Shakira and Burna Boy’s Dai Dai, FIFA World Cup 2026’s official song, showcases music’s global reach through intellectual property rights.

Feature film production hit a record high, reflecting the expanding geography of global creative capacity, even as global box office revenues remain below pre-pandemic levels.

In choreographed sports, music is essential but often used without proper licensing, exposing athletes and organizers to legal risks. After lawsuits highlighted the problem, former world champion cheerleader Chantal Epp founded ClicknClear to provide a solution. The platform enables athletes to quickly license music from millions of tracks and ensures compliance through verification tools. Used across sports like gymnastics and figure skating, it addresses a major gap caused by fragmented rights systems and the lack of a global database. By connecting rights holders with users, ClicknClear helps protect creators, unlock new revenue, and professionalize music use in sports.

NBA legend and triple Olympic medallist Pau Gasol – now Chair of the IOC Athletes' Commission – explains the role intellectual property rights play in making the Olympic Games and other sports events possible.

Advance People’s Real (APR) beauty tech company leverages WIPO’s Madrid System to streamline global trademark protection, ensuring consistent branding, operational efficiency, and scalable international growth in cosmetics markets.

Swiss engineers at Swisspod are developing hyperloop capsules that travel up to 1,200 km/h in low-pressure tubes, aiming to make ultra-fast, affordable transport a reality within the next decade.

For decades, farmers have relied on chemical fertilizers, pesticides and antibiotics to enhance food production. But the rapid modernization of agriculture to meet rising demands has its perils. To solve such problems, biotechnology companies are turning to living organisms and natural materials for inspiration. And alongside their biology‑first innovations, their strategic use of intellectual property (IP) is equally important. The companies featured in this article were shortlisted in the WIPO Global Awards 2025.

From Emily in Paris to Sex and the City, television fashion has become a powerful asset shaped, monetized, and safeguarded through intellectual property rights that protect costume design, brand collaborations, and merchandising worldwide.

As legal battles over AI training and copyrighted material unfold globally, the music industry faces a pivotal moment to balance innovation with fair compensation, while enabling AI’s growth.

Bach’s fight for ownership of his compositions laid the foundation for recognizing music as intellectual property, a legacy now tested by the rise of AI-generated music.

As Taylor Swift announces her new album, The Life of a Showgirl, all that goes into it behind the scenes showcases her ability to blend creative vision with strategic IP management seamlessly. This is the complete breakdown of her branded universe. With over 400 trademarks globally, she safeguards her name, song and album titles, tour names, and even the names of her cats. This strategy empowers her brand, protects her legacy, and sets a precedent for artists worldwide to treat IP as essential to creative and commercial success.

As generative AI transforms music creation, researchers and artists push for fairer systems to trace influence, license training data, and ensure musicians are compensated for their contributions.

From a mother’s struggle to an international brand, Tammy Rant, founder of Tushbaby revolutionized babywearing through thoughtful design, global trademark protection, and a commitment to supporting parents everywhere.

Music creators are urged to take control of their metadata to ensure fair compensation and protect their rights in the evolving music industry.

This year, World Intellectual Property Day (April 26), was all about the creators, innovators, and entrepreneurs who bring music to life.