22 July 1958: Foundation stone of the BIPRI building, the predecessor organization to WIPO

The photo shows Mr. Petitpierre, Swiss Federal Councillor and Head of the Federal Political Department, adding mortar to the foundation stone of the BIRPI (Bureaux Internationaux réunis pour la protection de la proprieté industrielle, litéraire et artistique) building on July 22, 1958. BIRPI is the predecessor organization to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The BIRPI building still forms part today of WIPO's compound in Geneva.

Over forty years later, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has pursued a number of building projects – the construction of a new administrative building was completed in 2011 and a conference hall with a capacity for some 900 delegates in spring 2013.

World Intellectual Property Day is celebrated annually on April 26, the date on which the Convention establishing WIPO entered into force in 1970.  Across the world, IP Offices, associations, businesses and technology institutions organize numerous activities to mark the day, including competitions, exhibitions and public discussions. WIPO’s 185 member states initiated World Intellectual Property Day in 2000 to raise public awareness about the role of IP in daily life, and to celebrate the contribution made by innovators and creators to the development of societies across the globe.

 

To learn more:

WIPO History

World Intellectual Property Day

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