World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
1. In the past year, has the governing body of your organization taken any decisions to advance sustainable, inclusive, science- and evidence-based solutions for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and ensure that no one is left behind? If yes, please briefly mention these decisions taken by your governing body in 2024 and provide the respective symbols.
The WIPO diplomatic conference to conclude an International Legal Instrument Relating to Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources, and Traditional Knowledge Associated with Genetic Resources was convened in May 2024, and concluded with Member States adopting the WIPO Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge by consensus. The Treaty, once it enters into force, will establish in international law a new disclosure requirement for patent applicants whose inventions are based on genetic resources and/or associated traditional knowledge. Where a claimed invention in a patent application is based on genetic resources, each contracting party shall require applicants to disclose the country of origin or source of the genetic resources. Where the claimed invention in a patent application is based on traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources, each contracting party shall require applicants to disclose the Indigenous Peoples or local community, as applicable, who provided the traditional knowledge. This is the first WIPO Treaty to address the interface between IP, genetic resources and traditional knowledge and to include provisions specifically for Indigenous Peoples and local communities.
2. During 2024, what actions have your entities taken to improve coordination among UN system entities across policy and normative activities as well as with ECOSOC subsidiary bodies with a view to increase impact and accelerate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda? Please provide any relevant links.
In April 2024, WIPO contributed and partnered with other UN system entities in the organization of thematic session of the program of the ECOSOC Youth Forum, and took part at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII), including through the organization of a WIPO hosted side event: Empowering Indigenous Youth Voices: Indigenous Youth Leading the Way in WIPO Initiatives.
A High-Level Event during the ECOSOC Youth Forum 2024, Innovate and Lead: Skills for Youth to Drive a Sustainable Future, held on April 17, 2024, marked a pivotal moment in advancing youth empowerment and sustainable development. Co-organized by WIPO, ITC, and the Permanent Mission of Kenya to the United Nations headquarters, the event brought together a diverse group of attendees, including youth ministers, ambassadors, entrepreneurs, and artists, to deliberate on how best to enable youth to take leadership in sustainable development through innovation.
In 2024, WIPO dedicated the theme of the World Intellectual Property Day to IP and the SDGs: Building our common future with innovation and creativity, inviting the global community to reflect on the impact of IP driven innovation and creativity in accelerating the attainment of the SDGs, and triggering a world-wide awareness raising campaign on the critical role of IP in unlocking the innovative and creative potential of everyone everywhere to find solutions in support of the achievement of the SDGs.
As a founding member of the UN Interagency Task Team on STI for Sustainable Development, WIPO contributed to the substantive preparations of the 2024 multistakeholder forum on STI for Sustainable Development, in particular in co-leading with ITU, session 6 on addressing the gender gap in STI. As co-lead of the IATT WG on Gender and STI, WIPO worked with 12 UN entities to show case specific and targeted initiatives led by the UN system to help close the gender gap in STI.
At the Summit of the Future, WIPO co-led the organization of two sessions during the Youth Action Day: The first on Inclusive Digital Future for All, and the second on Strategic Foresight on Climate and Sustainability. At the Digital and Technology Action Day II – the WIPO Technology and Innovation Support Centers were selected and presented as a digitally backed transformative solution that aims at strengthening innovative capacities in countries. WIPO TISCs was selected by the organizing committee as a transformative SDG digital solutions.
3. In the past year, has your organization organized any intergovernmentally mandated conferences, forums or events that contributed to the achievement of the SDGs, or has been in the process of planning and organizing any such mandated events to be held next year?
Event Name | The diplomatic conference to conclude an International Legal Instrument Relating to Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources, and Traditional Knowledge Associated with Genetic Resources |
Event Dates | May 13 to 24, 2024 |
Event Location (City, Country) | Geneva, Switzerland |
Relevant SDGs | Leave no one behind (LNOB), SDG2 |
Description (max 150 words): please include a short summary of the event’s mandate and contributions to the SDGs, including its main outcome(s) | This is the first WIPO Treaty to address the interface between intellectual property, genetic resources and traditional knowledge and the first WIPO Treaty to include provisions specifically for Indigenous Peoples as well as local communities. The Treaty, once it enters into force with 15 contracting parties, will establish in international law a new disclosure requirement for patent applicants whose inventions are based on genetic resources and/or associated traditional knowledge |
Website (if applicable) |
Event Name | World Intellectual Property Day IP and the SDGs: Building our common future with innovation and creativity |
Event Dates | April 26, 2024 |
Event Location (City, Country) | A large number of events took place in Geneva but also around the world to celebrate the WIPD. |
Relevant SDGs | All SDGs |
Description (max 150 words): please include a short summary of the event’s mandate and contributions to the SDGs, including its main outcome(s) | To build our common future and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), we need to re-think how we live, work and play. World IP Day 2024 is an opportunity to explore how intellectual property (IP) encourages and can amplify the innovative and creative solutions that are so crucial to building our common future. |
Website (if applicable) |
Event Name | 10th Joint Technical Symposium on “Facing the Future: Human Health and Climate Change” organized by the WHO, WIPO, WTO |
Event Dates | November 14, 2023 |
Event Location (City, Country) | Geneva, Switzerland |
Relevant SDGs | Targets 3.3, 3.8 and 3.b |
Description (max 150 words): please include a short summary of the event’s mandate and contributions to the SDGs, including its main outcome(s) | The symposium underscored the importance of exploring the intersections between public health, trade, and IP to leverage existing tools, and develop new technologies, to address the effects of climate change on human health.
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4. In the past year, has your organization published or planned to publish any analytical work, guidance or reference materials, or toolkits to guide and support the implementation of SDGs at national, regional and global levels? Please select up to three to highlight, especially those that address interlinkages among the SDGs.
Resource Name | WIPO Youth Empowerment Strategy |
Relevant SDGs (list all relevant goals) | SDG9, SDG4, SDG10, SDG8, SDG17 |
Publishing entity/entities | WIPO |
Target audience |
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Description (max 150 words) | The strategy will help WIPO inspire, educate, and empower the next generation of creators, innovators, IP experts and entrepreneurs worldwide.
The new policy framework seeks to cater to the unique aspirations and needs of youth in three key action areas:
Sparking passion: To amplify WIPO’s ability to bring IP closer to youth, as well as inspire and promote youth-led innovation and creativity. Building skills: To equip youth with the right IP education, training, knowledge, and skills. Empowering action: To create meaningful opportunities for youth to apply their acquired knowledge and succeed in their fields of interest. Through these actions, IP-YES! will help WIPO to equip younger generations with the IP insights, resources and opportunities required to materialize their visions for the future and transform their ideas into tangible outcomes. |
Language(s) | English |
Website (if applicable) |
Resource Name | A second update of the extract on “Integrated health, trade and IP approach to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic” |
Relevant SDGs (list all relevant goals) | SDG3 |
Publishing entity/entities | WHO, WIPO, WTO |
Target audience |
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Description (max 150 words) | Maps the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic in relation to the integrated health, trade and IP policy frameworks. |
Language(s) | English, Français, Español, عربي, 中文, Русский |
Website (if applicable) |
Resource Name | Mapping Innovations: Patents and the Sustainable Development Goals |
Relevant SDGs (list all relevant goals) | SDG9, and all other SDGs except SDGs 8, 10, 16 and 17 |
Publishing entity/entities | WIPO |
Target audience |
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Description (max 150 words) | This WIPO patent analytics report sheds light on the intersection of patent activity and UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), providing crucial insights into the impact of IP in advancing global sustainability efforts. The intersection of patents and the SDGs offers a unique lens and help track innovation aligned with the SDGs across diverse technology landscapes. |
Language(s) | English |
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5. The United Nations has defined six key transitions, or transformative entry points, that can have catalytic and multiplier effects across the SDGs and which have been guiding the UN development system work since the 2023 SDG Summit. In the past year, how has your organization contributed to these transformative actions and how various actors are being rallied behind them to mobilize further leadership and investment to bring progress to scale? Please provide any relevant links.
1. Food systems
The third International Conference on IP and Development, themed “IP and Innovation for Sustainable Agriculture”, was held in a hybrid format on April 24, 2023. This Conference brought together more than 600 representatives of IGOs, NGOs, academia and the private sector to exchange about the importance of IP, innovation and technology for sustainable agriculture, and the need for awareness raising and capacity building of farmers and other stakeholders in the agricultural value chain on IP tools for technology development. It highlighted the role of IP in providing incentives for innovations in agriculture to address its global challenges. The discussion held contributed to target 2.4. Link: International Conference on Intellectual Property and Development IP and Innovation for Sustainable Agriculture (wipo.int)
To encourage innovation and support entrepreneurs, in 2023, WIPO GREEN hosted, in cooperation with the IP for Business Division, an IP Management Clinic on Agriculture. The IP Management Clinic helped SMEs develop solutions for the agriculture sector to enhance food security, reduce pollution, water use or carbon emissions, and improve their business and IP strategies through workshops and one-on-one coaching sessions.
2. Energy access and affordability
WIPO releases new edition of the “Green Technology Book” at COP29 on November 19, 2024. The new book focuses on energy technologies. Link: New Edition of Green Technology Book on Energy Technology Solutions Out Soon (wipo.int)
3. Digital connectivity
WIPO Digital Access Service
The WIPO Digital Access Service (DAS) is an electronic system allowing priority documents and similar documents to be securely exchanged between participating intellectual property (IP) offices. The system enables applicants and offices to meet the requirements of the Paris Convention for certification in an electronic environment. Link: https://www.wipo.int/web/das
The Entrepreneurs Online Network (EON) is a WIPO project that delivers IP content tailored to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Businesses will learn how IP can help them achieve commercial objectives. EON shares strategies, insights from experts and available resources to put IP to use for businesses. Through the project, SMEs can also connect to an online community of entrepreneurs operating in their area. Selected SMEs can additionally benefit from individual consultations with IP experts. To maximize impact, the EON project targets specific industries and business clusters. Link: https://www.wipo.int/sme/en/entrepreneurs-online-network.html
4. Education
The WIPO Academy is the center of excellence for intellectual property (IP) education, training and skills-building for WIPO member states, in particular developing countries, least-developed countries (LDCs) and countries in transition. The Academy works to help build human capacity in IP, which is essential to innovation and creativity. Link: WIPO Academy
5. Jobs and social protection
Technology and Innovation Support Centers
The WIPO Technology and Innovation Support Center (TISC) program provides innovators in developing countries with access to locally based, high quality technology information and related services, helping them to exploit their innovative potential and to create, protect, and manage their intellectual property (IP) rights. Link: Technology and Innovation Support Centers (wipo.int)
6. Climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution
WIPO GREEN Acceleration Projects: During Acceleration Projects, which focus on a particular geographical area or technological domain, providers and seekers make crucial connections that can lead to green tech deployment or transfer.
The projects generate relevant knowledge about the green tech landscape and are a gateway to a range of potential funders, legal counsel, and local and international commercial networks.
For example, the Acceleration Project in China has been seeking solutions to environmental challenges related to energy, water, pollution and waste in Beijing with expected expansion into other large cities. The project aimed to support China in achieving its commitment of reducing carbon emissions by 2030 and reaching carbon neutrality by 2060. Two deployments have already resulted from this project: a composting technology to deal with kitchen waste in a hotel complex and a charging station for electric vehicles. In 2023, there were two matches related to a carbon management system and the management of photovoltaic systems, and five connections established. Link: https://www3.wipo.int/wipogreen/en/projects/
6. Please provide strategies (policies, guidance, plan) and/or collective actions taken to implement the 2024 Ministerial Declaration of the Economic and Social Council and the high-level political forum on sustainable development convened under the auspices of the Council. Please note any challenges foreseen and provide any relevant links.
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7. What collective efforts is your entity undertaking to support countries in accelerating the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, especially in the areas of Goal 3 (Good health and well-being), Goal 5 (Gender equality), Goal 8 (Decent work and economic growth), Goal 14 (Life below water) and Goal 17 (Partnerships), which will go under in-depth review at the HLPF in 2025? Please note any achievements, challenges and gaps and provide any relevant links.
Initiative/Partnership Name | WIPO IP and Gender Action Plan (IPGAP) |
Partners (please list all partners) | The International Trade Centre (ITC), the World Trade Organization (WTO)’s Gender Research Hub and other economic-/science-oriented organizations |
Relevant SDGs (list all relevant goals) | SDG 5, targets 5.5, 5.a, 5.b and 5.c |
Member States benefiting from it |
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Description (max 150 words) | WIPO’s work on IP and Gender reached a major milestone in 2023 with the launch of the first WIPO IP and Gender Action Plan (IPGAP), representing the Organization’s contribution to global initiatives aimed at achieving economic equality and women empowerment. In alignment with WIPO’s 2022-2026 Medium-Term Strategic Plan (MTSP), the IPGAP envisions a world where innovation and creativity by women anywhere are supported by IP for the good of everyone. Contributing to the implementation of the development agenda, the IPGAP initiatives include: i) government support for integrating a gender perspective into P legislation, policies, programs, and projects; ii) research to identify and close the gender gap in IP; and iii) implementation of new gender-oriented projects to effectively educate and bolster the IP skills of women and supporting institutions. |
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Initiative/Partnership Name | WIPO Global Health Innovation Fellowship |
Partners (please list all partners) | the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) of the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT Delhi) and the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay). |
Relevant SDGs (list all relevant goals) | SDG 3, SDG 17 |
Member States benefiting from it |
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Description (max 150 words) | The DBT Biodesign Program aims to provide training to aspiring medical technology innovators to identify unmet health-related needs, invent health technologies to address these needs, and prepare the innovators to implement the technologies into patient care through start-ups, corporations, or other channels. Four MedTech fellows from Africa are sponsored by WIPO to participate as part of the first cohort in 2024. |
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Initiative/Partnership Name | WIPO Training, Mentoring and Match-Making Program on IP and Traditional Medical Knowledge (TMK Program) |
Partners (please list all partners) |
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Relevant SDGs (list all relevant goals) | Targets 3.b, 3.c, 8.3, and 10.2 |
Member States benefiting from it | 12 African Countries |
Description (max 150 words) | TMK Program was launched in September 2023, in 12 African countries with a comprehensive practical workshop on IP and traditional medical knowledge (TMK). Traditional medicine practitioners and local communities from 12 African countries were trained on using IP tools to protect traditional medical knowledge-based innovation and products. The TMK Program supports the R&D of medicines that primarily affect developing countries and LDCs, and substantially increases the development and training of the health workforce in these countries. |
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