New Parties to WIPO-Administered Treaties in 2004

The number of countries that signed up to WIPO-administered treaties in 2004 reflected in the growing recognition of the importance of intellectual property rights in an era in which economic growth is increasingly driven by knowledge and information. During 2004, 61 instruments of accession to or ratification of treaties administered by WIPO were deposited with WIPO Director General Kamil Idris, compared to 52 in 2003.

Last year also marked a significant development in the membership of the Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks ("Madrid Protocol") with the deposit by the Council of the European Union, on July 1, of the instrument of accession of the European Community to that treaty.

In the field of industrial property

WIPO Convention - The Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization was signed at Stockholm on July 14, 1967, and entered into force in 1970. WIPO is responsible for the promotion of the protection of intellectual property throughout the world through cooperation among States, and for the administration of various multilateral treaties dealing with the legal and administrative aspects of intellectual property.

In 2004, Maldives and the Syrian Arab Republic (2) adhered to the WIPO Convention, bringing the total number of States to 181.

Paris Convention - The Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property was concluded in 1883 and is one of the pillars of the international intellectual property system. It applies to industrial property in the widest sense, including inventions, marks, industrial designs, utility models (a kind of "small patent" provided for by the laws of some countries), trade names (designations under which an industrial or commercial activity is carried on), geographical indications (indications of source and appellations of origin) and the repression of unfair competition.

In 2004, Andorra and Pakistan (2) adhered to the Paris Convention, bringing the total number of States to 168.

Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) - The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) was concluded in 1970. The PCT makes it possible to seek patent protection for an invention simultaneously in each of a large number of countries by filing an "international" patent application. Such an application may be filed by anyone who is a national or resident of a contracting state. The Treaty regulates the formal requirements with which any international application must comply.

In 2004, San Marino (1) adhered to the PCT, bringing the total number of States to 124.

Madrid Agreement and Madrid Protocol - The Madrid system for the International Registration of Marks (the Madrid system) is governed by two...