Frequently Asked Questions: World Intellectual Property Day
About the World Intellectual Property Day
World Intellectual Property Day offers a unique opportunity to join with others around the globe to consider how intellectual property (IP) helps the global arts scene to flourish and enables the technological innovation that drives human progress. In 2000, WIPO's member states designated April 26 – the day on which the WIPO Convention came into force in 1970 – as World IP Day, with the aim of increasing general awareness and understanding of IP.
World IP Day is an opportunity to highlight the role that IP rights, such as, patents, trademarks, industrial designs, copyright, play in encouraging innovation and creativity. A balanced IP system recognizes and rewards inventors and creators for their work and ensures that society benefits from their creativity and ingenuity.
IP rights provide the means by which researchers, inventors, businesses, designers, artists and others can legally protect their innovative and creative outputs and secure an economic return from them.
Only when a work meets certain established criteria will it qualify for IP protection. A song, or a movie, for example, only qualifies for copyright protection if it is original. Similarly, a technology has to be groundbreaking (i.e. novel, non-obvious and useful) to qualify for patent protection. Moreover, to obtain a patent, inventors are obliged to make details of their invention public so that others can build on the technology.
An effective IP system that balances the interests of inventors and creators with those of society as a whole has proven effective in encouraging inventors and creators to invest their time, energy and ingenuity into developing new technologies and new forms of creative expression that improve and enrich our lives.
An environment in which innovation and creativity thrive, and which is diverse and inclusive, improves our chances of addressing the major challenges facing humanity, driving human progress, and making our lives healthier, safer, and more comfortable.
The theme of World Intellectual Property Day 2026 is “IP and Sports: Ready, Set, Innovate!”.
Sports aren’t just about the game — they reach into fashion, entertainment, media, health, gaming and consumer goods. IP rights enable cross-industry connections with sport, sparking creativity, technological advancement and economic growth. Even when we’re not watching a game in the stadium or on the court cheering, the impact of sports and IP is part of our daily lives.
World Intellectual Property Day 2026 celebrates how creativity and innovation, backed by IP rights, keep the world of sports thriving, dynamic and accessible for everyone, everywhere.
Join the #WorldIPDay celebrations on April 26, and together let’s honor the contributions of the creators, inventors and entrepreneurs working behind the scenes to push the boundaries of athletic performance, improve audience experience and bring sports events to every home.
As the specialized United Nations agency for innovation and creativity, WIPO has a unique role to play in supporting innovation and creativity in the sports landscape. WIPO is working with its member states and partners to promote a legal and policy environment that supports inventors, creators and entrepreneurs.
WIPO offers a dedicated page on sports and intellectual property to explain how IP supports the sports ecosystem. Further information can be found in the publication, “Reference Guide to Sustaining Sport and its Development through Intellectual Property Rights” (PDF).
In June 2023, WIPO and the IOC signed an agreement to promote IP use and management in sports. WIPO also teamed up with the Esports Integrity Commission to improve dispute resolution and training for esports IP issues.
Get involved with World Intellectual Property Day 2026
World Intellectual Property Day is celebrated globally. Anyone can take part in the campaign!
IP offices, government agencies, law firms, businesses (large and small), international organizations, non-governmental organizations, universities, schools, students, and more... Join the millions of people around the world who come together every year to celebrate World Intellectual Property Day.
IP offices, government agencies, law firms, businesses (large and small), international organizations, non-governmental organizations, universities, schools, students, and more... Join the millions of people around the world who come together every year to celebrate World Intellectual Property Day.
World Intellectual Property Day is a great opportunity to get people interested in and talking about IP and how it enables innovation and creativity for everyone. World Intellectual Property Day is a celebration for everyone, everywhere, and you can get involved in many ways:
- Learn about IP in sports: Find out about the intersection of IP and sports and learn how IP rights boost creativity and innovation in sports.
- Participate in the World IP Day 2026 Youth Video Competition: Submit a 60-90 second video and stand a chance to win prizes worth up to CHF 3,000. More details on the Competition page .
- Create your own campaign: If you would like to organize your own World IP Day campaign and are looking for inspiration, check out our create your own campaign page. Download all artwork materials from the social media kit (available soon).
- Attend an event in your local area: Every year, hundreds of events are organized around the world to celebrate World IP Day—from webinars to conferences, national award ceremonies, workshops, and exhibitions. Find your IP office and connect with their networks to celebrate World IP Day.
- Join the #WorldIPDay conversation: Share your views on social media using the #WorldIPDay hashtag, and follow @WIPO on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok and X.
Use our World Intellectual Property Day social media kit (available soon) to promote your event online and offline.
Note: WIPO is not in a position to officially endorse or financially support events organized by third parties.
Publicity materials
Our social media kit (available soon) is available in eight languages to help you create your World IP Day campaign content. These various contents are free and open to use for everyone. The social media assets can be edited and customized to different needs.
Unfortunately, we cannot authorize use of the WIPO logo for third party events.
World IP Day archives
Take a look at previous World IP Day campaigns in our archives.
More questions?
If you are unable to find an answer to your question on this page or through the World IP Day homepage, feel free to contact us.