Two Years of Building a Global Community for IP Analytics

What does it take to build a truly global community for IP analytics? In two years, WIPO's IP Analytics Community of Practice has expanded across six regions, launched focused working groups, and established the governance structures needed to turn collaborative dialogue into concrete outputs that strengthen IP analytics in IP offices worldwide.

A Shared Vision Takes Shape

The IP Analytics Community of Practice (CoP), formerly known as the Patent Analytics Community of Practice, was launched by WIPO in 2023 as a thought leadership initiative to formalize and support a growing global community of IP analytics practitioners in IP offices across the world. Its purpose is to promote collaboration, knowledge exchange, the sharing of good practices, tools and methodologies, and capacity building in IP analytics, with the broader aim of supporting evidence-based policymaking, stronger IP office operations, and more strategic use of IP data. The CoP was designed not simply as a meeting space, but as a platform for building a connected and skilled international network with lasting institutional value.

Two years on, that vision has taken meaningful shape.

Growth in Membership and Geographic Reach

The Community began in 2023 with 20 inaugural members. In 2024, it welcomed four new member organizations, and a further three in 2025.

This brought total CoP membership to 27 organizations and more than 150 individuals by the end of 2025. In numerical terms, that represents 35% growth in just two years. Just as important as the increase in membership is the expansion in geographic reach. The CoP now brings together organizations from Europe, Asia and the Pacific, North America, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. This breadth strengthens the Community by bringing together IP offices and institutions with different analytical traditions, policy priorities, data environments and operational realities.

That diversity is one of the CoP’s core assets. It enables peer learning across regions, allows members to compare methodologies and institutional approaches, and supports the development of more globally informed practices in IP analytics.

A Broader Scope for a Changing Field

The evolution from “Patent Analytics” to “IP Analytics” reflects an important widening of the Community’s perspective. As set out in the CoP Charter, the CoP encompasses the full spectrum of IP rights relevant to innovation and analytics, including patents, trademarks and industrial designs. Its scope also extends across a broad range of thematic areas, including IP landscaping and technology mapping, innovation trends and foresight analysis, industry and market dynamics, methodological development, and capacity building.

This broader framing is significant. It reflects the reality that IP offices increasingly require integrated analytical capabilities that go beyond a single IP right or dataset. It also positions the CoP to address both established and emerging analytical challenges in a more holistic way.

A Regular Rhythm of Exchange

The CoP currently meets four times per year through a structured cycle of three online meetings and one multi-day in-person Annual Symposium. This meeting model has provided continuity and helped build a sense of shared practice across institutions and regions.  This rhythm also has practical value because it allows the Community to maintain momentum throughout the year, while giving members enough time between meetings to test ideas, develop approaches and bring back lessons from their own institutional contexts.

The Annual Symposium as a Cornerstone Event

The CoP Annual Symposium has quickly become the Community’s flagship gathering. Designed as a pivotal event for sharing and shaping the future of the CoP, it offers members a unique opportunity to meet face-to-face, exchange best practices, debate ideas and strengthen offline connections.

The inaugural CoP Annual Symposium took place at WIPO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, on September 17 and 18, 2024. The 2nd IP Analytics CoP Annual Symposium was then held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from September 29 to October 2, 2025, kindly hosted by INPI Brazil. The 2025 Symposium brought together over 35 participants from 14 CoP member organizations for four days of in-depth discussion, collaboration and knowledge sharing. The program also expanded from two days in 2024 to four days in 2025, indicating a growing level of engagement and a stronger appetite for deeper collaboration. The 3rd IP Analytics Community of Practice Annual Symposium is planned for late September 2026 in Geneva, providing the next important milestone in the Community’s development.

From Dialogue to Action: Launch of the Working Groups

A particularly important development came in May 2025 with the launch of the CoP working groups. Their creation marked a shift from broad exchange toward more focused collaboration and practical co-creation.

The working groups were established to focus on specific topics, foster collaboration, and deepen CoP expertise. They enable members to address challenges, share practical insights and co-create solutions aligned with the Community’s overall goals. By dividing efforts in this way, the working groups enhance engagement, support innovation and help deliver more targeted outcomes.

The CoP currently has four working groups focusing on the following topic areas: Methodological approaches, data visualization and data storytelling, AI and LLMs for IP analytics, and the benefits, impact and use of IP analytics. These working groups aim to share best practices, experiences, and insights among CoP members, fostering peer learning, capturing valuable know-how, and supporting continuous improvement across the Community.

These focus areas are well chosen. Together, they reflect both the technical and strategic dimensions of the field, from analytical rigor and communication to emerging tools and impact assessment.

Strengthening the Institutional Foundations

Another major milestone was the adoption of the CoP Charter on January 31, 2026. The Charter provides a formal framework for the CoP’s mandate, objectives, values, membership model, activities, outputs and governance structure. It also establishes a standing CoP Steering Committee, rotating Chairs for online meetings, giving the Community a clearer and more sustainable operational basis.

This formalization strengthens transparency, clarifies expectations, and supports continuity as the Community grows. It also confirms that the CoP is intended not only as a forum for discussion, but as a platform capable of producing knowledge products, training materials, joint studies, pilot projects and methodology documents over time.

Looking Ahead

At the two-year mark, the IP Analytics Community of Practice has already demonstrated strong momentum. It has grown from 20 to 27 member organizations, expanded its regional reach, established a regular cycle of meetings, launched a successful Annual Symposium model, created thematic working groups, and adopted a formal Charter to guide its next phase.

The work ahead will be about turning this foundation into even deeper cooperation and more concrete outputs. With its growing membership, structured governance and focused working groups, the CoP is well positioned to continue strengthening the field of IP analytics globally.

Its first two years have shown that there is clear demand for a more connected, collaborative and forward-looking international community of IP office practitioners in the area of IP analytics. The next phase will be about translating that collective energy into sustained institutional value, practical methodologies and shared progress across the global IP ecosystem.