World Intellectual Property Day
World Intellectual Property (IP) Day is celebrated annually on April 26. Member states of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) selected this date in recognition of when the Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization entered into force. World IP Day raises awareness about IP by celebrating the contributions of inventors and creators around the world and highlighting the role of IP rights (copyright, trademarks, patents, designs, and trade secrets) in stimulating innovation and creativity.
World IP Day 2026
The theme for 2026 is IP and sports: Ready, set, innovate. Sports provide a familiar and engaging way to see how patents, trademarks, and copyrights work together to encourage innovation and investment, protect identity, and share experiences with broad audiences. From advances in equipment design and performance technology to broadcasting, fan engagement, and branding, all of these IP tools help teams, leagues, and athletes earn money, build brands, and connect with fans. Take a look at some of these historical patents, trademarks, and innovators.
World IP Day 2026 event at the U.S. Capitol
Image
- See a recording of the event.
IP and sports: Powering American innovation
Many of the ideas that shape modern sports were developed in the United States. The National Basketball Association (NBA), Major League Baseball (MLB), and the National Football League (NFL), among others, have set the standard for how games are branded, shared, and experienced. Their models are powered by IP, which protects the ideas, symbols, and innovations that originate in the United States as they spread across the globe.
Stories of IP and Sports
Through our Journeys of Innovation series and partnerships with the National Inventors Hall of Fame, the USPTO highlights the ways sports and intellectual property intersect. Read the stories below to get know some of the creators—and creations—that help drive innovation and progress in sports.
- Designing a better scoreboard: Meet Al Kurtenbach, the inventor of a matside scoreboard that gave fans a better view of matches, and wrestlers better views of their scores.
- Gatorade® makes a splash: Learn about the creators of the first oral rehydration beverage that allowed the human body to replace sodium quickly.
- State-of-the-art sports television graphics: A pioneer in the field of sports television graphics, Stan Honey has impacted the viewing experience of millions of sports fans.
- Getting the shot, the invention of the Steadicam®: Garrett Brown invented the Steadicam® camera stabilizer and the Skycam camera system that flies on wires over sporting events.
- Making life more accessible with robotics and wheelchairs: Paralympic medalist and Army veteran Rory Cooper holds 25 U.S. patents on innovations ranging from advanced wheelchair designs to wearable instruments for people with disabilities.
Past World IP Day themes
World IP Day 2025: IP and music: Feel the beat of IP
The theme for 2025 was IP and music: Feel the beat of IP, which explored the critical role of IP rights in supporting a thriving music scene. It also celebrated the work of songwriters, composers, producers, performers, musical device inventors, and all those who shape the music industry.
- Read the Presidential Proclamation for World IP Day 2025.
- World Intellectual Property Day 2025 on Capitol Hill event. A recording of the event is now available.
- USPTO IP Attachés celebrate World IP Day.
World IP Day 2024: IP and the Sustainable Development Goals
For its part, the USPTO will consider how IP initiatives, programs, or outcomes have furthered the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the United States. This includes supporting quality education (SDG 4), supporting industry, innovation, and infrastructure (SDG 9), or creating new partnerships for the goals (SDG 17). Other examples include improving access to IP information (SDG 10, “Reduced Inequalities”), and instituting paperless procedures (SDG 12, “Responsible Consumption and Production”).
Capitol Hill program: Join Kathi Vidal, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO); Shira Perlmutter, Director of the U.S Copyright Office; Rep. Darrell Issa, Chair of the U.S. House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet; and representatives from USPTO partner organizations, including the American Intellectual Property Law Association and others as they observed World IP Day 2024 at the U.S. Capitol that highlights the 2024 theme of "IP and the SDGs." The program took place Wednesday, May 1 at 4 p.m. ET, at the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center in Washington, D.C.
World IP Day poster exhibit: On Thursday, April 25, from 3:30-4:30 p.m. ET, come to USPTO headquarters to view an exhibit of posters celebrating World IP Day that were created by high school seniors participating in the agency's IP Skills Work-Based Learning Program. For more information, visit the USPTO event page.
Women’s Entrepreneurship event: During the week of World IP Day, hear how women innovators are impacting industries across the board with intellectual property (IP) protection at the USPTO’s next Women's Entrepreneurship (WE) event, happening virtually and in person on Wednesday, April 24, from noon to 1 p.m. ET at George Mason University’s Mason Enterprise Center in Fairfax, Virginia. For more information and to register, visit the USPTO event page.
World IP Day 2024: IP and the Sustainable Development Goals
Each year’s World IP Day celebration focuses on some aspect of IP. For 2024, the global theme is related to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by UN members in 2015: “IP and the SDGs: Building our common future with innovation and creativity.” This will offer the opportunity to consider how IP, IP offices, and IP stakeholders throughout the world contribute to or support each of the SDGs.
The 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
Image
