WIPO Standards – Latest developments in WIPO Standards, including updates from the Committee on WIPO Standards (CWS).
Sign upThe CWS is the collaborative international forum for discussing and reaching agreement on WIPO Standards, including their revision and development. It also deals with other matters relating to intellectual property information and documentation.
The Committee was created by WIPO member states at the General Assembly held in 2009 and it currently meets annually.
| Subject | Reference | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Consultation on Proposal for Copyright Orphan Work Metadata Management | C.CWS 156 | 2022.04.26 |
| Survey on Digital Transformation | C.CWS 155 | 2022.03.16 |
| Request for IPOs to provide their Authority Files | C.CWS 154 | 2022.02.09 |
Committee members include all WIPO member states as well as a range of observers.
Activities undertaken on behalf of CWS include:
The CWS develops WIPO Standards, which provide a single, common framework for working with intellectual property documents. They cover patents, trademarks, and industrial designs at all stages of the intellectual property prosecution process, as well as data dissemination.
We organize trainings from time to time on WIPO Standards and related topics, such as technological developments. See our Trainings page for more information and a schedule of events.
We organize workshops for IP offices, observers, representatives of industry, and other interested parties on various aspects of IP information. The results are presented to the CWS for further consideration.
In addition to developing standards, the CWS produces other information resources in related areas. Among them are:
WIPO Sequence is a global software tool for patent applicants to prepare amino acid and nucleotide sequence listings compliant with WIPO Standard ST.26, as part of a national, regional, or international patent application.
Working with the IP community to explore the implications of blockchain technology on IP and find suitable models for blockchain usage in the IP space.
The authority file of published patent documents allows interested parties to assess the completeness of available patent documentation from providing IPOs.
The WIPO Handbook is the authoritative source of WIPO Standards, Recommendations and Guidelines in the field of intellectual property data, information, and documentation. Sections include:
Annual Technical Reports (ATRs) provide an overview of recent developments in services and information by IPOs. ATRs cover patent, trademark and industrial design activities.
Task No. 56: Ensure the necessary revisions and updates of WIPO Standard ST.90; support the International Bureau in developing a unified catalog of APIs that are made available by Offices; and support the International Bureau in promoting and implementing WIPO Standard ST.90.
Task No. 58: Prepare a proposal for a roadmap of future development and enhancement of WIPO standards, including policy recommendations, in view of more effective production, sharing, and utilization of data by IPOs and other interested parties.
Task No. 59: Explore the possibility of using blockchain technology in the processes of providing IP rights protection, processing information about IP objects and their use; Collect information about IPO developments in use of and experience with blockchain, assess current Industry Standards on blockchain and consider merit and applicability to IPOs; Develop reference models of using blockchain technology in the IP field, including guiding principles, common practice and use of terminology as a framework supporting collaboration, joint projects and proofs of concept; and Prepare a proposal for a new WIPO standard supporting the potential application of blockchain technology within the IP ecosystem.
Task No. 61:Ensure the necessary revisions and updates of WIPO Standard ST.91, including methods of search for 3D models and 3D images.
Task No. 62: Review WIPO Standards: ST.6, ST.8, ST.10, ST.11, ST.15, ST.17, ST.18, ST.63 and ST.81, and WIPO Handbook Part 6, in view of electronic publication of IP documentation; and propose revisions of those Standards and materials if needed.
Task No. 64: Prepare a proposal for recommendations for JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) resources compatible with WIPO Standard ST.96 to be used for filing, processing, publication and/or exchange intellectual property information.
The CWS establishes Task Forces consisting of policy makers and experts nominated by Committee members and observers to address specific tasks, such as the development of WIPO Standards.
Dedicated e-forums (Wikis) are provided by WIPO to facilitate the discussions of Task Force members.
