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The WIPO Convention, the constituent instrument of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), was signed at Stockholm on July 14, 1967, entered into force in 1970 and was amended in 1979. WIPO is an intergovernmental organization that became in 1974 one of the specialized agencies of the United Nations system of organizations.

The origins of WIPO go back to 1883 and 1886 when the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property and the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, respectively, were concluded. Both Conventions provided for the establishment of an “international bureau”. The two bureaus were united in 1893 and, in 1970, were replaced by the World Intellectual Property Organization, by virtue of the WIPO Convention.

WIPO has two main objectives. The first is to promote the protection of intellectual property worldwide. The second is to ensure administrative cooperation among the intellectual property Unions established by the treaties that WIPO administers.

Membership in WIPO is open to any State which is a member of any of the Unions and to any other State satisfying one of the following conditions:

(i) it is a member of the United Nations, any of the specialized agencies brought into relationship with the United Nations, or the International Atomic Energy Agency,

(ii) it is a party to the Statute of the Inter-national Court of Justice; or

(iii) it has been invited by the General Assembly of WIPO to become a party to the Convention.

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) was started in 1995 but the rules for the WTO’s trading system, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), was implemented in 1948. The General Agreement gave rise to an unofficial international organisation also known as GATT, which evolved through several rounds of negotiations. The last and largest GATT round, was the Uruguay Round which lasted from 1986 to 1994 and led to the WTO’s creation. This is why The WTO’s agreements are often called the Final Act of the 1986 —1994 Uruguay Round of trade negotiations. Whereas GATT had mainly dealt with trade in goods, the WTO and its agreements now cover trade in services, and in traded inventions, creations and designs (intellectual property). The WTO is currently the host to new negotiations, under the “Doha Development Agenda” launched in 2001.

The WTO is an organization whose main objective is to liberalise trade. It is also a forum for governments to negotiate trade agreements and a place for them to settle trade disputes. The WTO operates a system of trade rules which provide the legal ground-rules for international commerce. They are essentially contracts, binding governments to keep their trade policies within agreed limits. Although negotiated and signed by governments, the goal is to help producers of goods and services, exporters, and importers conduct their business, while allowing governments to meet social and environmental objectives.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) leads international efforts to defeat hunger. Serving both developed and developing countries, FAO acts as a neutral forum where all nations meet as equals to negotiate agreements and debate policy. FAO is also a source of knowledge and information. FAO helps developing countries and countries in transition modernise and improve agriculture, forestry and fisheries practices and ensure good nutrition for all. Since its founding in 1945, FAO has focused special attention on developing rural areas, home to 70 percent of the world's poor and hungry people. FAO's activities comprise four main areas: Putting information within reach; sharing policy expertise; providing a meeting place for nations; and bringing knowledge to the field.

Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV), further information:

The Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property applies to industrial property in the widest sense, including patents, 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. The Convention is open to all States. Instruments of ratification or accession must be deposited with the Director General of WIPO

The substantive provisions of the Convention fall into three main categories: national treatment, right of priority and common rules.

National Treatment. As regards the protection of industrial property, each contracting State must grant the same protection to nationals of the other contracting States as it grants to its own nationals.
Right of priority. The Convention provides for the right of priority in the case of patents (and utility models, where they exist), marks and industrial designs. This right means that, on the basis of a regular first application filed in one of the contracting States, the applicant may, within a certain period of time (12 months for patents and utility models; 6 months for industrial designs and marks), apply for protection in any of the other contracting States; these later applications will then be regarded as if they had been filed on the same day as the first application. In other words, these later applications will have priority (hence the expression “right of priority”) over applications which may have been filed during the said period of time by other persons for the same invention, utility model, mark or industrial design. Moreover, these later applications, being based on the first application, will not be affected by any event that may have taken place in the interval, such as any publication of the invention or sale of articles bearing the mark or incorporating the industrial design. One of the great practical advantages of this provision is that, when an applicant desires protection in several countries, he is not required to present all his applications at the same time but has six or 12 months at his disposal to decide in which countries he wishes protection and to organize with due care the steps he must take to secure protection.
Common Rules. The Convention lays down a few common rules which all the contracting States must follow. The more important are the following:

Patents granted in different contracting States for the same invention are independent of each other: the granting of a patent in one contracting State does not oblige the other contracting States to grant a patent; a patent cannot be refused, annulled or terminated in any contracting State on the ground that it has been refused or annulled or has terminated in any other contracting State
The inventor has the right to be named as such in the patent.
The grant of a patent may not be refused, and a patent may not be invalidated, on the ground that the sale of the patented product, or of a product obtained by means of the patented process, is subject to restrictions or limitations resulting from the domestic law.
Each contracting State that takes legislative measures providing for the grant of compulsory licenses to prevent the abuses which might result from the exclusive rights conferred by a patent may do so only with certain limitations. Thus, a compulsory license (license not granted by the owner of the patent but by a public authority of the State concerned) based on failure to work the patented invention may only be granted pursuant to a request filed after three or four years of failure to work or insufficient working of the patented invention and it must be refused if the patentee gives legitimate reasons to justify his inaction. Furthermore, forfeiture of a patent may not be provided for, except in cases where the grant of a compulsory license would not have been sufficient to prevent the abuse. In the latter case, proceedings for forfeiture of a patent may be instituted, but only after the expiration of two years from the grant of the first compulsory license.
Industrial designs must be protected in each contracting State, and protection may not be forfeited on the ground that the articles incorporating the design are not manufactured in that State.
Measures must be taken by each contracting State against direct or indirect use of a false indication of the source of the goods or the identity of the producer, manufacturer or trader.
As to Unfair Competition: Each contracting State must provide for effective protection against unfair competition.

Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), further information:

The Convention on Biodoversity, further information:

All parties to the CBD are also parties to the Bonn Guidelines on Access to Genetic Resources and Fair and Equitable Sharing of the Benefits Arising out of their Utilisation.

The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, further information:

The African Union (AU) is an organisation consisting of fifty-three African states. Established in 2001, the AU was formed as a successor to the amalgamated African Economic Community (AEC) and the Organisation of African Unity (OAU). Eventually, the AU aims to have a single currency and a single integrated defence force, as well as other institutions of state, including a cabinet for the AU Head of State. The purpose of the union is to help secure Africa's democracy, human rights, and a sustainable economy, especially by bringing an end to intra-African conflict and creating an effective common market.

The African Union Model Law, further information: