating to AI inputs and outputs. It gives a framework for engaging with these standing topics with the flexibility to respond to new and emerging developments in a timely manner.
Join high-ranking WIPO Member State officials, industry leaders and other global experts and
Collaborate with fellow member state experts and leaders to shape the future
Engage with AI's cross-cutting impact on IP including patents, copyright, trademarks, designs, trade secrets, etc. - highlighting connections and implications that single-issue discussions may not address adequately
Contribute direct experience and lessons learned
Track and assess developments as they emerge across jurisdictions: legislative and regulatory change, judicial decisions, evolving licensing models and market-driven responses.
Share national and regional perspectives
Share national and regional perspectives and experiences in an open, inclusive and neutral space, contributing directly to the shaping of international understanding on some of the most pressing questions in IP today.
Explore WIPO's work and new tolls designed to support member states
Connect high-level policy discussions with the full breadth of WIPO's expertise and ongoing work at the intersection of AI, innovation and creativity, including AI-powered tools that are transforming how IP rights are administered and accessed globally.
Program of the Global Forum on IP and AI
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The Global Forum on IP and AI will be held on November 9 and 10, 2026.
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The two-day program will provide structured, up-to-date insights on key and recurring topics, including global regulatory and legislative developments, relevant case law, and core questions such as inventorship and authorship, as well as issues relating to AI inputs and outputs. It will provide a stable framework for engaging with these standing topics with the flexibility to respond to new and emerging developments in a timely manner.
The Global Forum on IP and AI will feature a mix of informative presentations and high-level panel discussions while offering a global perspective. It will allow Member States and other stakeholders to share experiences, exchange views and present updates, fostering an open, inclusive and forward-looking dialogue to shape the future of AI and IP.
Frequently asked questions
The Global Forum on IP and AI will address AI-related legal and policy issues across the full spectrum of intellectual property (IP) rights including patents, copyright, trademarks, designs and trade secrets, etc., the interconnectivity between these issues including and their broader impact on IP, innovation and creativity.
The two-day program will provide structured, up-to-date insights on key and recurring topics, including global regulatory and legislative developments, relevant case law, and core questions such as inventorship and authorship, as well as issues relating to AI inputs and outputs. It will provide a stable framework for engaging with these standing topics with the flexibility to respond to new and emerging developments in a timely manner.
The Global Forum on IP and AI will feature a mix of informative presentations and high-level panel discussions while offering a global perspective. It will allow Member States and other stakeholders to share experiences, exchange views and present updates, fostering an open, inclusive and forward-looking dialogue to shape the future of AI and IP.
The first session of the Global Forum on IP and AI will take place on November 9 and 10, 2026.
The Global Forum on IP and AI is open to all: WIPO’s Member States, Observers and other interested stakeholders.
Participation is free of charge.
In order to allow the widest possible participation, the Global Forum on IP and AI will be held in a hybrid format at WIPO’s Headquarters in Geneva, combining in-person participation with virtual access via Zoom and webcast. Interpretation in all six UN official languages will be provided.
In-person attendance is encouraged in order to facilitate direct engagement and networking, while the virtual format ensures broad and inclusive global participation.
Please note that WIPO will not be able to sponsor travel or to support visa applications.
Yes. The Global Forum on IP and AI represents an evolution in WIPO’s work on frontier technologies. Shifting from the broader, exploratory nature of the WIPO Conversations to a dedicated annual event will enable Member States and stakeholders to engage in more in-depth, targeted and forward-looking dialogue solely on AI and IP.
Launched in 2019, the WIPO Conversation on IP and Frontier Technologies has provided an open and inclusive platform to explore a wide range of technologies and their implications for IP, bringing together a global community of nearly 20,000 participants to exchange views and identify emerging issues.
Building on this strong foundation, the Global Forum on IP and AI responds to growing demand for more focused, Member State driven, engagement on AI, offering a dedicated space for structured discussions and the sharing of experiences and emerging practices.
Frontier technologies beyond AI remain an important area of work for WIPO as they continue to transform innovation, creativity and economic activity, raising evolving questions for the IP system. WIPO will therefore continue to facilitate dialogue and knowledge-building on these technologies through a more targeted and forward-looking format.
The Global Forum on IP and AI focuses on strategic and high level legal and policy discussions related to AI and IP, providing a place for Member States and other relevant stakeholders to exchange broad and forward-looking views on emerging issues holistically across the IP system. The Forum provides an inclusive and neutral venue to advance international discourse, strengthen understanding of global developments, and serve as a place to explore emerging issues in parallel with the more focused discussions taking place within WIPO’s standing committees.
The AI Infrastructure Interchange (AIII) focuses on the technical and operational dimensions of IP in the context of AI. It is designed as a neutral, collaborative space for technical experts to explore how infrastructure (such as metadata, watermarking, identifiers and rights management systems) can respond to the challenges and opportunities created by AI. The ongoing work of AIII will be covered at the Annual Meeting of AIII.
This dual approach recognizes that both policy frameworks and technical infrastructure need to evolve in parallel to support a well-functioning IP system.
The Global Forum on IP and AI will be followed the next day by the first annual meeting of the AIII on November 11, 2026, during which the outcomes and status of discussions within the AIII Technical Exchange Network (TEN) will be presented to WIPO Member States and other interested stakeholders. The AIII annual meeting provides Member States and other WIPO stakeholders a focused opportunity to stay informed about ongoing technical discussions, provide input through interventions, including questions and suggestions for future areas of investigation, and benefit directly from shared global technical expertise.
Frontier technologies other than AI remain an important work area as they continue to transform innovation, creativity and economic activity, raising important and evolving questions for the IP system. Many of these frontier technologies are, however, developing over a longer-term horizon.
WIPO will therefore continue to facilitate dialogue and knowledge-building on frontier technologies other than AI through a more targeted and future-oriented format. A dedicated annual public event will be organized by the IP and Frontier Technologies Division in collaboration with WIPO’s Future of IP work area, recognizing the importance of foresight in assessing the longer-term implications of these technologies for the IP system.
The first such event is planned for the autumn of 2026 and will focus on quantum computing.
The Global Forum on IP and AI is designed to complement the work in the Standing Committees.
AI raises interconnected issues across the IP system, often cutting across the mandates of different Standing Committees. For example, discussions on the use of copyright-protected works for training AI models may have implications beyond copyright, including for innovation more broadly. The Global Forum on IP and AI provides a space to connect these interrelated issues and supports a more holistic understanding across the IP system.
The Global Forum on IP and AI does not have a norm-setting function. Normative discussions and decision-making remain fully within the remit of the Standing Committees.
Recognizing the broad impact of AI across the IP system, WIPO is advancing a range of complementary workstreams on AI and IP, spanning policy discussions, practical tools, capacity-building and operational-level discussions.
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Operational-level technical discussions - WIPO also facilitates collaboration on technical infrastructure through initiatives such as the AI Infrastructure Interchange (AIII), addressing practical challenges related to data, metadata, identifiers and rights management at the intersection of AI and IP.
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Policy - At the policy level, Member States are leading focused discussions within WIPO’s Standing Committees. In the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR), this includes dedicated information sessions on AI and copyright. In the Standing Committee on the Law of Patents (SCP), AI-related questions have been considered including patentability, inventorship and the use of AI in the inventive process. To support policymakers and stakeholders, WIPO has developed practical resources such as the AI Policy Toolkit and a GenAI: Navigating IP Guide, providing accessible guidance on AI-related IP issues.
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Practical tools - On the technical side, WIPO is actively developing and deploying AI-powered tools and services, such as WIPO Translate. This work is led in part by WIPO’s Advanced Technologies Applications Center (ATAC), which focuses on applying AI to enhance IP administration and services.
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Capacity-building - WIPO also delivers capacity-building initiatives, including IP management clinics and regional training programs, supporting startups, researchers and public officials in leveraging IP for AI-driven innovation.
Together, these workstreams reflect a comprehensive approach, ensuring that policy, practice and technology evolve in parallel to support a well-functioning IP system in the age of AI.
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