A Citizen’s Guide to WIPO

A 2007 guide by CIEL that explains the structure and functioning of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to help civil society organizations participate in intellectual property discussions. It critiques WIPO's historical focus on expanding IP protections at the expense of sustainable development goals, specifically regarding access to medicines, food security, and traditional knowledge.

• The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is a UN specialized agency established in 1970 with a mandate to promote the protection of intellectual property and facilitate technology transfer to developing countries to accelerate economic, social, and cultural development.
• CIEL argues that WIPO has historically prioritized the harmonization of national legislation and the expansion of intellectual property protection levels over its mandate to support development and public policy issues.
• Intellectual property systems managed by WIPO impact human health by creating monopolies on essential medicines through patents, which can increase prices and reduce access for marginalized communities.
• WIPO's activities regarding plant and plant variety patents are linked to food security concerns, specifically the erosion of traditional farmers' rights to save and sell seeds and the misappropriation of genetic resources by multinational corporations.
• In the area of biodiversity, there is a conflict between the privatization of plant and animal germplasm via intellectual property and the need for equitable benefit sharing and the protection of indigenous communities' traditional knowledge.
• WIPO's work on copyright, specifically through the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights, is viewed by CIEL as favoring the control of major copyright industries over public interest exceptions for education and the blind.
• WIPO's definition of 'NGO' is broader than that of other international organizations, as it includes any organization independent from government, including business groups and private sector organizations representing commercial interests.
• The WIPO Development Agenda, resulting from a process initiated in 2004, aims to reform WIPO's activities to be more development-oriented, demand-driven, and transparent, particularly for Least Developed Countries (LDCs).
• Civil society participation in WIPO has increased since 2000, particularly through the Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC), though structural and technical barriers remain.

APA

Center for International Environmental Law (2007). A Citizen’s Guide to WIPO. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/CitizensGuide_WIPO_Oct07.pdf

Chicago

Center for International Environmental Law. A Citizen’s Guide to WIPO. 2007. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/CitizensGuide_WIPO_Oct07.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Center for International Environmental Law |title=A Citizen’s Guide to WIPO |date=2007 |url=https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/CitizensGuide_WIPO_Oct07.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centerforinternationalenvironmentallaw2007citizens, author = {{Center for International Environmental Law}}, title = {{A Citizen’s Guide to WIPO}}, institution = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2007}, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/CitizensGuide_WIPO_Oct07.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }