The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations. It is dedicated to developing a balanced and accessible international intellectual property (IP) system, which rewards creativity, stimulates innovation and contributes to economic development while safeguarding the public interest.

WIPO was established by the WIPO Convention in 1967 with a mandate from its Member States to promote the protection of IP throughout the world through cooperation among states and in collaboration with other international organizations. Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland. The Director General is Francis Gurry.

Mr. Francis Gurry was appointed Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and Secretary-General of the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) on October 1, 2008. 

WIPO’s vision is that IP is an important tool for the economic, social and cultural development of all countries. This shapes its mission to promote the effective use and protection of IP worldwide. Strategic goals are set out in a four yearly Medium Term Plan and refined in the biennial Program and Budget document.

The Government of Ukraine places a significant importance upon policy making and implementation in the sphere of intellectual property. The cooperation with the World Intellectual Property Organization plays the key role in the process of development of the national system of intellectual property rights protection as well as ensuring public support for the importance of this area for the national economy and well-being of the population. Ukraine has been constantly elected to the Executive Committees of Bern and Paris Unions, as well as Coordinating Committee and Committee on program and Budget of WIPO.

The important input into the development of Ukraine-WIPO cooperation made the official visit of Director General F.Gurry to Ukraine in summer 2010. The main result of the visit became the singing of the Enhanced Cooperation Program between the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and WIPO for 2010-2012. 

At the Fifty-First Series of Meeting of the Assemblies of the Member States of the WIPO (Geneva, 23 September – 2 October 2013) the State Intellectual Property Service of Ukraine acquired the status of International Searching Authority and Intellectual Preliminary Examining Authority pursuant to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).