On June 30, 2026, women entrepreneurs from Kenya, the United Kingdom, China, and Brazil showcased how intellectual property is empowering women to innovate, build brands, and shape the future of sport.
Held virtually on June 30, 2026, the eighth Sharing Session on Women and IP – Closing the Gender Gap in IP focused on the theme Women in Sports and IP, building on the 2026 World IP Day theme, "IP and Sports: Ready, Set, Innovate." The discussion highlighted how intellectual property is helping women across the sports sector protect innovation, strengthen brands, foster entrepreneurship, and create lasting economic and social value.
Opening the session, Ms. Lisa Jorgenson, Deputy Director General of the Patents and Technology Sector at WIPO, emphasized the relevance of the discussion to this year’s World IP Day theme, IP and Sports: Ready, Set, Innovate. She noted that the global sports industry is a major global industry increasingly shaped by intangible assets, which are central to value creation. She highlighted growing role of women in business, technology, and social empowerment through sport, and stressed the importance of access to funding, networks, mentorship, commercialization opportunities, and IP systems.
Moderating the session, Her Excellency Ms. Anita Pipan, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Slovenia to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva, stressed that closing the gender gap in IP is essential for fairness and for unlocking creative and innovative potential. Sports provide a valuable perspective for examining this global issue because of its links across all spheres. Drawing on examples from Slovenia, she showed how IP is embedded across the sports ecosystem, from patented technologies and equipment to athlete branding, commercialization, and media content.
As the co-founder of Enda Athletic, Ms. Navalayo Osembo-Ombati shared the journey behind building Kenya's first running shoe brand. Driven by a lifelong passion for running and a desire to create a brand that celebrates Kenya's rich running heritage, she explained how IP was embedded in the business from the outset. She underscored the importance of securing trademark protection early for a brand's name, story, and visual identity, demonstrating how this strengthened investor confidence and supported expansion into international markets. She also emphasized that IP literacy can be a powerful tool for women entrepreneurs seeking to build businesses rooted in their culture, identity, and innovation.
Addressing female-dominated sports, Ms. Chantal Epp, Founder of ClicknClear, highlighted how fragmented and complex music rights can pose major barriers to growth, broadcasting, and commercialization. Drawing on her own experience as a two-time World Champion cheerleader with a degree in commercial music, she shared the journey behind ClicknClear, rooted in her own lived experiences in sport and the challenges faced by athletes, teams, and sports organizations in using music legally. She presented ClicknClear’s licensing, rights management, and compliance tools as a practical solution to reduce infringement risks, unlock new monetization opportunities for creators, and support the safe scaling of women’s sports. The success of the platform has been so vast that it has been used by athletes and organizers in various major sports competitions.
From her commercial legal role within a global sports brand group, Ms. Chenlin Zhu, Legal Director at ANTA Sports Products, reflected on the diverse ways women contribute across the sports ecosystem, including as athletes, product creators, brand builders, and IP professionals. She highlighted how IP helps protect and sustain the value generated through athlete partnerships, product innovation, marketing campaigns, and brand assets. She also shared how ANTA’s initiatives and campaigns are helping empower women athletes and bring their stories to the forefront, making them more visible within the global sports narrative. She stressed that IP is not a standalone issue, but a practical mechanism through which ideas, products, and stories are transformed into sustainable brand value.
Highlighting the intersection of science, entrepreneurship, and innovation, Ms. Bianca Gama Pena, Founder of the eMuseum of Sports, shared the journey behind creating the eMuseum of Sports and how it has grown into a successful platform, alongside other related initiatives she has developed. She explained how IP underpins her work in building virtual and physical immersive sports exhibitions, with IP embedded at every stage of development. She illustrated how software registration, trademark protection, image rights, copyright management, licensing agreements, and confidentiality clauses have supported the protection of assets, the development of partnerships, and overall business growth. She presented IP as a strategic tool for linking creativity and technology to international expansion and long-term economic and social value.
In summary, the session overall highlighted:
- How IP can help women turn ideas into impact, enabling them to build brands, protect innovation, manage rights, and grow businesses across the sports sector.
- The personal journeys behind the innovation, with speakers sharing how their lifelong passion for sport, understanding of their communities and markets, and commitment to their cultures inspired them to create initiatives that led to successful businesses.
- The many roles women play in sport are shaping the future of the industry, not only as athletes, but also as entrepreneurs, founders, legal professionals, product creators, and innovators
- The importance of making IP more accessible, through greater awareness, early guidance, funding, mentorship, and stronger networks that may help women bring their ideas to life and create lasting value.
This event forms part of a broader series of sessions aimed at closing the gender gap in IP, organized annually following a decision by the Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (CDIP).
A recording of the full session and presentations of all the speakers are available on the event webpage.
As this is an ongoing series, please stay tuned for the next session!
Related information
- First sharing session on "Closing the Gender Gap in Intellectual Property – Mapping and Addressing Barriers"
- Second sharing session on "Closing the Gender Gap in IP: Exploring Multi-stakeholder Initiatives"
- Third sharing session on "Closing the Gender Gap in IP: Looking at Good Practices"
- Fourth sharing session on "Closing the Gender Gap in IP: Women and Tourism"
- Fifth sharing session on "Closing The Gender Gap In IP: Women In The Creative Industries"
- Sixth sharing session on “Closing the Gender Gap in IP: Women and the Sustainable Development Goals”
- Seventh sharing session on “Closing the Gender Gap in IP: Women in Design”