In 2011, trademark holders filed a record 2,764 cybersquatting cases covering 4,781 domain names with the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center (WIPO Center) under procedures based on the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP), an increase of 2.5% and 9.4% over the previous highest levels in 2010 and 2009, respectively. Meanwhile, with plans by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) for an expansion in the number of new generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs) underway in 2012, the WIPO Center recently rolled out resources for pre-emptive measures to prevent the abusive use of trademarks as gTLDs.
Despite difficult economic conditions, international patent filings under the WIPO-administered Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) set a new record in 2011 with 181,900 applications – a growth of 10.7% on 2010 and the fastest growth since 2005.
WIPO Director General Francis Gurry has welcomed an Australian donation of AUD 2 million for projects to help developing and least developing countries (LDCs) build capacity in the field of intellectual property (IP) and ensure they were in a position to actively participate in the benefits of innovation and the knowledge economy.
A new report published by WIPO today shows that intellectual property (IP) filings worldwide rebounded strongly in 2010 after a considerable decline in 2009. The recovery in IP filings was stronger than the overall economic recovery. Patent and trademark filings grew by 7.2% and 11.8% respectively in 2010 compared to growth of 5.1% in the global gross domestic product (GDP), with China and the United States (US) accounting for the greatest share of the increased filings.
The World Intellectual Property Report 2011- The Changing Face of Innovation – a new WIPO publication – describes how ownership of intellectual property (IP) rights has become central to the strategies of innovating firms worldwide. With global demand for patents rising from 800,000 applications in the early 1980s to 1.8 million in 2009, the Report concludes that growing investments in innovation and the globalization of economic activities are key drivers of this trend.
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), in an unprecedented collaboration with leading pharmaceutical companies and BIO Ventures for Global Health (BVGH), launched today WIPO Re:Search, a new consortium where public and private sector organizations share valuable intellectual property (IP) and expertise with the global health research community to promote development of new drugs, vaccines, and diagnostics to treat neglected tropical diseases, malaria, and tuberculosis.
Representatives of WIPO’s 184 member states, meeting at their annual Assemblies in Geneva from September 26 to October 5, 2011 took a landmark decision to call a diplomatic conference to agree an international treaty on the rights of performers in their audiovisual performances. They took stock of the Organization’s substantive work over the last year, provided direction for the future work program, and approved a program and budget for the Organization for the next biennium (2012/13). WIPO Director General Francis Gurry said this year’s Assemblies were characterized by a remarkable spirit of engagement and commitment by member states to address the pressing intellectual property (IP) issues on the global agenda and hoped this would continue.
WIPO Director General Francis Gurry welcomed a decision today by WIPO’s General Assembly to convene a diplomatic conference in 2012 to agree an international treaty on the rights of performers in their audiovisual performances. The convening of a diplomatic conference signals entry into the final phase of treaty negotiations.
Barbara Hendricks, one of the world’s leading opera singers and a best-selling recording artist, joined WIPO Director General Francis Gurry, high-level members of the Geneva and Swiss government, and the international intellectual property (IP) community tonight in inaugurating the new WIPO administration building. The new building, which looks onto Geneva’s Place des Nations, is the work of award-winning Behnisch Architekten of Stuttgart, Germany.
WIPO Director General Francis Gurry said today that the international intellectual property (IP) community faces three major challenges in the coming years – management of demand of IP applications, the migration of all cultural content to the Internet, and enhancing the capacity of least developed and developing countries to use the IP system for encouraging innovation and creativity. Mr. Gurry said that deep engagement and commitment would be required to address these challenges successfully. Mr. Gurry also welcomed progress in WIPO’s normative agenda, attributing this to closer collaboration and understanding among WIPO’s member states.