WORLD INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ORGANIZATION
Did you know that...• There are 4 million patents in force in the world.
• By the end of 1995, more than 1 million trademarks had been registered.
• Over 1 million industrial designs are currently registered.Locked in a safe
Roberto Perez teaches physics in a secondary school in Puebla, Mexico.
"My only hobby is to make new discoveries, in whatever field. Last month, for instance, I developed a new catalytic converter that could reduce NOx emissions by 75 per cent. Six months ago, I discovered a simple way to ensure that locks are totally impregnable. Although I am convinced that these devices could be commercially successful, I am afraid that they could be stolen from me. So I keep the designs and prototypes in a safe."
Too bad, professor. These devices would certainly be commercially successful, and could benefit the international community. In order to protect himself from the improper use of his work, the professor could simply file a request for a patent with the national Office for Intellectual Property in his country. Thanks to the action of WIPO, he would then be offered to register his patent internationally, at a reasonable cost, which would afford him a legal protection for his device in some 100 countries.
A unique scent
Maipa Tyc lives in Prague. As a professional tennis player, she has won several major tournaments.
"Last year, I decided to quit international competition and take advantage of my name recognition to establish a line of perfumes . . . my first step was to register the trade mark for this line, to avoid that someone else steals or copies the name that I want to use. Nowa- days, this is a prerequisite if I want to be given some legal recourse in case of imitations. One can find so many counterfeits made in various parts of the world!"
Trademarks for goods or services can be registered with WIPO, an international registration which provides legal protection in some 50 countries.
Grain by grain Abdou Dialo is a writer from Mali.
"I have already published four novels. My next one will come out next September. I my books, I am trying to depict the deserts' slow progression. Although time, in our culture, time is not in itself a very important notion, I have told this story through the lives of four generations of farmers in the region of Bamba. I tell of their fight against the advancing sand, grain by grain, and of their eventual defeat. My first books sold pretty well. A producer is even suggesting making a film based on this story."
Thanks to international treaties administered by WIPO such as, in particular, the Berne Convention, and to the national laws that complement them, copyrights for literary works, as all other artistic works, are protected in more than 120 countries. As an author, Abdou Dialo should receive just payment for the use of his works.
WIPO in brief
• The main objectives of WIPO are to increase respect for intellectual property (industrial property and copyrights) as well as to promote its protection and use around the world through international cooperation;
• WIPO facilitates the filing of requests for patents, trademarks, industrial designs and models;
• A great part of WIPO's activities and resources are devoted to technical assistance to developing countries.World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
34 Chemin des Colombettes
1211 Geneva 20
Switzerland
Tel.: (41-22) 730 9111
Website: http://www.wipo.int/
E-mail: WIPO.mail@wipo.int
