50th Anniversary of the WIPO Convention

On April 26, 2020, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the entry into force in 1970 of its founding document, the Convention establishing WIPO, which officially established the WIPO International Bureau and marked the beginning of a new era of multilateral cooperation among the intergovernmental unions that make up the Organization.

WIPO is an international organization designed to promote the use and protection of the works of the human mind, i.e. intellectual property.

WIPO's roots go back to 1883, when the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property was signed – the first important international treaty designed to help people in one country receive protection of their intellectual creations in other countries in the form of industrial property rights. In 1886, the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works introduced copyright into the international arena. In 1891, by signing the Madrid Agreement, the first system of international registration of intellectual property rights, in this case, trademarks, was created.

The increasing importance of intellectual property led to the signing in 1967 of the Convention establishing the Organization. In 1974, WIPO became a specialized agency of the United Nations system of organizations with a mandate for intellectual property management recognized by UN Member States. WIPO expanded its role and in 1996 demonstrated with renewed vigor the importance of intellectual property rights in the management of world trade by entering into a cooperation agreement with the World Trade Organization.

The international legal framework for cooperation in the field of intellectual property, laid down by the WIPO Convention, which was last amended 40 years ago, in 1979, is now dynamically developing and remains functional.

Every year the Organization reaches new heights. During the reporting period, 61 documents on accession to WIPO treaties were received, which is the highest rate in the last 15 years and is more than twice as high as the corresponding figure for the previous year.

Currently, seven treaties include more than 100 contracting parties. Moreover, for the fifth year in a row, the majority of accession steps (40 of 61) were made by developing and transition countries.

From the first days of the creation of WIPO, Belarus was represented in the Organization: first as the BSSR – on April 26, 1970, and since 1991, after gaining state independence, as a member state.

During this period, the Republic of Belarus has actively participated in the work of the standing committees, working groups, other decision-making bodies of WIPO and still makes its worthy contribution to the development and adoption of relevant decisions in the field of intellectual property.

Belarus is a party to 17 multilateral international treaties in the field of intellectual property, operating under the auspices of WIPO.

The main areas of cooperation between Belarus and WIPO are:
improvement of national legislation in the field of intellectual property, taking into account the experience gained by other countries, and international harmonization trends;
enhancing the role of intellectual property in the fields of scientific, technical and economic activities carried out in Belarus, including via the accession of Belarus to WIPO multilateral conventions;
improvement of law enforcement in Belarus in order to prevent, identify and suppress infringements in the field of intellectual property;
strengthening the technical base and increasing the scientific and technical potential of employees of the National Center of Intellectual Property.

We are grateful for the support and assistance provided to Belarus for a long time. In our recent history, there are a number of successful examples of timely, effective and widespread provided by the Organization.

We would like to extend our gratitude to WIPO Director General Dr. Francis Gurry and the entire staff of the Organization for their traditionally high level of interaction, assistance and support.

Taking this opportunity, we would like to congratulate 193 WIPO Member States on the 50th anniversary of the entry into force of the Convention establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization.

We wish everyone happiness, peace, prosperity and success on the way to further development of the international intellectual property system!